This soup is perfect for a chilly spring day. It could be made from perennial walking onions or leeks overwintered in your garden instead of the onions. And don't forget to leave some parsnips in your garden in the fall to dig out fresh in the spring! 

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 parsnip, diced (optional)
• ¼ cup flour
• 2-3 cups bone broth
• 2 cups milk
• 1 pound fresh or frozen cauliflower (or broccoli)
• 1 teaspoon thyme salt (or regular salt + fresh or dried thyme)
• A few scrapings of nutmeg

Directions:

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onions and parsnip and cook until softened. Add flour and cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth and milk and bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and nutmeg. Add cauliflower and simmer 5-10 minutes until thawed (if frozen) or cooked through (if fresh). Blend and serve. Add more broth or milk if it gets too thick.

We are having a super cold, late spring here in South-central Alaska, which makes me think of baking. I SHOULD be cleaning out the freezer, though, so why not do both? This morning I made a blueberry coffee cake, and while taking out the blueberries, I noticed I still have 3 more packages of zucchini in there! Score! 

Last weekend I made this chocolate zucchini cake for a friend's birthday and it was the hit of the party. One person said it was the only chocolate cake they like because it's not too sweet. It actually uses less than half of the sugar called for in the original recipe, and it's perfect! 

So here's the recipe! If you are bummed out about all the snow, this is guaranteed to lift your spirits.

If you don't have frozen zucchini, you can plan some for next year. Now is the time to start your zucchini in 3 or 4 inch pots. Plant 2 seeds per pot, and thin them down one!. These guys DO NOT like to have their roots disturbed and will not produce well if they are crowded. Transplant them to your garden at the end of the month. 

To freeze the zucchini, I let them get a little bigger and then shred them in the food processor. Then I just pack them into freezer ziplocks and freeze. No blanching or other processing required. 

Who can guess what kind of fish this is? 

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Wet...