Napa cabbage can be used in fresh salads and slaws, and is especially good in Asian dishes. Photo by Jennifer Baldwin

By Michelle Beck

My snowdrops and stone fruit trees are almost finished blooming, and my daffodils have just begun, so I know it is time for spring vegetables.

Napa cabbage

Napa cabbage is a very pretty variety of Chinese cabbage. It is light green and white with delicate folds in the leaves. It can be used in place of regular cabbage in most recipes. I especially enjoy it in various Asian salads, such as these:

Napa Cabbage Salad with a Crunch

Napa Cabbage Salad with Peanuts and Ginger

Asian Steak Salad with Napa Cabbage

More on cabbage slaw

The wonderful Bryan at Trader Joe’s was sampling a delicious coleslaw a while back. To make it, start off by shredding some cabbage. You can buy a bag of coleslaw mix, but the price difference is significant. A head of cabbage is less than a dollar. I just shred the whole head on a mandolin and put it in a bag. It keeps well for a few days. I have had this mandolin for years, and it has been well-worth the price. It adjusts to different slicing widths and will also julienne.

To make Trader Joe’s Spicy Peanut Coleslaw, combine the following ingredients to suit your tastebuds:

• Shredded cabbage
  Salted peanuts
  Raisins
  Trader Joe’s spicy peanut dressing (found in the produce section)

Pure Pantry gluten-free

I noticed a new brand of gluten-free mixes at Lassen’s the other day. Pure Pantry looks interesting, but it is very expensive. They use buckwheat as one of the flours. Despite the name, buckwheat is gluten-free, and it is more nutritious than the commonly-used rice flour. It does have a strong, almost bitter flavor, so it is not for everyone, but the flavor is not as strong when it is mixed with other flours. I always loved buckwheat pancakes as a kid, and bought their buckwheat pancake mix to give them a try. The pancakes had a good texture, and tasted just like the buckwheat pancakes my dad always ordered in restaurants when I was a kid. The chocolate chip and chocolate chip coconut cookie mixes intrigue me, but I haven’t tried them yet. If anyone has, please leave a review in the comments.

Pure Pantry’s website also features many recipes, including GF lemon-walnut bread and GF coconut-lemon squares

Adding zest to sour cream-blueberry muffins (gluten-free)

These sour cream-blueberry muffins are one of my favorite gluten-free recipes because they are very adaptable and the muffins are received well, even by those who can eat gluten. I brought some to a breakfast coffee the other day and decided to use some of the lemons I have on hand to add a little flavor. These muffins are very good made as directed, but I love lemon with blueberry, so I added a little zest to the batter, then topped the batter with a mixture of 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. lemon zest, as recommended by America’s Test Kitchen. I have substituted other berries and nuts in this recipe with success as well.

Authentic Foods flour blends

Speaking of gluten-free, I was delighted to see that Authentic Foods is now selling my favorite brown rice flour blend already combined and ready to use. No more flour on the counter from stirring the separate flours together! Here is the link: www.glutenfree-supermarket.com/flourblend.aspx#multi-blend

More about vegetable gardening

The wonderful Louise Kaiser, the vegetable plant lady at the Farmer’s Market, called the other day so we could talk about my tomato obsession. Not really. Well, maybe a little. She did let me know that she has transplanted the one tomato variety I am waiting for, but she also told me that she will start selling pepper, eggplant and a few squash plants this Saturday. She always has a huge variety, and I can’t encourage you enough to check out her plants. Her prices are reasonable, and you’ll find varieties you won’t see anywhere else.

She has many varieties of both hot and sweet peppers, as well as many sizes and colors of eggplant and squash. If the only variety of eggplant you’ve grown is Black Beauty, be sure to check out Louise’s plants. A couple of years ago, I grew a purple and white striped eggplant the size of an egg. It was so tender and beautiful! She also has Japanese eggplants, which are the long, skinny eggplants, in every shade between purple and white.

If you have only ever grown big, dark green zucchini, check out Louise’s plants for zucchini in every color from yellow to light green to dark green and in shapes from the traditional cylinder to round ones the size of an orange.

Raised beds are a simple way to contain your vegetable plants and control the soil in which they grow. Many different plans can be found for raised beds. I have three different types in my yard alone, with mixed results. There is no one perfect type of raised bed. The only advice I would give is a reminder that wet dirt applies a lot of pressure to a wooden box, so build accordingly. Gardener’s Supply has a nice selection of raised bed parts and ideas here, and This Old House has a “how to” here.

I really like Mediterranean and Japanese cucumbers because both are small, with very small seeds and a tender texture. Both are easy to grow, but do better with some support to keep the cucumbers off the ground. I use an old trellis leaned against the fence at an angle, but Gardener’s Supply sells a cool-looking cucumber trellis here.

Everyday Food

As I have mentioned a time or seven, Everyday Food magazine is one of my favorite places for easy, seasonal recipe ideas. A second big book was recently released, and it is full of delicious ideas. We made beef skewers with horseradish dipping sauce the other night, and it was both easy and delicious. The book is available at Russo’s, other bookstores and Costco.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

If you haven’t read “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver, this is the perfect time to pick it up, as this is the beginning of the growing cycle she describes so well. I may have to pick it up for a re-read, both for the information and the delicious recipes. More information can be found at www.animalvegetablemiracle.com

Shamrock Shake

St. Patrick’s Day is coming, and with it, the return of the Shamrock Shake to McDonald’s. I have never been a devotee of these, but I know many people are. If you want to fulfill your Shamrock Shake craving while eating actual food, and not frozen, mint-flavored chemicals, here is a copycat recipe. It looks very simple to make – I may have to try it!