Spring for Life

April 7, 2010

There is something very enlightening about spring. Spring might be my favorite season of the year. That’s the one thing I miss about living in a four-seasonal area. Despite the few months of unbearable chill, the way the weather turns, and the way the colors of my environment changes feeds me some sort of exhilarating excitement.

A friend recently sent me a random text message exclaiming, “I love spring! It makes me feel…alive!”

I think my friend’s explanation of the way spring makes her feel is spot on. Spring is about new beginnings and new hope. You look at the dried up, bare trees, the shoddy, dull-colored grass, and the thick layer of dirty ice, and you wonder if there’s any beauty and life left to them. But once the weather starts to warm up, and the snow turns to a gentle drizzle, and the birds start chirping louder and more merrily than before, you start to realize that these “dead” organisms around you were never really dead as they come alive again.

In a way, I feel like God is speaking to me even through the seasons. A lot of times, I look at the person I am now—my personality flaws, my weaknesses, my inabilities…and I despair. On my last previous post, I’d admitted that I’m struggling with reaching my destinations…well, one of the destinations which I did not mention is my goal to become a good, inwardly beautiful person.

Over the last few weeks, through a series of events, I’ve recognized a few areas about myself that I need to change, and I got frustrated. The process of self-renewal seems so tedious, and never-ending! I might as well just give up everything, and live however the hell I want to live!

But through the visible transformations that spring is bringing to the surroundings around me, God reminded me once again not to lose hope. He can breathe life back even into the barren branches of a dehydrated tree…He has breathed strength and vigor back into my own emaciated, wasted body…and He will breathe power and purity into my mind and soul.

Besides, looking back to the person I was 5 years ago, I can already see enormous transformations. This process of self-improvement…it’s a lifelong process. Winter doesn’t turn into spring overnight. In fact, it is really the slow, gradual revival of the little buds in the trees and the flowers blooming in the fields that brings the greatest joy and delight. And thus, perhaps it’s time to stop pushing myself…but instead let God perform His natural work into my life.

That’s just one of the things I love about spring. What’s yours? I recently saw a poll online asking the same question, and a majority of respondents answered that their favorite thing about spring is the fresh produce. Obviously, spring brings a whole lot of new colors and fragrances in cooking, one of which is the fresh herbs.

I’m sharing a CSA box with Mimi once every two weeks, and in my veggie box, I received a lot of fresh herbs. I’ve already used them in several dishes: my Green Apple Salsa for the Spicy Pork Tostadas, and my Asian Pear Slaw for the Bulgogi Gyros that I used for my March 24, 24, 24 Foodbuzz event, and the Strawberry Salsa from my previous post. Well, here’s another one, but this time, I made it the shining ingredient in the dish by incorporating it in two different ways.

Chive-Studded Grits with Creamy Chive Sauce

Creamy Chive Sauce:

about 1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped

~1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

some apple cider vinegar

some almond milk

some fresh lemon juice

Chive-Studded Grits:

1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 onion, diced
chicken broth
1/2 cup yellow grits
almond milk
heaping spoonful cream cheese
about 1/3 cup fresh chives, chopped
salt and pepper

Other ingredients:

Quorn Gruyere Chik’n Cutlet
Salsa (I used mango-habanero…spicy!)

For the creamy chive sauce, just blend everything together. Taste and test, you might wanna adjust the amount of vinegar and lemon juice to suit your own tastes.

Beautiful green color, eh? This is my favorite color ever.

Okay, for the grits, cook the garlic and onions in broth until soft, then stir in the grits. Add some almond milk, and more chicken broth, bring to a boil then simmer until grits are cooked, adding more broth as necessary. Stir in the cream cheese until combined. Turn off heat, and stir in the fresh chives. Season with salt and pepper.

For the Chik’n Cutlet, bake in oven per packet’s instructions until nice and crispy. Dish the grits into a serving plate. Top with the baked cutlet, top with sauce and salsa if desired.
What a burst of spring! Yellows and greens…that chirps spring to me.
And here’s the third review of my Quorn series: The Gruyere Chik’n Cutlet!
It’s awesome. I baked it in a high-heat oven and the smell was lovely, and crisped up to a lovely golden-brown. I’ve included the link to the product details so you can hop on over to view the nutrition stats. Obviously, it’s my favorite one as of yet, because who doesn’t like a breaded “chicken” stuffed with cheese?
The cheese kind of oozed out, but that just made it look even more appealing, in my opinion, because the cheese toasted up nicely. The “meat” was tender, and not dry or rubbery in the least.
I thought the cutlet paired really well with the fresh creamy chive sauce, and the spicy, tangy salsa. If you’re lazy I guess it would be good with ketchup, too…but seriously, it takes zero to little effort to blend up some fresh chive sauce. The blender does all the work!
I cook a lot of grits, and this one was cooked no different than the others except the inclusion of fresh herbs. It really livened the grits up, without being overpowering.
I don’t know why people don’t eat more grits. It’s just as comforting and easy and versatile as oatmeal. And yes, it even goes well with peanut butter.
I had quite a bit of the creamy chive sauce leftover, and I stored it in a jar. It keeps pretty well in the fridge, and I’ve been using it to blend with eggs, to make a lovely herby, green scrambled egg. It’s also amazing mixed with sautéed mushrooms!
By the way, I think I’m almost done with my Quorn series. Do check out my previous reviews and recipes on Quorn Chik’n Nuggets and Quorn Meatless Grounds if you have not already done so.
Also, I have been chowing down on a lot of food truck grub. Reviews to come! Meanwhile, enjoy spring while you can! With all the global warming and crazy weather, spring seems to be shorter and shorter each year!

Question of the day: What, to you, is the best thing about spring?

Quick Note: Thank you so much for your congratulations on Jing Wen’s baptism on my last post. She happened to read your comments and was very touched. But just a quick FYI: Her name is Jing WEN, not just Jing. Hee hee. Her full name is Lam Jing Wen. In Asian culture, we usually have two words in a name, and we place our surname in the front. So Jing Wen’s name is Jing Wen, and her last name is Lam. Just thought I should educate you on Asian names to avoid taboos in the future!

P.S. Would you be interested in a giveaway on Hormel chili and Dinty Moore stew? I’ve been asked by the company if I wanted a do a giveaway for you, but I would like to be certain that my readers would actually want to win it.

'cuz burping and slurping is mandatory and polite when it comes to good eats

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