Don’t get me wrong as I truly relish this time of year, when both the days and work lists are long but satisfying.  Which is why we need quality fuel, good food to provide energy for the day.  This Spring Spinach and Asparagus Pasta ranks our new seasonal favorite, as it blends the tender seasonal flavors of asparagus and spinach with a filling dose of pasta, nuts and cheese, seasoned up with a unique, savory soy sauce-based dressing.  Plus it makes a sizeable batch, perfect for easy leftovers throughout the week.

Read on for the recipe and enjoy:

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Before I can fully jump into savoring all the tempting, fresh flavors of the spring garden, there’s one last chapter I need to wrap up from last year’s growing season:  finishing up what’s left in the freezer.  My taste buds may be craving that tender new asparagus, but my rational mind reminds me to first finish that shredded zucchini, Swiss chard and whatever else may be lingering in my freezer first.

Frozen shredded zucchini is not a bottle of nice red wine.  Age does not improve the zucchini, it only ushers in freezer burn.  On my family’s Wisconsin farm and B&B, Inn Serendipity, I typically freeze most of our garden harvest for the simplicity and efficiency.

All summer long I shred, blanch, or tray freeze my garden goodies, packing the produce into square freezer containers and lining them up in our thirteen cubic foot chest freezer in the basement.  Chest freezers, when full, can run quite energy efficiently as not as much cold air escapes when you lift open the lid, versus the vertical type freezers.  All winter long we defrost and eat through our garden harvest, ideally letting these freezer containers slowly defrost for a few days in the refrigerator, using the defrosting process to cause our refrigerator to run less.  As we “eat through” the freezer and space opens up, I fill the empty space with recycled milk jugs filled with water to help the freezer run more efficiently.

By this time of year, I’m down to the last few freezer containers and a freezer in need of a good clean out, but need a dose of culinary motivation to use up those last lingering items from last year.  Here are three strategies I use for that that final “freezer finale”:

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So stop by with Mom in mind, becuse you’re invited to “take a peek at our Spring offerings at Clary Sage Organics. We’re sure you’ll find something for the mom, grandmother, wife, aunt, girlfriend, daughter or sister in your life!”

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“The environmentally sensitive sandal is ethically made in Brazil in a closed loop system so there is no waste. The Gladiator is made from recycled MEFLEX plastic and provides amazing comfort for your battle weary feet.”

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Every Easter, I’m in charge of the veggie roast. That means my hubby and I get to hit up local Orlando farmers markets or farm stands on Easter weekend to pick out the goods. This year, we hit up a teeny stand near my in-laws’ house. We got more veggies than the seven of us could eat for under $10. Amazing! We also got to talking with the fellow who ran the stand. He was explaining that some of his onions were a little stained on one side, since the farm grows them alongside their strawberries to ward off pests. This was my introduction into companion planting.

I knew that marigolds would help keep certain bugs away from the garden, but that’s about as far as my companion planting knowledge went. Here’s a list of some other great plant pairings to help keep your garden pest- and chemical-free!

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More and more homeowners are using rain barrels to conserve water while collecting soft, non-chlorinated rainwater to nourish grass and plants.

This weekend, in Calgary, Canada, Clean Calgary Association, in partnership with the City of Calgary, will hold its 8th Annual Rain Barrel Sale.

With spring coming, local residents there are thinking about their lawns and gardens. Water usage in Calgary doubles in the spring and summer due largely to lawn irrigation.

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If you have a small garden like mine (we just have an herb and salsa garden) you can have the children place their buckets and pails outside when you know a rainstorm is coming. This will ensure you have enough water for a couple of weeks.

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Planning your garden during the winter and early spring can help you get a jump start and give you an idea of what you’ll need for the season so you can be prepared.

If you’re starting a garden for the first time, you’ll first want to take stock of the area you have available to garden. Will you have a container garden on your porch or a big veggie patch in your back yard where the lawn used to be? Determining where you’ll garden well in advance will allow you to be ready to dig in as soon as the weather warms up. If you’ll be converting a lawn into garden space, you may need to rent or borrow a tiller and start preparing the soil a few months before the last spring frost. If you’ll be starting seeds indoors, you might want to clear a sunny windowsill or a closet for seedlings until they’re big enough to plant out. So it helps to think ahead and have a plan in mind.

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Okay maybe I am exaggering just a wee bit. But spring is a really big deal here. It’s like we should be awarded a congressional medal of honor just for making it another winter. Right now, we’ve got mud galore, and patches of dirty snow in the yard. And cold, driving rain. So we read about spring.

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Take a tip from Annie Somerville, acclaimed chef at the Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, when you explore the upcoming first farmers’ market of the season, check out some of the more unusual, fresh fare that showcase spring flavor.

Chef Somerville knows her seasonal offerings.  For the past 28 years, she has helped lead the Greens Restaurant to become a national showplace for creative, fresh, local vegetarian cuisine that features the local abundance from sustainable and organic California growers.  Her signature dishes, like the Warm Cannelli Beans and Wilted Greens recipe below, draws inspiration from her regular forages at the Embarcadero Farmers’ Market and area farmers.

“At the market the last couple of weeks, you could really start seeing big indicators that the season is shifting and spring has officially arrived,” explains Chef Somerville, as she vividly and affectionately describes spring produce as if they were beloved old friends returning for a visit.  For an artistic chef like Somerville, the farmers’ market provides a culinary palette, a place where she can wander and draw cooking inspiration from the ingredients she sees.

Take a tip from Chef Somerville and explore some of the more unusual, uniquely flavorful fare that appears this time of year.  Here’s some ideas on using three of her favorites:  Nettle, chervil and kale.

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When Green with Glamour wrote in today wishing us sunshine & flowers in bloom, I became delightfully curious about their Spring offerings. I fell for this gorgeous sundress. It is an unusual and interesting piece as the print was painted by elephants! It’s the brilliant result of an “uplifting & artistic collaboration” between the designers of Prophetik and the AEACP (Asian Elephant Art Conservation Project).

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Leafy greens are some of the easiest and most beneficial vegetables to incorporate into your daily routine. Kale, for example, has more nutritional content and few calories than almost anything else. Although it can be found throughout the year, it is in season from the middle of winter through the beginning of spring when it has a sweeter taste. Kale is part of the Brassica family, which is known for their health promoting benefits and cancer fighting properties. Kale boosts the body’s detoxification enzymes, thus helping to clear potentially carcinogenic substances more quickly. Research shows that diets high in cruciferous vegetables, such as kale, are associated with lower incidence of a variety of cancers, including lung, colon, breast and ovarian cancer. One cup of kale contains just 36.4 calories, but provides 192.4% of the daily value for vitamin A, 88.8% of the daily value for vitamin C, and 7.0% of the day’s needs for manganese which helps produce energy from protein and carbohydrate. Kale also contains calcium, fiber, vitamin E, iron and B vitamins. Here is an easy and delicious kale recipe to get you started on eating for Spring.

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Rani Jones is London’s hot new eco label created by design partners Lucy Jones and Rani Patel.

Their eco fashion line is constructed with hand tailored details such as:

• geometric patternmaking
• pleats and gathers
• draping and panelling
• creative double-zipping

Now they are sharing their lookbooks for the upcoming 2009 seasons, including Fall and Winter.

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Psi Bands (pronounced sigh bands) are acupressure bands that can help relieve nausea by putting pressure on the Nei-kuan pressure point on the wrist which will alleviate the symptoms of nausea-without drugs.

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Back to my office, where so much of my daily life seems to take place these days. This great bag is just one of the cool green products I’ve gotten to review that has been useful in making my work routine more interesting.

I’ve been using The Better Bag as my brief case since I got it a few weeks ago. It works great, but I feel better about the story behind the bag.

There’s always a story . . .

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“The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses.”  ~Hanna Rion

There is no doubt that human beings have become far removed from the natural world. It could be that this separation from nature is a root cause of many of society’s problems. When we deny ourselves access to the natural world, we lose a part of ourselves, our culture, and our sanity. Want to get it back? One of the simplest ways to reconnect with nature is to dig right in and grow something.

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Founder of Blades Natural Beauty, Jessa Blades is a natural makeup artist who works on photo shoots and fashion shows, helps brides looks their best on their big day and provides natural beauty consultation to a variety of clientele in New York City.  Last month she worked with celebrity makeup artist, Rose-Marie Swift at Fashion Week and is featured this month in Glamour magazine’s 70^th anniversary issue along with 69 other female eco-achievers.  She also works with Teens Turning Green and Project Green Prom. 

She believes we don’t have to sacrifice health for beauty and is intimately in-the-know about products that perform, yet won’t pollute our bodies.  “People are outraged when it comes to animal testing for cosmetics and I’m against it, but what about human testing?  Companies have been testing their products on women for years!!” 

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This year, I’ve decided to set the medication aside and combat my Spring allergies naturally.

We are learning that many of the issues that crop up with our bodies have a direct correlation to our diet, so it makes sense to remove irritant foods and substances (like chemical cleaners) and add beneficial foods, herbs and supplements.

Here are some tips for fighting allergies naturally:

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Every year on the first day of spring, thousands of supporters in the United States and several other countries participate and encourage others to go meatless for a day (or a lifetime), and discover a more compassionate and healthy diet.

Many mainstream health advocacy organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the American Heart Association, and John Hopkins University promote the consumption of more plant-based foods.

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Well, Zoya has your piggies covered with Twist, their spring line, which includes peachy-pinky hues as well as a neutral violet, a vibrant plum and, of course, a couple of metallics.  Choose from frost –Cassi is a lovely shimmering peach, or cream –Malia is sure to be a favorite this season, and your toes will invoke (tastefully done) Easter eggs.

As always, the latest Zoya polishes are free from dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde to provide you with a less toxic (not non-toxic) polish.  So choose your color, find those flip flops and head out for a terrific spring.

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