Do you smell it? Let’s try and guess what I might be talking about.

Am I talking about the May flowers that are making our eyes water and our noses sniffle? Perhaps I'm speaking of freshly cut grass or the smell of burgers sizzling on a grill. You probably don’t know what I'm talking about because you live somewhere beautiful and green and sane.

No. No, instead I’m talking about what Deb Perelman of smitten kitchen aptly describes in a post of hers as “eau de hot trash.” A distinct sign of rising temperatures in New York City, the overflowing trash buckets begin to literally bake in the sun. By 10a.m., if you close your eyes you might think you’ve commuted directly into a landfill.

Planning on visiting our fair city this summer or one day soon? Don't worry, you get used to it.

It seems that we’ve all but totally skipped spring. I’m not totally unhappy about it because I love this stinking hot weather and like I said, you get used to it. I like to think of myself as a cold blooded reptile. Now I can slither out to a nice sunny rock (my mother’s deck) and warm up my bones. You know what else likes this sunny weather? Strawberries. In season local strawberries, literally sunkissed and still warm to the touch, are worth these smelly, smelly mornings. They just started popping up at the New York greenmarkets and soon I will take a drive with my mother and we will handpick and drag home way too many pounds of them. Strawberries also mean that not far off in our futures are those other elusive summer standbys. In other words --- I’m dying for an August tomato.

This doesn’t mean that I’m sick of springtime’s well-timed fare. It arrives just when you’re about to go nuts that your market haul was a handful of wintered-over carrots and past-their-prime apples. Fresh and green comes to save you in the form of asparagus, peas, and the ever exclusive ramp. These three spring stars are the basis for this quick fried rice-esque side. Since ramp season is fleeting and just about over, feel free to sub any other springtime allium in if you can't find them anywhere. I also made it once with quinoa and it was just as good. Super simple, super seasonal, with minimal time spent at the stove. Plus, with similarities to the stuff that you can grab at your corner Chinese joint, it is so, so good cold from the fridge.

Spring Vegetable Brown Fried Rice

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons neutral oil like avocado oil for sauteing

2 eggs

salt

1 cup chopped ramps (can sub spring garlic, spring onions, or garlic scapes)

1 cup asparagus chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 cup frozen or fresh peas

2 cups cooked brown rice (or white rice, or quinoa)

soy sauce to taste

sesame oil to taste

Directions:

In oiled pan over high heat, crack the eggs directly into pan as if you were going to fry them. Season with a bit of salt. Let the whites set for a few seconds then puncture the yolk with the spatula and begin to pan scramble them. Once the eggs are fully cooked remove from pan and set aside.

Add a bit more oil to the same pan and add the vegetables. Season them with a bit of salt. Saute over high heat until asparagus is bright green, peas have thawed, and ramps have wilted. This will take 2 to 3 minutes at the most. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside.

Add a bit more oil to the pan and then add cooked rice to the pan. Stir rice to coat in oil and reheat. If you aren’t using a nonstick pan, the rice will probably stick a bit. Just do your best to scrape it up as you go. Once rice is fully broken up and heated through and beginning to “fry”, add the eggs and vegetables to the pan with the rice. Drizzle a touch of sesame oil onto the stir fry and a couple dashes of soy sauce to taste.

Stir the sesame oil and soy sauce into the stir fry to incorporate. Taste for seasoning, add more soy sauce if needed. Once all components are fully combined, remove from heat and serve.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side. Add protein to bump to a main.