Does the spring salad recipe in photo #1 look complicated? It couldn’t be easier. So start your celebration of spring with a lively spring salad. Photo #1 is a simple mixture of:

 
You can top the salad with your protein of choice to make it a main course. Photo #3 features a poached egg—plus lots of Périgord black truffles* (for those with deep pockets).

> The history of salad.
 
 
WHAT MAKES IT A “SPRING SALAD?”

What makes a salad a “spring” salad?

It’s tender, has a splash of color beyond green, and uses ingredients that come into season in spring, delivering something beyond wwinter’s mix of celery, cucumbers, carrots, iceberg and romaine lettuces, mushrooms, onions, and Red Globe radishes. These include:

 
..and much more. (Other harbingers of spring such as morel mushrooms and nettles must be cooked.)

> Check out this list of spring vegetables and fruits.

In the “olden days” prior to the 1970s or thereabouts, produce was seasonal. Green peas were the products of spring, as were asparagus, green beans, and other items on the spring produce list.

Now, in-demand produce is available year-round, whether greenhouse-grown or imported from the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are opposite ours (carbon miles be damned).
 
 
WHAT’S A SPRING MIX SALAD

You may have noticed in the packaged salad section of your produce department a blend called “spring mix.”

In general, a spring mix usually contains tender baby lettuces and baby spinach. It may also include red and green romaine, red and green oak leaf lettuce, other heirloom lettuces, chard, arugula, endive, and radicchio.

Spring mix is normally harvested at a very young age, while the greens are still small and tender [source].
 
 
MORE SPRING SALAD INGREDIENTS

Don’t hesitate to try something new. If you’re a fan of spring peas, you’ll be delighted by the taste of pea shoots (photo #4), pea greens, and pea blossoms.

The best place to find exciting ingredients is a farmers market, followed by a specialty produce store.

 
 
10 MORE SPRING SALAD RECIPES

________________

*There are only winter and summer truffles. Here’s more about them.

[1] Spring salad #1: pea shoots, mint, snow peas and more (photo © California Olive Ranch).

[2] Pea shoots, a fleeting gift from Mother Nature (photo © Sid Wainer & Sons).

[3] Spring salad #2: Romanesco broccoli, zucchini, pea shoots, baby greens, poached egg and garnish of Perigord truffles* (photo © D & D Restaurants | London).

[4] For breakfast or lunch, spring salad #3, with watermelon radishes and burrata. That’s a drizzle of EVOO on the burrata. You can substitute a poached egg. Here’s the recipe (photo © Good Eggs).

[5] The bright striped circles are chioggia beets (photo © Fosters Market Cookbook).

[6] Dandelion greens are a spring treat. There’s more about them in the footnote‡ (photo © Good Eggs).

[7] Mustard greens are members of the cancer-fighting Brassica genus (photos #7 and #8 © Good Eggs).

[8] You may be lucky and come across red mustard greens. They’ll add color to your salad.

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[1] A fancy breakfast, brunch or lunch: a Crepini crêpe filled with asparagus, pancetta and scrambled eggs (all photos © Crepini).

[2] Tex-Mex favorites are easy to recreate, from tacos and tostadas to these enchiladas.

[3] Cut the crêpes into “pasta” for your favorite dishes).

[4] We love having lasagna more often with these lasagna roll-ups.

[5] You can bake or fry the crêpes into “tortilla chips.”

[6] What’s for dessert? Bake the crêpes into cup shapes and add pudding or sweetened ricotta or yogurt with fruit.

[7] Roll up a sweet (or sweetened) filling for dessert.

[8] Crepini comes in 6″ Petite and 10″ Grande sizes.

Crepini egg wraps are one of those foods you’ll want to know about if you seek a versatile, delicious food item that lets you maintain a special diet, whether your food plan is low-calorie, carb-conscious, gluten-free, or other parameter. It substitutes for bread, pasta, pastry, and other white flour foods.

Whether you want a low-cal, low-carb substitute for a sandwich, lasagna, or galette, need a keto or paleo alternative for your favorite foods, or just want to have fun with better-for-you options, Crepini opens up a world of culinary adventures.

And of course, you can use them as crêpes with a savory or sweet filling of choice.

They’re a great find, and they’re our Top Pick Of The Week.

Just check out these features:

Made with whole eggs and extra egg whites from cage-free eggs, Crepini are:

 
Whatever your special diet, Crepini will let you create delicious recipes for every meal of the day. But Crepini are for everyone: You don’t have to be on any particular diet to enjoy them.
 
 
VARIETIES OF CREPINI

 
Calories per wrap are 8 for the 6″ Petite size and 30 for the 10″ Grande size. Protein per wrap is 1g for petite and 3g for grande.
 
 
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH CREPINI?

Crepini can be used straight from the fridge, e.g. for a wrap sandwich, or air-fried, baked, microwaved, pan-fried, or sautéed. They are very versatile.

Here’s what we cooked up. Your own tastes and creativity will lead you to many more discoveries with Crepini.

Check out the recipes on the website.

Crepini At Breakfast

 
Crepini At Lunch

 
Crepini At Dinner

 
Crepini For Dessert

For low-calorie desserts, flavor ricotta or plain yogurt with non-caloric sweetener. Or, as with all recipes, use Crepini instead of cake or pastry, as in this Yule log!

 
Crepini For Appetizers & Snacks

 
 
THE CREPINI STORY

As children, Paula and Eric immigrated from Ukraine and Moldova to the U.S. with their parents, first moving to Paris where they had relatives.

There they discovered French crêpes—relatives of Eastern European blini.

The family moved to New York, the kids grew up and headed to corporate America. They then launched a tech company that grew to serve Fortune 500 companies.

And they still ate crêpes and blinis.

Experimenting with recipes, they developed Egg Thins, a zero net carb, low-calorie wrap.

In 2007, they founded Crepini. Their first product, the Naked Crêpe, received great reviews from buyers and editors, along with four specialty food awards.

They continued to innovate, and had a eureka moment with their Egg Wraps—a better-for-you version of a traditional crêpe.

Renamed Crepini, the crêpes dovetailed with food trends for gluten-free, keto-friendly foods, while supporting consumers’ ongoing desire for low-calorie, zero net carbs foods.

We thank them!

Following the popularity of the gingerbread house, there’s the Easter Bunny Hutch. Create an Easter centerpiece every bunny will love with this Ready-to-Build Chocolate Cookie Bunny Hutch Kit from Wilton.

The kit has everything you need:

 
Create it for your home, as a gift, or as a fun family project that’s edible when you’re finished.
 
 
> GET YOUR EASTER BUNNY HUTCH COOKIE KIT AT WILTON.COM.
 
 
MORE FUN EASTER RECIPES

 
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF COOKIES
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COOKIES

[1] See the bunny’s but? He’s squiggling through the rabbit hole at the front of the hutch (photos #1 and #2 © Wilton).

[2] Build it yourself or send it as a gift.

[3] Hide a surprise: If you’re building the hutch yourself, hide jelly beans, Peeps, or other Easter candy to be found when the house is eaten (photo © Patrick Fore | Unsplash).

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[1] Classic Irish Coffee (photo © Slane Irish Whiskey).

[2] Irish coffee shots (photo © Rogers & Cowan).

[3] Make an Irish Cream “Martini” with Irish whiskey and Irish cream liqueur. Here’s the recipe (photo © McCormick) .

[4] Iced Irish Coffee (photo © Cask & Kettle).

[5] A coffee bean garnish. Another modern touch is shaved chocolate. (photo © Tullamore Dew).

Even if you don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with parade-watching and partying, take the occasion to enjoy the Irish Coffee recipe—a simply wonderful cup of coffee enhanced with Irish whiskey and heavy cream. It will be especially welcome in our neck of the woods: Mother Nature has given us a chilly, rainy day.

The Original Irish Coffee recipe is below, along with more Irish Coffee recipes. But first, a bit of history.

> January 25th is National Irish Coffee Day.

> The fourth week in January is National Irish Coffee Week.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF IRISH COFFEE 

You might think that Irish Coffee is a centuries-old drink, enjoyed by generations of Irish folk around a hot fire at home or at the pub. But truth be told, it originated in the era around World War II during the dawn of transatlantic plane travel, when air travelers from America to Ireland took an 18-hour seaplane to Port of Foynes in County Limerick.

In cold, damp weather, a hot cup of coffee or tea was offered upon arrival. When “something stronger” was requested, whiskey was added, and Irish Coffee was born.

The name purportedly was bestowed when an American asked if the beverage was made with Brazilian coffee. He was told in return, “This is Irish coffee.”

One passenger enjoying a cup was the owner of the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco. He brought the recipe home in 1952 and began serving the first Irish Coffee in the U.S.

By the time the Shannon Airport opened in 1945, Sheridan had perfected his recipe, and at the airport restaurant there, more and more travelers would enjoy Irish Coffee.

One was the owner of the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco, who brought the recipe home, and, in 1952, began serving the first Irish Coffees in the U.S.

So get out the bottle of Bushmills, Jameson, Slane, or Tullamore Dew.

While the Irish Coffee tradition evolved to use a pedestal goblet with a handle, any glass will do.

Don’t have time to brew coffee and drizzle cream? Make Irish Coffee shots, with 1/2 ounce each of coffee liqueur and Irish cream liqueur.

There are more Irish Coffee recipes and variations below, plus what makes Irish whiskey different.
 
 
THE ORIGINAL IRISH COFFEE RECIPE

You can vary the original recipe with a different sweetener (brown sugar, demerara sugar, noncaloric sweetener, etc.). Three level teaspoons of granulated sugar are the modern equivalent of the three sugar cubes.

While the original recipe did not have whipped cream, it’s a treat for many people instead of the layer of heavy cream. (A second shot of whiskey is a treat for some other people.)

Ingredients Per Cocktail

 
Preparation

1. HEAT a stemmed pedestal goblet (in the pre-microwave days it was rinsed with hot water). Pour in one shot of Irish whiskey. Add three sugar cubes. Fill with strong black coffee to within one inch of the top. Stir gently.

2. TOP off to the brim with heavy cream, slightly aerated by pouring it over the back of a spoon. Important: Do not stir after adding cream, as the true flavor is obtained by drinking the coffee and whiskey through the cream.

Pouring the cream over a spoon to make it float takes a bit of practice. Also, note that American supermarket heavy cream/whipping cream is ultrapasteurized to increase shelf life. This subtracts from its ability to float on top of the mixture. If you can obtain untreated cream from a farmers market, it will produce better Irish Coffee.

Or, Plan B: whipped cream.

Slainte! (That’s “cheers” in Gaelic.)
 
 
MORE IRISH COFFEE RECIPES

Although we’re a few days shy of spring, spring is artichoke season, and National Artichoke Hearts Day is March 16th. We have a collection of artichoke recipes below, and our featured recipe is Roasted Potatoes & Artichokes (photo #1).

If you shop at specialty markets, you may come across purple artichokes and baby purple artichokes. They taste the same, but the color is a novelty.

> The history of artichokes.

> The history of potatoes.

> The different types of potatoes.

> More spring vegetables to celebrate.
 
 
RECIPE: ROAST POTATOES & ARTICHOKES

This recipe from DeLallo uses their marinated artichokes. We had a can of unmarinated artichokes (they’re packed in water, salt and citric acid) and used them instead. We opted not to toss them with oil and spices to simulate marinated artichokes, and liked the results just fine. Either option works.

Serve this dish with any protein: roasted chicken, grilled salmon, meatloaf, any family favorite.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Cover a baking sheet with a layer of parchment paper.

2. DICE the potatoes into 1- to 1 ½-inch squares. Add the potatoes, oil, pepper flakes, herbs, and salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl. Toss well to combine.

3. TRANSFER the potatoes to the baking sheet, arranging them in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes one or two times.

4. SPREAD the artichokes on top of the potatoes and roast for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven, place on a large platter, and serve.
 
 
MORE ARTICHOKE RECIPES

[1] Roasted potatoes and artichokes, a delicious side (photo © DeLallo).

[2] Canned artichoke hearts don’t have marinade (photo © La Tienda).

[3] Canned artichoke hearts are typically packed with a brine of water, salt, and citric acid or ascorbic acid (photo © Roland Foods).

[4] One of our featured recipes, Hot Artichoke Dip With Sundried Tomatoes. Here’s the recipe (photo © Mooney Farms).

[5] Artichokes in the field. This variety with a purple blush is the sangria artichoke. It tastes the same as the common all-green variety (photo © Frieda’s Specialty Produce).

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