Nature is waking up from a long hibernation, which means it’s time for fresh ingredients and new recipes that will soon become favourites. Celebrate the colours and optimism of the season by gathering friends and family, setting the scene with bloom-filled table settings, enjoying colourful produce and toasting to a new beginning.
Roast with the Most
The fading winter is reason enough to celebrate. Gather the whole family for a meal inspired by warmer spring weather and seasonal produce.
Mediterranean Style Barley Salad
Add colour to the table with a tender and nutty pearl barley-based salad that gets a Mediterranean flavour boost from crumbled feta, kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes.
Lamb is now in season. The aroma of the classic roast is enhanced with a warming ginger-cinnamon spice rub and served with a cilantro- and red onion-flecked salsa.
Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Pesto
This colourful dish takes the often underutilized carrot tops and blends them into a vibrant pesto with Parmesan and walnuts. Served over fennel seed-flecked roasted carrots, this dish is great warm or at room temperature.
Chocolate Beet Cake with Ricotta Icing
Rich and deeply chocolatey — the Easter bunnies’ chocolate eggs have nothing on this seasonal delight. Grated beets add moisture and nutrients while remaining incognito in this luscious, ricotta-topped cake.
Patio Premiere
Sun-soaked spring days are rare, but we know how to make the most of them! Whenever you get a chance, embrace the Canadian spring and enjoy a meal in your backyard or on your balcony.
Elegant Lunch
Though it’s often less formal than a dinner, there’s no reason lunch can’t be an elegant affair.
Springtime Table Settings
Get guests into the spring spirit by bringing the vibrant colours of the season indoors.
- Take a cue from your meal when decorating the table. If radishes are used in the dish that you prepare, make the centrepiece a big bowl of beautiful radishes.
- Keep floral arrangements low so you can easily see and chat with guests. A few lilacs trimmed from your backyard and placed in a cup and saucer make a sweet and creative presentation. In-bloom bunches of tulips and daffodils can also be used — just trim them down to size.
- Skip flowers entirely. Add small bud vases or mason jars of fresh herbs that were used to season the meal for simple, aromatic dinner-table decor.
- When it comes to choosing the tablecloth and napkins, keep the colour palette seasonal with pastel shades of soft greens and pinks.