Well hello! It’s spring. Supposedly. It is going to snow tonight, but we’re ignoring that because the CSA has started up! This year Stone Soup is offering “Spring Treat” shares every two weeks until the summer shares begin in June. They include fun stuff like eggs and treats from other farms–this week we got two pounds of whole wheat flour from another farm in Western Mass. Most of the share was stuff that stored over the winter in the root cellar–Carrots, turnips, potatoes–but the new flock of hens has started laying and there was spinach and arugula from the cold frames. Oh frabjous day!

Speaking of spring treats, I’ve been on a risotto kick, and a couple weeks ago I sprung for some early asparagus and made big batch. Of course, leftover risotto is…not great. Sticky. I like my risotto almost soupy, and the leftovers are sort of depressing. I decided to try to make crispy cakes out of it, figuring that the worst that would happen is that I’d have heated it up in a pan instead of the microwave.

I found that the key was manhandling the cakes. I scooped out each one with a tablespoon (the kind you actually use at the table, not…you know.) and mashed it into cake form.

Each one took a dip in panko crumbs, and then went into the pan with a bit of olive oil over medium/medium-high heat.

Flipping them required a bit of ginger handling–they aren’t the sturdiest–but they held together.

I basically kept poking at the side of one with my finger until it felt like it was heated through. And then we ate them really really fast.