It's amazing how just a few days (about 10 to be exact) can change so much.
It feels like spring.
It looks like spring.
It sounds like spring.
It's almost Easter.
The only thing that is still missing is food.  Some new potatoes, fiddleheads, asparagus, greens.  It will come... my chives are almost ready to start being harvested.  What I'm really trying to say here is that we are still eating cabbage, squash, rutabaga, turnip... you get the picture.
Looking back over the last four months I feel proud of myself.  I don't think that there has ever been a time in my life when I've cooked as close to the season.  It's been a huge shift for us and at the start I didn't know if everyone in the house would be as keen as I was.  The changes have been:
A. Eating more seasonal food, including squash, rutabaga, turnip, parsnip and winter greens.
B. Including more beans in our diet on a regular basis.
C. Shrinking our meat eating to one dish a week.


What I've learned:
1.  When I don't cook with meat I also don't need to worry about meat going bad in the fridge or taking it out of the freezer to thaw (that sounds kinda lame but it really was a nice discovery), coming home ready to cook and discovering that even though my brain thought it put out the meat in the morning it really didn't in reality and... you get the picture.
2.  When food tastes good most people (not Kid #2 however) don't care what's in it, or not in it as the case may be.
3.  When not cooking with meat I enjoy the vegetables more AND they work really well in group situations (ie. stew or casserole)

Buoyed by my seasonal success and cabbage and chard in hand I launched headlong into the world of 'galette'.  Galette sounds cool and french almost intimidating.  But... it's not.  It was easy.  The veggies worked well, the crust came together easily and it tasted good.  Not scary, very cool, tasty and seasonal... Yup.


Cabbage, Chard and Mushroom Galette inspired by Smitten Kitchen
serves 6

Filling:
2 tbsp butter
4 cups cabbage, sliced in thinish strips
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed... whatever
3 cups mushrooms, sliced in about 4 slices each
2 cups chard, sliced thin
1 1/2 tbsp thyme, dill
1 tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
dash pepper sauce or cayenne (to taste)
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
1/3 cup grated cheese (your choice)
3 tbsp grated parmesan

In a large pot, heated over medium heat, add the butter cabbage, onion and mushrooms.  Cook together for about 7 minutes.  Turn the heat down to low and add the garlic and chard.  Cook together for another 7 minutes or until the chard is wilted.
Add the thyme, dill, paprika, salt, cumin and pepper sauce to the cabbage mixture.  Cook together for another 5 minutes (add a little more butter if you need to)
Add in the lemon juice, sour cream, grated cheese and the parmesan.  Mix well and let the cheese melt.  Check the tastes and adjust if necessary.  Set aside to cool.

Crust:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter in small pieces
1/4 cup sour cream
squeeze of a slice of fresh lemon
1/4 cup cold water

Combine the flour and the salt in a bowl.
Combine the sour cream, lemon and water in another bowl.
Add the butter to the flour and cut the butter in until it forms a good crumb.
Slowly add the sour cream mixture to the flour until it forms a nice ball.  Refridgerate for about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
Roll out on a lightly flour surface until it's about a 1/4 inch thick.
Transfer the flattened dough to a lined baking sheet, the edges of the crust will hang over the sides - that's ok.
Spoon the filling into the centre of the crust, leaving about 4 - 5 inches all around the edge.  Fold the crust up over the sides of the filling.


Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is turning golden brown on the edges.
Remove from the oven and cool for about 15 minutes before serving.