Besides the list of ingredients and the directions for preparing a meal, a lot of recipes give a prep time and cooking time to give you an idea of how long it will take you to prepare the meal or cake or cookies or whatever. I usually look at that number and double it 'cause that's how long it takes me.

I don't know why it takes me longer. Everyone tells me that it will get better with practice but it's not like I'm completely new to cooking. I would think that I have enough practice by now, at least with the recipes that I know well. Needless to say, because of my propensity to take forever when cooking, I was shocked and amazed at how quickly last night's dinner was put together, especially since I had never prepared that particular recipe before. Not only was it a quick, easy recipe but, and this is the important part, I had gotten all my ingredients together and somewhat prepared before I even started cooking. The lemon was grated, the asparagus was chopped, all that was left to do was boil the pasta and cook the sauce.

The actual dish was delicious, nice and light. The lemon was subtle as was the parmesan that I added at the last minute. I don't think I put enough asparagus in but that was because I was using up the last of it from last week's farmer's market run. I look forward to making it again. Maybe I'll add some grilled chicken and lemons the next time. It would be good with a different kind of pasta too, maybe a farfalle or penne. What asparagus was in the dish was kind of hidden in the cappellini.

Squirrels!

I got most of my container garden planted yesterday as well has got my first sunburn of the year. I don't mind the sunburn as it just proves that I did indeed get outside. Ran out of soil before I was done planting but that's ok, I was planning on using starts for my tomatoes anyway. Last week, at the farmer's market, I found a stall that has tomato starts and herb starts that looked a whole lot healthier than anything I saw at my local big store. Can't wait for Wednesday so that I can go back and get those starts.

Della, my dog, was out on the deck with me the whole time. I haven't been able to walk her like I should because of a stress fracture in my left foot, so I thought the time outside, even if it was only on the deck, would be good for her. She spent most of the time, standing in one spot, fixated on the squirrels. I kind of wish there was some way I could leave her out there all the time, protecting my garden. When I went out this morning to water, I found the squirrels had dug up some of my mesclun and there was a squirrel paw sized hole in one of my spinach planters! Maybe I need to invest in some netting?

For dinner last night, Spring Celebration soup - garlic, carrots, asparagus, spinach and white beans in a chicken and lemon broth served with toasted homemade whole wheat bread.YUM!

For a while now, I've wanted to buy more of my fruits and vegetables at the farmer's market. I miss the quality of fresh produce my family got when I was growing up. My mom used to buy tomatoes and cucumbers from a roadside stand on the way home. Grocery stores just can't offer that kind of freshness.

I've also wanted to make more of my food. For instance, I love making bread (I don't really care for cleaning up the mess I make) and I love the taste of homemade bread. It has more flavor than what I buy at the store, it's much cheaper than what I buy at the store and I know exactly what went into it. I want to try making my own yogurt. I want to make up "convenience" meals that aren't full of additives, preservatives, fillers and other things that I don't even know what they are.

Basically, I want more control over my food and I want to have fun with my food. I want to enjoy sitting down to a meal that looks good and tastes good and is good for me.

This summer, I'm planting a garden on my deck. I'm hoping to have tomatoes, carrots, spinach, peas, cucumbers, squash and maybe even blueberries. If it goes well, I hope to expand next year to the weedy bit of waste ground beside my apartment. I'm going to grow some herbs in my sunny kitchen window. What I can't grow, I plan to buy at the farmer's market.

I hope to do some preserving at the end of the summer, freezing fruits and veggies so that I can enjoy them during the winter as well.

As a culture, we tend to think everything should be available to us at any time. With that availability and convenience, I think we've lost somethings. We've lost some of our connection to the earth. We've lost some of our connection to the seasons. And, I think we've lost some of our joy about food. If something is available at any time, then there is nothing to make it special. Imagine waiting impatiently for that first taste of asparagus that year or the first tomato.

Speaking of asparagus, my first farmer's market meal: Sapporo Ichiban ramen with fried egg, carrots and sauteed asparagus. For dessert, fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream.

YUM!