Crack open the Templeton’s!  Open the jar of cherries!  Measure or don’t.  Fill a glass with ice.

Better yet, eschew the ETOH and focus on serious cooking.

Why, it’s the time of year for white asparagus from Peru–$7.99 a pound @ Savenor’s, $3.99 at Whole Foods–that’s greenhouse grown, but which is a healthy attempt to replicate the thick, real things from Belgium, France, Germany, and Holland.

Or go for morels: $35 a pound at Russo’s, $49 a pound @ Savenor’s.  Unfortunately, at those prices the fungi sit a long time and by the time you have them in your hands are a funny shade of black and are long past their prime.

Where does that leave us?

You’re best off with fava beans, green asparagus from Mexico or California, and a rainbow beet or two.

Protein?  Did someone mention protein?  There’s fresh tofu from local factories.  Great chickens from D’Artaganan.  And fish up the wazoo.

Spring is here!