Chewing over

Spring is here: I can tell, if not by balmy warmth, by the vicious attacks of my hay fever. I’ve been admonished recently for ‘not doing anything about it’. Like – excuse me, apart from wiping my nose and eating anti-histamines by a handful – what? I don’t fancy queuing for hospital labs to be rubbed with various plants only to find that, uncommonly, I am most allergic to the most uncommon one they don’t include in the tests. But there you go, modern medical knowledge: people don’t have a clue what specialist treats hay fever but they know it could be related to thyroid malfunction (sic) (wtf).

So anyway, better than hay fever let’s think about spring things to eat. New potatoes – hurray! Simply boiled and crushed, or poached in oil in a fancy fashion. Spring cabbage! Supermarkets frankly don’t have a clue and sell it year round but visit a proper farmer’s market and you’ll get new season – and then just serve it as a fantastic salad or lightly stir fry it. Asparagus! That newcomer I welcome the most, and the more locally grown, the better they are. The less fuss cooking them, the better.

Asparagus in butter

Asparagus salad

And of course spring lamb will be around by now, so cook a tender slow roast shoulder for Sunday or a rack for an elegant supper: in herby crust, whole or cut into cutlets.

What for pudding? Sadly, berries are still too expensive but hey! blood oranges seem to be still in season so why not a cake or two (they will look spectacular with the crimson tinge), or at least those muffins.

Orange lavender cake

Orange macaroon cake