Vegetable Evangelist

As close to religious as I get.

This week I hosted another workshop for the Foodshed Alliance about making the best use of spring produce, especially challenging vegetables. I half-jokingly call myself a "vegetable evangelist," but in truth I really am that excited to share my enthusiasm and ideas. While I probably spend more time cooking than most people, I also think it takes only a little bit of effort and a few great recipes to fall in love with vegetables and demystify seasonal eating. I’m far from dogmatic about it—we eat our fair share of frozen dumplings and Oreos—but seasonal eating has become part of the fabric of my life. And I enjoy anticipating local spring foods that aren’t available year-round, like green garlic and escarole in the spring.

A number of people in the workshop asked me about my favorite salad dressings, pickling brine, and recipe sources. I was considering the best way to share this information, and then I started thinking about how many local food and farming projects I’m involved in. Much of my work is behind the scenes, but there’s more I’d like to say about these projects, these people, the land I live on, and the food I make.

Social media has become so abbreviated and ephemeral; I want to post recipes and links and ideas to connect the dots and spark conversation. Today I’ll start with a resource list.

• Via Carota’s vinaigrette for their insalata verde has become my fave

• A few other favorite salads: the greenest salad from 101 Cookbooks, Zuni Cafe’s radicchio salad, hearty lentil salad with roasted veg from The NY Times

• Use this forgiving formula to make seasonal frittatas with whatever seasonal veggies you have on hand

• This all-purpose pickling brine is dead simple and perfect for Asian greens, garlic scapes, chive flowers, cucumbers. I swap the salt and sugar quantities because I prefer salty over sweet; you can tinker with the flavors to suit your palate. My ideal spring pickle is the volunteer mustard greens that pop up in my garden, some of last year’s dried chilies, and garlic scapes.

• Below are some of the food folks I turn to again and again for creative, seasonal dishes that prioritize vegetables: Deborah Madison, Ottolenghi, Joshua McFadden, Mark Bittman, Nigel Slater. You can find good recipes from all of these folks online, or borrow these cookbooks from the public library.