Spring?

It’s the first day of spring. The world is white.  Snow has been falling steadily, the road underfoot is crusty with ice,  and the thermometer reads 9 degrees F.

I am getting restless.  I think of gutting my 1970s kitchen, replacing its drawers that won’t open and its doors that won’t close.  I think of purging old memories asleep in boxes of stuffed animals, once-favorite coffee mugs and too-small concert T-shirts from my basement.  I think of writing a book, flying to Tahiti, joining the gym.

But it’s much too soon.  Spring won’t properly arrive for weeks.  I must ward off the fever.

And yet I’m thwarted.  The days are longer and just a wee bit brighter, and yesterday I spotted in a corner of my garden, the one facing the morning sun, a bright green shoot, a daffodil brazenly emerging from the earth.  I was in a hurry and didn’t stop to linger. When I returned this morning, it was buried in snow.  I trudged to the corner where I swore I had seen it and dug and dug until my knees were soaked and my fingers numb.  It had been there – it’s still there – I’m sure.

In this weather, my body craves winter food:  stews served with steam still rising, dense bread, deep red wine. But today I think I, too, will be brazen.  I will set the table with flowers from the supermarket.  I will serve a spring salad, with a light crusty bread, and even a glass of “white” wine, which, if I look closely enough, is not white at all, but tinged with the bright yellows and greens of spring.

One of my favorite cookbooks is “The Food You Crave” by Ellie Krieger. Whenever I need “spring,” I turn to her Chickpea and Spinach Salad with Cumin Dressing, which serves four.  It’s great on the side or as a main dish with warm bread.  Adapted from “The Food You Crave”:

• One 15.5 ounce can low-sodium chickpeas, rinsed
• 2 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• 1 finely diced shallot (or 1 small red onion)
• 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 Tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon orange juice
• ¼ Teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• ¼ Teaspoon honey
• Bunch baby spinach leaves, rinsed and dried (I like to pluck off any long stems)
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint

In a medium bowl, combine the chickpeas, parsley, shallot (or onion).

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, zest, cumin, salt and pepper.  Pour the dressing over the chickpea mixture and toss.

In a third bowl, whisk together the yogurt, orange juice, zest, and honey.

Just before serving, place the spinach leaves in a bowl and toss with the chickpeas.

Divide salad onto four plates, top with yogurt sauce, and garnish with mint.

Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries

Nikki Rose

In 1997, Nikki Rose decided she’d had enough of the damage she saw being done to Crete’s environment and local communities by the enormous hotels, packed coaches, and rumbling cruise ships that brought mass tourism to the island — and that took most of the profits away.

So Rose, a Greek-American chef who trained at the Culinary Institute of America, founded Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries.  Today, she works with more than 40 local archaeologists, organic farmers, wine-makers, cheese makers, botanists, musicians, historians, eco-lodge owners, and many others to offer educational travel programs to Crete that are sustainable and that directly benefit the local economy.  One of these programs, “Historic Food & Wine Routes,” takes travelers along ancient routes that have been used since the time King Minos built his legendary labyrinth; another, “Epicurean Crete,” takes small groups on six-to-eight-day culinary, botanical and cultural tours of the island.

Rose has received several awards for her efforts from National Geographic, the United Nations, and the World Travel and Tourism Council, and she has been featured on National Public Radio,  and in the New York Times, Australian Gourmet Traveler and other media.

I was lucky enough to take a group of university students to Crete for one of Rose’s programs a few years ago.  We stayed in small family-owned lodgings, ate seasonal food in village tavernas, learned to make savory pies from a resident who had just published her first cookbook, and visited a museum of folk music with Ross Daly, an internationally-known musician and collector of rare musical instruments and documenter of disappearing musical traditions.  We had a wonderful time, and Rose and my students still keep in touch.

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Which is how I learned that Rose recently published her own book, Crete: The Roots of the Mediterranean Diet.  In this book, Rose tells the story of Crete’s culinary traditions and practices, and provides a few recipes easily replicated at home.  I ordered a copy and was happy to see that these recipes are accompanied not only by photographs of food, but of Rose’s many local partners and students as well.  I found it to be an inspiring little book for when I’m planning my next meal — and for when I’m planning my next vacation, and imagining the kind of tourist I would like to be.

Nikki’s Recipe for Chick-Pea Salad, a favorite on Crete

We eat a lot of chickpeas on Crete.  They are made into fritters and added to a long list of vegetable or meat dishes.  We also use the flour for rustic breads.  I like them as the star of a salad.  Plan to make this about an hour before serving to let the flavors meld.

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 small onion, diced (purple onions work great for this)
• 1/4 cup mild olives, pitted and chopped
• 1 small sweet pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsely
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 small chili pepper, minced, or a pinch of dried pepper flakes
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• salt and black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.