Thursday, April 15, 2010

jelly jar bouquets, swiss chard, chickpeas, spring

The daffodils have come and gone, grape hyacinth taking their place along the drive. Lemon thyme and a handful of other hardy herbs (tarragon, lemon balm, mint, and sweet woodruff) are poking up through their bed. Enough were foraged to fill a jelly jar for the table and scent the hands that picked them.
After a busy weekend of house guests and a birthday party and a gorgeous full day of playing gardener in the dirt, I stood at the stove to simmer a tin of chickpeas in some aromatics and chiles, adding handfuls of ribboned chard and braising the greens for a time.
It seemed the thing to do - earthy and warm on a chilly and rainy spring evening; a simple exercise to ease in after birthday cakes and dirty dishes.
I love the bustle of cooking for a crowd, planning the menu, and seeing it all come together on the table, but somehow that sizzle of garlic and steam of greens cooked for just us two seemed equally satisfying.
Like putting your feet up at the end of the day.

7 comments:

emma wallace said...

Sounds so lovely and refreshing!

iamemmamusic.blogspot.com

Through My Kitchen Window said...

What a lovely description of your weekend. Hope the party went well. You seem to reconnect with normality in such a beautiful way.

Serena said...

Sounds like a beautiful evening ♥

Chelsea said...

Thanks, ladies!

molly said...

I'm so with you. I adore the earthy marvel of chickpeas and chard. Yum.

Primrose Beresford said...

I love the flowers. Somehow they look just right in a jelly jar. The simplicity of the jar allows the lovely flowers to take centre stage.

Best Wishes
Primrose.

Callipygia said...

Sweet jelly jar! Lovely post-