Egg Salad Sandwiches with Bittercress and Rosemary Blossoms

Well, it's been quite the year. Lots of changes, including leaving my beloved New Mexico, the place where my husband grew up and that was my chosen home for fourteen years, to return to Seattle, the place where I was born and where all my mom's family lives.

As the magnificent changes of spring unfold in the Pacific Northwest, I'm still in the midst of my own big transition, but I feel like we've landed in the right place. On this beautiful Easter morning, I am grateful for all the familiar joys of family and places I grew up loving, as well as the fun of exploring new places and new things to do.

We found a great little house with a great little yard, and I'm so excited about all the things I can grow here in Seattle's long, cool spring. Rhubarb, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce, maybe even watercress! And I'm discovering new weeds, too... like bittercress, also known as shotweed. It's an annual weed with funny-shaped leaves that all grow out from a central point near the ground, little white flowers, and long skinny seed pods that shoot seeds out everywhere when they dry and pop open. It's everywhere now, and it's delicious! It tastes just like watercress, not bitter at all.

One of the most delightful things about our new garden is that it has the most gigantic rosemary bush, taller than me and in full bloom since December! And there is a hummingbird that seems to live in it, or at least spend most of its time there, feeding from the rosemary blossoms. They are such gorgeous, tiny, edible flowers, with a delicate flavor of rosemary.

It just occurred to me recently that I might like egg salad sandwiches, because they are basically like deviled eggs in sandwich form! So here's a simple recipe for egg salad sandwiches that are a great way to use up all those Easter eggs and the perfect vehicle for bittercress and rosemary blossoms.

4 eggs
2 Tbs. mayonnaise
1 tsp. mustard (any kind will do)
A big handful of bittercress
A small handful of rosemary blossoms
4 slices of bread

Mash up the eggs, mayo, and mustard with a fork. Taste and adjust the amount of mustard to your liking. Pick the little tender fronds off the bittercress, wash them well, and dry them in a salad spinner. Pile the egg salad on top of the bread and top with lots of bittercress and rosemary blossoms.  Serve as open-face sandwiches or put the two halves together, whatever suits you in the moment.

Serves 2.