Spring Forward
I know you’ve already seen and heard some of those harbingers of spring, dewdrops, crocuses and new bird songs, although looking out my window today, winter still has a hold. The calendar tells us this Sunday is the start of Daylight Savings Time and next Sunday spring officially begins. Ahh spring, with the promise of radishes and ramps and rhubarb...
In the meantime, St. Patrick’s Day sneaks in this week too. There’s plenty o’ greens on the market tables and many holiday favorites as well. Wave Hill soaks the raisins for their Irish soda bread in Irish whiskey for a special touch. The alcohol bakes out but leaves an extra delicious flavor profile. Nutmeg Bakery makes a sought after soda bread with currents and golden raisins. A fine week to also grab one of their famous shepherds pies and a specially decorated holiday dessert.
Here’s a version of a popular Irish recipe whose main ingredients you can purchase at the market. Kale can be substituted for the cabbage and sweet potatoes for the regular potatoes is another interesting variation.
We'd like to give a shoutout to all the fantastic women food artisans at the market during this month- long celebration of women in history. Speaking of hard-working creative women, Silvia Parodi, of Silvia's Kitchenis selling gift boxes of her Argentine "brigadeiros" this week.
La Petite Occasion’s March special is her limited edition dark chocolate pistachio toffee. One of Jody’s Kitchen’s soup choices this week is a timely Irish Cod Stew. Escargot Voyageur’s weekly specials are a ratatouille dish, chicken antillais with rum and coconut milk and frangipane amaretto pear and strawberry napoleon .
Pizza Vitale returns from winter break. Their “little silver box” on wheels holds a wood burning pizza oven from Italy that turns out artisanal Neapolitan pizzas. Owned and operated by an experienced pizzaiolo who was born and raised in Napoli, Italy and has been a full time pizzaiolo for over 30 years. Francesco honed his skills in Napoli then working in Switzerland, London and eventually in NYC before deciding to open his pizza truck. “We believe fresh pizza = healthy pizza. We make our own dough daily with Mulino Caputo flour imported from Napoli and allow it to rise properly to achieve the distinctive Neapolitan blistered chewy crust (& for better digestion). Our tomatoes are imported from our pizzaiolo’s hometown in the Sarno Valley and we always use fresh fior di latte mozzarella & locally sourced toppings.”
So many temptations to ease losing that extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning!
