Paul is in the homestretch of his masters program, and is once again home in the evenings. He has been cooking, smoking and grilling up mountains of food in celebration. I sometimes have trouble focusing on the meal he’s made, because it’s such a novelty to have our evenings together again. To warm us up on this cold spring week, Paul made a extraordinary Cream of Asparagus Soup and fresh sourdough bread. The secret, I discovered, was in the short cook time on the asparagus, and the addition of peas for color and sweetness at the end of cooking. Paul finished the soup with savory flavor boosts of parmesan and vinegar to add depth to this quick spring soup.

Sometimes, we get a little absorbed in enjoying food, and forget the broader context of our speech. We had our good friends Beth and Justin over for dinner this weekend. Our spoons stopped mid-slurp, and we all did a double take when Rebecca enthusiastically proclaimed: "I love this soup, the pea-ness really shines through!"

Allow me to say it another way, this is great, quick sweet pea soup. The gentle cooking lets the subtle and sweet pea flavor star. Sweet Pea Soup is a dish I request often (usually with Rebecca's awesome Buttermilk Biscuits). There’s nothing as satisfying as a vibrant green soup to fight the rainy grays of March.

With spring slowly turning towards summer, farmer's markets and CSA's across the country are filling up with a riot of unique seasonal produce. Spring Buckwheat Grouts Salad is a fresh and easy way to feature whatever is local and in season. Freely swap out the vegetables, herbs, and garnish to fit what looks best at your market. Using buckwheat gives a hearty, nutty, and gluten-free base on which to build a delicious salad. Follow the link over to Bob's Red Mill where we wrote a guest post this week: Spring Buckwheat Salad at Bob's Red Mill.