Anyone who has eaten dinner with us during past few weeks has likely eaten this salad.

We’ve been making it every night because we are obsessed with it, and we could probably continue to eat it every night until microplaned Parmesan cheese begins to seep from our pores.  That day may arrive sooner than we would like.

We first tasted a salad like this at Craft, and we first attempted to re-create it the following night.  It’s so extremely simple, but devastatingly delicious.  Microplaning the cheese very finely allows it to melt over the argula, coating every piece with a tasty layer of Parmesan.  The pine nuts cut the acidity of the lemon just enough.

If you are lemonaphobic, we can’t say we recommend this.  But for all others, we can’t not.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):
6 cups packed arugula
3 cup Parmesan, grated very, very finely (preferably with a microplane)
3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

(dressing)
juice of two lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Whisk together dressing ingredients.  Place arugula in a large bowl, and pour dressing over it, tossing to coat.  Add Parmesan cheese, and toss until it melts over the arugula.  Add toasted pine nuts, and serve.

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring, and this soup is the welcoming committee.

It’s brightly sweet and sweetly bright, heralding the season with a charming naivety regarding the 40 degree, rainy happenings outdoors.  And though it consists of mainly frozen peas, shallots and broth — ingredients that, sneakily, you can find year-round — tasting this soup feels like catching the first whiff of warm, flowery air or finding that the white tips on branches are no longer snow, but rather buds.

It’s here!  Finally.

Ingredients (serves 6):
3 tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 lb. frozen peas
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt (for garnish)

Instructions:
Reserve one cup of peas, heat in microwave for about a minute until cooked and soft, and set aside.  Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Add shallots, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add peas, broth, and basil, and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until flavors mesh together and peas are soft.  In a blender, puree soup in batches until smooth.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  Pour soup into bowls, and garnish with extra peas and yogurt.