In Season: Pastel Petals
April’s perennials: edible + wearable
Hello, friends! New newsletter alert! My previous monthly roundup, Chef’s Kisses, has always had too much going on – I’m simply too excited to share all the things I’ve been making, eating, and seeing! So, I’ve decided to split it into two newsletters, and you’re getting the first half this week.
Each month, I tend to go in-depth on a cooking theme. February was cabbage, December was puff pastry, and November was all about a soft scramble. This month, my inspiration was the pastel petals popping up each day this spring.
Tulip toast, cakes with Lucie, and morning coffee with mango.
As the US government continues to harm and kill both at home and abroad, things can sometimes feel paralyzing and pointless. When I go out for a walk these days, and see the blooms on the trees, I remember that despite even the harshest of winters, beauty returns in the spring. While we are most certainly in the midst of that metaphorical winter, a vote earlier this month proves that with calls, letters, and protests, things are slowly changing. So, instead of razing the fields, let’s continue to tend to the garden of humanity, whether that’s writing, calling your representatives, or showing up for your community. When we choose to nurture life, it grows.
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This year, I’ve been tracking all the new blooms on my phone. March 25th, while on a run listening to Minnie Riperton’s Les Fleurs (my favorite song this month – a poem of hope, inner beauty, and transformation), I noticed the first budding trees. Just six days later, these magnolia blossoms went into full bloom.
On Easter weekend, some sculpted trees began to blossom into pink eggs (just in time for the holiday), and fluffy, mushroom-like trees of petals appeared. This was followed by the forsythia and cherry blossoms. Then last week, on a mild evening walking home, I was absolutely engrossed in my phone until I smelled it. I put my phone down and looked all around, but couldn’t find the source. It was only upon turning the corner down the block that I saw it, the lilac was blooming!
Spotting these new blooms out the window, walking down the street, at the park, and at the market have brought me so much excitement and joy. These perennial petals didn’t just brighten every day, but inspired the food I cooked, the clothes I wore, the cookbooks I admired, and even a whole dinner party.
A Feast of Florals
The month started off on a high note with the first dinner party I’ve hosted in a few years. I have generally opted to host pancake breakfasts over dinners as they’re more casual and fun, but equally as delicious. But on a walk home from the grocery store, I saw the first crocuses emerging from the flower beds, and I felt the inspiration springing forth. I wanted to host a dinner party.
Still wanting to keep the evening casual, I set out to cook a seasonal Sunday supper where many items could be prepared in advance, popped into the oven (or stove), and brought fresh to the table right before we all sat down.
The star of the show was a pork collar, which had gotten a massage of anchovy, rosemary, fennel seeds, and garlic the day prior. It got seared off and roasted at lunchtime, and then was slow-roasted all afternoon in a puddle of rosé. This pork roast was paired with roasted rhubarb and folded with rosé-sautéed cherries, a recipe from The King Cookbook (a new favorite).
