Food is Love: Here's what's in season for spring

Fresh, locally grown produce is the holy grail of cooking.

These vegetables and greens will look better, taste better and, as is often the case, will be at their lowest price of the year because they are in season.

Since you can buy every ingredient year-round –– whether it is in season or not –– many people have lost touch with what is truly seasonal. If you are not buying from a local farm stand, it might be hard to tell.

Let me make it easier for you. Now is the season for:

Vegetables: asparagus, peas (garden, snow, sugar snap), radishes, broccoli rabes (rapini), fiddlehead ferns, parsnips (spring dug), baby carrots, garlic (green garlic), shallots, sweet onions, leeks and ramps (wild onions).

Greens: pea tendrils, spinach, arugula, young swiss chard and mustard greens, watercress, baby lettuces and exotic lettuces like mizuna and frisee.

Herbs: mint, chives, chervil, parsley and thyme.

That’s what you should be looking for when you go shopping. I recommend that you shop first, and then decide what you’re cooking. It’s not that hard; you just have to break the habit of making a shopping list that includes specific vegetables and other foods, like seafood.

Don’t worry; trust your eyes, your nose, your memory (and my list). There is an old saying: what grows together, goes together.

Now, let’s take a closer look at spring’s bounty. Asparagus are to spring what corn and tomatoes are to summer. With a unique, delicious flavor and an aroma that goes well with a wide range of flavors and cooking techniques, asparagus are extremely versatile.

Asparagus can be steamed, boiled, broiled, roasted or grilled. They can be served hot in a pasta or risotto, as a side dish with the main course, or made into soup; cold (cooked and chilled), they are terrific as an appetizer or in a composed salad (with spring greens, of course).

I have paired asparagus with prosciutto, bacon, gravlax, crab, hardboiled egg, morels and other mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, potatoes, onions, oranges –– the list is almost endless. Indeed, asparagus is the king of spring vegetables.

Peas only grow in cool weather. Garden peas are a bit of work to shuck, but snow peas and sugar snap peas require only a minimal amount of preparation, and they cook in seconds, as do shucked peas. They can be stir-fried with Asian flavors or simply sauteed in butter with a little fresh mint or chervil.

I love radishes in salads and crudites, but they have other uses. Try them as a snack, French style with butter and salt or stuffed with a little creamy blue cheese. You can even slice them and saute them in butter.

Spring-dug parsnips are left to freeze underground from the previous season and then harvested as soon as the ground thaws. They are the most exotic and spicy flavored of all root vegetables. Peel them and cut them in pieces, then barely cover them in slightly salted water. When they are fully cooked, puree them with a little of the cooking water, butter, salt and pepper. (People always ask me what the seasoning is when I cook them this way, and I say “salt and pepper.” They usually think I’m holding out.)

Spinach is the most popular spring green; young spinach makes for beautiful salads, as does arugula, watercress, mizuna, frisee and baby lettuces. After a long winter of imported lettuce, these tender salad greens are welcome.

Spinach is also wonderful when quickly sauteed or stir-fried in olive oil with shallots or garlic. Young tender Swiss chard and mustard greens can be cooked this way, as well, but they need a little more cooking time than spinach.

My favorite is pea tendrils, quickly stir-fried with garlic and ginger. The tender greens used in salads can be cooked, as well, but they should only be warmed, or what most chefs refer to as wilted. The best way to do this is to heat the pan, and add oil, butter or vinaigrette. Then add the lettuce, and remove it from the heat. Toss the greens, and then quickly remove from the pan.

Last but certainly not least is the onion family. Although most are not local until late spring or early summer, this is the peak season for garlic, shallots, scallions, sweet onions and leeks. Use them abundantly in all your cooking and notice that their flavor is milder and cleaner at this time of year when they are freshly harvested.

Ramps (wild onions) are found locally near streams after the thaw; they are also available commercially. Use them sparingly as the aftertaste can last for days. Never –– I repeat, never –– order them in a restaurant or cook them on a first date or other social situation where your breath could compromise your well-being.

Winter is over! The world is colored in green, not white, and has a new palette of flavors to enjoy. So cook with joy and love and spring vegetables.

Jasper White is a chef, author, entrepreneur and owner of Summer Shack restaurants and the Fish Market at Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham, Mass. Got a question for Jasper? Send an e-mail to features@ledger.com with “Jasper White” in the subject line.

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Jump-start spring early with your children indoors by growing seeds

If your children are ready to jump-start spring inside, and are searching for something that sparks their imaginations, starting beautiful flowers or delicious vegetables from seed is a great beginning. The Miracle-Gro Kids Gardening Kits are an easy educational way for your children to tend and nurture plants, watch the seeds germinate, spread roots and grow toward the sun.

This is the perfect opportunity for your children to get their hands dirty. Simply mixing the Miracle-Gro Gro-Mix supplied, water and a seed, covering the pots with the greenhouse lid, and remembering to keep the plants watered will start your children down the gardening path. They will be counting down the days until they can transplant their sprouts into the backyard or a pot on the stoop, porch, balcony or patio.

With spring just around the corner, try some other fun indoor activities with your family:

* What is growing in my greenhouse? While seedlings are busy growing into big, strong plants, take your children on a tour of a local market, flower shop or library to research what they are growing at home. For example, if you plant peppers, head over to the fresh produce department and purchase several different pepper varieties. Have your children taste, feel, and smell each kind to familiarize themselves with the vegetables and learn about the different varieties.

* Have a fun art day. Work with your children to diagram where they will transplant their flowers and vegetables into the backyard on paper with crayons, stickers and other art supplies. If they are a little bit older, ask them to measure the size of your flower bed or vegetable plot, and help them convert the size into a smaller design. Add the vegetables and flowers you would like to grow as well. Find books at the library that discuss the benefits and consequences of planting different types of plants next to one another. Having these diagrams will make it easy for your children to find the perfect place to put their sprouts once the time arrives for transplanting.

* Experiment in the kitchen. Children love to play and experiment with food, so invite them to investigate recipes that will incorporate some of the vegetables and flowers they may be growing. For example, pansies and nasturtiums are tasty and work well as edible decorations on desserts, salads or in fruity drinks. If your children like lasagna, find a recipe that includes those peppers they are growing. You can help them develop a recipe memory book based on their greenhouse gardens, complete with photos of them planting the seeds, journals of the care they gave the plants and the final recipes using the ingredients they grew with their own two hands.

* Rainy day exploration. Go to Miraclegrokidsgardening.com and explore the many projects and activities the gardening experts at Scotts have designed with your kids in mind. Try making one of the great kids' recipes or print out some of the fun learning activities for a fun way to explore gardening even in the rain.

Getting your hands dirty with your children inside is the best way to start spring just a little bit early this year. Your family will love watching the development of the vegetables and flowers they started inside.

The views expressed here are those from a third-party content provider, and not necessarily the views or recommendations of the Lexington Clipper-Herald.

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