EARLY SPRING FOODS OFFER DELICATE EATING

Have you noticed the morning light these last couple of weeks? It has a

particular quality that we see only now, in the short window that opens with

the approaching equinox and closes as soon as daylight-saving time begins.

It caught me off guard on a Saturday morning earlier in the month, when the

clouds that had been dumping rain on us all night had moved on and the ones

that would bring both rain and snow had not yet moved over western Sonoma

county.

I had awakened earlier, with neither intent nor assistance, than I do in

the winter and saw a glow so bright and warm that I thought I had left a light

on in another room. As I walked toward it I realized the light was coming from

an eastern-facing window, morning streaming in in all its delicate spring

glory.

This is the tender season, a time when it's easy to awaken naturally with

the rising of the sun, feeling rested and ready to greet the day. It is a time

to savor the quality of the light, to listen to the mockingbirds that are

beginning their annual courtship rituals, to appreciate the slow awakening of

the earth.

All too soon the hand of man will reach in and mess with the earth's

natural rhythms. Once daylight-saving robs us of an hour's sleep, we'll have

to drag ourselves out of bed before we are physically inclined to do so. And

everything will seem speeded up, hurried, hectic.

That's always been my response to daylight-saving, in any case. This little

interim before it descends on us is one of my favorite times of year, eclipsed

only by the beauty of the first light of fall.

It's a good time to eat delicately. If storms continue, the hearty stews

and soups of winter are still satisfying. But if we are blessed with clear

days, the foods of spring are perfect: Fresh blood orange juice, a delicate

crepe filled with Meyer lemon curd, boiled Vialone Nano rice with lemon juice,

roasted asparagus with a shower of grated hard-cooked egg, Bellwether Farm's

sheep's milk ricotta on toast with a drizzle of '05 olive oil, latte in a

bowl, rhubarb, strawberries, sweet fresh peas, leeks, fresh fava beans and

tender little salads with mint from the garden.

When people say we don't have seasons in northern California, I feel sorry

for them. Pay attention, I want to say. It's here for the taking.

I like this salad in the early spring, when we still have local Dungeness

crab. It is a very flexible salad; you can use all crab, all squid or change

the proportions of any of the seafood. If you don't have or don't like fennel,

use fresh arugula instead. Or replace the fennel with a medium pasta, such as

gemelli or cencioni. The most important thing is to taste the dressing and

adjust amounts of salt, lemon juice and olive oil until it tastes really good.

Seafood Salad with Lemon, Garlic & Fennel

Makes 4 to 6 servings

2 tablespoons butter

1 large shallot minced

3/4 cup dry white wine

3 thyme sprigs

2 to 3 pounds cockles or very small clams, washed thoroughly

2 to 3 pounds small black mussels, washed thorough and trimmed as needed

1 1/2 pounds very small fresh squid, cleaned

2 tablespoons olive oil

-- Kosher salt

1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed, fronds reserved

-- Extra virgin olive oil

-- Juice of 4 lemons (about 2/3 cup)

-- Grated zest of 3 lemons

3 to 4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

-- Pinch red pepper flakes

-- Black pepper in a mill

1 tablespoon minced fresh fennel fronds

1/2 cup minced fresh Italian parsley

-- Meat from 1 large Dungeness crabs, legs separate, chilled (see Note

below)

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Melt the butter in a large pot set over medium heat, add the shallot and

saute for 2 minutes. Add the white wine, the thyme sprigs and the cockles and

mussels. Increase the heat to high and cover the back. Cook, shaking the pan

frequently, until the shellfish just opens, about 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover the

pot, remove from the heat and let cool until easy to handle.

Meanwhile, set the squid caps, one at a time, on a work surface and cut

crosswise into 1/4 -inch rounds. Leave the tentacles whole.

Pour the olive oil into a wok or medium saute pan set over high heat, add

the squid, season generously with salt and saute quickly, until they just turn

opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a wide bowl to cool.

Using a very sharp knife or a mandoline, cut the fennel into very very thin

crosswise slices. Put the sliced fennel in a bowl, drizzle with just a

teaspoon or two of olive oil, add a sprinkling of salt, toss and set aside.

Remove the cockles and mussels from their shells and add them to the bowl

with the cooked squid.

Pour the lemon juice into a medium bowl, add the zest, garlic, red pepper

flakes, a teaspoon of kosher salt and several turns of black pepper and stir

to dissolve the salt. Stir in the olive oil and add the minced fennel fronds

and parsley. Taste and correct the seasoning.

Add the crab meat (reserve a few of the legs) to the cockles, mussels and

squid and spoon most of the dressing over it, reserving about 2 tablespoons,

and toss very gently. Spread some of the sliced fennel over individual plates

and mound the seafood mixture on top. Gently turn the reserved crab legs in

the remaining dressing and add a leg to each portion. Garnish with lemon

wedges and serve immediately.

Note: You can buy a cooked Dungeness crab at any local market and ask that

it be cleaned. You should also ask when it was cooked, so that it is as fresh

as possible. But the best crab is cooked at home. Here's how: Bring a live pot

of generously salted ( 1/4 cup per gallon of water) to a boil, plunge the

live crab in mouth down and cover the pan. Cook small crabs for 8 to 10

minutes, larger ones for 12 to 16 minutes. Use tongs to remove the crab from

the pot and plunge it into an ice-water bath. Let rest 2 to 3 minutes. Remove

the crab from the water.

To clean the crab, hold it in one hand, topside up, and with the other

hand, grasp the top shell and lift it up, pulling it away from the body. Set

the shell aside.

Turn the crab over and tug on the breastplate, a triangle-shaped section,

lifting it up and off the crab. Turn the crab over again and remove and

discard the finger-like gills on either side of the body. Remove and discard

the intestine, nestled in the center of the back, and twist off the mouth.

Twist off the legs and set them aside. Rinse the body under cool water and

break it in half with your hands or with a large cleaver. To remove the meat

from its shells, simply pick it out, being sure to remove all pieces of shell.

Use a small mallet or a nutcracker to crack the legs, and use your fingers or

a crab fork to remove the meat.

''Mouthful with Michele Anna Jordan'' can be heard each Sunday at 7 p.m. on

KRCB 91.1 FM. E-mail Jordan at michele@micheleannajordan.com.