This months ingredients are:

• Pasta
• Chevre
• Beets
• Peanut buttter

On first glance, these aren't exactly ingredients that scream "delicious when mixed together," but I saw it as a unique opportunity to make a fusion dish, combining Asian influences (pasta and peanut sauce) with French sensibilities (beets and chevre). In some respects, it's a layperson's "wannabe Vietnamese," and I'm fine with that.

Cross-Cultural Vermicelli

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs chunky peanut butter
• 8 tbs lite coconut milk
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• 1 cayenne pepper, minced
• 1/2 package Vietnamese wheat vermicelli
• 1 large handful of fall greens (I used spinach, arugula and mustard greens), rinsed and torn
• 1 small beet (any color)
• 3 oz. chevre, crumbled
• sea salt

Directions:

1. Peel and cut beet into 1 inch cubes. Line cookie sheet with foil, spray with olive oil, and place beet cubes on sheet. Spray with oil and coat with sea salt. Roast at 375 degrees until heated through and tender, about 25 minutes. When finished, remove to cool.
2. Cook pasta to package directions. Rinse and set aside to cool.
3. Combine peanut butter, coconut milk, garlic, onion and cayenne pepper in microwave-safe container. Heat incrementally on high power for 1 minute bursts until ingredients become fluid. Use fork or whisk to combine, then heat for an extra minute to allow flavors to combine.
4. Steam greens in covered pot until done (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and drain.
5. Once beets have cooled, dice them into a fine cube (around 5 mm per side).
6. In large bowl, combine pasta and peanut sauce, mixing thoroughly to ensure complete coating of pasta with sauce. Place portions in serving bowls.
7. Place greens atop pasta with sauce. Crumble beets and chevre on top.

Serves four

This week we celebrated their return by buying:

• Milk
• Eggs
• Golden beets
• Watercress
• Grape tomatoes
• Spring lettuce
• A cucumber
• Pink lady apples
• A variety of cooking apples
• An onion
• Hon tsai tai (an Asian green particularly good in the spring)
• Red spring onions
• A baguette
• Croissants
• Apple tartes (these were especially tasty!)
• Cheddar
• Strawberry yogurt
• Orange poppies
• Daffodils
• A purple hyacinth

Next week, we're looking forward to blueberry scones and microgreens and some other spring Asian greens. And as the weather gets a bit warmer, we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for rhubarb, wild mushrooms, and ramps.

As they say, you can scoff at British cooking, but you shouldn't forget that essential beers (bitter ales), cheeses (Cheddar, Stilton, Wensleydale), sauces (Worcestershire), and baked goods (Sally Lunn buns, pasties, scones) are part of the lexicon thanks to the Brits.

So with that, a couple of great websites:

The Great British Kitchen - a one-stop for British recipes
eggbaconchipsandbeans - a tribute to the English fry-up

What are they? They're essentially a scalloped potato casserole. I've seen a few recipes that all differ a little - some call for diced frozen potatoes (a.k.a. homefries), others call for thawed hash brown potato shreds. All call for a cream soup base - celery, mushroom, or chicken. All have a cornflake "crust," and all feature sour cream.

This is not health food, and the recipes advise the cook to steer clear of low-fat variations on the ingredients, as they don't "gel" as well as their full-fat brethren.

I'll post the recipe I use on the site once I cook the stuff - as well as photos, if I'm not dead from the cholesterol.