Above is a plate of spring pea agnolotti, a dish that captures the menu changes of this time of the year. We’re well into March, the month when the harshness of winter starts to back down. Each afternoon the sun shines a bit later into the evening. These are the days when some vegetables are planted, while others, such as ramps, just start to bloom.

Sunday marks official start of Spring. We have moved into the transition. We recognize the cycles, the seasonal changes and our palate and plating are different. It’s a precursor to the heat of warmer climate.  It’s still not summer, but we have the welcome relief from the long chilly grasp of winter. Even the choices of harvest, still meager, will grow with the heat of the sun and the warming of the earth, a thaw to which we all look forward.