The First Annual Daffodil Day

The daffodil is our doorside queen;

she pushes upward the sword already,

to spot with sunshine the early green.

-William C. Bryant

This Saturday is just darling. Truly! It's one of those Saturdays that brings to mind Easter and sunny porches and cotton dresses and new potatoes and asparagus. The King Alfred daffodils around Freeman House are swaying in the breeze, making it seem more spring-like than it has in awhile. Wish you were here!

This afternoon I have no fewer than 3,583 projects going. I have fabric to iron and bills to post and files to label and rooms to paint and tile to grout and laundry to put away and... gosh! I got so overwhelmed, in fact, that I wandered out behind the house and sat among the daffodils. They were cool and delicate and looked good enough to eat, I thought. Which got me (the scatter-brain) thinking... I wonder what a daffodil would taste like?

I went back to the kitchen, where my chocolate tarts were cooling. (Project #2 of 3,583.) I decided that I wanted something green and yellow - daffodil like - for lunch. I came up with this, which I'm calling Daffodil Pasta. It's soo quick and easy that I'm sure it will be a spring standby around here!

DAFFODIL PASTA

1/2 pkg. penne pasta, cooked
handful (2 c.) baby spinach leaves
1 (or 2) cloves garlic
1/3 c. grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 lemon
1-2 T. olive oil
salt/pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
2. Pulse spinach and garlic in food processor until finely chopped.
(Or mill it with a knife and coarse salt like I did.)
3. Stream in olive oil and juice from half a lemon until mixture takes on
a pesto consistency.
4. Stir in grated cheese of choice. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Toss with warm pasta and grate additional cheese over.
6. Serve with lemon twists if desired. This is also great cold!

Since this recipe has a no-cook sauce, it's a snap to throw together. (It's also very low in fat, which means it will stay on the menu here until ... well, until the daffodils stop blooming in the spring, probably!

Not that I mind. Please excuse me while I take my little blanket and big bowl of pasta back out to the daffodils in the garden. I've resigned myself to getting absolutely nothing done today. But hey. I'm not slacking. Not at all...

...Turns out, I'm simply observing Freeman House's First Annual Daffodil Day. And what, I ask, could be more important than that?