Last weekend, my dad was in town for a visit. About an hour after his plane touched down, and on the recommendation of several friends, we went fishing for redfish, trout and whatever else would bite with guide and longtime Charlestonian Peter Brown. Though the redfishing was really good, the speckled trout ended up the highlight.

Speckled, or sea trout, are among of the lowcountry’s most succulent, tasty fish. This time of year they’re found inshore, mostly in shallow waters feeding on crustaceans, shrimp and small fish. After a solid afternoon of catching redfish (but none in the right size window for keeping), Peter put us on the speckled trout.

My first cast with a wiggling live shrimp quickly lured a three-foot bonnethead shark from the grass. The shark aggressively circled the shrimp, then took it. With a little luck I eventually brought him in and let him go — fun fight and a good picture, but not what we were after.

After a few more casts (and several smaller fish), I finally brought in a sea trout big enough to keep. We put the spotted iridescent beauty in the livewell to keep him fresh, then headed back to the dock where we cleaned, scaled and otherwise left the trout whole. We packed it ice, and headed home for dinner.

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Yesterday afternoon I was looking forward to grilling two beautiful Niman Ranch pork tenderloins for a dinner party. But when it was time to fire up the grill, the sky cracked open and it started to pour. Even though my grill’s just outside the door, the rain was coming down hard and I didn’t feel like getting wet. So I opted instead for my second-favorite way to cook meat — pan roasting.

I preheated the oven to 375F and sprinkled the pork generously with smoked paprika, toasted and ground cumin and coriander, salt and pepper. I seared the tenderloins in canola oil in a hot skillet until they were dark brown on all sides, then put them in the oven to finish cooking. When their internal temperature was 150F in the thickest part I removed them to a cutting board to rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10 minutes.

The pork didn’t quite have the charred flavor that grilling gives, but thorough searing in the skillet, smoky paprika and toasted spices helped compensate. It went well alongside fragrant coconut rice, mango-avocado salsa, cucumber raita and the sound of steady rain through a cracked window.

Recipe: Pan-Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Recipe: Coconut Basmati Rice
Recipe: Mango-Avocado Salsa
Recipe: Cucumber Raita

And strawberries.

And rhubarb.

And green onions.

It’s Spring. What other spring produce are you looking forward to cooking with now that the seasons have changed?