Special Ingredient: Marinated Lamb with Mint Pesto and Pea and Feta Salad by Heather

To celebrate the coming of spring, peas are the secret ingredient for March!  This dish is light enough to really bring out the flavors of the peas and mint, and I think these ingredients really complement the lamb.

Ingredients:

For the pea and feta salad:
8 oz. fresh English peas
1 cup parsley, chopped
about 5 oz. feta, diced
juice of half lemon
zest of 1 lemon

For the mint pesto:
1/2 cup fresh mint, leaves removed from stalks
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/3 cup olive oil- add this in increments until the pesto is runny
2 tbs. water or more depending on thickness
juice of 1 lemon

For the lamb + marinade:
1 lb. lamb, cubed (you could use lamb chops if you wanted)
2 tbs. cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs. red wine vinegar
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. parsley, chopped
2 tbs. fresh oregano, chopped

Shiitake and Pea Shoot Salmon En Papillote by Heather

"En Papillote" is just a fancy French way to say that something was cooked within parchment paper.  The parchment paper is shaped into a little sealed bag to hold the salmon, which essentially steams it in the oven, so the end result is a flavored, juicy piece of salmon!  I served this dish with Rachel's bok choy recipe, which you can access here.



Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 6-8 oz. salmon filets
carton of fresh pea shoots (you only need about 8 shoots per fish)
1/2 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
1 tbs. grated ginger
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. honey
2 dashes red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. olive oil
parchment paper

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes by Rachel

It's been a while since I baked because I've been sick, but now that I'm feeling much better I had to break out some chocolate and make something.

Cupcakes!  Of course!

For Christmas, my future mother-in-law bought me a frosting set, so it was time to break that out and practice.

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 salt
1/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
4 oz. strong espresso, room temperature
1 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, not melted
dark chocolate to taste (I used 1/2 a bar, crushed)

Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp whole milk

Shrimp Cakes by Rachel

I was inspired to make Thai food the other night and one thing that I love at Thai restaurants are the fish cakes, or "tod mun pla."  I didn't have fish, but I did have shrimp so I ad libbed and they dish came out great.  My shrimp cakes were gone in a matter of minutes.  They were really easy to make, too!

Ingredients (makes about 10-12 small cakes)
10 medium to large size shrimp, raw
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp Sriracha sauce
2 pinches of salt (you can add an extra pinch if you're skipping the Sriracha sauce)
1/2 tsp white pepper
Oil, for frying