The bright greens and golds of the spring table

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Jumbo asparagus: Of all the many treats spring brings, none is as sweet as the first giant asparagus coming out of the Sacramento delta. These spears are as big around as a nickel, so fat they’re almost meaty in texture. They’re so good you won’t want to waste any of them, so here’s a trick: Rather than snapping the spears to find out where the fibrous part begins, just cut off about an inch of the stub ends, then peel them, starting lightly just below the tip and gradually increasing pressure as you reach the base. This will get rid of all of the tough stuff without throwing away any good. Cook the spears as simply as possible: Steam them just until a knife easily slips all the way to the center, about seven minutes. While they’re still warm, dress with good olive oil, Meyer lemon juice and coarse salt. Serve with plenty of bread to mop up the juice.

$3.50 per bunch, Zuckerman Heritage Farm

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Ojai Pixies: There are so many delicious mandarin varieties at this time of year, but still one of the best is the Pixie, particularly when it is grown in the Ojai Valley, where hot days and cool nights produce fruit with a wonderful balance of sweet and tart. These tangerines are now so popular there is a national demand, but in Southern California we can still get them at farmers markets.

$4 per pound, Friend’s Ranches and Churchill-Brenneis Orchard

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Peaking

Baby Asian greens: Bok choy with stems the size of pencils, celery stalks as big as toothpicks, chrysanthemum leaves not much bigger than cilantro. Some of the most unusual greens at farmers markets are grown by Yasutomi Farms in its hydroponic greenhouses in Pico Rivera. Grown to full size, these vegetables have traditionally been cooked to be tender. But harvested this young, they can be cut up raw and used in salads.

$1.25 to $2 per bunch, Yasutomi Farms

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