FEEDS: 2

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 4 slices bread, your choice
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 4-5 T. baked beans
• 4 slices American cheese
• olive oil

LET'S COOK

Place two slices of the bread on a cutting board. Place a slice of the Swiss on the bread slices and a slice of the American cheese on the Swiss.

Using a fork, so extra sauce is left behind, divide the baked beans and spread on the American cheese on the sandwiches you've started. Lay another slice of American on the beans, then cover that with the remaining Swiss slices. Top with the last 2 slices of bread.

Place a heavy gauge saute pan on a medium high burner. Drizzle with some olive oil to lightly wet the surface. Lay the two sandwiches in the oil, lightly drizzle more oil on the sandwich tops and cook until both sides are nicely browned. Remove from the pan, cut in half and serve.

MORE IDEAS:

I prefer using B&M Baked Beans. They're whole beans in a nice sauce, real New England style.

For additional punch, slip some cooked bacon strips on top of the baked beans before laying on the last Swiss and American slices. Ham isn't a bad addition either.

Serve this sandwich with sweet pickle wedges or Bread and Butter pickles.

If you're lucky, produce markets may offer very young beet greens, usually sold in plastic bags. Delicately washed and picked over, these little gems are a pleasure. They will only be a few inches long. If you do find them and they look fresh and vibrant, buy them. Use them the same day or the next in a big salad. You'll not be disappointed.

In mid Spring, Farmers Markets will begin to offer beet greens, a succulent harbinger of tasty things to come from this vegetable. Sold in bunches like radishes, the greens can be up to 6 inches long with tiny, narrow beet roots attached. Rinse them in a sink of cold water, then pop into a pot with an inch or so of boiling water. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes or until a sample yields tender leaves. Drain the liquids from the pot, then add a dash of olive oil, a pat of butter, a pinch of salt and pepper and even a drop or two of balsamic vinegar. Toss gently, cover and allow to sit a few minutes. Stir it again gently, then pile as a nest on dinner plates. Served with mashed potatoes and grilled or broiled meats, this is hearty Spring cuisine.

When beets get to the size of a golf ball, they're perfect for boiling. Trim the green tops, which can be boiled later as a green leaf vegetable, rinse to clean them and cover with water. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, partially uncover the pot and boil for 20-30 minutes or until they're tender. Once they're done to the degree of tenderness you enjoy, drain them and allow to cool. Once you can handle them, trim the top and bottom with a knife. The skins will now slip off easily. If you have disposable gloves, use them since the intensity of beet juice causes pink staining on your hands. When the beets are cleaned, slice or quarter them and toss with some olive oil, a bit of butter and even a pinch of salt and pepper. Possible flavor additions include a scatter of caraway seeds, some chopped dill or even some grated orange rind.

Beets are also quite good when peeled and sliced fresh into salads. They have an earthy sweetness when served raw. Of course, cooked beets are also a great salad ingredient. Place sliced beets on a base of mixed greens on an attractive plate, scatter with some crumbles of bleu cheese like Roquefort or Gorgonzola, top with walnut meats and drizzle with a vinaigrette dressing.

Whole beets are also tasty when roasted in the oven, or, sliced and grilled. For fun, peel, slice and boil beets in water. Drain them, then mash like you would potatoes. The texture is a great addition to any meal.

Keep in mind that beets are the main ingredient in Borscht, a popular Eastern European soup that has a multitude of recipes and variations.

FEEDS: 4-6

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 3-4 medium sweet potatoes

LET'S COOK

The natural sweetness of sweet potatoes makes them one of the easiest vegetables to prepare for a meal.

Begin by simple peeling and then cutting the sweet potatoes into chunks. Remember, the smaller you cut the item, the faster it will cook. Place in a pot, cover with water, cover the pot and cook until tender when poked with of a fork.

When the sweet potatoes are tender, drain them, then mash and serve. Their natural sweetness makes them tasty just the way they are.

MORE IDEAS:

Flavor enhancement possibilities include a pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon or both.

A small piece of butter is always nice as well.

For a sweetness twist, boil the sweet potatoes in apple cider or apple juice.

If you’re intrigued by texture combinations, try folding in a 1/4 c. of frozen tiny peas right after you mash the cooked sweet potatoes.

FEEDS: 4-6

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 3 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
• 3 T. canola oil
• 3-5 cloves fresh chopped garlic
• 1 t. seasoned salt
• 2-3 T. Hoisin sauce
• 2-3 T. canola oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 each red and orange pepper, seeded and sliced
• 6-8 white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 C. fresh snow peas, cleaned and steamed just till tender
• 1/2 c. frozen peas
• 2-3 T. soy sauce
• 2-3 C. cooked rice or wheat pilaf

LET'S COOK

Slice the chicken breast into small finger strips. Toss in a bowl with the 3 T. canola oil, chopped garlic, seasoned salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Heat a large saute pan over a high flame. Drop in the chicken, stirring it frequently until it’s almost all cooked thorough. Add the Hoisin, toss to combine, then remove the pan from the stove and spoon the cooked, seasoned chicken into a clean bowl. Set it aside.

Rinse out the saute pan, then place back on the high burner. Add the 2-3 T. of canola oil and when it’s hot, drop in the sliced onion and peppers. Stir it around, cooking just until the vegetables are el dente.

Now add the fresh mushrooms and saute a few more minutes. Drop in the cooked snow peas, frozen peas and cooked chicken, toss it together, then pour in the soy sauce and combine it all together. Now add the cooked rice or wheat pilaf and heat through. Serve right away.

MORE IDEAS:

You can substitute an equal amount of sliced pork tenderloin in place of the chicken breasts.

FEEDS: 3-4

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 1 bunch fresh asparagus spears
• 1-2 T. olive oil
• 1/2 t. seasoned salt

LET'S COOK

Begin by trimming about an inch off the bottom of the asparagus. I usually cut it while it’s still a bunch wrapped in an elastic band. And, it’s best to trim just above the ends of the bottom of the asparagus where the green begins and the pale part starts.

Place the trimmed asparagus spears in a shallow dish, level it all out and then drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the seasoned salt, then roll the spears to distribute the oil and salt. Allow to stand for a few minutes while the grill is heating up.

After scraping and cleaning the hot grill tines, use tongs to place the asparagus on the grill perpendicular to the direction of the tines. Allow to cook a few minutes, then gently roll the asparagus spears to expose the other sides and cook it a few more minutes. Do this until the asparagus is a bright green color. You might also taste one spear to see if it’s done to your liking. If it’s too firm in texture, grill a bit longer, rolling them occasionally to promote cooking evenly. Then, just plate and serve.

MORE IDEAS:

I like to cook over a high flame. As is the case with any grilling, don’t cover the grill and walk away. Cook uncovered, stay with the grill and move the food when flames rise.

A sprinkle of grated Locatelli cheese at service time is a nice flavor boost.

Anyone who’s ever worked in a restaurant kitchen knows of freeze-dried chives. The much maligned herb has been the foundation of production kitchen garnish rosters since who cares when.

In reality, chives are an easy herb to grow with a vast range of culinary applications. They have also managed to sneak into the long list of fresh herbs that now vie for shelf space in food market produce sections.

One of the very first to sprout from the warming earth in early Spring, chives originally hail from the Orient and Eastern Europe. Of the same family as leeks, garlic and onions, they only require a sunny spot in your gardens with well drained, medium fertile soil to flourish, year after year. Sure, you can start them from seed. But, garden centers and friends can provide starter plants. After a year or so, dig up and transplant clumps from your original plants, spacing them at least 18 inches apart for best results. Chives also do well in a pot, on a sunny windowsill for quick, easy use.

To harvest garden chives for the kitchen, gather what you’ll need at the base of the cluster and cut with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors. Rinse in cold water, remove any less than attractive stems and chop or cut the rest for immediate use. Wrap excess in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 or 3 days.

Freshly chopped chives are wonderful when sprinkled over scrambled eggs, omelets and even a potato frittata. Scattered over a bowl of just about any type of soup, the mild, almost sweet onion flavor of chives is a welcome hit on the palate. Fresh chopped chives are perfect in egg or tuna salad. Strewn over a garden salad, the chives will delicately add another flavor dimension.

As Spring marches on, chives will send up bud spikes that culminate in pink clusters of firm flowers. Cut the flower stems from the base of the plant and use them in bouquets. Or, for fun, stick them into a Bloody Mary or other tomato based drinks as a swizzle stick. Better yet, cut the flowers apart and throw the pink blooms over a salad as a garnish that will add both flavor and crunch to whatever it’s paired with.

For a more sophisticated kitchen use, employ whole chives to wrap bundles of cooked vegetables. Start by peeling and cutting carrots into batons about the size of pencils in 3 inch lengths. Cook them in boiling salted water until just el dente. Drain and cool. Next, harvest long chives, clean them and then drop into shallow pan of simmering water on the stove for about 10 seconds. Remove the chives from the hot water and place on a cutting board. Stretch them out, then make a portion size pile of carrots in the center of the chive. Tie an attractive knot around the carrots, trim the excess and place the secured bundle in a shallow ovenproof pan. When it’s almost time to serve dinner, spoon a tablespoon or so of hot chicken stock over the carrot bundles, cover the pan and pop into a hot oven for 6-8 minutes. When steam rises from the carrot bundles, transfer to dinner plates and serve.

Regardless of how you choose to incorporate chives into your kitchen style, the payoff is the same, brilliant color and taste-bud sensations.