Open-faced lunch: butter sandwiches with hard-boiled egg, wild arugula, sliced radishes, and prosciutto

Shaved asparagus & wild arugula dressed with a parmesan vinaigrette and served with bruschetta

Cold terrine of pork and turkey with lots of fresh oregano, filled with hard-cooked eggs and spring peas; bathed in a lemoned mayonnaise with anchovies

Linguine with caponata, baby zucchini & really good extra-virgin olive oil

Eggplant caponata with hard-boiled eggs—pretty is as pretty tastes

We took a few days off for birthday celebrations. We went out to restaurants and to museums to look at a little art, but nothing was more delicious than being out, breathing in beautiful late spring.

Spaghetti with a simple tomato sauce and big spoonful of fresh ricotta

Poached halibut with herbed mayonnaise and beets & asparagus vinaigrette

A good ol’ working lunch—a sandwich of cold sliced ham on buttered baguette

Pan-roasted chicken thighs and little zuc’s cooked in butter with fresh thyme

Promise of things to come here in the Northeast, the first English peas, only a few weeks away

Soup of stinging nettles dressed with a pat of Irish butter, minced chives, and chive blossoms