M. Suzanne Terry

This is my springiest teapot. I love tea parties. Mostly for the hats.

My meal plan in the spring is driven by the farmers market. Whatever is fresh out of the ground or off the vine is what I want to eat. This leads to all kinds of experimentation as I try to figure out what I’m going to do with this weird vegetable, fruit, or herb I just bought. I occasionally eat something that I don’t care for, but more often, this is my favorite season to cook, because I find so many new things to love.

1. Roasted red pepper and asparagus quiche – Asparagus has a small window of time when it is actually fresh and seasonal (at least in Texas). There are about three weeks in March/April when asparagus grows like a weed. Then you just have a pretty plant. Dishes like this help me take full advantage of those weeks.
2. Pasta primavera – A dish so made for seasonal produce that it’s even in the name.
3. Salad – when you bought so many things at the market that you basically have to eat nothing but vegetables so that they don’t go bad before you get to them.
4. Maple dijon roasted carrots – I love a roasted vegetable and honey mustard. Double win.
5. And before it gets too hot to use the oven, I like to squeeze in some last-minute pie. Blueberry is my favorite.

Spring is when I most often want to read about food, too. Ruth Reichl is one of my favorite food people. Check out My Kitchen Year for a nice read with some amazing recipes. You know what? Go ahead and check out all the things she’s written and contributed to.

I cannot wait to get my hands on Padma Lakshmi’s The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs. I may just spend all of next spring covering veggies in different spices. Love, Loss, and What We Ate is also beautiful.

What is your favorite spring vegetable? How do you like it prepared?

I’m sharing my Epic Meal Planning strategies for Write 31 Days – click to see the master list.