Simple dinner with added lively flavors of mint, basil, and chives

Our favorite crabapple tree in full bloom…the first sign that dining alfresco is finally here.

The zucchini side is from David Tanis' Heart of the Artichoke Zucchini Antipasto minus the fresh mozzarella.
 I wanted to keep it light and let the fresh mint, basil, chives and lemon juice stand out so I omitted the mozzarella and instead added a few crumbles of fresh feta to the spring mix salad.
The swordfish is prepared with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper, and grilled over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side. 

A few good cookbooks… a hearty vegetable side for Easter dinner and holiday chocolate

The chef/owners of Philadelphia's Vedge, have just published a cookbook bearing the name of the restaurant. That along with two of David Tanis' latest cookbooks have kept me busy reading for the last couple of days.

For our Easter dinner this year I've decided to keep things super simple with a main dish of  grilled salmon and a livelier side dish, which lead me to swiss chard al forno from David Tanis' One Good Dish. 

Our local market had rainbow chard available so I substituted that for the Swiss chard used in the recipe.

The chard before the béchamel and cheese is added. The rainbow stalks add a nice depth of color with the deep green chard. 

Chard al Forno 

After dinner we enjoyed a delicious Easter Egg from Le Petit Mitron Chocolatier 

A surprise of  dark and white chocolate and sugared candy pieces inside the Easter egg.

Light reading

Lately I've been reading past issues of Cook's Illustrated from the library and it never fails to impress. I love the quick tips from the readers and the recipes are always foolproof and interesting. I've also been catching up on short stories in The New Yorker, and with two of my children living in New York, it also keeps me up to date on the latest cultural happenings. And my latest library book is  A Short Guide to a Long Life by David B. Angus, MD. Even though I'm aware of the latest health and fitness advice (thanks to the Harvard Health Letter), I can never seem to pass up a new book that adopts a short and quick guide to health and well being.