Today I’m feeling hopeful, looking forward rather than back. But some days, when it’s harder to channel that optimism, I treat myself to a beautiful distraction: planning this year’s vegetable garden. If you, too, are dreaming up a new or expanded vegetable garden, this evergreen article from Martha’s Vineyard magazine will come in handy. It includes designs for a small, medium and large kitchen garden.

In fact, scouring seed catalogues is what put tomatoes in my head this week, which is how I wound up roasting winter plum tomatoes and scheming up this Tortelloni with Roasted Tomato Sauce, Peas, and Crispy Salami. (And by the way, seeds are once again hot commodities, so place your orders ASAP.)

I had bought a bag of fresh Rana prosciutto and cheese tortelloni at Cronig’s for a quick weeknight dinner, but once I pureed the roasted tomatoes into a deeply flavorful sauce, I switched gears. Garnished with fresh pea shoots I had picked up at Mermaid farm and parsley still growing in the garden, the tortelloni became a fun weekend meal. (Ravioli would work well, too.)

Those pea shoots reminded me that I wanted to steer you towards making your own winter salad mixes...