before i left for my canadian vacation, my friend lish and i got together to brainstorm about our summer events and to celebrate spring.

we set up a beautiful outdoor lunch complete with blooming eucalyptus table runners and lavender + grapefruit cocktails. all the food we cooked up was inspired by jenni kayne’s new book, pacific natural. and my favorite dish was a version of her mushroom and ricotta crostini.

i LOVE using lavender (if my logo wasn’t a dead giveaway) as a replacement for most dishes with rosemary. that light, floral herb is the perfect compliment to zesty red wine vinegar mushrooms and my creamy homemade ricotta cheese.

ricotta + lavender mushroom crostini

serves: 8 crostini

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 10 minutes

total time: 20 minutes

ingredients: 8 slices of your favorite baguette. .5 cup homemade ricotta. 1 cup slice cremini mushrooms. 2 tbs butter. 1 tbs chopped lavender (you can sub rosemary if you don’t have any lavender). 2 garlic cloves minced + one extra clove to rub your bread. .25 cup red wine vinegar. .5 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. edible flowers for garnish, optional. baking sheet.

start by toasting your bread. place your baguette slices on your baking sheet and either toast them in toaster oven or baking them in the oven at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. you want your toast to be a light golden brown.

while your bread slices are toasting, heat your butter over medium high heat until the butter is bubbly. add in your mushrooms and season with half the salt and pepper. toss everything well till the mushrooms are lightly butter coated. cook until the mushrooms get a nice brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring about halfway through.

add in the garlic, lavender and the red wine vinegar. season with the rest of the salt and pepper and stir everything well.

cook until the liquid has completely cooked down. about 3 minutes.

once your baguette pieces of toasted, brush each piece of baguette with your garlic clove.

spread each piece with a nice layer of ricotta.

top the ricotta with your cooked mushrooms.

garnish with your edible flowers and serve.

xo, a

ricotta + lavender mushroom crostini

serves: 8 crostini

prep time: 10 minutes

active time: 10 minutes

total time: 20 minutes

ingredients: 8 slices of your favorite baguette. .5 cup homemade ricotta. 1 cup slice cremini mushrooms. 2 tbs butter. 1 tbs chopped lavender (you can sub rosemary if you don’t have any lavender). 2 garlic cloves minced + one extra clove to rub your bread. .25 cup red wine vinegar. .5 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. edible flowers for garnish, optional. baking sheet.

start by toasting your bread. place your baguette slices on your baking sheet and either toast them in toaster oven or baking them in the oven at 375 degrees F for 7-10 minutes. you want your toast to be a light golden brown. while your bread slices are toasting, heat your butter over medium high heat until the butter is bubbly. add in your mushrooms and season with half the salt and pepper. toss everything well till the mushrooms are lightly butter coated. cook until the mushrooms get a nice brown, about 5-7 minutes, stirring about halfway through. add in the garlic, lavender and the red wine vinegar. season with the rest of the salt and pepper and stir everything well. cook until the liquid has completely cooked down. about 3 minutes. once your baguette pieces of toasted, brush each piece of baguette with your garlic clove. spread each piece with a nice layer of ricotta. top the ricotta with your cooked mushrooms. garnish with your edible flowers and serve.

we are finally seeing hints of spring headed our way and i have been using the warmer weather as an opportunity to get back into the garden. thanks to all the rain we have been having in orange county, greens are popping up all over the garden with out a whole lot of effort. and the wood sorrel (clover, sour grass) is EVERYWHERE. now, most would call them “weeds” and toss them. but “weeds” are really just anything in your garden you don’t want. and what i really don’t want is waste. so why not cook them up?

wood sorrel’s are tart and bright in flavor and are a great addition to salad or sandwich greens. not to mention, they are beautiful. now, if you don’t have clover’s in your garden, you could easily sub your favorite green (arugula, spinach, kale, etc.) but if you can get your hands on them, you won’t be disappointed.

leek & wood sorrel tart

serves: 8 (makes 2 medium sized tarts, half the filling recipe if you only plan to use 1 sheet at a time)

prep time: 20 minutes

bake time: 40 minutes

total time: 1 hour

ingredients: 1 pack frozen puff pastry dough (they come with 2 sheets, and they need to be thawed in advance, so prepare ahead of time to make this recipe). 1 large leek, white & light green parts sliced an eighth of an inch thick. 1 large shallot sliced an eighth of an inch thick. 1 tbs olive oil. 2 eggs. .5 cup grated white cheddar cheese. .25 cup heavy cream. .25 cup chopped wood sorrel or your favorite green, plus a 6 whole wood sorrel for the top of your tart. 1 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. baking sheet. parchment paper. edible flowers if you have/can get some.

start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. then, prep your puff pasty. now, you can make whatever tart shape you feel like here. the sheets come folded in a rectangle, so the easiest is to keep it folded and roll the dough out to about an eighth of an inch thick. whatever shape you choose, just make sure you roll the dough thin enough so it will cook completely with out over cooking your eggs. once you have rolled your dough out, start to roll the edges of your dough over to create “sides” to your tart.. use your thumb and index finger of one hand and the index finger of the other to pinch the edges of the dough creating ridges and a barrier to keep your filling in. poke the bottom of your tart with a fork so it won’t puff up when baking and then pop the tart in the freezer to harden up for 10 minutes. repeat with the second sheet, or save it for something else down the road if you are feeding a small group. while your tart shell hardens, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. toss the leeks and shallots with half the salt and pepper and the olive oil. lay the leeks and shallots out on the baking sheet and roast for 10-15 minutes until they are starting to brown. once your tart shell has hardened, par bake it for 10 minutes in the oven with out the filling.

while it bakes, whisk together the eggs, cheese, cream and the remaining salt and pepper.

stir in the chopped wood sorrel.

once your tart shell (or shells) is lightly baked, use half the shallots and leeks to cover the bottom of the tart. then, fill the tart about half way with egg filling. top with a couple of whole sorrels and some edible flowers. repeat for the second tart if necessary.

bake for 15-20 minutes until the egg filling is set and the puff pastry is golden on the edges and cooked through. slice and serve hot.

xo, a

leek & wood sorrel tart

serves: 8 (makes 2 medium sized tarts, half the filling recipe if you only plan to use 1 sheet at a time)

prep time: 20 minutes

bake time: 40 minutes

total time: 1 hour

ingredients: 1 pack frozen puff pastry dough (they come with 2 sheets, and they need to be thawed in advance, so prepare ahead of time to make this recipe). 1 large leek, white & light green parts sliced an eighth of an inch thick. 1 large shallot sliced an eighth of an inch thick. 1 tbs olive oil. 2 eggs. .5 cup grated white cheddar cheese. .25 cup heavy cream. .25 cup chopped wood sorrel or your favorite green, plus a 6 whole wood sorrel for the top of your tart. 1 tsp kosher salt. .25 tsp freshly ground pepper. baking sheet. parchment paper. edible flowers if you have/can get some.

start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees f. then, prep your puff pasty. now, you can make whatever tart shape you feel like here. the sheets come folded in a rectangle, so the easiest is to keep it folded and roll the dough out to about an eighth of an inch thick. whatever shape you choose, just make sure you roll the dough thin enough so it will cook completely with out over cooking your eggs. once you have rolled your dough out, start to roll the edges of your dough over to create “sides” to your tart.. use your thumb and index finger of one hand and the index finger of the other to pinch the edges of the dough creating ridges and a barrier to keep your filling in. poke the bottom of your tart with a fork so it won’t puff up when baking and then pop the tart in the freezer to harden up for 10 minutes. repeat with the second sheet, or save it for something else down the road if you are feeding a small group. while your tart shell hardens, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. toss the leeks and shallots with half the salt and pepper and the olive oil. lay the leeks and shallots out on the baking sheet and roast for 10-15 minutes until they are starting to brown. once your tart shell has hardened, par bake it for 10 minutes in the oven with out the filling. while it bakes, whisk together the eggs, cheese, cream and the remaining salt and pepper. stir in the chopped wood sorrel. once your tart shell (or shells) is lightly baked, use half the shallots and leeks to cover the bottom of the tart. then, fill the tart about half way with egg filling. top with a couple of whole sorrels and some edible flowers. repeat for the second tart if necessary. bake for 15-20 minutes until the egg filling is set and the puff pastry is golden on the edges and cooked through. slice and serve hot.