Seasonal Sundays: Save Room for Dessert (the Spring Edition)

Stock up on sugar, all, because this week's "Seasonal Seven" recipe collection is all about simple sweet endings, ones made for spring and all its hopes and promises. I hope you'll find one or two destined as "keepers" in your own kitchens.

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

~ PIN This ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

Hey, all. Thank you for following Kitchen Parade, for checking in on these Sunday recipe collections. It means the world to be welcomed into your InBox and RSS readers and most of all, your kitchens. So thank you, thank you. And if you like this week's recipes, perhaps you'll share this newsletter with a friend or social circle? If you forward this message, others may subscribe for free right here. Thank you!

Dessert. I'd cut us way back. But someone (not me) in the household has a total sweet tooth and needs more calories. He's lovin' nightly bowls of ice cream but by the weekends, he's after something ... different ... but just as sweet.

And you know what? I get it. There's so much angst right now, so much worry, and so little we can do.

So this week's recipe collection is my to-make list for spring and here's hoping, really, maybe yours too.

Let's make this spring as sweet, ahem, as we can!

Just a reminder, click any food photo to navigate straight to the recipe's page, it's especially handy for all of us who do most of our browsing on our phones.

In Praise Of ...

• ... The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year (affiliate link) by Margaret Renkl, a collection of short week-by-week essays, I love to start each week with one


• ... those lovebird bluebirds hanging out at the new birdhouse on our fence


• ... finding a contractor for a much- and long-needed master bath update, a grand-nephew's wife's cousin, so St. Louis, this way of working

The Words of Wise Women

For a few weeks now, my mind is cranking on overtime on a list, a long, long list, a personal manifesto, my truths. Each line starts with "I believe ... ". So I was struck by this piece by Margaret Renkl (yeah, the same one who wrote The Comfort of Crows)

• READ Truths to Remember in a Time of Lies (gift article from the New York Times)
• TAKEAWAY "I’ve been keeping a running list of truths I don’t want to lose sight of while a fake wizard and his grossly unqualified team speak lie after brazen lie to the people who elected him and to the rest of us, too." ~ Margaret Renkl

---

---

THE SEASONAL SEVEN: Save Room for Dessert (Spring)

For this week's recipes, I aimed for recipes with spring flavors and combinations that ...

• ... range from cakes to cookies and pies to puddings
• ... are easy to make ahead of time to serve later or carry somewhere
• ... are mostly Easter-friendly but mostly not Easter specific

• THE RECIPE Fresh Strawberry Pie Fresh glazed berries in a homemade chocolate-cookie crust, a real crowd pleaser. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Chocolate Cream Puffs Stuffed with Strawberries & Cream Chocolate, strawberries and cream, just two bites big.

• THE RECIPE Upside-Down Rhubarb Cheesecake Layers of sour rhubarb and creamy cheesecake in a simple pie or ramekins.
• ANOTHER TAKE Roasted Rhubarb Rhubarb cooked until just soft in the oven. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Easy-Easy Chocolate Sheet Cake Dark, moist and chocolate-y, even two or three days after baking. Fun sprinkles?!
• ANOTHER TAKE Poppy Seed Cakes One from scratch with a layer of sweet spiced chocolate, plus a lemon one that starts with a cake mix.

• THE RECIPE Armenian Easter Bread The buttery sweet bread called choereg or choreg. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Carrot Cake Mixed in a food processor, baked as muffins, cupcakes, square snacking cakes and more. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Raspberry Morning Cake A fruity coffee cake.
• ANOTHER TAKE Perfect M&M Cookies With pretty pastel M&Ms for Americans (aka Smarties for Canadians). (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Easy-Easy Chocolate Coconut Pudding Just five ingredients and ten minutes to pudding.
• ANOTHER TAKE Banana Cream Pudding For pie, parfaits, pavlova and even (yummm) plain. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Sugar Cookie Bars Bake, frost and sprinkle all at once. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE No-Chill Cutout Sugar Cookies Just mix and roll, no need to wait. (PIN This)

What's Brand-Spankin' New?!

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

• THE RECIPE Cauliflower Chopped Salad with Dried Fruit & Nuts The salad so good, my own sister bought a food processor just to make it. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Rainbow Salad Pretty pastel vegetables in a Sweet Lemon Vinaigrette. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Twice-Baked Potatoes All the retro goodness but smaller, more manageable. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Hasselback Potatoes So little effort, so much drama. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup A hearty classic with tender beef, vibrant vegetables and a rich, savory broth. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE How to Make Homemade Vegetable Soup Never the same twice.

March: Reader Favorites

• THE RECIPE Refried Bean Sauce with Eggs on Top A hearty protein-packed weekend brunch recipe. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Mexican Scrambled Eggs (Huevos Revueltos a la Mexicana) The most popular eggs in Mexico.

• THE RECIPE Italian Pasta Salad with Garlicky Tomatoes & Collard Greens Orzo sweetened with soft, syrupy tomatoes and tender greens. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Dill Pickle Pasta Salad A surprising pickle-y combination, a favorite for potlucks and pickle fans. (PIN This)

Trending NOW ...

• THE RECIPE Mashed Potatoes & Carrots Why haven't we done this forever? (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Creamy Carrot Purée A show-stopping side dish, just carrots, cream and fresh rosemary.

• THE HOW TO Asparagus & Woody Ends (Step-by-Step Photos & Video) (PIN This)
• THE A-Z RECIPES Asparagus Recipes Soups to salads to suppers and still more, the whole collection. (PIN This)

March: Recipes Lookin' for a Little Love

• THE RECIPE Simple French Eggs Simpler than omelettes, light, airy, delicious.
• ANOTHER TAKE French Scrambled Eggs Eggs cooked slowly with a few vegetables, creamy and soft. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Simple Chickpea Salad Lunch in five (minutes) and three (ingredients) ... (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Chipotle Chickpea Salad A fresh, summer salad with a smidgin of heat, substantial enough for dinner.

The Kitchen Parade Almanac: Looking Ahead ...

• March 25th - Equal Pay Day (2024 was March 12th, way to go, ladies!)
• March 27th (Thursday) - Baseball Opening Day!
• April 1 (Tuesday) - April Fool's Day
• April 12 (Saturday) - 20th - Beginning of Passover
• April 20th (Sunday) - Easter (yikes! so late!)

Looking Back ...

THIS WEEK, YEARS PAST
• 2020 Coronavirus #4 (Week 13)
• 2021 Late March (Week 13)
• 2022 Late March (Week 13)
• 2023 Sides for Spring Celebrations (Week 13)
• 2024 Easy Dinners for a Busy Week (Week 13) (PIN This)

RECENT WEEKS
• Green Food (Just for the Fun of It) (PIN This)
• Pasta You'll Love (Week 11) (PIN This)
• Fish for Lent & Spring (Week 10) (PIN This)
• Everyday Cajun (Week 9) (PIN This)
• Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner (Week 8) (PIN This)
• Sweet Little Somethings (Week 7) (PIN This)
• Spinach for Any Occasion (Week 5) (PIN This)
• Project Cooking (Week 4) (PIN This)
• Feeding Our Vegetable Cravings (Week 2) (PIN This)
• Best of 2024 (PIN This)

Soups & Salads Bridging the Seasons

March is such a funny month for cooking, some wintry days (yo, soups!), some spring-like days (hey, salads!) and so many days neither one nor the other, just smack in the middle. So what grabs us depends on the day, yes? That's why I spent a year gathering all of A Veggie Venture's best soup and salad recipes into easy-to-scan month-by-month collections.

• THE COLLECTION Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for March So many choices!
• BUT REALLY, DON'T MISS Finnish Rosolli Salad A rainbow of grated beet, carrot and potato traditional at Christmas in Finland but somehow perfect for Easter, too.
• OR THIS No-Cream Creamy Cauliflower Soup Just three ingredients, so creamy but no cream.
• LOOKING AHEAD Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for April Especially for the warmer days.

Good to Know!

• THE INFO Ham 101 What to Know Before Buying a Ham. (PIN This)
• THEN FIRE UP THE SMOKER Twice-Smoked Ham How & why to smoke a smoked ham a second time. (PIN This)

Silly (But Fun?!) Food Holidays

• March 23 — National Chia Day (recipes using chia)
• March 24 — National Chocolate Covered Raisin Day (Oatmeal Raisin Cookies)
• March 25 — National Pecan Day (pecans)
• March 26 — Spinach Day (recipes using spinach)
• March 28 — Something on a Stick Day (Snickers Cookies on Sticks (or NOT))

Trader Joe's Test Kitchen

For a few weeks, I've switched from 0% Greek yogurt to a new-ish Trader Joe's-brand yogurt called Strained Thick & Creamy Greek Yogurt. It's similar to Fage but creamier and also way less expensive though more expensive than other Trader Joe's Greek yogurts. Much recommended. So good!

A Quick Peek Into a Real-Life Kitchen

Just so you know, everything's not all pretty pictures around here, in the background is a pile of dirty dishes. And just like many (all?) of us, come five o'clock, I too draw a blank about what to make for supper, despite so many recipes I so dearly love. Here's a quick peek from this week.

• THIS WEEK Usually I roast vegetables in the oven on a baking sheet lined with parchment. But this week, I wondered how a cast iron skillet would work, especially for just the two of us. It worked like a champ! I threw in some chopped almonds for the last 10 minutes, adding a welcome bit of crunch, then out of the oven, sprinkled it all with feta. So good!
• THE RECIPE Roasted Cauliflower The classic, including my tips and tricks.

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Last-Minute Pantry Pie Just five pantry ingredients. No bake! No cook! (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Blueberry Cheesecake Pie Cheesecake topped with homemade blueberry pie filling. No bake!

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), 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, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

• Any advice for Seasonal Sundays?
• Just one thing that would make it more useful for you?
• Anything else? Chime in, chat away.

---

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, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. 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. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

---

© Copyright Kitchen Parade
2025