10 Tasty Meals Using Seasonal Spring Greens
Let's give it up for May! The shift into May indicates the transitioning of seasons with newly bursting blooms, the first early harvest, and the sunshine spreading it’s rays to light up our short, darker winter days.
Opening day this year for the farmers market is May 13th from 8am -1pm and we can hardly wait to be reunited with the Denver community. City Park Farmers Market is a growers focused market meaning that *all* of our farmers sell only what they grow! Transparency is at the heart of the market. Although our community is already well educated in seasonal eating, it's inevitable that I will receive an email or two asking where the peaches are or why there aren't any melons like they may have seen somewhere else. The reason for that comes back to our mission of transparency with the farms at the market - our farmer’s take pride in truly selling only what they grow… meaning what you see at the market in the middle of May, is what is what’s being grown and harvested that week in Colorado. You will not see sheer volume of produce as much as you would at peak harvest times (think July - Sept), but do not be fooled - there is still so much delicious food harvested in late Spring!
May In-Season Produce
When you stroll the market in late Spring, you’ll notice a large amount of leafy greens at the farmer tents! Leafy greens from the market are so much more than the ordinary greens we snag at the bulk grocer. The farms at the market grow their specific varietal of greens till full maturity and picked only days (or sometimes just the night before) they sell at the markets. The depth of flavor that is able to develop in freshly harvested and fully mature produce is incomparable to the grocery store counterparts. Share with our farm team what you are thinking of cooking up, and they’ll direct you to the right greens that will make your specific dish really shine! The benefit of shopping at a farmers market is that we get to purchase from the farmers who are both passionate and knowledgable about what they grow.
Not sure what else to make with leafy greens other than salads? Take a peek at my list below of some of my favorite leafy green meals that will be perfect to cook up this Spring!
Leafy green frittata and mustard green quiche (my favorite!)
Homemade pizza topped with fresh mozz, prosciutto, loads of arugula + olive oil (Peter’s favorite)
Ramen with loads of spinach (my fav recipe, but for best flavor add Hella Herbivore)
Spinach Muffins… awesome for toddlers but also tasty treat for adults!
We hope you have fun exploring new vegetables, flavors, and meals this Spring! Happy cooking and even happier eating, Denver community!