The March 2024 Guide

Happy Easter!

Easter has always felt like the official (but really the unofficial) start to the spring season. Growing up, Mom was often on the food committee at church. If you know anything about Mennonites, we’re known for our overuse of committees at church and have one for pretty much everything. The food committee was in charge of the Easter Sunrise service, held at 8 am, not precisely at sunrise. Mom would leave early in the morning to help prepare the food but always hid some candy throughout the house for my sister Kelsey and me to search out. I loved this tradition so much that I made Mom keep it going all the way into my high school years. If you were wondering, peanut butter eggs have always been my favorite.

Traditions make any holiday memorable, and they evolve over the years. I’m lucky that we still go to Grandma and Grandpa’s home for Easter lunch. Grandma refuses to let anyone else make any of the food, preparing a complete meal by herself, even though she’s in her eighties. I want to have the same attitude when I’m Grandma’s age: host with ease and let others enjoy. It’s love as an act of service.

I hope today finds you rested and anxiously awaiting a new season. Even if it’s cold, raining, or snowing, we all know warmer, sun-filled days are ahead. Grab something cozy to drink, and let’s catch up!

Let’s talk about food.

I’m ready for all of the spring foods! After winter, even an easy winter (like we had in Iowa this year), I spend more time outdoors in the garden. And that means I don’t spend as much time preparing food in the kitchen. I want to come inside and enjoy easy-to-make, fresh, and filling recipes.

I don’t have any fresh garden produce yet, but when I find some spring favorites in the store, I can’t help but snag them. Asparagus is probably my all-time favorite spring vegetable. I have a large patch, but I’m already buying some to enjoy since it’s not quite ready yet. If you love asparagus as much as I do, here are three easy ways to enjoy it:

• I often make some version of my roasted asparagus and pair it with a simple lemon vinaigrette. It’s listed on my website as a side dish, but it really can be a simple meal for me (and I think you’ll love it, too!).
• My sheet pan gnocchi with asparagus is a great weeknight option, as it can be made and put into the oven in a matter of minutes!
• ​Sheet pan salmon with asparagus is a favorite when I have salmon on hand.

If you’ve watched my stories recently, you may have seen my new favorite sweet snack: chocolate-covered dates! Many of you asked how I made them, so here’s a quick rundown.

1. Slit large Medjool dates open horizontally and remove the pits.
2. Fill them with natural sugar-free peanut butter (any nut butter will work).
3. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze them.
4. Melt any chocolate of your choice. I use a no- or low-sugar chocolate chip, such as Hu.
5. Once frozen, dip the top of the dates into the chocolate, covering the peanut butter, and allow them to cool on the parchment paper.

I store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator and try not to eat them all at once.

In case you missed any recipes from this past month, here’s everything new:

• ​Potato, Brussels sprouts, and kielbasa skillet​
• ​Blueberry muffins​
• ​Chicken Caesar salad​
• ​Spring orzo salad with snap peas​
• ​Roasted asparagus with lemon vinaigrette​
• ​Citrus glazed ham​
• ​Lemon cheesecake bars​
• ​Garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes

Let’s talk about my renovation.

Even though my second-floor renovation was finished before Christmas, I hadn’t found a good time to film a full tour of the space. Well, I finally did it, and I am so excited that I was able to share it with you! In case you missed it, you can view all of the details about the renovation here!

Let’s talk about the garden.

Aren’t we excited to begin gardening again?! It feels like it’s been far too long since I worked in the garden, but also hardly any time at all!

I just planted my tomato and pepper seeds the other day! Hooray! They can be planted 6-10 weeks before the last frost date. For me, in zone 5, the last frost date is May 6 this year. That means there is a less than 10% chance of frost after that date. I don’t enjoy babysitting seedlings longer than needed, and tomatoes, especially, can grow quickly and become spindly. But like most years, I’ll still wait until Mother’s Day to plant them outside in the garden, just to be safe. It’s an extra week of monitoring the seedlings, but I want to ensure they live!

The cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) and heads of lettuce are all doing well and will soon spend some time outdoors to begin hardening off. I place them out of direct sunlight for a few days and then slowly give them more and more sunlight. I may plant the lettuce next week in the garden and cover it with plastic jugs/cloches, which works to harden them off.

As long as I watch the weather, I find that I’m able to plant lettuce and cole crops earlier than recommended. Some years, I’m forced to cover them with blankets if it gets extra cold, but other years, I do nothing and have wildly successful plants.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m so excited for the garden season to begin!

Let’s talk about Kip.

Kip is wonderful! He just had his monthly chemo treatment this past Friday, which is used as an immune suppressant to keep his Meningomyelitis in check. He’s been receiving this since May 2021, and the doctor just commented on how amazing he’s doing! Let’s all give Kip a cheer!

Currently, I’m watching him sprawled out in the sunlight and feel so lucky that he’s been such a fighter these last (almost) three years. He’s been spending time outdoors with me, always grabbing the frisbee quicker than I can run to get it. What more could I ask for in a best friend than him being happy, healthy, and energetic?! There’s always a good chance that something in his condition could regress or change, so we live each day to the fullest, giving him everything!

I hope you had a terrific month of March! This one went by pretty quickly, and I’m sure the next one will, too, but until we talk again, take care!