hello march

it is march. and i am daring to think the last winter storm has roared its way through here. in april the leaves will come back. colorful food and spring produce will arrive soon to a store near you (and me). asparagus, strawberries, peas, it will be delicious, i promise. but not just yet.

it is still march, still winter and i am still trying to keep my cooking motivation going these days. i find, as i imagine most everyone does, grocery shopping gets a little difficult this time of year, at the tail end of winter. the produce department becomes a bit tired, even dreary some days. thankfully, there are tasty greens and mushrooms, japanese sweet potatoes and cabbages, scallions and carrots and cucumbers, even artichokes. as i gather and scavenge i can always find a few things at whole foods, if not i head to balduccis or fuji mart, a local japanese grocery store. my net is not exciting necessarily, but always something good. i love to make a bit of sesame dressing for a salad. maybe a soothing bowl of soba with broiled tofu and enoki mushrooms and those sweet potatoes, and savoy cabbage i was telling you about. pasta with artichoke hearts lemon and garlic. risotto with multi-colored cherry tomatoes and some lovely broccoli.

meanwhile i've been sewing more rectangles together and firing up the printing press. plodding along making progress. planning. imagining. plotting and strategizing. a little further along the way.