This series by the chef Jeffrey Schwarz and the photographer Greg Kessler traces the trajectory of seasonal food - from its original source to a place on your table. I remember the first time I walked onto the gentle, rolling hills of Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, N.Y., three years ago. I walked past chickens and bees, herbs and lettuces, giant rhubarb leaves that shaded the crimson stems of the plants. Then there was the asparagus - purple and green stalks blasting out of the ground! They struck me as prehistoric, otherworldly - each stalk a flowering perennial that with the gentlest snap at the base would reveal sumptuous green flesh. I had never seen asparagus like that before. The commercial vegetables I received as the chef of the Crow's Nest restaurant in Montauk were dull, lifeless. When I started cooking there in 2010, I dutifully made it my intention to source as much food as I could from the South Fork, the North Fork and from the waters surrounding the tiny hamlet. But I had never visited an actual working farm or set foot in a fishing boat, even though I worked within 15 miles of three organic farms and a commercial dock. For professional cooks and food lovers alike, this disconnect remains the norm - which brings me to the point of this series. We are told by food luminaries to know our farmers and butchers, but why stop there? What does our food look like before the farmers" market, before the harvest? What's really available at any given moment? What works well together in a dish? What I remember most about that first day at Quail Hill was discovering how you could build a dish from whatever was growing on the farm. It turns out that pea tendrils, a cover crop planted to improve soil fertility and prevent erosion, are compulsively edible and go perfectly with asparagus. With farm-fresh asparagus, no cooking is needed. If the stalks are fat, slice them lengthwise with a simple kitchen peeler; if they're skinny, just chop everything up fine. Add radishes, fresh herbs, pea tendrils (if available), toasted pumpkin seeds, and you have an easy, incredibly vibrant salad. Add Parmesan or cut-up hard-boiled eggs if you like. Finish with olive oil and lemon juice. Peeled Asparagus Salad With Radish and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds ½ cup pumpkin seeds ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 pound thick asparagus 4 radishes 1 tablespoon dill, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon parsley, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon chives, roughly chopped (plus chive flowers to garnish if available) ½ pound pea tendrils (if available) Juice of one lemon Salt Pepper Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss pumpkin seeds with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Scatter seeds on a sheet pan and place in oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until light brown. Set aside to cool. Peel asparagus from just below the top of the stalk, creating long strips. Place the asparagus into a large bowl. Set aside the tops of the asparagus for garnish. Remove the stems and roots from the radishes. Slice into thin circles with a knife or mandoline. Place in the large bowl with the asparagus. To the asparagus and radish mixture, add the dill, parsley, chives, pea tendrils, lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil, and toasted pumpkin seeds, adding salt and pepper to taste. Toss. Garnish with the reserved asparagus tops and chive flowers, and serve.