It is kind of a strange moment in time when winter is still here, but spring is making spotty appearances. I keep imagining that one Sunday I will wake up and the sun will be shining brightly; animated bluebirds will swoop out of the sky and I will prance out of the house in a T-shirt and flip-flops. I’ll be greeted at the farmers’ market by stand after stand of bright-green asparagus, swollen baskets of dark red strawberries, long ruby stalks of rhubarb and delicate sweet peas.

Ha. Having grown up on the West Coast, where we don’t get serious cold spells (or any humidity, either), I realize every year that I still have a kind of fantasy version of the changing seasons. In real life, it is a snail’s pace of an affair, with two steps back into the cold for every three or four paces towards the sunshine.

Even past St. Patrick’s Day, we were still eating cold-storage apples that were harvested five months ago. I’m still drowning in root vegetables, even as my window herb garden knows that secretly, slowly, springtime is creeping in.

So instead of this sudden anticipated epiphany of a spring, I suppose I should learn to slow down and appreciate this strange in-between season time we’re in. It’s the time of year when we get kale and green onions and leeks all at once and we still don’t mind keeping the oven on for the afternoon. The first of the leeks beg for the last of the potatoes, and the inevitable cold snap calls out for the resulting soup to warm and satisfy.

There is one sure sign of the seasonal moment we’re in, and that is the green garlic. Have you seen it yet? It looks like an overgrown clove of garlic: a big white bud with a pale green shoot climbing out of it.

The farmer told me this was a milder, sweeter form of garlic, perfect for a soup or a stir fry, and to go ahead and use the whole thing, stems and bulb, when cooking with it.

But I had other plans; I wanted a kicky pesto. And so I present to you this green garlic and arugula version. The arugula is a holdover from the winter, the green onions and garlic a sign of spring, and the whole thing looks ahead to the summer months when basil pesto is draped over everything. It’s on pasta salads at picnics, on fat, juicy heirloom tomatoes, and summer sandwiches of grilled sausages and creamy mozzarella.

That time will come soon enough. In the meantime, let’s savor the flavors of late-winter/early-spring.

Winter/Spring Pesto

Yield: 2 cups of pesto.

Ingredients

• 2 stalks green garlic, roughly chopped
• ½ c. diced green onions
• 2 ½ c. packed arugula
• 2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
• 1 c. olive oil
• ½ c. slivered almonds, toasted
• ½ tsp. Kosher salt
• Juice from half a lemon

Combine the green garlic, green onions, arugula and cheese in blender. Blend roughly while adding the olive oil slowly. Add the almonds, blend, and add any additional olive oil. Add salt, plus more to taste if necessary. Add lemon juice, stir to combine and taste to adjust any seasonings.

Serve over pasta, vegetables, or, as I did, on some leftover trout to really perk it up!