There are two themes that
seem to cover most of my cooking in the month of April. First, since the
calendar is more convinced that it is spring than much of the great
outdoors seems to be, this month is kind of in between seasons. Winter cooking
is out of fashion, but it’s a bit too soon for even the earliest of spring
harvests (although some local hot houses are producing pretty little lettuce
heads, bok choy, and kohlrabi!)
The second theme is harder to
explain, but really exciting: it seems that an unusually large proportion of my
absolute favorite recipes have been posted in Aprils past. Some of them were
made in celebration of this blog’s birthday (I started The Messy Apron on April
16, 2009), but others were simply celebrations of the simple and delicious
meals, desserts, and snacks I make often and really love.
Here is a list of 10 favorite
recipes posted in the month of April, the month in which this space took form.
I hope you enjoy at least some of them as much as I do.
The first recipe I ever
posted was Italian Chickpeas, a simple and absolutely delicious tomato and
chickpea sauce loaded with garlic and served over pasta. I still make this
whenever I need a low-maintenance meal and crave its savory flavors.
Another recipe I make a lot
is this Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread. I try to make a few loaves a month.
This Oatmeal Bread is also
great. It bakes up lovely and the oats give it some extra-delicious flavor.
And there are 3 other
oatmeal-intensive recipes that qualify as April favorites:
Oatmeal Cherry Bars, which I
love!
Peanut Butter Granola, which
is my favorite granola recipe.
And Apricot Almond Oatmeal Cookies,
which can be endlessly varied to include your favorite add-ins.
I haven’t made many Easter-themed
posts, but I always keep egg salads, like this Lemon Fennel Egg Salad, in mind
for using up hard boiled Easter eggs. (This egg salad is good, too!)
Bananas often fill in the fruit
gap for me until the rhubarb comes up and the strawberries are in. I love to
make this Banana Bread when they get extra brown.
For April celebrations, like
a blog birthday, I love these Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting.
And just about anything you
can make for celebrations will go well with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
Enjoy April, everyone!
