Private: Blog & Recipes Archive

It’s a new month, and we’ve got a new recipe! If you haven’t picked up a copy of the calendar yet, we still have copies left in the Market Administration Office so come by. March’s feature recipe, brought to you by Jill’s Table, is a Thai Style Pork Stir-Fry with Vegetables. Here are the ingredients and click this link to find the instructions!

• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tsp ginger minced
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp chili paste such as Sriracha
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 lb lean ground pork
• 4 cups chopped vegetables (sweet red pepper, broccoli, carrots)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts for garnish (optional)

March is the month of Spring! For us in the Northern hemisphere, anyway. In the southern hemisphere, Spring occurs from September to November. This includes Australia, Antarctica, 90% of South America, a third of Africa, and several islands in Asia, who begin Autumn in March.

But when is the official first day of Spring? It’s actually different for different groups. We have the meteorological and the astronomical first day of Spring.

For meteorologists, March 1st is the big day, with Spring ending on May 31st each year. They separate the year into quarters, making it easier to compare statistics from one year to the next since the dates are always the same! These cycles are based on temperatures instead of the position of the earth and sun, and follow the Gregorian calendar which is most often used in the world.

Then, there’s the astronomical first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox. This is slightly different each year, but usually happens for us in the Northern Hemisphere on March 19, 20 or 21. In 2021, the Vernal Equinox is on Saturday, March 20th! (Vernal means “of, in, or appropriate to spring.”) The Equinox happens at the same moment worldwide, though the clock times are different for different time zones.

But what is an Equinox? An Equinox is on the days when the Sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length. There are only two each year, heralding Spring and Fall (about September 23 for us).

It’s important to know that Equinoxes are different from Solstices, which are the two days when the Sun is farthest from the Equator. A Winter Solstice is the shortest day of sun, and the Summer Solstice is the longest! Here are the usual dates for Equinoxes and Solstices in the Northern Hemisphere.

“In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”
— Mark Twain (1835-1910)

“Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush.”
— Doug Larson (1926-)

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
— Margaret Atwood (1939-)

“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!'”
— Robin Williams (1951–2014)