By Second week of May and the strawberry blossoms are open — small white flowers across the whole patch, each one a promise. The plants have been building for eight years and the patch is dense and vigorous. Three weeks to fruit, roughly. I've been checking it every morning with the attention that promises deserve.
The memorial garden corner is prepared. I spent Thursday afternoon clearing the last of the debris from the corner near the lilac hedge — old trellis wood, a pile of rocks that had been there since before my time. The soil is turned and amended with compost from the pile. Carol's stone border is delivered and ready to be placed. The plants arrive next week on the fifteenth. The corner is ready for what's coming to it.
Made a simple spring salad dinner this week — the lettuces and radishes from the garden, the asparagus still going, a poached egg on top, good olive oil and vinegar. Twenty minutes of cooking for dinner. Some weeks the garden is the kitchen and the kitchen is the garden and the distance between them is the length of the path from the back door to the beds. That proximity is one of the things I love about this property.
Teddy's cooking lesson on Sunday was a mushroom risotto — not for the first time, but for the first time with a homemade mushroom stock he'd prepared himself by simmering dried porcini with aromatics. The difference was significant. He described it before I asked. He said: the depth comes from the stock. I said: yes. He said: everything comes from the stock. I said: more things than you'd think.
That spring salad dinner — lettuces, radishes, asparagus, a poached egg, good oil — reminded me how often the best meals aren’t cooked so much as assembled, the garden doing most of the work. The egg is the thing that ties it all together, and some weeks I’ll take what’s left over and turn it into an egg salad the next day, something just as simple and just as good. It’s the same proximity in a different form: the kitchen and the garden, the meal and its echo.
Egg Salad
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 22 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives or scallions, thinly sliced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Pinch of paprika, for serving
- Toasted bread, lettuce leaves, or crackers, for serving
Instructions
- Hard-boil the eggs. Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover with cold water by one inch. Bring to a full boil over medium-high heat, then cover, remove from heat, and let stand for 11–12 minutes.
- Cool and peel. Transfer eggs immediately to a bowl of ice water and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Peel under cool running water and pat dry.
- Chop the eggs. Roughly chop the peeled eggs into pieces — some cooks prefer a fine dice, others like a chunkier texture. Either works well here.
- Mix the dressing. In a medium bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, and vinegar or lemon juice until smooth and combined.
- Combine. Add the chopped eggs, celery, and chives to the dressing. Fold gently to combine. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Taste and adjust. Add more vinegar for brightness, mustard for bite, or mayonnaise for creaminess as needed. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to let the flavors settle.
- Serve. Spoon onto toasted bread, tuck into lettuce cups, or serve alongside crackers. Dust lightly with paprika before serving.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 240 | Protein: 13g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 2g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 320mg