Author: Julie Laing | Twice As Tasty

Learn how to eat well year-round by preserving, pickling, freezing, dehydrating, fermenting, and more at TwiceasTasty.com.

From Garden to Oven

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Topic, Using3 Comments

You can put the heat on unexpected spring vegetables, like lettuces and radishes. Get garden-to-oven recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
When the first vegetables grow big enough to harvest from the garden, I’m usually focused on enjoying them raw and fresh: leafy greens and herbs, green onions and garlic, radishes and peas. But as the recipes I’ve shared this month have shown, you can think beyond salads, garnishes, and snacks and actually cook these vegetables, whether they’re wilted over pasta or baked into a quiche.

You may already serve some spring produce, like asparagus and rhubarb, hot and sizzling. But it may never have occurred to you to put the heat on other vegetables, like lettuces and radishes.
Learn to cook spring vegetables and make Balsamic-Roasted Radishes

Quiche

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Quiche is a bit more work than frittata, but it has its upsides too. Get quiche and frittata recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
When I prepared to share this recipe, I was surprised to realize it would be my first quiche on the blog. It’s one of my favorite springtime dinners: the hens are back to a full laying schedule no matter how cold it was over winter, spring greens and herbs are ripe for the picking, and asparagus is growing by inches every day.

Quiche is a bit more work than frittata, because you have to make and roll out a crust. It also takes longer to cook, because you’re letting the eggs slowly set up in the oven. But it has its upsides too. Because the eggs cook slowly, they come out more like custard, whereas frittata has a tendency to set up more like hard-scrambled eggs and can burn on the bottom of you aren’t careful. The pastry helps to hold everything in place, which can make it easier to enjoy leftovers for a quick breakfast or pack them for lunch. And then there’s the pastry itself: if you’re making one crust, it’s the perfect excuse to double the recipe and bake a crumble-top pie. If you can’t justify a whole pie to yourself, the trimmed edges of the quiche crust can be rerolled into one of my favorite childhood snacks.
Learn to make Spring Vegetable Quiche and a bonus snack

Spring Greens

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Ingredient, Using1 Comment

Hearty spring greens are delicious raw but can stand some heat. Get spring green recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Even in my cold mountain climate, harvesting from the garden has begun. After a winter of eating home-preserved food, I’m ready to start savoring fresh produce in my meals—and of course squirrel away tasty morsels for next season.

In our current social climate, this may be the first time you’re growing your own food, focusing on eating locally grown food, and thinking of saving your harvest for future enjoyment. If so, welcome to the club! You’ll find various ways to eat and preserve many delicious foods on the blog. I’m also continuing my sourdough starter giveaway all month for those who want to enjoy freshly baked bread with their garden goodies. In this post, I highlight some of my favorite early garden treats: spring greens.
Learn to make spring green meals and Wilted Arugula Pasta

Homegrown Hints

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn UsingLeave a comment

These gardening resources and ideas may help as you’re getting your hands dirty. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
If you’re back in the garden this month—or starting a new one—you’re not alone. The Economist reports that 45% of Britons are gardening during the lockdown, and Burpee says it sold more seeds in March than any time in its 144-year history. It’s going to be a tasty season for homegrown food.

Instead of planning meals to eat on our standard spring sailing adventure, we’ve been staying home and preparing the garden. Early seeds are in the ground (greens and peas), and cold-hardy brassica starts are being tested by cold nights. We jumped the gun a bit on starts for heat-loving greenhouse plants and have fingers crossed. It’s shaping up to be a good season.

The ins and outs of growing your own vegetables is a whole other blog, but here I pass on a few resources and ideas that may help as you’re getting your hands dirty. I’ll be sharing recipes this month that use spring crops, whether you have a container garden on your patio, raised beds in your backyard, or a weekly delivery box from a local farmer.
Read more about homegrown hints