Broccoli Rising and Here Comes the Sun
The first recorded total solar eclipse happened around 2128 BC. Folks must have flipped.
Imagine it — you’re going about your business when suddenly the sky dims, then a huge dark spot blots out the sun. The end of the world? Now?
But wait! Here comes the sun, peaking out of the darkness, emerging in full. Back to normal. Big relief.
Now with astronomy on our side, we can predict an eclipse is happening. It’s happening today. We can marvel at this rare event without fearing we’ve blown it and brought about Armageddon. When the sun comes out again this afternoon — I have faith it will —say thanks. No sun means a frozen, barren Earth. No light, no way to grow food, no us. So take a minute to bask in the sun’s warmth and golden light, soak up that vital vitamin D (but wear sunscreen), and be grateful for this miracle that’s been happening pretty much daily for at least four millennia.
The April sun has been coaxing forth spring produce in this hemisphere — tender spears of asparagus, mild spring onions and wild garlic, crunchy radishes, and fresh greens, unfurling and abundant. Asparagus seems to get all the love, but the bounty of spring greens tends to paralyze people.
Well, not everyone. Spring greens excite me. Okay, greens in every season excite me, but spring greens especially. Like asparagus, young spring greens like sorrel, nettles, chicory, tender lettuces, and dandelion greens have a juicy astringency to awaken your senses after winter, which is short on daylight and long on sturdy if stolid meals. For those who find the bite of spring greens a little too in-your-face, a quick steam or sauté tames them. That they’re nutrient-dense, too, just shows how generous spring greens are.
Here are five recipes to get you singing of sunshine and spring:
Wow, do I love borani esfanaj, Iran’s spirited dip of spinach, garlic, herbs and vegan yogurt
For a main dish, quinoa with mint pesto and spring greens is a spirit-lifter
Another personal favorite — creamy, chic flageolets glam up dandelion greens
I’m thrilled to share a recipe from Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews by prolific, plantpowered Nava Atlas. Her lemony orzo soup with spinach is heartwarming but light, just right for the nights when it feels like winter’s not ready to let go.
Author and poet Crystal Wilkinson’s vegan mess o’greens from her lyrical new book Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts offers easy, full-flavored greens I could eat every day.
I have a brand new spring recipe I hope will excite you too. Sunlight and Spring Green Pasta is where spring greens and vegan cacio e pepe meetcute for a quick, bright one-pot wonder. Paid subscribers will find the full recipe below.
As I say in my book, Feeding the Hungry Ghost, spring “is when life tells you yes.” Like the sun, spring greens are generous. Say yes to spring, yes to spring greens, and yes and thanks to the sun that makes it all possible.
Fun solar science lesson courtesy of They Might Be Giants
This newsletter is in memory of RL our great, gregarious, sunny, super-smart friend.
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