In Season Dinner Recipe

Spring is in the air and can be in your tummy!  Below are a list of vegetables that are IN SEASON right now!  You can pick up these ingredients at your local Farmer’s Market.

IN SEASON NOW

asparagus, broccoli, broccolini, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, celery root, fennel, kale, leeks, mache, potatoes (maincrop), rutabaga, salsify, sunchoke, turnips.

Baked Eggs with Asparagus, Leeks & Bacon

Ingredients

• 4 eggs;
• 1 leek, sliced;
• 1 bunch asparagus;
• 4 slices of bacon; (or more) (optional)
• 1 garlic clove, minced;
• 2-3 tbsp. fresh chives, minced; (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 400 F.
2. Cook the bacon in a skillet placed over a medium-high heat until still tender (about 3 minutes per side).
3. Add the garlic and leek to the same skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. If there’s a lot of excess bacon fat, you can pour some of it off.
4. Add the asparagus and cook until soft and tender (about 6 minutes).
5. Add the eggs to the skillet. Season everything to taste and place in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Garnish with fresh chives to serve.

 Recipe Credit: http://paleoleap.com/baked-eggs-asparagus-leeks/

TIPS on ASPARAGUS

BUYING

Look for firm but tender stalks with good color and closed tips. Smaller, thinner stalks are not necessarily more tender; in fact thicker specimens are often better due to the smaller ratio of skin to volume.

STORING

Once picked, asparagus rapidly loses flavor and tenderness, so it really is worth eating it on the day you buy it. If that isn’t possible, store asparagus in the fridge with a damp paper towel wrapped around the bottom of the stalks and you can get away with keeping it for a couple of days.

PREPARING

Wash in cold water and remove the bottom ends of the stalks (with fresh asparagus they will snap off cleanly). Boil or steam quickly until just tender, around 4 to 7 minutes depending on thickness. Using an inexpensive asparagus steamer will help ensure perfect results as it cooks the stalk bottoms more quickly than the delicate tips.

 TIPS ON LEEKS

BUYING

Go for small or medium size leeks; large leeks (more than about an inch in diameter) are likely to be tough and woody. Leaf tops should be fresh and green, the root end should be unblemished and yield very slightly to pressure. Buy more than needed (around double by weight) to allow for losses due to trimming.

STORING

Stored loosely wrapped in plastic (to keep them from drying out and to contain their smell) they will keep in the fridge for a week.

PREPARING

Remove any tired or damaged outer leaves. Trim the rootlets at the base and cut off around a half to two thirds of the dark green tops. Partially cut the leeks in half lengthwise, starting at the middle and running the knife up to the green tops. Make a second lengthwise cut perpendicular to the first, allowing you to fan out the leaves. Give them a good rinse to remove the dirt that can get trapped inside as the leek grows. If you’re not cooking the leeks whole then give them another wash after chopping them.

 http://www.eattheseasons.com/Articles/leeks.php