What's in season

Spring is finally here! I am so excited to start baking new things. My goal this year is to focus on what is in season and bake with those ingredients. I have found several websites that are very helpful.

Epicurious has a great interactive map that shows you what is in season in your state during a certain month (I wasn't able to find anything on year-round produce). This is really helpful for cooking, as well. At this site you can find a description and definition as well as tips on how to pick out what produce is best. They also have a list of recipes and cooking and storing tips. The site is very easy to navigate. I also love their phone app for searching for recipes (thank you for the tip, Cherri Seese!). The app home page was recently updated to show Spring and Easter dishes.

Fruits and Veggies More Matters is another great site for researching what is in season. They also have a list of year-round produce. The site includes tips how to select and how to store produce but they also have great nutritional information on each item. The website has a lot more information and tools that I would encourage you to check out (I'm looking forward to digging further into the Healthy Meal Planning Guide!).

I love Martha Stewart's Seasonal Produce Recipe Guide. There is a short intro to the produce item, how to select and store, etc. And then it jumps right into recipes. There are so many to get inspired by (there are 40 recipes alone for rhubarb!).

These are just a few sites that have caught my eye. With their inspiration I have lots on the baking to-do list this week. I can't wait to share what happens!

Is it Spring yet?

As the month of March starts to wind down my mind starts to shift towards Spring and towards the lighter side of baking. Lemon flavors, whipped toppings, coconut and yummy fruit pies. Well, with the weather we've been having you would never know the first day of Spring is just days away!

Maybe a little Spring baking will help bring the sunshine. I've started a list of all the new recipes I want to try. I love trying new recipes. I have so much fun learning something new and finding new flavors. I even find myself enjoying reading through recipes. It might seem a little boring or daunting but I totally recommend you read through the entire recipe well ahead of time. First, read through the ingredients to make sure you have everything in your pantry. Make a shopping list for anything you don't have. Sometimes I make my list while at work and I don't always remember that I already bought a certain ingredient and I end up with more than I need. It's not always a problem but make sure you aren't wasting ingredients because you buy too much.

Next, read all of the instructions thoroughly. Sometimes I end up not having the tools required and therefore I either have to add those to my shopping list or I have to pass on the recipe completely. You also want to make sure you have enough time to complete the recipe. For some recipes, the dough has to sit in the fridge overnight. If I have a specific event that I am baking for I usually pick something that will fit in between the time I have available to bake.

There also may be instructions in the recipe that you don't understand what it means. I Google any terms I don't know. If there is a technique I am not familiar with I read up on that, too. If after reading you're still not sure you might just have to pick a different recipe.

Enjoy the coming of Spring! I'll be posting my new recipe adventures here soon.

Happy Baking!