So I've been on a writing hiatus....and now I'm back. It's Spring, time for new leaves, and new gardens. We had our annual community garden clean-up last weekend. My horehound and lemonbalm are going gangbusters so I think this year I'm going to try making either cough drops or cough syrup with them. I'm planning to plant radish, kale and tatsoi seeds this week and try my hand at beets and cilantro as well. Squash and beans will follow, I just haven't decided what kinds yet. We all decided that we want to have some picnic parties in the garden this year and really make it feel like a community space. Hooray for Summer fun! Meanwhile I've been inspired by a recent post on The Bitten Word to clean out both pantry and freezer and see what I can make. Last night I thawed some tomatoes and basil and added thyme, Italian seasoning, red chili pepper flakes and some frozen spinach and cauliflower. The latter was of indeterminate age- no expiration date on the package but it all cooked up fine. I served it over a blend of leftover pastas, ran out of parmesan but happily a bit of sea salt and Nutritional Yeast saved the day. What are you cooking and planting?