We are experiencing a heat wave here in Queensland at the moment so it feels more like summer than spring. I am not sure spring recipes will be that relevant at this point but I've decided to post this roundup anyway in hopes that spring might greet us again for a short time before the summer heat is back in full force.

I thought I would start with all things strawberry because these juicy little gems are at their prime in early spring. I have had my fair share of them in the last 6 weeks or so maybe even over indulging some days because they are just so darn good. I've been putting them in everything on my cereal, on my toast with peanut butter, in my smoothies and just as they are. We buy all our fruit and vegetables at our local farmers markets and I had been able to get a kilogram of strawberries of $6 so I have had more than enough to eat during the week. Mind you J.D has his fair share as well so I've had to share. Poor hubby gets to the end of the week and goes searching for a few strawberries and finds a few shrivelled ones at the back of the fridge as we have hoovered all the good ones already. Sorry hubs.

All things strawberry:

1. Roasted Strawberry Crepes

2. Chocolate Pikelet Stacks

3. Chocolate Coconut Pudding Shots

4. Cheat's Mini Lime & Strawberry Cheesecakes

Since we are talking about sweet things let's go straight to dessert. I just realised I featured three chocolate desserts in this round up below. You really can't get enough chocolate I say. These desserts are allergy friendly featuring gluten and dairy free options. The orange pudding with macadamia crumble is just a little dash of something different for you to consider as a dessert option. I know oranges are still out in their prime in early spring and we still have a tree full of Valencia's in our orchard that we have been slowly eating our way through. Which reminds me I should make this again to use some of the glut we have going on.

Digging Dessert Time:

1. Ultimate Chocolate Brownie

2. Chocolate, Banana & Peanut Butter Mousse

3. Orange Pudding With Macadamia Crumble

4. Tirimisu Layer Cake

Onto savoury options now. I find I always crave a good piece of salmon once the warmer weather hits. I don't know what it is but it always hits the spot. Asparagus is also in full swing at this time of year as well and I asparagus patch has been producing between 6-8 stalks of asparagus a day so I am always trying to find ways to eat these delicious little stalks. My favourite way at the moment is either raw (when they're fresh they are so sweet) or quickly grilled on the BBQ or in a pan. Divine.

Sweet Salmon:

1. Salmon With Almonds & Asparagus

2. Pear & Coconut Salmon With Quinoa

3. Salmon With Apple Slaw & White Wine Jelly

I thought I would put a little vegetarian roundup in here since I am always struggling myself with putting vegetarian options on the menu. Do you have the same trouble? We try to eat one meal a week that is vegetarian but I always seem to get stuck in a bit of a rut and rotate the four same recipes over and over - i.e quiche, zucchini slice, fritters and fried rice. Yep boring. So this little roundup is not only for your benefit but mine as well to remind me of some other options we could be having!