The Mixed Up Month of March

In Kansas City, March suffers from Schizophrenia. This I am sure. Delusions of spring are ever-present - the greening of the lawns, the lengthening of the days, the tips of hostas, hyacinths and crocus peeping through the frozen ground. But no. It is not to be. My furnace stills hums all day long, my winter coats cannot yet be put away and the threat of snow still lingers in the forecast. It has been a harsh winter here in the midwest, and the forsythia is far from blooming. The garden stores are slow to stock the plants I crave to lift my spirits and brighten my mood. I imagine the warm sun on my face, I imagine my fingers in the dirt and I imagine the cool night breeze wafting through my bedroom window. I am hallucinating. I cannot do these things in March. So I may as well make the most of it. Enjoy the madness of the basketball world. Enjoy the gray weekends that force me to clean closets and go to the movies. And cook winter soups for a few more weeks. Now that being said, maybe March is not so bad after all.
Winter Bean Soup
(Serves 6; one of the easiest dishes ever!)
2 cans cannelloni beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
3 cups fresh baby spinach
3 cups chicken broth
3 gloves garlic, sauteed in olive oil
1 tsp. each basil, oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. Italian sausage
Peel garlic and sauté in a tablespoon of olive oil until fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Add the beans and the chicken broth and simmer for 45 minutes. Add spinach and herbs and cook for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown the sausage (form in to patties or use sausage links).
Place the sausage in the bottom of a soup bowl and ladle heaping helping of soup over the top. Serve immediately. Yum! A nice crusty bread would be great with this, and a glass of Malbec. Spring can wait.
P.S. The soup is best if eaten right away. The spinach gets a bit ugly after sitting for a day, so its not that appetizing as a leftover.

Why not Kumquats?

How could I get to be this old, this adventurous with food, this knowledgeable about fruits --- and NEVER HAD A KUMQUAT until now? Just saying the word makes me smile. What a happy little thing it is, too. Small - about the size of a quail's egg. Bright orange. A sweet rind and a sour flesh.
The taste reminds me a bit of a Starburst candy. Having just been to sunny (but unusually cold) Florida, I popped dozens into my mouth all week long. Crunchy (you eat the skin and all) and full of flavor, they make the perfect healthy snack. It's nice to know that there are all kinds of simple pleasures out there that I've yet to discover. Perhaps a trip to Whole Foods is in order. Why not? Surprise and delight could be just around the culinary corner.