The stores and markets are full of spring produce! Fresh peas, fiddlehead ferns, fresh favas, asparagus, morels. My refrigerator is full of fabulous things. So on a recent Friday night, I wanted to put together a seasonal meal for my friends. They offered to bring fresh pasta, but I had this recipe, from an old Bon Appetit, in the back of my mind. Because despite the name of my blog, there has not been much beet around here lately. So, I roasted some beets ahead of time and put them in the fridge. The gnocchi are fairly quick. They are a ricotta gnocchi, which have been all over blogdom lately because they were featured on the Daring Cooks challenge. This recipe is quicker and easier than that recipe, and as you can see, the results are a lovely purple color.

I made a sauce of peas, morels, and a little bacon. I added some grassfed meatballs, and Bouchon for 2’s lovely fiddlehead salad. It made quite a meal.

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I woke up this morning with a craving for breakfast. Now, I love breakfast. It is definitely one of my favorite meals. But when I saw this recipe for Puffed Apple Pancake in the March issue of Delicious, I just could not resist. These pancakes go by a lot of different names: dutch baby, dutch apple pancake, baked apple pancake. They all mean caramelized apples with batter poured over them and baked in the oven. This is Bill Granger’s recipe, and it did not need much fiddling. I cut it in half to serve 2. You can easily double it and use a larger pan.

This comes together fairly quickly, so I recommend that you have everything ready before you start.

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I cannot believe it has been almost 2 weeks since I posted. I have never gone that long. To say that the last two weeks have been stressful is an understatement. But I have survived, and I have returned. This week’s recipe is worth the wait.

Recently I was invited to a Saturday night cocktail party. I had been to the farmer’s market that day, and had come home with heirloom tomatoes, green onions, and fresh ricotta. I had frozen puff pastry that I had made previously (and will post this week). I did a quick Google search and came up with this recipe from the Washington Post for Fresh tomato and ricotta tart. I thawed out the puff pastry and set to work mixing ricotta and slicing tomatoes. I had a large yellow and a large red tomato. They were both a little on the wet side. I laid them out on paper towels to dry a little while I rolled out the puff pastry and mixed the cheese.

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Today’s entry is for a nice, seasonal ingredient – in Miami! Mangoes are everywhere and my neighborhood – Buena Vista East – is full of mango trees. These were ataulfo mangoes, small oval mangoes with a hook on one end. They are sweeter, smaller, and less fibrous than the more common Tommy Atkins mango.

@bouchon2 posted mango ice cream, and it sounded so good, I had to make it. But I wanted to do something a little different. So I looked for mango ginger ice cream recipes, and I found this one for mango ginger buttermilk ice cream at Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen. I just happened to have mangoes, ginger, and buttermilk in the refrigerator, so I was sold.

This does not require any cooking. It comes together quickly and easily.

I made it on a Sunday night, but I let it ripen in the freezer for 2 days, and then served it for a dinner party with my friends. It was so incredibly good. I don’t think I had ever had mango ice cream before, although I love mango lassi when I go out for Indian food. The buttermilk gave it just the right tang. And of course, buttermilk is low in fat, but still creamy.

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This is my entry for Fight Back Fridays!

Those of you who read my blog regularly know I love breakfast – scones, french toast. But I don’t have time to eat that every day. So what do I eat every day?

Raw oatmeal, with a myriad of additions.

This is not for everyone, trust me. The taste of raw oats takes a little getting used to. But it is loaded with fiber, probiotics, and antioxidants. It’s low-fat, low glycemic index, and gluten-free. I’ve got the routine down and can have it ready to walk out the door within 5 minutes flat. I keep all the non-refrigerated ingredients in a drawer together, so I don’t have to go looking for them.

You can mix it up with other fibers, other nuts, other fruit, skip the Coconut Butter, however you want it. Use a non-dairy kefir or non-dairy yogurt. I’ve used both soy and coconut milk yogurt.

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