"SlashfoodAte" news and stories

Ok, we know it's a little early to talk about apricots, but it's starting to warm up out there and with peak season just around the corner (from May to September depending on where you live) we just can't help ourselves.

The plump, golden-orange fruit is one our favorite farmer's market finds. A fine snack in its dried incarnation, it also makes for stellar tarts and preserves.

Keep it simple with fresh apricots. Drizzle them with honey and pair with ricotta or goat cheese or toss them on the grill. This season we have an eye on Food & Wine's simple recipe for broiled apricots caramelized with honey, an ideal foil for sweet vanilla ice cream. Below are eight tempting recipes to choose from:

1. Apricot and Chocolate Bavarois
2. Apricot, Almond and Brown Butter Tart
3. Apricots Baked in Fig Leaves
4. Apricot and Almond Jam
5. Grilled Apricots with Bittersweet Chocolate and Almonds
6. Blueberry Apricot Crumble
7. Bread and Butter Pudding Served with Clotted Cream and Compote of Apricots
8. Apricot Streusel Coffeecake

Do you have a favorite apricot dessert you'd be willing to divulge? Let us know in the comments.

Towards the middle of spring, fava beans or as the English call them -- broad beans -- can be found at farmer's markets across the country. Their rich buttery texture and heavenly nutty taste not only complement meats, fish and other fruits and vegetables, but also make them standouts on their own.

Fava beans are eaten around the world as a snack and as a full meal. They're used as essential ingredients in meals ranging from salad to pork shoulder to bean paste. In the Middle East, fava beans are crushed in a sauce and eaten for breakfast in a dish called "ful medames."

In Iran, fava beans are conserved in metal cans and eaten throughout the winter with salt and pepper. They can also be fried and eaten as a delicious crunchy snack, as done in Mexico, Peru, China and Thailand.

Below are eight recipes for fava beans:

1. Grilled Fava Beans with Chile and Lemon
2. Sizzling Halloumi Cheese with Fava Beans and Mint
3. Fava Bean Salad with Roasted-Garlic Vinaigrette
4. Fava Bean Soup
5. Halibut on Mashed Fava Beans with Mint
6. Garlic-Rubbed Pork Shoulder with Spring Vegetables
   
7. Ravioli Stuffed with Fava Beans, Ricotta and Mint with Brown-Butter Sauce
8. Lemon- and Garlic-Roasted Chicken with Fava Beans, Radishes and Pecorino

The first seasonal strawberries appear as early as April. The deliciously tart fruit we've come to know today originated in grassy woodlands all over Europe. Find out how to transform these red, ripe, sweet and succulent treats of nature into fabulous desserts.

Strawberries taste delicious eaten plain with a glass of champagne. But in a pie, their juiciness creates a distinctly bitter-sweet flavor that sits on the palate and seems to melt into the pie crust.

Strawberries taste especially rich when paired with milky desserts, like panna cotta and mascarpone. Or, simply add slices of strawberries to a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This candy-like fruit easily creates a sweet distinctive jam without adding any pectin. Below are eight especially delicious strawberry desserts to try at home:

1. Strawberry Jam with Black Pepper and Fresh Mint
2. Strawberry Clafoutis
3. Strawberry and Hazelnut Meringue Cake
4. Strawberry Shortcake
5. Nectarine Strawberry Ice Pops
   
6. Strawberry Panna Cotta
7. Mascarpone Cheesecake with Rhubarb Glaze and Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
8. Italian Strawberry Tart
   

I will never forget my experience browsing through the open-air market in Potsdam, Germany and discovering the culinary delights of white asparagus. My eyes were overwhelmed by the magnificent sight of thick, extremely straight white asparagus spears. That evening, I cooked this delicate white asparagus and topped it off with hollandaise sauce.

Ever since that experience, I never thought of asparagus in the same way. It went from being a vegetable that I detested throughout childhood to a respected art of nature.

April is the prime month for the asparagus season. While the evenings get warmer, the quantity of the harvest increases. There are four main varieties: green, white, violet and wild. Green asparagus is the one most commonly grown in the United States.

There are numerous ways to use asparagus in a dish. But, as we enter spring, it's time to think about refreshing salads that place this delicious crunchy vegetable at the center. Below are eight different recipes for asparagus salad:

1. Martha Stewart's Shaved Asparagus Salad
2. Asparagus Salad with Celery Leaves, Quail Eggs, and Tarragon Vinaigrette
3. Asparagus Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette
4. Spring Lettuce Salad with Roasted Asparagus
5. Portobello and Asparagus Salad
6. Asparagus-Bean Salad Over Arugula
7. Asparagus Salad with Soy-Mustard Dressing
8. Scallion and Asparagus Salad

What are some of your favorite asparagus salads?

As someone who has spent hours reading about how to perfect the omelet, the Italian frittata is another egg-based culinary delight I admit takes a certain skill. Like making an omelet, you must use just the right amount of ingredients so that the dish is not too cheesy or full of too many mushrooms. A frittata is somewhat a mix of an omelet and a quiche. It cooks over the stove in a skillet and is finished off in the broiler.

When entertaining, I often make frittata, because just one can serve up to 6 people. There are several different ways to make frittata. In southern Italian cuisine, especially Neapolitan cuisine, the frittata can contain spaghetti, macaroni, or another kind of pasta. Check out AOL's leftover spaghetti frittata recipe. A more traditional yet simple frittata might contain onions and Parmesan cheese.

Below are 8 savory frittata dishes:

1. Artichoke and Mushroom Frittata
2. Asparagus Frittata
3. Leek and Ricotta Frittata
4. Mustard Green and Sweet Onion Frittata
5. Alton Brown's Frittata
6. Ranchero Frittata
7. Mushroom and Potato Frittata
8. Gruyere, Ham, and Spinach Frittata