I hesitate to say it for fear of a freak late season storm, but I think spring has arrived! Although the questions that accompany the loss of a friend, Matt Steiner, at too young an age, weighed on our minds, we appreciated and enjoyed the days full of warm sunshine and took advantage of the time to have some fun!

Friday night, after stocking up on some household essentials (it was payday!), we picked up some takeout from Horns. I tried "The Colonel," which sandwiches maple & hot sauce coated chicken confit with dark greens in rosemary belgian waffles. Kevin tried a meatloaf sandwich with bleu cheese and mushrooms on challah bread.

Saturday morning, I returned from a morning run to find that our Pure Sprouts all-local bin had arrived! I was so excited to see radishes and pea shoots—signs of spring to come! Soon enough, we'll start our work share at Heritage Farms CSA and be earning our produce while learning a ton!

I revisited making dog treats (the 300 my Brownie troop made went moldy in a week!!!)—This time armed with the advice of Bone Appetit Bakery. After baking them at a low temperature for over an hour, I think they are dry enough they won't get moldy! I'll post the recipe after a while if they stay fresh!

Having rolled out several hundred dog treats, I picked up my friend Amanda and we headed to SteelStacks to visit the winter market and see our friend Michelle perform. Her lovely voice seemed so dramatic in front of the blast furnaces!

With our farmer's market purchases complete, we wandered to downtown Bethlehem to catch the St. Patrick's Day parade. First, though, we stopped into Season's Olive Oil & Vinegar Taproom so I could pick up a bottle of mushroom & sage oil to dress salads with.

Under the incredibly sunny sky, huge crowds came out to see Bethlehem's 2nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. My friend Jaime rode atop the Vegfest float as the garden queen, and one of my high school scouts carried a division banner.

It's always a trip to see the O'Grady Quinlan School of Irish Step Dancing, because I danced with that school for 11 of its earliest years. In those days, we wore sashes with puffy painted Celtic knots on them, plaid skirts, and only started wearing wigs towards the end of my dancing stint. Man, how that school has grown! Hundreds of dancers paraded past, showing off their cuts and points!

Still enjoying the sun too much to call it a day, Kevin and I set out on an afternoon drive, picking up some raw milk at Keepsake Farm, then winding through the roads to Wassergass.

We stopped in this quaint general store for a snack and were greeted by a cheerful owner who seemed to know everything about anyone in the town.

When we arrived home, we sat down for this classic St. Patrick's Day meal of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, soda bread, prepared by my father. Of course, we paired it with some whiskey!

Sunday morning began like I remember San Francisco mornings—A little cool, foggy, and quiet. We picked up Jumbars breakfast, of course. I had a yogurt parfait and a side of sausage.

Shortly after breakfast, we set out on a 10.4 mile bike ride along the Saucon Rail Trail. (There was a baseball game behind our house, and they tend to be pretty loud, with people traipsing all through our yard and balls hitting our cars, so we try to arrange to leave when they play!) As a relative newbie bike rider, this was the longest I've ever ridden! In Water Street Park, we had this picnic of a leftover Horns sandwich, corned beef & cheddar on soda bread, and couscous salad.

As we were finishing up our picnic, we noticed a man walk by with a large bunch of green onions. After an observant look at our surroundings, we saw wild onions growing everywhere! We foraged a small bunch to bring home.

When we got home, Kevin fired up the grill to make dinner, and I whipped up a batch of pesto using everything green we had in our fridge! I incorporated radish leaves, pea shoots, spinach and wild onions. Now we have several meals' worth in the freezer.

We used the local ingredients we had purchased over the weekend to grill up a great seasonal meal. We had a Keepsake Farm steak, marinaded with whiskey, honey & mushroom sage oil. On the side, we had grilled radishes and golden turnips with wild onions and mashed rutabagas.

Finally, I wound down the weekend by working on my contribution to Moravian College's homage to Judy Chicago's "Dinner Party." My piece will represent Juliette Low, the founder of Girl Scouts, in honor of it's 100 year anniversary. It incorporates a mess kit, trefoil, campfire setup, and a string of pearls tied in a square knot …
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