Spring

According to In Style, shades of gray, scarlet, and yellow are hot this spring. I, however, prefer green and purple, as in fresh English pea green and baby artichoke purple. Apparently, so do San Diego's farmers; our farmers' markets have some of the most stylish looking artichokes around – ranging from petite purple baby artichokes to hefty, celery green Big Heart artichokes.

Despite their diminutive size, baby artichokes are fully mature artichokes with a full-bodied, earthy flavor. They simply don't grow as large as Globe or Big Heart artichokes because they're picked from the lower part of the artichoke plant. As a result, the characteristic fuzzy choke isn't all that fuzzy and can be eaten. Indeed, other than a few tough outer leaves, the entire artichoke is edible.

Baby artichokes are delicious in many dishes ranging from risotto and pasta to salads and soups. Paired with Italian Farro or emmer, as in this Farro with Baby Artichokes, Mushrooms, and Peas, baby artichokes are exceptionally stylish.

I knew last week was going to be a good week. On Monday, I opened my Henry's Market weekly flier and right there on the front page: "California Sweet Corn 3 for $1 - First of the Season."

I dropped everything and ran to Henry's (it doesn't take much to convince me to go to the market).

When I arrived, there was a huge table covered with ears of corn stacked three feet high. It was a beautiful sight. And since it was early in the morning, I could take my sweet time selecting only the fattest ears (perhaps the firemen overslept; oh, well.)

I gently peeled back the tops of the husks and what lay beneath? Thick, plump, creamy white kernels that I could practically taste drizzled with melted butter. I bought six.

They were good; not as sweet as the corn that will arrive later in the summer, but chewy and dense. This is the kind of corn that's ideal to cut off the cob and saute or add to salads and salsas. The easiest and safest way to cut corn off the cob is to cut the ear in half, then stand one half on its steady base and cut toward the cutting board.

I love salmon. I probably eat entirely too much of it.

But what I love about salmon are the possibilities available to turn this simple fish into so many different amazing dishes. Salmon's blank canvas allows for everything from rich, heavy cream sauces to light and lemony bases to enhance its taste.

When I came across this recipe for Roasted Salmon with a Lemon-Herb Matzo Crust, I thought, how perfect for this time of year, matzo is everywhere. If you have never had matzo, it's time to pick out a box.

It's basically a giant unleavened cracker and is quite enjoyable when slathered with butter...yes, I eat it this way...it's supposed to replace bread...so why not.

Anyway, the crust on this fish is to die for, so full of flavor with the herbs, lemon and butter. I highly recommend this dish for any night of the week. It's high on the yum factor.

I love this time of year.  So many good things are available at the market and in such abundance.  I often become distracted with all the choices, making it difficult not to come home with more groceries than I need.  I then proceed to have a freak out while trying to use it all up.

I definitely overbought on strawberries last week and needed a plan.  Luckily I came across these Strawberry Yogurt Muffins over at Culinary Wannabe. They are the perfect breakfast muffin; healthy, low-cal, filling and very yummy. I individually wrapped each one and froze them together in a Ziploc bag for a quick breakfast.

This muffin uses part whole wheat flour which I prefer  when it comes to breakfast noshing. However, these do not taste healthy at all. In fact, they taste a bit sinful. They are awesome.

If you have some strawberries to use up, I would consider making these, you'll love them.