Seasonal Sundays (Week 10) Early March

Farewell, February. Make way for March! Whether lion or lamb, March is a welcome page-turn of the calendar. Food-wise, are there wintry dishes you haven't made yet this year? Time's running out! This week I gathered some recipe ideas for the cabbages that will be extra pretty (and inexpensive) this month, plus some savory ideas for lemon lovers. And more! Including the best book I've read in a long, long while.

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

Who else is bumping into memory milestones from the past year?

It was a year ago during the 10th week of 2020 that I first wrote about what was happening in the outside world – a mountain-sized flashing-lights stumbling elephant in the room even if other bloggers were notably silent on the subject. "It's off topic and Google will punish you," we were told. Well, to hell with Google, thank you very much. What became a pandemic fast overtook our lives.

I do think we may have forgotten how little we knew then, compared to a few months in, especially compared to now. There was so little information. Remember lessons in hand-washing? trying not to touch our faces? elbow bumping? stockpiling beans and pasta? searching everywhere for yeast and toilet paper?

A few weeks back, my sister's friend was thrilled to celebrate her January birthday. It was so nice, she said, to visit on a friend's outside porch all cozy-wrapped in electric blankets. My sister was quiet for awhile, then said, "That was your first Covid birthday. I'm looking at a second." The sadness splayed through her voice, an emptiness that stands in for the lost year sharing in the lives of all her Littles.

People see bright lights ahead in the tunnel. Fingers crossed, they're right!

I see sparkly glimmers out in the distance too – oh if only sheer desire could make it so!

I'm also mindful how much we didn't know a year ago, how much we might not yet know about what lies ahead.

Hang in there, all. Me, too.

About the Photo By Popular Request, a Little Insight into the Top Image, Titled "Waiting": That's Luka, stretched out nearby as I write, a certain tautness in his muscles betraying his desire to G E T O U T and P L A Y. We all, I think, can relate.

---

---

PICK ONE

Pick One is for those of us overwhelmed by life's unending choices. If that resonates, then check out this one recipe and then call it a day. It's one that I think could make the most difference, the one I hope will become a regular in your kitchen, as it is in mine.

• THE RECIPE Banana Cream Pudding For pie, parfaits, pavlova and even (yummm) plain.

WHY PUDDING, WHY NOW The biggest fun this year is the new tradition of delivering homemade pudding to the almost 12-year old twin grandsons (and their parents, of course!) after zoom school on Fridays.

Every week, a new pudding and the "surprise" has become part of the fun: their mom reports that by Tuesday the boyzz are already wondering what Friday's pudding might be.

Oh boy, pressure.

Once they tasted Nilla Pudding, the bar got raised high, for sure. (Nilla Pudding? Just this Banana Cream Pudding, Nilla wafers and whipped cream sprinkled with nutmeg.)

The Friday treats – even the occasional non-pudding, the occasional bake-their-own warm chocolate chip cookies – fall under the banner of "pandemic pudding" since heaven knows, a little comfort food can't hurt right now.

Best of all? A certain PopPop and his Guyzz get a few minutes of "hello" and "we love you" and "look how fast I can run" time. Comfort time, for sure.

What's New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• FREEZER SURPRISES Surprising Foods That Freeze Well A peek into my freezer, now show me yours!
• PANTRY MEALS How to Make a Meal with What You Have Select recipes for our favorite pantry ingredients.

• THE RECIPE Jubilee Greens How to Sauté Leafy Greens Like Spinach, Chard, Kale & More
• ANOTHER TAKE Greek Greens How to Flash Cook Dark Leafy Greens to Eat Later

Compliments!

• "Made it twice in the same week:-), first was too sweet for me, so cut sugar to 20 grams and added 2 tbs of vinegar. Wonderfully tasty bread with good crust, love the anise and fennel. Will definitely make it again. ... Even my husband loved it. The recipe is a true keeper." ~ Mari from Estonia
• Bread bakers, anyone else curious about the addition of vinegar to bread dough? Me too. In an email, I learned that Mari is attempting to duplicate a local bread, a rye sourdough (also that my recipe is a perfect match in texture, but not in the taste she's seeking). She explained that the vinegar idea came from the Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensberger. It's intended to make rye dough moister and more manageable. Other recipes in the cookbook also include balsamic and cider vinegar and other acids such as sour cream.
• THE RECIPE Swedish Rye Bread Slightly sweet, densely delicious.

The Dinner Bell:
Winter Meals Not to Miss

Seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, the dinner bell rings. If we're gonna eat, somebody's gotta cook. Let's make it good, a welcome end to our days.

• THE RECIPE Cast Iron Meatloaf My go-to recipe for meatloaf.
• ANOTHER TAKE Elk Meatloaf Adapted from the easy Quaker Oats meatloaf with ground beef, elk, bison, venison or even turkey.

• THE RECIPE Chicken Curry Reminiscent of London's curbside curry take-away.
• ANOTHER TAKE Sweet Potato Curry with Red Lentils, Roasted Peppers & Spinach Almost-creamy sweet potatoes and red lentils, spiked for a touch of heat.

• THE RECIPE Winter Stew A master recipe, cook with confidence, no recipe required.
• ANOTHER TAKE Beef & Mushroom Stew On the table and flavorful within an hour.

Vegetable of the Month: Cabbage

• THE RECIPE Cabbage Noodles Ribbons of soft, silky cabbage, almost like pasta.
• ANOTHER TAKE Baked Cabbage Wedges Healthy cabbage slow-roasted with carrots and onion.

• THE RECIPE Cabbage & White Bean Stew
• ANOTHER TAKE Peasant Cabbage Tomato Soup

• THE RECIPE Green Cabbage Salad
• ANOTHER TAKE Asian Slaw with Sugar Snap Peas & Almonds

Lemon Lovers

• THE RECIPE Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Vinaigrette
• ANOTHER TAKE Whole Cauliflower with Homemade Cheese Sauce

• THE RECIPE Carrot & Chickpea Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing
• ANOTHER TAKE Carrot & Daikon Refrigerator Pickle

Recipes That Stand the Test of Time

To mark A Veggie Venture's 15th anniversary in 2020, I took a hard look at the first 365 vegetable recipes from the first year to select just 15 which, all these many years and recipes later, remain ever so useful. The result is a fascinating collection of recipes, 15 Favorite Vegetable Recipes, Still Useful After 15 Years. Here's just one.

• THE RECIPE Quick Tomato Sauce for Pasta & Pizza Just canned tomatoes, a few pantry ingredients and 20 minutes.
• ANOTHER TAKE Fresh Tomato Sauce When summer tomatoes are most perfect.

PS Who's noticed? I'm big on "usefulness". See? Best-Ever “Most Useful” Recipes 2002 – Present, just one recipe per year from Kitchen Parade.

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like ... Spring???

There was still snow on the ground but it was plenty warm to sit in the sun outside the kitchen with a cup of coffee one day this week. It doesn't "smell" like spring yet, that typically happens here in St. Louis about April 1, but the birds sure did make it "sound" like spring! Any signs in your necks of the woods???

Oh! A a few daffodil fronds are poking through ...

Oh! And the resident animals are definitely frisky ...

THE LIST: What We Forgot During the Pandemic

Shall we start a list? I think we're about to learn a lot about ourselves. I'll go first, please chime in ...

HOW TO BLOW-DRY HAIR My husband's godson and his lovely bride were married ten days ago. We opted out of the wedding but the groom's sister's husband (also newlyweds! life goes on!) offered to hook us up live via Facetime. So come Friday, we duded ourselves up, including, for the first time in maybe a year? longer? I used the blow dryer. A minute or two in, I found myself wondering, Now how does this work again, exactly? I'd forgotten something I'd thought was built into muscle memory! PS My expectations were low but truly, it was amazing to watch the wedding from afar, sipping on champagne, sound on mute so we could laugh and talk in a way the other guests could not!

YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN? OR FEAR YOU'VE FORGOTTEN?

Soups & Salads Especially for March

• THE COLLECTION Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for March
• LOOKING AHEAD Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for April

Not to Miss!

• THE RECIPE Weight Watchers Spinach & Tortellini Soup
• ANOTHER TAKE Weight Watchers Zero Points Garden Vegetable Soup Famous for taste, famous for results.

Timehop

Who else loves seeing old photos pop up, quick memories from years past? Welcome to a recipe timehop ...

• THE RECIPE Skillet Cornbread My first and still-favorite cornbread, stays moist for days.
• ANOTHER TAKE Simple Cast Iron Southern Corn Bread Plus six tips for perfect cornbread, your recipe, my recipe, any recipe.

• THE RECIPE Sweet Potato Cornbread
• ANOTHER TAKE Pumpkin Corn Bread

Trending

My Top 10 Recipes are predictable, hello Ham 101: What to Know Before Buying a Ham and Weight Watchers Points for Vegetables. But every week, seasonal recipes catch the internet's attention and start to trend.

• THE RECIPE Quick 'n' Easy Raw Salad My own "healthy habit" that I hope will inspire yours, too.
• YOU'LL NEED A LITTLE DRESSING My Everyday Creamy Herb Salad Dressing Never the same twice.

• CAN VEGETABLES AT HOME Practical Home Canning Tips What to do before (and after) you start canning.
• OR DON'T Refrigerator Pickles No "canning" required.

Something to Read

Two wonderful books to recommend this week! I found both thought-provoking and gripping. Both opened windows into times that are difficult to imagine, given our perch in 2021. Both were page turners, accounts of women's strength and endurance.

Hamnet This is the imagined impact of the death of William Shakespeare's son Hamnet (yes, with an n) on the playwright's tour de force Hamlet (with an l). No spoilers but there's a single gripping scene that shall never be forgotten, especially for those of us with twins in our lives. There's also an entire mesmerizing chapter on the spread of the bubonic plague. The writing is so lyrical and real, taking on the immeasurable grief that befalls parents who lose a child. Sound a little grim? Somehow it's not. This is the best book I've read in a long, long while. NPR Review

THE BOOK Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Yellow Wife This is the story of an enslaved woman with light "yellow" skin, the result of her mother's rape by a plantation owner. His widow sells her to a slave trader who appoints her a wife of sorts in antebellum Virginia. Sound a little grim? It is, the story is harrowing. But it's also uplifting in its own way and I do believe that it's vital to imagine ourselves in the shoes of enslaved women to come to grips with today's generational racial inequities. NPR Review

THE BOOK Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

NO TIME TO READ? How I Read 4X More This Year Than Last What I gave up, how I read so much, what I read.

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Roasted Applesauce with Raspberries Glorious color and brightness!
  
• ANOTHER TAKE Naturally Sweetened Apple Butter Apple Butter as it should be, naturally sweet with just a touch of butter.

• THE RECIPE Chocolate Shortbread Cookies A simple chocolate cookie, tender and crisp, barely sweet.
• ANOTHER TAKE Chocolate-Almond Shortbread Cookies Almost sugar-free, great for shipping.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com, dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, whatever.

---

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

---

© Copyright Kitchen Parade
2021