Spring in green with some recipes for vegetables.

Spring On Your Table

March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. The evidence of a new spring is slowly creeping upon us. This of course depends on where you live, some of you read the words spring is almost here and look out your window only to see five feet of snow, while others have already hit the beach. And then there are those of us in the heartland suffering through swing season. As I write this it is a humid 70°F, but tomorrow we will barely get above freezing. In Kansas we call this swing season. And the only way to beat it, is to put a little Spring on your table.

And what is a little spring on your table? If you are lucky enough to have already started an indoor garden, lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach, and a few other cool weather vegetables are ready to be harvested. If not, your local grocery should have these items brimming over the edge of the produce aisle.

Let us start with a little chard. This is not one of my childhood favorites, and believe me when I say I was an odd child when it came to vegetables, I loved most of them. But for some reason the chard just never cut it for me. Chard is part of the beet family, and can be harvest at just about anytime. But be warned that it is extremely perishable. So harvest it or buy it only when you are actually going to use it. Chard has shinny green leaves and a rainbow of stem colors. Fresh, young chard is great when eaten raw in your salads. While the more mature shoots are a little bitter, but with some sauteing that bitterness diminishes. If you are new to the chard or even just experimenting with an old favorite, I would suggest a tart, or on the side of some lamb stew, or what got me over the “not one of my favorites” tasty calzones.

Speaking of lamb stew, lamb is another food we think about when it comes to spring.  If you are worried about your summer time figure, lamb is perfect for the dieter. A three-ounce serving of lamb has only 175 calories. And with only 8 grams of total fat and 3 grams of saturated fat, it meets the USDA’s guidelines as a lean meat. Naturally lamb contains many essential nutrients, and is a wonderful source of protein. Unfortunately lamb is rather expensive in the US, unlike other countries in the world. If you have decided to brave the season and start up your barbeque, I would suggest a grilled butterflied leg of lamb. But if lamb just isn’t your thing, a good spring chicken with a little citrus should bring some spring into your step.

Alas! It is still not looking like spring on your table. We have chard -let’s throw a little lettuce and spinach in that mix- salad and a leg of lamb. Maybe we could do a little more with that spinach. And don’t make that face. If the only spinach you have suffered through is that slop they would force you to eat (or if you were like us, stuff into an empty milk carton) in school, then you are missing out on a sweet, green treat. Save your canned spinach for the fall and acquire some of that fresh stuff. The young tender leaves are sweet and great when tossed in a salad with edible flowers. It goes great with just about any cheese out there, try mixing it into your favorite stuffed pasta recipes. The nutritional value of spinach has been gossiped about over the years. Once upon a time, someone didn’t but a decimal point where it belonged and spinach was labeled as high in iron, when in fact it isn’t. What it is, is a rich source of vitamins A, C, E and K as well as magnesium and several vital antioxidants, as long as you eat them raw or quickly steamed.

Of course these are only a few of the spring vegetables available, but with this host of greens and the nicely grilled lamb, spring fever should be hitting you straight on shortly.