While this month is still a bit of transition to Spring, there are still a lot of delicious dishes to make.

Plus I’ve got recipe ideas for your Easter brunch and dinner menus!

If you enjoy cooking more seasonally, I highly recommend Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden. He walks you through all of the ways to enjoy vegetables from early-Spring through Winter. This book has given me so many new ideas on how to cook different vegetables during this time of year.

And speaking of vegetables, I’m currently planning what to plant in my vegetable garden! Growing your own food is absolutely so satisfying. Once we’re in the midst of the summer I love being able to go outside and pick what I need for the recipe I’m cooking.  This year I’m going to try a few different types of radishes and some of our other favourites like beets, carrots, lettuces, jalapeno peppers and tomatoes.

What’s In Season in April

Though the weather in April can still be a bit up and down, the produce at the markets and grocery stores is definitely bright and fresh for the Spring season.

• Arugula
• Asparagus
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Leeks
• Lemon
• Mushrooms
• Radishes
• Rhubarb

Recipes to make in April

Breakfast & Brunch

Swiss Chard, Goat Cheese & Leek Frittata

Easy French Toast Blueberry Breakfast Bake Recipe

Healthy Crustless Veggie Breakfast Quiche Recipe

Salads & Side Dishes

Blueberry Basil Green Salad with Goat Cheese

Market Spring Vegetable Salad

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples, Dates & Hazelnuts

Sauteed Savoy Cabbage with Bacon

Sheet Pan Roasted Carrots, Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes

Roasted Cauliflower with Orange Tahini (side dish)

Spring Dinner Recipes

Leek and Pancetta Pasta

Easy One Pan Spring Salmon with Potatoes & Asparagus

One Pan Creamy Lemon & Garlic Chicken Gnocchi

Sheet Pan Hot Honey Chicken with Brussels Sprouts

Spring Minestrone Soup with Herb Ricotta Topping

Easy 30 Minute Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta Recipe

Spring Cocktails

Lavender French 75

Grapefruit Lavender Spring Blossom Cocktail

Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz

Rhubarb French 75

Sweet Treats

Easy Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Lemon Blueberry Blondies

Coconut Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Easter Brunch & Dinner Menu Recipes

Bacon, Mushroom & Spinach Quiche

Mushroom Tart

Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes

Easy Baked Croissant French Toast

Easy Herb Drop Biscuits

Honey Butter Roasted Carrots and Radishes

Quick & Easy Gnocchi With Mushrooms

3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Eggs

Easy Mini-Egg Fudge Recipe

The post 30 Seasonal Recipes to Make in April appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

There are so many green vegetables that come to mind to cook with.

But let’s not forget we start to see rhubarb and tomatoes at the market too. Let’s get cooking!

While March is more of transition month in terms of seasonal ingredients, we really start to see more delicious Spring fruits and vegetables in April.

I am all about fresh, crunchy salads, adding vegetables to pizzas and using fresh fruits and vegetables as a topper to a built-up toast. There are SO many ways to enjoy seasonal ingredients!

Do you know what else is lovely this time of year?! FRESH FLOWERS! When I’m at the market shopping, I love to grab a bouquet of seasonal flowers too. Place them on your dining table or maybe it’s the breakfast bar where you generally eat. Flowers add such a lovely, bright touch in the Springtime too.

Two recipes that I’m sooo looking forward to making are this Loaded Vegetable Pizza from What’s Gaby Cooking AND these Rainbow Peanut Chicken Wraps from Whole Beet Kitchen. If you haven’t heard of these blogs I HIGHLY recommend checking them out for even more recipe inspo!

And from my archives, here are my fav recipes to make in April:

Apples – Apple Cheddar Toast

Cucumber – Minty Cucumber Gin Spritz

Leeks – Leek and Pancetta Pasta

Lettuce – Market Spring Vegetable Salad

Microgreens – Spring Toast with Radishes, Pea Shoots and Feta

Rhubarb – Rhubarb Cake

Tomatoes – One Pan Baked Chicken with Tomatoes & Oregano

If you’re in the baking mood, here are a few delicious recipes I’m looking forward to trying:

• Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins
• Lemon Chiffon Cake
• Healthy Blueberry Crumble Bars

I hope you’ve found some inspiration for lunches, dinners and desserts – I’d love to know what you’re going to make first!

Personally I would go with the Rhubarb Snack Cake (if you can get your hands on some rhubarb) or the Spring Toasts for brunch on the weekend.

Enjoy!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post What’s In Season – Recipes to Make in April appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

Most of us are spending a lot more time at home, perhaps cooking and baking more than we ever have.

So, let’s chat April recipes including seasonal dishes, easy recipes to make for Easter at home and what we’ve been up to as we #stayhome more.

As we’ve been cooking a lot more at home, we’re trying to use more pantry ingredients and keep to recipes that are simpler in nature like my Quick White Beans with Tomatoes & Kale.  Frozen veggies are going a long way these days too.

And, my Easy Pea Soup is exactly the dish to make them shine. Are you on a baking kick?! A couple of my friends are trying their hand at sourdough bread; but I’m sticking to my Sweet Potato & Cheddar Drop Biscuits because they’re SO easy!I dove back into a couple of books from my bookshelf that I haven’t read in years too, re-reading some of my favourites like Snow Falling on Cedars and The Little French Bistro.

And, we’ve also been watching a couple of movies & shows – some of my fav tv shows are:

• Ozark
• Virgin River
• Succession
• Schitt’s Creek
• The Office
• Modern Love
• Jack Ryan
• The Good Fight
• The Mindy Project

If you want a break from tv or cooking, get creative with Brit & Co. They have all of their online classes available FOR FREE until April 9th – maybe they’ll even extend it a bit!

In between reading, show-watching and getting creative, we are DEFINITELY cooking! So, here are some simple recipes to make this month and many of them contain fresh ingredients in-store right now:

Apples – Apple Cheddar Breakfast Toast

Grapefruit – Grapefruit Lavender Spring Blossom Cocktail

Leeks – Leek & Pancetta Pasta

Lettuce – Market Spring Vegetable Salad

Carrots – Honey Butter Roasted Carrots & Radishes

Spinach – Bacon, Mushroom & Spinach Quiche

Most of these recipes would be great as a main or side dish for Easter brunch or dinner and here are a couple more that are great for enjoying at home:

Mushroom Tart

Sheet Pan Roasted Carrots, Brussels Sprouts & Potatoes

Swiss Chard, Goat Cheese & Leek Frittata

Easy Pea Soup

Rhubarb Cake

I don’t know about you but I am sure looking forward to seeing more and more seasonal produce in the stores. And, starting to cook with it more!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

The post What’s In Season – Recipes to Make in April appeared first on Cooking in my Genes.

I love this time of year; going to the farmers market to see all of the bright and fresh produce and of course using it in my cooking.

Spring also brings a sense of freshness and inspiration to me, so here are my favourite things from this past month including cookbooks, recipes and florals to brighten up your day!

March went by in a flash but I’ve definitely spent some time enjoying two new books from the library. First, I’ve been thoroughly loving Modern Lunch by Allison Day. The recipes totally shake-up what you ‘think’ lunch should be with some seriously delicious flavour combinations. What I really enjoy about the book is the ‘mix and match’ sections that give you a ton of ideas for using different recipes together for delicious lunches!

The second book I cannot get enough of is The Cook’s Atelier. Simply put, you are transported a French cooking school and culinary boutique in a town in France. With beautiful photos, recipes and stories from their cooking school, it’s absolutely a divine read!

And, I always like trying out other bloggers’ recipes, like these Baked Teriyaki Meatballs with Roasted Broccoli from The Modern Proper. I made this as a ‘build your own bowl’ kind of dinner for family and they absolutely LOVED it!

So, what are we cooking as we head into April? Here’s some inspiration for you!

Almonds – Almond Butter Squares

Grapefruit – Grapefruit Lavender Spring Blossom Cocktail

Leeks – Leek & Pancetta Pasta

Peas – Easy Pea Soup

Radishes – Spring Toasts with Radishes, Pea Shoots & Feta

Spinach – Bacon, Mushroom & Spinach Quiche

So, what’s your favourite Spring ingredient!? Is there a recipe you’d love to see on the blog?? I’d love to hear from you!

I’m also making a list of DIY projects because I am in the mood to create! I’m going to try my hand at these DIY Watercolour Cloth Napkins to use in an upcoming photoshoot so stay tuned to see how those turn out.

And, I’ll have some highlights from a trip to Arizona to share with you too!

Until the next cooking adventure,
Jess

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