By BeeWench Farm
If you love cherries and strawberries, they should be at the markets this month. Cherries have a very short season, so enjoy them while you can! My husband loves cherries, and ice cream, so the cherry crisp recipe is a favorite this time of year. It can be made a day or two ahead of time if you want a great Easter dessert.
Did you know that eggs are in season? The egg shortage should be over soon as the chickens come out of their winter rest period. Our chickens tend to lay about 4-5 eggs per week this time of year, so any farmer or neighbor with chickens may have extra to share now in case the stores are still out of them. If you have leftover hard-boiled eggs from Easter, they go great on a Cobb salad. I love Cobb salads, and this spring salad recipe one with extra veggies is amazing. After a big Easter feat, this is a great way to refresh. I usually add some leftover ham or turkey to make this a very filling meal on its own.
We usually just top ours with ranch, but I love this honey mustard dressing with some Sierra Honey Farm honey and needed to share it with any fellow honey mustard fans. I am also the lone bleu cheese lover in our house, so I add mine to my own bowl and love Central Coast Creamery’s Big Rock Blue. If you want to please a crowd, keep the cheese on the side and pick your own favorite. Goat cheese or even some sharp cheddars are good on any salad.
Fruits:
- Blood Oranges
- Kumquats
- Grapefruit
- Mandarins
- Kiwi
- Strawberries
- Rhubarb
- Strawberries
Vegetables:
- Asparagus
- Artichokes
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Celery
- Chard
- Kale
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Peas
Spring Cobb Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 12 sprigs of asparagus
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 6-8 cups greens of your choice – lettuce, spinach, arugula
- ¼ cup big rock blue cheese or sub with your favorite tangy cheese
- 6 radishes thinly sliced
- 4 eggs hard boiled and sliced
- 1 avocado peeled and sliced
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions or chives
Honey Dijon Vinaigrette:
- 2 1/2 Tablespoon raw honey melted (if solid)
- 3 Tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions:
- Cook your bacon and hard boil your eggs if not using leftovers
- For the asparagus, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the oil, then sauté the asparagus for 2-3 minutes, stirring to evenly cook, until bright green and just barely tender. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.
- To assemble the salad, in a large serving bowl or platter, arrange the greens, bacon, cheese, sliced radishes, sliced eggs and avocado. Sprinkle the chives or green onions all over the top.
- For the dressing, you can either shake the ingredients together in a tightly lidded mason jar or whisk together in a bowl. Combine the dressing ingredients and either shake, whisk, or blend with an immersion blender, and serve either tossed with the salad or on the side. Enjoy!
Cherry Crisp
Ingredients:
For the Filling:
- 5 cups cherries pitted and halved / about 2 ½ lbs.
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice fresh + 1 tbsp. zest
For the Topping:
- 6 Tbsp. flour
- ½ cup oats old fashioned
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter cold, cut into small pieces
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- pinch salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Make the filling — In a medium mixing bowl, combine cherries with flour, sugar, lemon juice, and zest. Pour into an 8×8 baking dish.
- Make topping — In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cut butter into flour/oat mixture and use a fork or your fingers to mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.
- Sprinkle topping on top of cherries and spread to cover evenly.
- Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until filling is bubbly, and top is golden brown and crispy.
- Cool 10 minutes before serving.
- Best if served with some vanilla ice cream or Negranti Salted Brown Sugar ice cream!
