Spring is moving quickly this year. Availability lists from local farms have been getting longer each week with the help of greenhouses and warm, wet weather giving plants a little boost.

We’ve already had a few deliveries of green and red tomatoes from Wisconsin Growers Co-operative (Mondovi, Wis) which taste more like summer than early spring. Rhubarb, scallions, and bunched radishes are reliably locally grown. And each week more varieties of bunched fresh herbs arrive – tarragon, chives, garlic chives, mint, and lemon balm are just the first of many that will be available throughout the growing season.

Our selection of local bulk greens has also become more diverse and delicious with a bin each of Heartbeet Farm’s (Zumbro Falls, Minn) arugula and a spicy mix of baby arugula, mizuna, and mustard greens offered alongside local spring mix and spinach. Heartbeet has also been delivering limited quantities of rainbow chard and we received our first delivery from Featherstone Farm (Rushford, Minn) the first week of June with beautiful heads of romaine, green, and red leaf lettuce.

Multiple local growers have been keeping us in steady supply of asparagus and in the past few weeks have received deliveries of tangy, citrusy French sorrel from Garden Farme (Ramsey, Minn).

After months of citrus, the fruit selection is becoming more interesting as well. We are often cautious when stone fruit arrives as the first taste can set the tone for the entire season. If the first fruits are mealy and bland, folks might be apprehensive to make a repeat purchase. Luckily, this year the early harvests have been delightful – the nectarines in particular, both yellow and white, are fragrant with a rich, honeyed flavor and smooth, juicy flesh.

This time of year it is easy to build salads. A recent favorite of mine starts with a base of Heartbeet spicy salad mix. Add thinly sliced radishes and scallions, roughly torn leaves of mint and fava beans (shelled, blanched, and skins removed). Shave on a few slices of pecorino and finish with a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkle of flaky salt and freshly ground pepper.

I have also been enjoying a composed salad of asparagus, blanched and refreshed, tossed in a sorrel infused butter, topped with a poached egg, and garnished with finely chopped sorrel and tarragon.

While nectarines are delicious eaten out of hand or in a dessert, they can also really star in a savory salad – especially when grilled. Halve yellow nectarines, brush with olive oil, and place flesh side down on the grill. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Toss spring mix or arugula in a honey mustard vinaigrette (teaspoon honey, teaspoon Dijon mustard, teaspoon white wine vinegar, ½ cup olive oil, salt, pepper – taste and adjust), add toasted sliced almonds, crumble on feta or goat cheese, then place the grilled halves on top and finish with flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper.