Can you taste it? Spring is here — and with it comes the beginning of the bounty.
My social media feeds are full of greenhouse photos and pictures of seedlings just waiting for that magical moment when they can be planted outside (following farmers online makes for a beautiful feed).
But instead of looking at pictures of plants and food on Instagram, why not head to the market and see them in person?
March is nutrition month and that is a great time to visit. Everything at market will nourish you — even the treats. You can take comfort in knowing that no matter what you purchase, be it whole foods or prepared foods, nothing but simple, real ingredients are the mainstays of the products.
One of the coolest vendors to visit this month is Matt from Your Wildest Foods. Matt is a forager, which means he travels all over looking for food that we don’t plant. Mother Nature does all the work.
Right now, he is bringing young nettle tops to market. Tender and earthy, they are similar to spinach and can be used in the same ways. They are incredibly nutritious too, high in iron, calcium, manganese, and vitamins A, C and K. Next up will be fiddleheads. These little powerhouses are a significant source of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. They apparently taste like a cross between a green bean and asparagus; I’ve never had them but am looking forward to trying some. Both the nettles and the fiddleheads will be around for a few short weeks, so make sure you get them while you can.
Other spring things Matt dabbles in are maple blossoms (like a more floral broccoli), cat tail shoots (which taste like cucumber), wild oyster mushrooms (much more flavourful than cultivated varieties), miner’s lettuce (mild leaves and crisp sweet stalks), Solomon’s plume shoots (which are sweet and onion-like) and fleece flower canes (tangy like rhubarb. All of these sound like a wonderful way to experience spring.
Matt is also expecting it to be a great morel mushroom season, thanks to the fires we had this past summer. Mother Nature has a way of keeping things in balance. Once the Morels are underway, you can expect to see sea asparagus arrive. I have eaten this and it’s amazing; crisp and salty, it’s so good in a salad.
Karen Curtis is the Lemonade Lady (www.kicslemonade.ca and kicslemonade.blogspot.ca) at the Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam farmers markets. Her column runs monthly.
CREAMY CUPCAKES
To prove you can have nutritious goodies, try this recipe I adapted from Veggie Desserts.
LEMON & STINGING NETTLE CUPCAKES
WITH LEMON BUTTERCREAM ICING
INGREDIENTS
2 cups, packed raw young nettle leaves (use the top 4-6 leaves)
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp Kics Lemon Syrup
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp Koji salt
FOR THE LEMON BUTTERCREAM
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 ½ cups powdered icing sugar
2 tbsp Kics lemon syrup
Preheat oven to 325 F and line a muffin tin with liners.
Wearing rubber gloves, carefully wash the stinging nettle leaves and remove any stems. Place in a pan of boiling water and boil for 2 to 3 minutes (the sting will be removed with the boiling). Refresh by running under cold water. Drain and purée well with a handheld stick blender. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the nettles, vanilla, zest and lemon juice. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir to gently combine.
Spoon the mixture into the liners to fill three quarters full, then bake for 15 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the tins and move to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
For the icing, cream the butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add in the icing sugar and beat. Beat in the Kics a bit at a time, to make it a frosting consistency.
