spring kitchen

"Came the spring with all its splendor,

All its birds and all its blossoms,

All its flowers and leaves and grasses."

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Spring is such a time of rebirth. It's a time when the perennials start waking up after a dormant winter nap, bunnies and chicks and baby birds are all making their way into the world, sap is flowing from the maple groves, and a shift can be seen in the seasonal kitchen.

Now, if you live in Maine like me, spring is an odd time of year. We see distant friends posting about fresh strawberries, lilacs blooming, and getting their seedlings in the ground. Maine is known for their harsh winters, and with those winters comes a different type of spring.

Sap season is the first taste of spring us Mainer's get. When the days start to warm to 40 degrees, we know the time is here. We tap our own maple trees on our farm, and although it requires maximum effort for minimal reward, there's nothing quite like tasting your first jar of the season.

Maple Whoopie Pies Maple Coconut Granola

My sourdough starter favors the warm spring sunlight beaming through the kitchen windows. The rise time shortens leaving way for more fermented bread products.

Sourdough Bagels Chocolate Chip Sourdough Loaf

Pizza Dough

Hippocrates said "All disease in linked to your gut." Fermented foods are a great way to introduce healthy bacteria to your digestive system and are filled with probiotics.

Sauerkraut in the making

"Spring's first heartbeat honors winter's last breath." -Angie Weiland Crosby

-the olde stone farmer