Springtime is here. Welcome, spring vegetables. We get an early succession of wonderful vegetables starting with fiddleheads that grow wild. Followed by asparagus and a little later, sugar snap peas. These three wonderful vegetables are all good simply sautéed. You simply heat olive oil in large pan over medium heat. Add peas, fiddleheads or asparagus, tossing occasionally for 5 to 10 minutes until crisp and tender. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt for a simple side dish that is delicious.

A more dressed-up recipe for asparagus is Asparagus with Toasted Seeds and Mustard Vinaigrette:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds or walnuts
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon and 1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 ounce Parmesan, shaved

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toast seeds and/or nuts for about 4 minutes, let cool, then coarsely chop. Toss with 1 teaspoon oil, and season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, toss asparagus with 3 tablespoons oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast until crisp-tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Whisk vinegar, mustard, and remaining Tablespoon of oil in small bowl. Serve asparagus drizzled with mustard vinaigrette and topped with Parmesan cheese and nuts/seeds.

Enjoy all that spring has to offer.

Kate Goldberg works as a SNAP-Ed nutrition educator at Healthy Oxford Hills, a project of Stephen Memorial Hospital.