Summer is still weeks away, but spring has finally arrived, bringing longer days, cool breezes, and the first real signs of warmth. Crocuses and daffodils are pushing through the soil, and the heady scent of lilacs and cherry blossoms hangs in the air.
There’s something about this time of year that feels full of promise. Parks are filling with people shaking off winter, enjoying their first picnics of the season. Hiking trails, muddy from snowmelt, are busy with foragers searching for wild ramps, fiddleheads, and morels.
fiddlehead ferns
Farmers’ markets are coming back to life, overflowing with white and green asparagus, garlic scapes, tender greens, spring onions, strawberries, and the sweetest peas. And with all that fresh produce, all I want to do is cook.
flavorful garlic scapes
After months of hearty soups, slow braises, and root veggie-heavy sheet pan suppers, I’m ready for something lighter, brighter, and fresh. Crispy-skin sablefish with asparagus and the first snap peas of the season. Wild-caught salmon with shaved baby fennel, white beans, creamy yogurt, and plenty of fresh herbs. Spot shrimp, tossed in a hot skillet with green garlic and white wine — served with or without crusty bread to soak up the yummy sauce.
Spring veggies with herb-marinated sablefish
Spring cooking is easy because it doesn’t take much — a drizzle of fruity olive oil, a handful of herbs, a pinch of flaky sea salt, and fresh, wild-caught seafood are all you need. It’s a reminder that good food doesn’t have to be overly complicated.
Light and tasty shrimp scampi
Soon enough, we’ll be grilling in the backyard, eating dinner outside in shorts and t-shirts, the smell of sunscreen and bug spray filling the air. But for now, I’m soaking in this season — its abundance of spring produce, the cool evenings, and the luxury of a mosquito-free dinner outdoors (for now).
Hope you’re enjoying it too.
- Grace
Grace Parisi
Culinary Director Grace Parisi is a cook, writer and cookbook author. Formerly the Senior Test Kitchen Editor at Food & Wine Magazine and Executive Food Director at TimeInc Books, her work has appeared in Cooking Light, Health, O Magazine, Epicurious, Fitness, Today, Serious Eats, Martha Stewart, and many more. She’s the author of more than 6 books, among them The Portlandia Cookbook and Get Saucy, which was nominated for a James Beard award for Best Single Subject Cookbook.
