WEEKLY MENU 03.20.22
We’re officially welcoming spring during the Weekly Menu 03.20.22, but we’ll have to wait and see what Mother Nature has to say about that.
We’re starting the Weekly Menu 03.20.22 out with a special day: the vernal equinox occurs at 11:33 am EDT on March 20, 2022. So, unlike the “meteorological spring” on March 1st, which is more of an easy indicator, the equinox has a base in science.
You may know that the solstices and equinoxes signal the changing of the seasons on Earth, but do you remember which is which? Are they just different names for the same thing? Actually, a solstice and an equinox are sort of opposites.
The seasons on Earth change because the planet is slightly tilted on its axis as it travels around the Sun. This means different points on Earth receive more or less sunlight at different times of year. If Earth were not tilted, the Sun would always appear to be directly above the Equator, the amount of light a given location receives would be fixed, and there would be no seasons. There also would be no need to mark equinoxes or solstices.
The two solstices happen in June (20 or 21) and December (21 or 22). These are the days when the Sun’s path in the sky is the farthest north or south from the Equator. A hemisphere’s winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and its summer solstice the year’s longest. In the Northern Hemisphere the June solstice marks the start of summer: this is when the North Pole is tilted closest to the Sun, and the Sun’s rays are directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer. The December solstice marks the start of winter: at this point the South Pole is tilted closest to the Sun, and the Sun’s rays are directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn. (In the Southern Hemisphere the seasons are reversed.)
The equinoxes happen in March (about March 21) and September (about September 23). These are the days when the Sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length.
Britannica
Pshew. That’s a mess of science. How about a summation:
So, in the Northern Hemisphere you have:
Vernal equinox(about March 21): day and night of equal length, marking the start of spring
Summer solstice (June 20 or 21): longest day of the year, marking the start of summer
Autumnal equinox(about September 23): day and night of equal length, marking the start of autumn
Winter solstice (December 21 or 22): shortest day of the year, marking the start of winter
Britannica
Bert is most affected by the Summer solstice – it’s a bittersweet day. While we have the longest day of sunlight in the year, we also know that the next day it gets a little shorter. And so on, and so on. But how cool are the equinoxes? Day and night of equal length on either side of summer.
Spring? HAH!
Of course, at least in Erieland, the knowledge that it’s spring takes a little longer to get through to Mother Nature. We have fits and starts – it was 60 degrees and sunny yesterday, but we’re almost certain to have at least one more snow storm in store. A good friend of ours is already talking about planting where she lives, which is far south of here. We don’t plant until at least the middle of May, although Memorial Day is more likely.
On to the Food!
But we hope and wait for spring. And during the Weekly Menu 03.20.22 we can pretend. Asparagus, the quintessential spring veggie, is hitting the shelves and looking tasty. So we’re starting out with a simple tart that has its base in store bought pie crust. Cheesy and creamy, the star of the tart is the pretty asparagus. So delicate!
We’ll roast everything at the same time – the chicken and the spuds will hang out while the tart cooks. The Raspberry Crisp gets prepped earlier and warmed up at dessert time, right before we add a hearty scoop of vanilla ice cream.
We’re still trying to get around the quickly escalating food prices by eating Pork Salsa Verde Tacos on Tuesday. They’re super cheap, and, when prepared in your (affiliate links follow – see disclaimer page for details) crockpot crazy easy. Good news: they’re also delicious.
Doesn’t lasagna sound good? Check out the Lasagna Soup on Wednesday – all the tastes, but none of the tedious prep time. And on Thursday, we’re prepping the chicken Buffalo Style – just like in our Buffalo Chicken Nachos, but we’re serving it on a tossed salad with lettuce, blue cheese and celery. Ranch dressing to taste!
And calzones are just pizza packages. We’re making our pizza dough and stuffing it with pepperoni and cheese on a marinara base. Maybe add some peppers and onions. We’ll cook them at 450 degrees until they are gold brown. Yum.
WEEKLY MENU 03.20.22
