The busy days of May

I apologize for the tardiness of this month’s newsletter. May and June are two of my busiest months of the year. The gardening rush (that began in late March) collides with the spring and early summer flurry of annual/seasonal parties and celebrations (that fill my work calendar starting right about now), making for a moment when most of my attention is focused on things other than getting food on the table for myself. Despite all this, I still want to take the time each day to sit and enjoy the peace and pleasure of my table. It is a good thing that having the work of this newsletter helps me to do that. I admit to relying heavily on my “tried and true” as I have cooked through the month…but having the newsletter deadline encourages me to vary things a bit. I hope this will make for a newsletter that has something for everyone.

Our unpredictable weather

The other thing that has really informed the contents of the newsletter this month has been the weather. I think warmer or cooler than average temperatures have become our norm, but over the past few weeks in my region we have experienced record breaking temperature extremes, as well as record breaking temperature swings. My calendar may tell me that a fresh and green spring vegetable salad is just the thing…but the weather may be making me hungry for something a bit more warming.

Velvety Spinach Soup

Whether you shop at the farmers market…or are a member of a CSA…right now your fridge is probably filled with greens of all kinds. Even if you are getting your produce from the local grocery, you may still be in the habit of keeping spinach on hand (I am…it is so very useful and easy). So when I saw a picture of a simple creamy spinach soup—particularly appealing on a very wet and chilly early May day—I decided to make one.

Making soup is clear evidence of how cold it felt. I don’t usually make soup in the spring and summer months—I think of it as a mostly cold season food (making it warms the house…eating it warms me). I do have a couple of soups in my repertoire for cool spring days…and a few chilled soups (that honestly, I rarely make) for summer…but for the most part, soup disappears from my table during the warmer months. But this year, early May was not warm.

I wanted to share this soup with you not only because it is delicious and seasonal, but also because it is a great lesson in soup making. I didn’t even really need to “test” the recipe. If you know how to make a classic potato-leek soup (see this year’s January newsletter), you already know how to make this simple soup—as well as a whole host of other simple, single vegetable, puréed soups.

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