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Spring soup for shoulder seasonIt’s been sunny and warmish the last few days in Brooklyn, and the mountains of sooty snow piled up in the park are finally melting in earnest. Underneath, I saw snowdrops blossoming above the wet mud. There’s even yellow fuzz on the forsythia branches and teensy green sorrel shoots in the pot on my deck. I know there’ll be more freezing nights before spring really arrives, but the push-pull of shoulder season holds its own expectant kind of pleasure. This is the time of year to cook dishes that are lighter than the standard winter fare but still warming enough to fight off the chill. Kay Chun’s brothy, vegetable-filled spring minestrone with kale and pasta is just the thing. She streamlines the long-simmered Italian classic, adding quick-cooking baby kale or spinach and sliced asparagus for a fresher, greener bowl. Topped with spoonfuls of pesto and Parmesan cheese, it’s a fragrant elixir that feels both buoyant and satisfying. Featured Recipe Spring Minestrone With Kale and PastaMore food for thoughtGingery fish with green beans: Inspired by the heady spice pastes of Southeast Asia, Amelia Rampe stir-fries pieces of white fish, tomatoes and green beans with a pungent mix of lemongrass, shallots and chiles that have been puréed in the food processor. Frying the aromatics in oil before adding the fish and vegetables lends a particular caramelized depth to the sauce. Chicken schnitzel with cucumber salad: To make her version of this crunchy classic, Sue Li splits chicken breasts in half and then pounds the cutlets until they are thin and very tender before coating them in bread crumbs. This helps the cutlets cook quickly and evenly, turning golden and crisp without drying out. Serving schnitzel next to a creamy cucumber salad is traditional; here, Sue uses yogurt instead of sour cream and adds chopped dill pickles for texture and tang. Vegetarian pad Thai: Hetty Lui McKinnon replaces the fish sauce typically found in pad Thai with a smart mix of miso, tamarind and soy sauce, which gives the pliant rice noodles salty umami notes rounded out with just a touch of sweetness. Packed with tofu, snow peas and broccoli, this stir-fry is a meatless meal that’s crowd-pleasing and colorful. Sincronizadas (stacked ham and cheese quesadillas): A sincronizada (Spanish for “synchronized”) is a traditional, meaty quesadilla made with two stacked tortillas sandwiching cheese and thin slices of ham (or roasted mushrooms if you want to make it vegetarian). To add a snappy crunch, Paola Briseño-González tucks a bit of quickly made carrot escabeche inside each wedge, which helps balance the melted-cheese richness of the filling. Whole-orange snack cake: Perfect for the end of citrus season, Samantha Seneviratne’s easy, moist cake calls for an entire orange — pith, zest, flesh and all — for a complex, bittersweet citrus flavor. Serve the cake straight from the pan as an afternoon snack or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a dessert with Creamsicle vibes. That’s all for now. If you slam into any frustrating technical issues, you can send an email to cookingcare@nytimes.com for help. And I’m at hellomelissa@nytimes.com if you want to say hi. That’s all for now. I’ll see you on Monday. For a limited time, you can enjoy free access to the recipes in this newsletter in our app. Download it on your iOS or Android device and create a free account to get started.
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