17 Favorite Spring Recipes

In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of vegetables, greens, herbs and rhubarb. Or it ought to, anyway. All of our fancies should be turning to these lovely edibles, especially since we’ve been deprived of good examples of them for so many months.

The snow is gone here, except in the shadiest places, so even though not much is growing yet (my tulips are coming up!) and the outdoor farmer’s market is another month in coming, I’m looking for ingredients in the stores to help me celebrate spring. I’m thinking radishes, asparagus, peas, delicate greens and herbs.

Here are 17 of my favorite spring recipes from The Messy Apron Archives. Each part of a decent meal can hold its own in representing this magical season, from appetizer to dessert.

Bright green and fresh tasting this Green Pea Hummus can be made with frozen peas. You don’t have to wait for your garden to grow to get a taste of the season.

I get locally-grown salad greens as early as I can, and am happy to support the growers who cheat the season by putting hot houses into action. The earliest baby greens are good with a simple Feta and Lemon Vinaigrette, but this Buttermilk Herb Salad Dressing is appropriate for crisp greens and delicate greens alike.

And, I love this Coconut Lime Salad Dressing, which is also great on warm noodles.

 

Arugula and spinach come early have a home in the salad bowl, but each is delicious when combined with select flavorings and processed into pesto. Arugula Pesto with Kalamata Olives is sharp and hearty, while this Spinach Chive Pesto takes advantage of the earliest growth of fresh chives.

This ultra-simple salad, Fresh Peas with Mint, celebrates any sweet home-grown peas you can get right out of the garden.

As soon as I can get some delightfully fresh asparagus, I make this Sesame Soy Asparagus with Garlic and Ginger. Even though it is laced with Asian flavors, I’ll serve it on the side of just about anything.

I can hardly wait to get my hands on the ingredients for Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad with Feta and Dill. It’s one of my favorite dishes all on its own for a light meal, or next to a simply-flavored protein.

Pasta-based meals are my go-to year round, and spring offers some of the best options, like Pasta with Asparagus, Snap Peas, and Lemon

And Asparagus and Pasta with Balsamic Tarragon Sauce and Bacon

Asparagus, peas, and anything else you love can all go into this delicately flavored Spring Vegetable Risotto.

For a main-dish salad, I love this Shrimp and Pea Macaroni Salad.

While berries really only come into my area in very late spring or early summer, rhubarb comes in early, even to the big patch in my back yard. I’ll take whatever strawberries I can, however, to go with my rhubarb in this Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce, which is great on this simple cake, on vanilla ice cream or stirred into yogurt.

 

Strawberries and rhubarb can be scheduled for many, many playdates together, of course, like one that could result in this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Graham Cracker Topping.

 

And rhubarb on its own makes a fine dessert as well, especially in this Rhubarb Pudding Cake

And these Rhubarb Custard Bars.

I hope you are as excited about spring dining as I am. The winter has been harsh, but the sun is shining and green things are coming. And a whole meal stuffed with spring delicacies is certainly something to which to turn our thoughts of love.

Other posts like this one: Featured Ingredient: Asparagus, Featured Ingredient: Rhubarb, Featured Ingredient: Sugar Snap Peas, Favorite Vehicles for Maple Syrup

One year ago: Featured Ingredient: Fresh Herbs

2018: Review, Favorites and Adventures Ahead

I don’t keep a personal diary. This humble record of recipes is the closest thing to a journal I’ve ever consistently kept for more than a few days. It is a bit difficult, therefore, to look back at a whole year and contemplate what has happened. I simply can’t seem to remember much.

Mostly, The Day Job ate 2018, and the news and politics were disgustingly stressful. (None of those things appears to be headed for much of a change in character for 2019, alas.) I did make and eat some delicious things, and I did a better job of posting this year than I did last year. I added a “Friday Night” feature, that functions as a journal of sorts, and gives me a space to sort some things out, whether they be personal or edible. It is also the place where I write about some of the other things I am interested in, such as reading, gardening, and the small amount of traveling I get to do.

Every season produced favorite recipes, with a winter CSA share contributing to hearty roasted vegetable mixtures and comforting soups, the farmer’s market making spring bright and fresh, my own garden adding to summer excitement, local apples making fall as special as always, and tasty baked goods making the holidays dangerously delicious. Here are the 15 recipes that I feel best represent 2018 at The Messy Apron, my favorites from the whole year, such as it was.

Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal is sweet and rich, and perhaps not as distant from cookies as breakfast ought to be.

Hot, thick, stick-to-your-ribs soups were needed for comfort this year, especially Curry Carrot Soup, which went over well with a crowd of friends,

 

And Cabbage and Turnip Soup with Beef Broth.

And for a classic sandwich bread for a soup and sandwich lunch, I offered this recipe for White Sandwich Bread.

For a bit more winter vegetable adventure, there was Maple Glazed Winter Squash and Potatoes

Lighter, fresh fare, like this Radish Cilantro Salsa characterized the transition to spring and summer.

Once summer was in full swing, things could really take off, with fresh produce dominating the style and flavor of what came out of my kitchen, like Scalloped Corn with Sour Cream and Chile

And Roasted Tomatillo and Chickpea Curry, with the tomatillos I grew on the mad bush-vines in my garden.

My own garden also produced plenty (plenty!) of zucchini which featured deliciously in Blueberry Lemon Zucchini Bread

And, my surprise favorite of the whole year, Zucchini Cheddar Risotto, which I can’t wait to make with 2019’s fresh zucchini (such a long wait!!!).

When the apples came in, I finally got around to a cake recipe from my grandmother, which was amazing: Glazed Apple Walnut Cake.

Finally, cookies, bars and other sweet treats featured in my baking all year round. Four great ones stand out: Fudgy Mint Brownies,

Walnut and White Chocolate Blondies,

Double Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies,

And my favorite for the holidays this year, Brandied Fruit and Nut Bars.

 

There are lots of other things I messed with throughout this year that didn’t make the pages quite so prominently, such as my somewhat successful attempts at homemade sourdough, some baking with roasted sugar, and caramel sauce with cubic yards of room for improvement. Plus, there was, and will continue to be variations on tossed pasta dishes, soups that aren’t really a recipe, pot and pots of beans, impromptu bean and/or grain salads, and frittatas stuffed with leftovers.

As always, I have so many hopes and plans for the coming year. I may try to keep a journal for once, if for no other reason than to have something to help me remember anything that may happen. I regret that the spin for the near future on The Messy Apron pages will have to include some healthy eating for weight loss. I’ve fought that battle my whole life (except when I was a fat kid and didn’t bother fighting), but my age and lifestyle (The Day Job!) are conspiring to make things especially critical. I hate diets, scales, resolutions, self-hatred, and, frankly, exercise for the sake of exercise, so I don’t really know where this is going to go.

But go it will. It must. Let’s go exploring in 2019!