Emerging from Winter sleep

As we get closer to Spring equinox, we sure can feel a new season approaching in the kitchen and in our garden! Our rhubarb plants are gloriously emerging from their Winter sleep, bright green chives are getting taller and we have been harvesting wild nettles all week. The buds on our lilac bushes are swelling, and I am dreaming of making sugared lilac blossoms to put on our Spring cakes.

Spring in the kitchen is a miraculous time; full of the most wonderful fresh flavours and colours. Winter on Saltspring isn't all that bad with our mild climate and delicious Winter harvest, but boy are we ready for Spring!!

This week the shop will be bursting with new flavours; we've got a luxurious Cream of Asparagus Soup on the menu as well as our Steak au Poivre; one of our favourite French bistro dishes with Cowichan Valley steak, peppercorn sauce, twice baked organic potatoes and gorgeous grilled asparagus with balsamic and 40-month parmigiana.

On the sweet side, we've got Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with last Summer's local strawberries, rhubarb and buttery crumble topping. We like to make our crisps gluten free as we find them a little lighter and more decadent. Also for dessert, we have our Lemon Mousse bursting with perfectly sweet and sour local citrus.

We received a very exciting shipment of some of our favourite olive oils, olives, pastas and other gourmet items that we are so happy to share with you. These are ingredients that we really love to cook with in our own kitchens! We are also very lucky to be carrying Kamusha Farms beautiful lettuce now, as we are making fresh salad dressings daily to take home with these incredible Fulford Valley grown greens.

We look forward to cooking for you this week!

xo Haidee