Cook with Spring Produce

Finally, it's time to say goodbye to the rich, carbohydrate-rich winter and welcome the vibrant, light flavors of spring products. Head to the grocery store or the local farmers market to get the freshest fruits and vegetables in the spring, and follow these inspiring suggestions on how to fill your table with seasonal flavors and spring products:

Veggie Heaven

Get your dose of vegetables with the most ripe vegetables of the season, which include:

    Asparagus
    Carrots
    Artichokes
    The beets
    Spring greens
    Peas
    Broad beans
    Leeks
    Chives

Many of these flavors can be combined well for some delicious spring vegetable dishes. Choose your favorites from the list and keep it simple with roasted vegetables. Fill the baking sheet with a splash of olive oil and then load it with chopped vegetables, sprinkle the salt, pepper and seasoning you prefer and then store it in the oven for about an hour. Check every 20 minutes or so to rotate them. If you are a cheese fan, sprinkle a little on the vegetables during the last five minutes of cooking to get a crunchy layer. Combine it with a piece of fish or chicken and you will have a healthy but totally tasty spring meal. For another easy mid-week dish, combine any of these vegetables with your favorite pastas.



If you get bored with the pasta, mix it with this spring vegetable risotto with the poached egg recipe from Bon Appetit. For a different type of garnish, sauté the peas, asparagus and beans with oil and lemon, then cover them with pieces of bacon for extra flavor. If there is still a slight chill in the air and you want to lie down with something hot, try this pea, mint and tender onion soup from BBC Good Food. Do not forget the parmesan cookies for a crunchy and totally delicious alternative to bread or cookies.

Fruity delights

Top your salads and spice up your dinners with the juiciest fruits of spring, such as:

    Apricots
    Strawberries
    Rhubarb
    Pineapple
    Cherries
    Grapefruit
    Kiwi
    Lemons



Strawberries combine well with almonds, feta cheese and spinach for a fabulously fresh and naturally sweet salad. This Spring Kitchen spinach fruit salad adds nuts, cranberries and pineapple to the mix. You only need four ingredients to make this apricot chicken recipe from Genius Kitchen, which goes well with rice and steamed vegetables. Of course, lemon and garlic are a classic combination to flavor birds, fish or vegetables, and this recipe from Home & Plate shows that grapefruit and honey are a delicious duo to transform your next chicken dish.

Finished sweets

With fresh fruits in abundance, you can satisfy your sweet tooth with tasty cakes and delicious baked goods throughout the season. Strawberries and rhubarb are the stars of spring cakes, but they also work well in cakes, crumbs, buns, galettes, oatmeal bars and even pancakes. Also, you can not forget the classic strawberry cakes! Check out these strawberry and rhubarb dessert recipes for Country Living Spring for inspiration to bake. Saveur also served some fabulous spring dessert recipes, including pineapple tea cookies, almond cheesecake with strawberries and mint, lemon cream pie and yogurt sticks with strawberry rhubarb.

It's time to throw off the winter coat and cook!