FOOD/THOUGHT
Salad of the Day
By Georgeann Brennan
Williams-Sonoma, $22, 304 pp.
Seasonal eating has come a long way over the last decade or so. The arguments in favor of the trend touch on health, the environment and more, but the best reason to eat seasonally, frankly, is that you’re getting your food at the peak of freshness, when the plant just can’t help but produce lots and lots of great stuff. Other than overwintered root vegetables, the seasonal boon in springtime would be salad greens. But what kind of salad shows off seasonal produce to best effect? There’s no reason to comb recipes online thanks to the Williams-Sonoma Salad of the Day book, which has 365 recipes, one for each day of the year. Spring selections include a pasta salad featuring sugar snap peas and slender asparagus, and a seared salmon salad with pea shoots and watercress. The book’s colorful charts show the dishes best suited for each month. What’s more, the full-color photos should help inspire you to get that salad-spinner turning.
THE WORKS
Juwel 1000 Easy Fix Cold Frame
$150
Speaking of seasonal foods, this time of year is the perfect time to start lettuce. It’s best to plant it in moist soil on a warm day, but, with a little protection, lettuce not only can survive sub-freezing temperatures, but often tastes best during cold snaps. You could build a cold frame at home out of old windows or Plexiglas, but if you have the money to spend, the Juwel 1000 cold frame can help you get an early start on your growing season. Made with weather-resistant, unbreakable double-skin polycarbonate panels using an easy snap-together design, this model includes four windproof, adjustable ventilation clips to admit just the right amount of cool air depending on the temperature. Sturdy ground anchors will keep your cold frame in place no matter how winds roar.
