Happy first day of spring! The day we've been waiting for, through these long winter days, has finally arrived. 

Today in Walker's and Addie's lunches, we have lots of crunch and aromatics plus a sweet-tangy dessert.

Tuna and bacon join garlic scapes, celery, radish, and basil in a salad, served on thin slices of brioche with homemade aioli and avocado slices. On the side, sugared strawberries are balanced with crème fraîche.

What's in your lunchbox?

Strawberries are nuts! Actually, they're fruit -- and despite the name, they're not berries. Whether you're eating them plain or with clotted cream, stacking them sky-high with meringues, or using them to top a spinach salad, here's everything you need to know about buying, storing, and eating everyone's favorite all-American fruit (literally -- the Pilgrims had them at the first Thanksgiving) that's versatile, delicious, and as good for snacking as it is for sherbet, ricotta, or roasting.

Merrill kicks off the unofficial start of summer with a girly pink drink and feels no shame.

Inspiration for tonight's dinner? Deconstructed, lazy Nicoise and a cheery pink homemade sherbet (no ice cream machine required!) to finish.

There's a secret special ingredient snuck in with the Greenmarket fare in today's peek into Amanda's kids' lunchboxes. Here's what they're having, straight from Amanda herself:

"Smoked ham topped with sautéed turnip greens, kale, and fresh garlic. I think a few asparagus spears are snuck in there as well. The local strawberries are nice this year so I've been putting them in every lunch -- sometimes whole, sometimes sliced and mixed with yogurt, and sometimes on top of stewed rhubarb. My kids went to a birthday party where there was a piñata, thus the lollipop and Hershey's Chocolate. I let our kids have commercial candy now and then, but I draw the line at fast food!"

You'll be hearing from the staff at FOOD52 every week in Too Many Cooks, our group column in which we pool our answers to questions about food, cooking, life, and more.

And now for your Memorial Day weekend sendoff: a look into how we spent the past week. It was a good one, full of garden harvests, baked goods, and cheese. Here's to a great weekend ahead -- see you next week!