Joy of Spring: Eating Outdoors

Spring is here and summer is fast approaching! It’s our favorite time of the year. This is when we move things outdoors, transitioning from sofa to chaise longue, dining room to back porch, and from roasting meats in the oven to grilling them on the BBQ. 

It’s a busy time here at SFG (it is the start of mosquito season, after all) but I always try to scoot out on Wednesday mornings to visit the Santa Monica Farmers Market. It's so inspiring. The market, blocks from the ocean, is where the scent of herbs—basil, dill, mint—perfume the sea air, where friends happen upon friends, and where glorious fruits and vegetables beg to be brought home and enjoyed. It’s pure joy to be there.

Last week the snap peas caught my eye.

They’re my daughter’s favorite and though she’s miles away, wrapping up her senior year of college in New York, I couldn’t pass them by. I stood staring at a bin of them, plump and green, trying to envision what I might make. That’s when Tom, a former caterer who came out west for the surfing and helps his farmer friend at the market, started to riff with me on ideas. Here’s what we came up with. So throw it together and head outdoors!

Tom and Christy’s Snap Pea Salad

Ingredients:

Snap peas, trimmed and sliced in half on the bias

Cherry tomatoes

Crunchy lettuce (like little gems), julienned

Dill, chopped

Basil, torn

Mint, julienned

Feta cheese, crumbled

Pine nuts, toasted

Shallot vinaigrette made with minced shallots, apple cider vinegar, mustard, olive oil, S & P.

How-to:

So easy: Toss the tomatoes, snap peas, lettuce, and herbs together in a serving bowl. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss. Crumble feta cheese on top, sprinkle with pine nuts. 

Serves one to 100, depending on quantities. It's sturdy, so great for picnics.

And, of course, you can always swap out herbs for other herbs, use different cheeses and nuts. Make it your own!

This night, it was served on the back porch, followed by a simple, garlicky oyster mushroom pasta--made with fungi from the market, of course. And dessert? Berries!