It was perfectly Spring here all last week. On Thursday, I popped the boys in the double stroller and we walked to the park. We stopped to look up into the branches of trees covered in pink blossoms and and then more bedecked with puffy little pom-poms of white. We passed a big bed of nasturtiums with their broad, round leaves, and I pointed out the bright orange petals that taste a little peppery, a little sweet. Desmond and I discussed how cool it is that we can eat those flowers. And the rest of our walk went like this:
Me: Look at that! That's an iris. Isn't it pretty? Remember the painting that we were looking at? By Van Gogh?
Des: I eat that?
Me: No.
Me: Do you see the daffodils? What color are they?
Des: Yellow...I eat that?
Me: No.
Des: Those are irises.
Me: You're right! (Though he was, in fact, wrong, I was just so pleased that he had apparently been listening to something that I said that did not pertain to eating the flowers.) Those are the same color as the irises! Those are called primroses!
Des: I eat those?
Me: No.
And so on, and so forth, with extensive discussions about not eating any plants at all without explicit permission from me followed by repeated promises to not do so. (I feel like we've taken a huge step backward here in terms of understanding where our plant-based diet comes from.)
Here's our Easter Brunch Menu, by the way, composed entirely of edible plants. Yes, you can eat this:
- caramelized onion quiche
- roasted asparagus
- roasted potatoes
- fruit (My mom's in charge of the asparagus, potatoes, and fruit. She's just going to get whatever looks delicious at the farmers market this week.)
Caramelized Onion Quiche
- 3 medium yellow onions, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup non-dairy butter
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 12.3 ounce box extra-firm silken tofu
- 1 tablespoon miso
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup soy milk
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of cayenne
- pinch of black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 pie shell, blind baked (do not dock) at 400 for 10 minutes
In a large skillet over low heat, melt the butter and cook the onions until melty sweet, about 30 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar and cook for a few more minutes.
In a food processor, blend the rest of the ingredients until smooth. Add the cooked onions, scraping in all the melted butter, and pulse a couple times to combine.
Pour into the prepared pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 45 - 55 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and just has the slightest jiggle.
Serve warm.
Happy Spring!
