Six Ways to Serve Red Amaranth

The Southeast Asian farm stand where I bought this at the Santa Monica farmers market called it "Chinese spinach." In fact, it is red amaranth, called hin choy in Chinese. Though it is unrelated to spinach, there is some similarity in tastes. The smallest most tender leaves can be eaten raw but is is more commonly cooked.

The plant is indigenous to South America, but it was carried to Asian centuries ago and has become part of the diet throughout the region, from China through Southeast Asia to India.

Here are six ways to use the nutrious green.

Picnicking at the Farmers Market

Fresh fruits and vegetables play second fiddle to other attractions at the Sunday farmers market on Main Street at Ocean Park in Santa Monica. Vendors of prepared foods and other merchandise outnumber the farmers.

It makes for a festive atmosphere. It also keeps the local merchants happy, since the market management offered them space in the market to peddle their wares.

Here's my report on what I purchased on my May 27 visit to the market, including my first sampling of stone fruit this year.

Two New York City Greenmarkets in May

My last three visits to New York City -- in December, January and March -- happened to coincide with weather so bitterly cold that I could barely make it a couple of blocks on the street, from subway to office. So I passed up the chance to stroll through a wintertime greenmarket, as I did the winter before, when the weather was less forbidding.

On my visit in May, the weather was glorious, so I happily checked out the Union Square and Tompkins Square greenmarkets. This was a quick trip to New York, with my two daughters in tow this time. And I wasn't doing in cooking while I was in the city, so I didn't buy much. But some cheese and apples were good for a picnic in Central Park, and I bought a bunch of ramps to carry home with me to L.A.

Here's my report on my visit to the two markets.

Springtime is Time for Ramps

In a couple of decades of shopping at California's cornucopic farmers markets, I've seen just about every type of fruit and vegetable that grows in the temperate latitudes. But I've never seen ramps. I'd heard of them, but never had a chance to sample this plant, also known as the wild leek, that is native to eastern North America, until my visit to New York City in May. I arrived just in time for the peak of the brief ramp season. They were everywhere in the Union Square Greenmarket, which was otherwise still fairly sparse, less than two months after the last ice storm blanketed these parts. I bought a bundle to carry back with me on the plane to L.A. They held up well in my carry-on luggage. I wish I had picked up three or four bundles. I had barely begun to experiment with them when my tiny supply ran out.

Here are five ramp recipes, including my very own (and excellent, if I might say so myself) Ramp and Carmelized Shallot Pesto Pasta. I didn't have enough to try pickling some ramps, but next year I'll give these three pickled ramp recipes a try.