What’s Ripe?  Spring 2001 

When spring is in the air, what types of fruits and vegetables spring to your mind?  Sweet strawberries, delectable artichokes, and tender asparagus?  Well, how about fiddlehead ferns and dandelion greens?  These are just two of the more unusual spring products we discovered in the heartland.  

Beverly Berkley with David Berkley Fine Wines & Specialty Foods shared some of her springtime favorites.  First, spring is not only the season for beautiful blooms, it’s also the season for edible flowers.  Baby roses, pansies, and Johnny Jump-ups are edible and make an elegant presentation as well.  Beverly suggests tossing baby rose petals into a salad for added color and flavor.  You’ll find edible flowers in the produce section of specialty food stores and they should be labeled “edible”. 

Next, we took a look at a vegetable that gets its name from the Latin word meaning “roots of the barbarians”.  It’s that long red vegetable that resembles celery called rhubarb.  When preparing rhubarb, keep this tip in mind.  The leaves and roots are toxic so trim them off before cooking them. 

From rhubarb to roses, the colors of spring are bright and beautiful.  And, of course, we can’t forget those spring greens.  What may be a pest in your lawn can actually be great on your plate.  Dandelion greens, when grown and harvested commercially, have a unique taste and are packed with Vitamin A.  

Fiddlehead ferns will not only catch your eye, they’ll wake up your taste buds with their unique, earthy flavor.  They get their name from their shape because it’s similar to the head of a violin.  Fiddleheads must be thoroughly cleaned before eating.  Try rubbing them between your hands to remove the fuzzy, brown covering.  Then, rinse and trim the base leaving a tiny tail.  Now here’s a couple ways to enjoys the products of spring…enjoy!!!  

Fiddlehead Sauté (From David Berkley Fine Wines & Specialty Foods) 

1 pound fiddlehead ferns
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. butter
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Clean ferns in cold water, pulling off the brown chaff.  Drain and dry.  Heat half of butter and olive oil over medium heat until butter melts.  Add ferns and toss for about three minutes.  Add the rest of the butter, the garlic, and parsley and cook for one more minute.  Don’t let the garlic turn brown.  Season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with chopped parsley. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (From David Berkley Fine Wines & Specialty Foods) 

1 ½ lbs. rhubarb (about 4 cups) wash, cut ends off, slice ½ inch thick)
1 pt. Strawberries, wash, dry, hull, and slice
¼ cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 unbaked pie shell and top crust

Place fruit into chilled pie shell with edge ½ to ¾ in. beyond edge of pan.  Brush edge of pie dough with cold water.  Place top crust over fruit, being sure to cut vent into crust to release steam.  Fold edge of bottom crust over the top crust and flute the edge.  Combine 1 egg yolk with 2 teaspoon cream and brush top crust.  Bake for one hour at 400 degrees until crust is brown.

Garden Tours Calendar: 

We have some suggestions for gardens you might want to tour: 

Sunset Magazine in Menlo Park has a “self-guided” walking tour Monday through Friday.  Call them at (650) 321-3600. 

Over in San Marino, you can visit the Huntington Botanical Gardens.  They’re closed on Mondays.  (626) 405-2141. 

Visit the Kendall Jackson Wine Garden in Santa Rosa.  (707) 571-7500. 

Also in Santa Rosa, stop by the beautiful Luther Burbank Gardens.  (707) 524-5445. 

And then there’s the Amador Flower Farm in Plymouth.  (209) 245-6660. 

In Riverside, make it a point to visit Citrus Park.  (909) 780-6222. 

And in Carlsbad, Carlsbad Flowers opens their fields to tours.  (760) 431-0352.

Finally, Napa Valley Garden Tours is having a spring wildflower festival.  They can be reached at (707) 252-3270. 

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Garden Tours Calendar - click here!