Few things are sweeter than a little time spent in a sugar shack. Especially when the sap is running and the boil is on! 
Add to that a short stack of flapjacks and homemade sausage covered in amber syrup and there you have it…sugaring time in Maine.It is tradition and it is precious family time as well. Given the sunny day, families were out in droves across the state to enjoy breakfast, sometimes al fresco, or even better…. in a haze of sweet smoke and steam.
I am always impressed that the humble potato and the equally humble leek provide such a rich flavor. 
Simple and amazingly simple to prepare, these two feel at home after a day getting the garden beds ready for planting.
I guess the chill of Spring sometimes calls for some soup therapy and people respond enthusiastically to this subtle but flavorful combination . I have served this to guests with crusty homemade bread and it always satisfies their soup cravings.
As we move towards Summer in a few months, other soups come into play in my kitchen but for this season of Springtime awakening, try this recipe. For me if it brings me memories of longer days, a longer twilight and the promise of a garden out the back window.
Ingredients
Directions
Section the leeks into small pieces.
In a 6-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and sweat for 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook until the leeks are tender, approximately 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the potatoes and the vegetable broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer until the potatoes are soft, approximately 45 minutes.
Turn off the heat and puree the mixture with an blender until creamy. Stir in the heavy cream, buttermilk, and white pepper. Adjust seasoning if desired. Sprinkle with chives and serve, or chill for later and serve it cold.
By this point in the season we’re all anxious for something that comes out of the ground, preferably in our own backyards. Any green sprout, edible or not ,is a welcome sight.
Today I took the fir boughs off my asparagus and raked out the bed in hopes of a sighting. Nothing yet, there’s still frost in the ground. But very soon there will be a thrilling crop of my very own asparagus…….and it took four years to reach this moment!
This is what I will make:
ASPARAGUS, PEA, SPINACH LASAGNA serves 8 -10
INGREDIENTS
4 # trimmed and quickly steamed asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
1 large white onion, peeled and diced, sauteed in a generous amount of.olive oil
3 cups cooked, well drained spinach, chopped
1 cup of stemmed and finely chopped parsley
2 cups of goat cheese crumble OR FRESH RICOTTA, IF YOU PREFER ( Lakins’ Gorges Cheese in Rockport ME makes a fantastic fresh handmade ricotta!)
2 cups or good Parmesan
2 cups of shredded mozzerella
1 quart of your favorite Bechemel recipe, or you may use a jarred white sauce, add a pinch of nutmeg to it.
A cup of heavy cream
Salt and pepper
12 or more no boil lasagna noodles
PREPARATION
Combine all the vegetables, spinach asparagus, onion and peas, with a bit of white sauce and season with salt and pepper
In a greased deep lasagna pan, cover the bottom with white sauce thinned with heavy cream.
Layer in noodles, vegetables, cheeses and sauce until you’ve used everything up OR reached the top of the pan. Finish with a layer of noodles and white sauce, sprinkle on more cheese.
Using your best judgement, add a little more heavy cream in the layering process if you think the lasagna needs it, you don’t want it to be dry.
Cover tightly with parchment lined foil and bake for about an hour at 350 degrees.
Let it rest for 20 minutes, covered ,before cutting. Enjoy with a big spring salad!
One of my favorite company “go to” meals in the summer is duck breasts on the grill. I purchase the frozen (fat on) breasts of duck at Curtis Meats or other quality purveyor and simply defrost them overnight in the fridge. I trim the fat but leave a generous pad in the center to protect the meat, which I score. This helps keep the meat moist. I love duck rather rare and generously salted and peppered. Otherwise, leave it alone and focus on the show stopping rhubarb sauce, flavored with lemon and star anise.
While my rhubarb is in its prime, I make plenty of this sauce, which cans nicely, so it may be enjoyed year round. I have noticed that I get better visual results if I make the pieces of rhubarb slightly larger, maybe 2 inches long rather then one.
What’s the first weed you can remember eating as a child?
For me it was sorrel or “sour grass” as we called it. I am speaking about oxalis or wood sorrel. Remember the one that looked like lime green clover with a little yellow flower that turned into something (now I know it was a seed pod) resembling a tiny green banana? It was puckery. But there is garden sorrel too, beloved by the French and originating in France’s southern highlands. It’s in the garden now and widely available year round at specialty markets.
A relative of buckwheat and with broad leaves that remind one of spinach, but more lemony, sorrel’s acidic finish is due to its high oxalic acid content, the same as rhubarb. That makes sorrel a natural pairing with rich or fatty fishes and meats as a sauce. It also makes a nice purée or soup.
In preparation, be sure to use a stainless knife or tear the leaves by hand. Sorrel will discolor a traditional French iron cooking knife as well as erode pots and pans, so use a stainless knife and enamel pot when cooking it.
I like to use an array of spring greens in my spring greens and sorrel soup. Try mixing fresh spinach, sorrel, and arugula with a handful of green garlic leaves for this energy boosting and easy soup. I am making this version a little bit leaner than a traditional French style sorrel soup. Sorrel is famous for turning an off-putting sludgy green color when cooked on its own. That’s why I like to mix in brighter greens like spinach for the soup. Much more appealing!
