I love the power surge that comes from the earth and sky in the beginning of spring.

It happens so quickly. One drowsy winter day you fall asleep in the damp chill, and suddenly you are picked up and shaken awake in a whirl of  pink and pure white and new green, and the bright sun is shining clear and golden through the drifts of petals and trailing oak leaves and pollen.

I’ve been so, so busy trying to make everything work! It’s been hard and exhausting and fun and disappointing and frustrating and empowering all rolled together at once. I think i am being tumbled around in one of those eddys that catch you in the river of life, where you bump around with some hard knocks for awhile – hopefully one day to come out of it a polished stone.

Let me show you my garden!

I have lots of exciting things started for summer!

The eggs are piling up!

The strawberries are just getting ripe!

And we have new piglets, a new lamb, and a little goat was born a few days ago.

There have been the most beautiful vegetables coming out of the garden, especially the cauliflower.  Roger told me in the fall,  “As long as you plant 50 cauliflower and 50 broccoli every week, you’ll be ok.”

I know he’s right – people love cauliflower and broccoli a lot more than kohlrabi, radishes, or collard greens (I personally love all of those too). So I did my best. I’ve never grown so much cauliflower in my whole life! All the vegetables have grown enormously. I am astonished at the gorgeous specimens I come across – like the glorious vegetal models of Vilmorin, bursting with so much color and vitality.

I’ve been loading up my CSA shares with what appears to be huge vegetables, but actually I only give people the big/ medium stuff, because i am trying not to scare anyone away with any of the really gigantic monsters (except for the monster spinach. I had to show it off). I keep those for my family.  A cauliflower larger than your head can be very intimidating!

My friend Adam over at Three Rivers Plantation in Branford gave me pecans to distribute in my shares.

BUTTERY CAULIFLOWER WITH TOASTED PECANS

1 head of cauliflower

Sea salt

1 cup pecans

1/2 cup butter

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets.
2. Boil a quart of water with 1 teaspoon salt and add the cauliflower and cook until tender. Drain.
3. Melt half the butter in a frying pan and sautee the cauliflower, stirring gently so the florets don’t get broken. Season with a pinch of white pepper and taste for salt and add more if necessary.  Let them slightly caramelized, about 5-8 minutes.
4. Chop the pecans. When the cauliflower is done,  spoon it out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Melt the rest of the butter and add the chopped pecans. Stir often until they smell deliciously toasty.
5. Sprinkle over the cauliflower and serve.

I hope you are feeling the spring!