Use what’s in season this spring to create delicious, healthy meals.
Your hard work has paid off: You’ve been enjoying home-canned and
sun-dried treasures for a while now, sipping on soups and stews while
the snow falls, baking hearty winter squashes to heat up the house, and
roasting all those long-keeping storage veggies. Right? Good for you —
but things are finally warming up, so it’s time for fresh food again!
Spring is the season for young and tender treats right from the garden. Snack on raw peas and radishes, add fresh berries to your cereal, and get ready for crisp salads every day. Start throwing herbs and cooking greens into every pot, and enjoy asparagus steamed, grilled or any way you like.
You may not realize it, but many animal products are seasonal, too. Eggs from hens raised on pasture are likely to be most nutritious when the hens are pecking bright green grasses. When cows are chewing on those same vibrant pastures, their milk (and cheeses made with it) is also full of extra healthy goodness.
Spring is also the favorite season of food foragers. To learn to hunt wild edibles, such as delectable morel mushrooms and funky fiddleheads, connect with a local foraging group via the Internet (try searching “food foraging” and your state name). You’ll also want to get your hands on local field guides and one of the classic foraging texts: Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons or The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel Thayer.
Most of the foods below are likely to be in season during April or May in many parts of the United States. You should be able to find the best deals on these foods this time of year in grocery stores and at farmers markets, which means it’s a good time to stock up on items that preserve well. For example, you may want to dry herbs and freeze berries for later use. (To learn more about when and how to preserve different foods, see Enjoy Fresh, Local Food All Year. To see which foods are in season in your area, click on your state at this Peak Season Map.)
Herbs: chervil, chives, dill, horseradish root, mint, parsley, tarragon
Salad greens: arugula (rocket), baby lettuces, endive, mâche (corn salad), mizuna, pac choi, sorrel, spinach, watercress
Cooking greens: beet greens, chard, collards, kale, radish greens, spinach, turnip greens
Root veggies: beets, parsnips, radishes, salad turnips
Garden veggies: asparagus, garden peas, potatoes, scallions, spring onions, sugar snap peas
Sea veggies: dulse, various kelps (e.g. kombu, wakame), nori (laver), wrack
Fruits: apricots, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, rhubarb (not technically a fruit), strawberries
Arugula & Fava-Bean Bruschetta |
The
pairing of these classic Italian ingredients, arugula, fava beans, and
Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese makes this delicious bruschetta
recipe a springtime treat! To make this an easy recipe, look for
shelled fava beans at your local farmers market (if you can't find
fava-beans or they are out of season, you can substitute edamame). This
delicious, healthy recipe with tender, sweet fava-beans and spicy
arugula, can boost libido, improve blood circulation and is rich with
antioxidants, Vitamin A and C. Get healthy and get cooking!
Ingredients:
Bruschetta:
1 baguette cut on the bias (diagonal) into slices
½ cup of Olive Oil
4 garlic cloves (smashed skins removed)
½ cup of basil
Salt & Pepper
Fava-beans:
2 pounds fava beans (unshelled weight)
2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves smashed and minced
¼ cup of dry wine (chardonnay)
3 tablespoons of Pecorino or Parmigianino cheese
¼ teaspoon of lemon zest
½ teaspoon of lemon juice
Pepper
Shaved Pecorino or Parmigiano for garnish
Method :
Preheat oven to 350° degrees.
In pan, heat ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil. Add garlic gloves and
basil. Sautee for approximately 30 seconds or until garlic starts
giving off its aroma. Sprinkle with a dash of salt and pepper.
Pour contents into a measuring cup.
Place cut pieces of bread onto a baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, dab the "flavored olive oil" onto each piece of bread. Toast in oven for approximately 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile if fava beans are not shelled, remove beans from pods. Next place fava beans in boiling water for 3-4 minutes (until just tender). Drain and place in an ice water bath to stop cooking. To remove skin from beans, gently pinch end with finger and thumb to break the skin and push out the bean. (If you have kids, this is a great job for them!)
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium sized pan, add chopped garlic (be careful not to cook too high or too long as garlic can turn brown and become bitter), fava-beans, dry wine and stir. Cook over low heat for about 8-10 minutes until beans are soft and flavors are combined. Salt and pepper to taste.
Next, puree fava-bean mixture in a food processor or blender. Remove half of the puree to a large bowl. Add to the processor with remaining fava-bean puree, a ½ cup of arugula, Parmigiano or pecorino cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a dash of salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and add to bowl. Roughly chop remaining cup of arugula and stir into fava-bean mixture.
Spoon fava-bean mixture onto each piece of toast and garnish with shaved piece of Parmigiano.
Fresh Herb Organic Broccoli Tossed with Pasta, Toasted Pine Nuts & Parmesan Cheese |

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves
1 1/2 lb Broccoli, cut into florets and small stem pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup of pine nuts
1 cup fresh herbs
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Method:
Cut broccoli from the stems and into small florets. Trim and shave off dry ends stems (if necessary) and slice thin.
Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, broccoli, white wine, and chicken stock to pan and pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 30-45 minutes over medium high heat until fork-tender and broccoli is falling apart.
While broccoli is simmering, toast pine nuts in a dry pan over medium low heat
until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
Once broccoli is done, combine it in the food processor with pine nuts, herbs, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. Blend until slightly chunky.
Toss broccoli mix with cooked pasta, add olive oil (if necessary) to loosen it up a bit. Taste for seasoning.
Serve and enjoy!
Organic Tarte Tatin |
Serves 6 to 8 
Ingredients:
Pate Brisee:
About 12 ounces (scant 2 ¼ cups) all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes
¼ cup ice water
Apples:
5 pounds (10 to 12) Pink Lady apples (or pears)
¾ cup raw turbinado sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup brandy
Crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream
Method:
Pate Brisee:
Tart: