The Arrival Of Spring And Two Soups In One: Potatoe And Spring Onion Soup, And Pea, Spring Onion And Mint Soup

Spring has sprung!

I have left behind a really busy month of March (hence the absence of post!), but being busy never disrupts my weekly Farmers Market runs. Gotta eat right? And I enjoy eating fresh produce from my local markets no matter what. Glad I did not miss my market runs though: what a delight March has been!

Gorgeous tulips picked by kiddo :) at the Berkeley Farmers Market (Thomas Organic).

All sorts of Spring produce, and more, arrived back in force: Spring flowers, from daffodils to gorgeous tulips, pretty edible blooms, which looked taken from an impressionist painting, forests of fresh asparagus, and needless to say: Spring onions! You know it is Spring, when they are back in abundance at the market, and glowing with beautiful purple-ish and splendid green hues. Ah, and: strawberries. I was a little suspicious (scared!) about their early arrival, which is due to the generally warmer weather in past months. But I have to admit: they are actually amazingly delicious already, sweet, juicy, truly incredible.

Asparagus from the Berkeley Farmers Market (Kaki's Farm)

I was particularly smitten with the Spring Onions this year, given how stunning they were when I spotted them at a vendor's stall at the San Francisco Ferry Building's Farmers Market. I was not surprised about how good they looked though, since this vendor, Knoll Farms, grows organic produce and uses biodynamic practices. It always shows. So I took a good handful home. There were so many possibilities to use them, and I hesitated a great deal as I was considering recipes. The idea of a warming soup won though eventually. It had been cooling down a little, and with Saint Patrick's Day, I had a few potatoes on hand. So I opted for Saveur Magazine's Potatoe and Spring Onion Soup recipe, which requires few ingredients and can be made quickly on a work day. This choice was all the more motivated by the fact that I had also found an enticing Pea, Mint and Spring Onion Soup recipe on the BBC Good Food website. Interestingly, the recipes were overlapping enough, save for the presence of pea and mint, that I thought I could use the left overs of the first to make the second.

Stunning spring onions from Knoll Farms at the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Market.

The plan worked perfectly. I first made the Potatoe and Spring Onion Soup for Meatless Monday. I used 3 large Russet potatoes, the handful of spring onions I had bought, and water instead of stock as I did not have fresh vegetable stock on hand, and I do not always like store bought ones. With the help of a good pinch of smoked Alder salt and some herbs however, the soup was still delicious and comforting, just as I had hoped. I served it with a fresh butter lettuce sprinkled with edible flowers, thinly sliced mushrooms, chives, and a mustard vinaigrette, and added some strawberries with vanilla cashew cream for a sweet ending (more on that cream another time).

Potatoe and spring onion soup inspired by Saveur Magazine, served with Spring salad and strawberries for a Meatless Monday Plate.

A couple of days later, I heated up the left-over soup, about 3-4 cups full. I added a full pack (284g) of frozen (organic) sweet peas, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves also picked up at the market, and a little water as the soup had thickened during refrigeration. I adjusted the seasoning, and blended it in my Vitamix ( a truly indispensable appliance to make great soup! other blends are good too). The result was a deliciously frothy and more-ish soup that was finished in no time!

Left-over make-over: spring onion, pea and mint soup.

The pea and mint soup could be finished with some heavy cream, but I liked it actually just as it was. And kiddo loved it, so this left-over make-over was a double success :).

By the way:

• I still say and write "Potatoe" - pls forgive the spelling if you are more a "Potato" person. :)
• You could finish the Potatoe and Spring Onion soup with a drizzle of olive, hazelnut or walnut oil.
• You can adjust the amount of mint to your liking in the pea soup.
• I forewent the Parmesan "biscuits" featured in the original recipe, but they could be a great addition if you eat cheese and have time/are enclined to make them.
• These soups are gluten-free, dairy-free, and will satisfy all eaters alike!

Smitten with Edible Flowers

Edible flowers have become an item at Farmers Markets.

So for a few months now, I have become smitten with them. Each week, when I think I have tried or seen them all, a new unknown variety pops up. So far I have been exploring with them mostly in salads - we start with the basics – both for the visual effects and finding pairings that would make them balance the flavors of other greens. By the same token, I have discovered or learned to re-discover a lot of said greens, which has been a fun adventure in itself. I have been hoarding salad pictures thinking there would be a point where I’d run out of reasons to take more pictures (lack of flowers etc) but that does not seem to be happening. So I’m putting up what I have so far and will make update posts as I continue to play with pretty flowers.

Nasturtiums have become a classic and made pretty decorations for lunch boxes. Peppery, they paired well with a quinoa burger. 

Broccoli rabbe flowers came early in the season, and lit market stalls with their bright yellow color.

This salad combines them with kale and brown mustard frills, sprinkled with sunflower seeds. An optional pairing for this salad would be a good sheep farmers market cheese such as ricotta salata.

I kept it all aragula for aragula blossoms, adding agretti which I had never tasted before and loved at first bite. I decided to pair the greens to a really good cheddar while at the farmers market, and sprinkled with sunflower seeds.

I loved making this very french-style salad: both very pretty and very fresh, with pansies, lettuce, sliced radishes, watercress, and sliced asparagus. My french roots begged me to throw in a lovely fresh goat cheese which added both visually and in taste to this already great salad. 

These cilantro blossoms were quite a surprise. They are actually very strong in flavor and need to be used sparingly. 

I found good homes for them in two salads, both made with gem lettuces: the first salad with cucumber and fresh shrimps I had found at the market's sustainable fish stall;

the second salad simply with fresh radishes, which was unequivocally kid approved :).

Snow peas (left) and wild lotus blossoms (right) were lovely finds. They both have pleasant, mild and sweet tastes, while being gorgeous to the eye.

This salad combined them both with lettuce hearts, pea shoots and minutina. It was lovely and refreshing on a warm day. And I loved the (non-edible) pretty sweet Williams that I found that same day too :).

By the way:

• In NYC, Union Square Market is obviously the great resource for edible flowers, wild picks and interesting greens to use them with (e.g. agretti and minutina). Great (among other great) vendors include: Two Guys from Woodbridge, Eckerton, Norwhich Meadow, Violet Hill, Madura, Tamarack Hollow, Bodhitree, Windfall and Lani's. Great cheeses can be found at Hawthorne Valley Farm, Lynnhaven and Valley Shephard.
• Agretti are mineral rich and have a nice and fresh spinach-y taste. You will get hooked. Minutina are also more-ish, and have a lovely herb-y flavor.
• In the Bay Area, CUESA's Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and Berkeley's Farmers Market have been go to places and bring new items almost weekly. Happy Boy Farms makes convenient ready made salad mixes with nasturtiums. 
• For these salads, I have tended to use light vinaigrettes, sometimes lemony, and/or slightly sweetened with honey or maple syrup, or simply olive oil, salt and pepper (as with the last salad) to avoid spoiling the subtle flavors which were beautiful on their own.
• These visually and taste-wise feasts are naturally gluten-free and low-FODMAP.