Spring is officially here and with spring comes a variety of farm-fresh greens. Cruciferous vegetables are common this type of year, but you can also find salad mixes, scallions, cilantro, and more that are harvested fresh each week for the Market. Enjoy the experience of preparing fresh seasonal produce and try something new!
Kale: Red Russian, Lacinato, Curly Green—you’ll find these varieties this spring. Perfect to use as the base of your salads or stirred into soups for hearty nutrients. Kale is a versatile vegetable that can be used in as many ways that you can imagine (apple kale cake, anyone?)
Collards: Collards greens with pork hock from Chehalis Valley Farm? Yes, please! This comforting side dish will carry you through the colder days of spring. This time of year, you may also find collard raab, the tender flowering stem of the overwintered collard plant.
Microgreens: There is an ever-changing list of microgreens available at the Market. Skipping Stone Garden and Roots & Fruits Farm offer freshly cut microgreens in compostable packaging—and Skipping Stone Garden has bulk options too. Lemon Basil, Spicy Mix, Peas, Sunflower, Broccoli, and Radish are only a few of the available options. Add these in sandwiches, smoothies, salads, pastas and more.
Arugula: We are beginning to see the first arugula bunches! The varieties you’ll see at the Market are less deeply lobed than the varieties you might recognize from the grocery store, but they have a spicy taste that you’ll want to cook with all season long. A simple arugula salad with a light dressing, pears, chopped walnuts, and a hard cheese is a tasty side dish for spring. Arugula pesto mixed in with your favorite pasta and shitake mushrooms is a quick vegetarian dinner for the days you would prefer to spend your evening in the sunshine, rather than the kitchen.
Raab: Raab is harvested from cruciferous vegetables that have overwintered from last fall. Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale, and Collards send up flowering stems as off-shoots from the main stem. After the winter, these stems have a sweetness that can only be tasted after the main plant has lived through a frost. Roast the stems whole (leaves, and flowers too) for a quick side dish. The crunchy charred leaves balance the tenderness of the stem and flowers making this vegetable a sweet, textural delight!
