Life has been busy with the start of spring. Gardens to plant, farmers’ markets to attend, and a great deal of travel has kept me out of the kitchen. However, I did find the time to cook up some pizza a la Martha Stewart (Hamburger and Grape Tomato Pizza from the May 2008 issue of Everyday Food. Looks delicious,  no? It was - and super easy, too with store-bought crust and jarred pizza sauce. I did, however, cook and drain the meat first.

Confession: up until last weekend, I had never eaten (or cooked) risotto. I have since found a recipe for risotto that is super easy, and the taste is creamy and delicious. Consider it Risotto 101.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups (2 cans) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter

The seeds are planted. After sitting on the counter for over a month, the seeds have finally made their way into my new seed-starting kit. I’ve started two types of tomatoes (bloody butcher (!) and brandywine), two types of basil (purple and sweet basil), garlic chives, leeks, carrots, beans, and several varieties of lettuce. (My husband brought home parsley and rosemary, or I would have started those as well.) In just a few short weeks some seedlings should be poking up, and by the time the ground is ready and warm, the plants should be ready for the garden.

I can’t wait for the warm summer days where I can head out to the garden and pick fresh vegetables and herbs for dinner. Nothing beats the taste of a tomato still warm from the afternoon sunshine, topped with a few leaves of basil and some fresh mozzarella and olive oil.

That is the taste of summertime. I can’t wait.

The next time you need an elegant dessert, try poached pears. A beautiful presentation with golden syrup drizzled over glossy pears, the dessert only looks difficult — if you can boil water, you can make this surprisingly easy treat. Better yet, you can make them ahead of time and then serve cold or warm in the oven for a few minutes.

1 750 ml bottle sweet white wine, such as Riesling or Demi Sec
1 cup water
3/4 cup vanilla-infused sugar, or ¾ cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
4 firm pears, peeled but with stems intact

Place wine, water, sugar and vanilla bean and pulp (or pure vanilla extract) in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, peel and core the pears from the bottom (a melon baller or a pointy spoon works well). Reduce heat to medium low and add pears, making sure they are submerged in the liquid. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until pears are soft but still hold their shape. Remove pears and place in a baking dish, standing them upright, and chill in refrigerator.

Remove the vanilla bean (if used) from the saucepan, raise heat to high, and boil liquid for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a syrup, which will boil down to approximately 1 cup of liquid. Don’t let the liquid turn brown. Place the syrup in a heat-proof container and refrigerate until cool.

Remove the pears from the refrigerator and place on plates, pour sauce over the pears and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Yahoo Foods has published an interesting article 18 Foods That Make Your Skin Glow. Most of these foods you should be eating anyway - many are super foods, and contain antioxidants, fiber, protein, calcium and good fats.  Even better, as the weather starts to warm up and farmers’ markets start reappearing, most of the foods will be even easier to find and fresh as can be.

Now if only chocolate and caffeine would reduce my pores….

I love the new Kirkland Signature Martha Stewart soup available at Costco. I don’t purchase this soup, however. I make it at home. And it’s quick, easy and delicious for the whole family — my toddler even loves it. try If you can’t make it to Costco, or don’t want to buy it, either, here is the recipe.

The soup is great with a grilled cheese sandwich or just a big piece of bread. Use an immersion blender instead of the stand blender for less mess and fewer dirty dishes.

Here’s a simple and delish side dish. It’d be a good companion to steak or roast chicken with garlic.

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 (14-ounce) cans white beans

Pour 1/4 cup olive oil into a saucepan. Add garlic and the lemon zest and let heat through.
Drain and rinse beans, then add to the pan and warm through, stirring and squishing the beans with a wooden spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

It’s that time of year again — time to dye Easter eggs. Instead of those PAAS dyes or food coloring, we decided to try a more natural approach with our eggs.

Before hard boiling eggs, be sure to wash them with a mild soap and water to remove any dyes or chemicals. We tried non-washed eggs and had trouble with the dye taking.

We used a combo of these materials for the dye, sorted by color:

Pink/Red: Cranberries or cranberry juice, beets or beet juice, radishes

Orange: Dried ground paprika

Yellow: Lemon peels, dried ground turmeric

Purple: Grape juice, red cabbage, blueberries, blackberries

Brown: Coffee, tea, dried dill seeds

To make the dye, use two cups of chopped fruits or vegetables to two cups water. Alternately, for dried spices, use 3 tablespoons spice in 2 cups of water. Pour into a medium sauce pan and add a tablespoons of vinegar to each color. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the dye and allow it to cool until just warm.

Dip hard-boiled eggs in the dyes with a spoon and let sit for five to 10 minutes, depending on the desired color intensity. Pat eggs dry with a towel.

For the marbled look shown, pour each dye into a shallow bowl and add 1 tablespoon oil. Use a fork to swirl the oil around so that it creates oily spots, then roll eggs through the oil. Pat dry with a towel.

Hard-boiled eggs keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Meyer lemons are in season and are beginning to show up in the fancier area grocery stores. A cross between a lemon and an orange, the delicacies were imported to the U.S. from China 100 years ago.

With sweeter juice, a thinner peel and less acid than other types of lemon, Meyers are a delight to chefs and home cooks alike.

I recently scored a pound of the golden beauties for $3.99 and spent a day or so admiring them before putting them into action to make lemon tassies a la Martha Stewart. Aren’t they cute?