That is what my mom would say, years ago, when I lived in New Jersey as a child. "Spring has sprung!" By then the last of winter's snow had melted away and crocus buds were beginning to unfurl in the lawn, as the grass came back to life. Purple, yellow, white, sometimes striped and always with a little orange bit in the middle. The bit that, I have since learned, is where the world's most expensive spice comes from: saffron.
The most perfect little brussels sprouts were at our local farmers' market this past Sunday. Of course I couldn't resist them, along with the chard, kale, other kale, strawberries, honey, two types of almonds, cookies, bread loaf and mixed purple sprouts that ended up in my bag. Now we have to eat it all before the CSA box arrives on Thursday.
Last weekend the Chronicle published a tasty sounding recipe for two ubiquitous winter vegetables: cauliflower and brussels sprouts. For some reason I rarely see either in our CSA box, but we had finished off all our produce from last week, so the kids and I ventured out to our local farmers' market this sunday.