Lately it seems like everything I have is covered with mud. Saturday I had to hose off the clothes I wore in the vineyard so they’d be clean enough to put in the washer. However Sunday evening, when the sun finally peeked through the clouds, was a joyous occasion. With the sun warming my face for the first time in weeks, I felt lighter and euphoric.

I welcome spring as I do every year. I picked three asparagus spears, kale, chard, scallions and radicchio from my garden. The greens inspired a beautiful salad to go with citrus chicken and rice.

Spring-greens Salad
1 grapefruit
2 clementines, sectioned
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped or torn
fresh mixed greens, cleaned and chopped
1 handful dried cranberries
dressing:
1/3 c. grapefruit juice
1/3 c. olive oil
1 splash balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. fresh lemon thyme, chopped or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Cut away the grapefruit peel and carefully cut out each section. Reserve the sections for topping the salad and squeeze the juice from the remaining membrane into a bowl. Pour into a glass jar while straining the seeds, add the remaining dressing ingredients, secure with a lid and shake.

Kale can be a tough green, so once cleaned and torn, toss with a small amount of dressing and let sit while preparing the rest of the meal. The acid in the dressing will soften the kale. When ready to serve, add the rest of the salad items with the kale in a large bowl. Toss and serve with more dressing.

Lemon Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 large lemon, juiced
1 tsp. garlic minced
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Place chicken and remaining ingredients in a sealable storage bag. Massage to coat chicken with the marinade. Refrigerate in a shallow bowl for about 30 minutes. When ready to cook, sear dried chicken on both sides in an oven-safe skillet. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken, cover with lid and cook in a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes.

I like to serve citrus chicken over rice, but not just plain rice. At the very least, I use chicken stock instead of water. And I also add carrots, celery and onion – green peas if I have them. For this dinner I used a combination of white and brown quick-cook rice.

Vegetable Rice
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
3 c. chicken stock
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 c. rice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté onion, carrots and celery in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When the carrots are almost tender, add chicken stock and peas. Bring to a boil, add rice, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff rice and vegetables with a fork before serving.

That delicious springtime dinner serves 4-6. Since there’s just the three of us, we have leftovers for lunch one day this week.

It’s starting to feel like spring and I’m happy to report the first asparagus spear has poked through the ground in my garden. My greenhouse is full of green seedlings emerging from potting soil, awaiting the warmer weather in April. I just hope my garden dries out enough that I can work in it soon.

In the meantime, I’m finishing the bare-root grapevine planting and have started rough pruning. Last year’s late freeze hit me hard. So rough pruning may help hold off bud burst another week. Hopefully, even if there is a freeze, the buds closer to the cordon will still be viable.

Last Saturday, I made a hearty breakfast quesadilla to start the work day. Good thing too, it was 4:00 in the afternoon before I realized I had missed lunch. With just a banana to tide me over, I went back out and worked until 6:00. Dinner was quick with roasted vegetables and Polska Kielbasa sausage.

Breakfast Quesadilla
1 large onion, chopped
1 small can green chilies
2 ham slices, cubed
1 tsp. sunflower oil
4 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
4 wheat tortillas

Sauté the onion, chilies and ham in sunflower oil in a non-stick skillet. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. When the onions are tender, add the eggs and scramble until cooked, but not too dry. Then remove from the heat.
Assemble the quesadillas by sprinkling 1/4 cup cheese on half of each tortilla. Spoon the vegetable, ham and egg mixture on top. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup cheese on top of that. Fold the tortilla over. The cheese will help glue the quesadilla together.

Wipe out the non-stick skillet with a paper towel and turn heat to low. Brush a small amount of oil on each side of the quesadilla. Depending on the size of the skillet, two quesadillas can cook at the same time. When the bottom has seared to a golden brown, flip and sear the other side.

The recipe serves 4 and leftovers may be reheated in the microwave for another meal. Serve with fresh sliced tomatoes and guacamole or picante sauce for dipping.

Roasted Vegetables and Sausage
6 small red potatoes, cubed
2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
1 large red onion, chopped
5 carrots, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
5 garlic cloves, smashed
2 pkgs. Polska Kielbasa links
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
2 tsp. dried thyme

Clean and prepare vegetables, cutting into bite-sized pieces. Slice the sausage. Split vegetables and sausage between two sheet pans. Add 1 Tbsp. oil, 1 tsp. salt and thyme and 1/2 tsp. pepper to each pan. Toss until the oil and spices are distributed.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir the ingredients, flipping them to ensure even cooking. Then return them to the oven for 15 minutes more.

The recipe easily serves 6. Top with crumbled feta cheese or grated Parmesan. If you have time, serve with a green salad.

I usually bake foods rather than fry them. However, every now and then as a special treat, I pull out the deep fryer. Fried food shouldn’t be too greasy if it is fried properly. The temperature of the oil should be high (347-374 degrees depending on the thickness of the food) and the food should not be immersed too long.

Fried Egg Rolls
3/4 lbs. sausage
2 c. shredded cabbage
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1/2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. frozen peas
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 egg roll wrappers

Fry sausage in a skillet on medium-high heat, breaking it into crumbles. When the sausage is cooked, drain off excess fat. Add cabbage, onion, carrots, celery, ginger and garlic to the skillet with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Stir in peas and cilantro, cooking a few minutes more.

Heat the deep fryer. We set ours at 365-370 degrees. Assemble the egg rolls by placing about 1/3-1/2 c. of the mixture on a wrapper. Fold the top of the wrapper over the mixture, fold each side toward the center and roll toward the bottom of the wrapper. Seal the final edge with a little water.

I continued to make egg rolls while my husband fried. Working in batches of two rolls at a time, he fried each egg roll until golden brown. Since the filling mixture was already cooked, he focused only on getting the outside crispy. It is important to allow the oil to come back up to temperature between batches.

Some of the filling mixture was left, so I served that over fresh greens. I made a peanut sauce for dipping the egg rolls.

Peanut Dipping Sauce
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 c. smooth peanut butter
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. hot sauce
1/4-1/2 c. hot water

Combine all ingredients except the water in a food processor. Then with the processor on, add water slowly until the sauce reaches a dipping consistency. The sauce is also good served with noodles or rice.

While the deep fryer was available and the oil was hot, we fried several wheat tortillas. My husband shaped them into bowls using small wire strainers. Once cooled, I stored them for later use in a taco salad dinner. Just reheat in a 375-degree oven for 4-5 minutes.

We filled our taco shells with reheated leftover chili, shredded greens, shredded cheese, black olives, chopped green onions, salsa and yogurt or sour cream. It was a quick and tasty weeknight dinner.