Two summers ago, I really got to know the food in Walla Walla. I tried several great restaurants and made weekly trips to the farmers’ market with my then-housemate, and the two of us shared a Made in Walla Walla Box from the local Daily Market Coop. We received milk, bread, eggs, salad and new produce every week, and we had the chance to try out several tasty new recipes. This collection of springtime dishes was inspired by some of my favorites.

Apple-Blueberry Cobbler (makes about six servings)

A cobbler is a great dessert because you can make it with almost any type of fruit. Getting the MWWB meant being able to try out a new dessert fruit combination every week.

-Filling Ingredients:

2 braeburn apples

1 cup blueberries

A squeeze of lemon juice

1/2 tsp flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup sugar

-Topping Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 Tbsp baking powder

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup milk

3 Tbsp butter or margarine

-Instructions:

1. Peel and chop apples. Add fruit to a quart-sized baking pan.

2. Add lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and flour to pan. Mix with fruit.

3. In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients into a dough. (It should look like biscuit dough.)

4. Form dough into biscuits using hands, then drop onto fruit filling in pan.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Enjoy!

Spring Risotto

Risotto has a bit of a reputation. Watching episodes of “Master Chef” and “Chopped” has given me the impression that risotto is a tricky recipe to master, so I was a little hesitant to try to make my own. Fortunately, this recipe was a success. I hope you enjoy it on a rainy spring day.

-Ingredients

8 oz. arborio rice

4 cups vegetable stock

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup peas

1/2 Tbsp butter

1/2 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 cup parmesan cheese

salt

pepper

-Instructions:

1. Chop onion and garlic. Add them to a pot with butter and saute until onion is translucent.

2. Add the rice and carrots to the pot and saute for a few minutes.

3. Add 1 cup of vegetable stock to the pot. Stir occasionally.

4. After rice has mostly absorbed the first cup, stir in another cup of stock. Stir in peas after approximately 15 minutes of cooking.

5. After rice has absorbed the second cup of stock, stir in a third. Repeat with the fourth cup.

6. After risotto is thick and creamy, add parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Kale Chips

I was somewhat skeptical about kale when we first took it out of our MWWB, but after trying this recipe, I was hooked. These are like potato chips––it can be difficult to stop eating them.

-Ingredients:

1/2 bundle kale

1 Tbsp olive oil

salt

pepper

garlic salt

-Instructions:

1. Pull off kale leaves from the bundle and place on a cookie sheet.

2. Pour olive oil over kale. Mix leaves so they are all covered.

3. Add seasonings.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Blueberry-Lemon Scones

Scones are one of my favorite breakfast foods. They don’t take long to make, and they taste delicious with jam. Feel free to try out different kinds of berries in these scones as well.

-Ingredients:

3 cups flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 salt

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 1/4 cups milk

2 cups berries

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

-Ingredients:

1. Mix dry ingredients together.

2. Add wet ingredients and mix.

3. Form dough into triangular shapes. (I do this with my hands, but you could use cookie cutters if you are particular about your scones.)

4. Bake 18-22 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Enjoy!

Almond-Kale Quesadillas

Quesadillas are really easy to make, so I like using them as a vehicle to experiment with new flavor combinations. These quesadillas also tasted great with chard instead of kale and pine nuts instead of almonds.

-Ingredients:

2 whole wheat tortillas

2 Tbsp goat cheese or goat cheese spread

handful almonds

several leaves of kale

margarine

-Instructions:

1. Spread goat cheese on one side of each tortilla.

2. Add almonds and kale and squish the tortillas together.

3. Spread margarine on both sides of the quesadilla and cook in a medium-high pan, flipping the tortilla halfway through cooking to brown both sides.+