COOK } Spring's Star Ingredients

With the return of warm weather comes the return of more variety to farmers markets. First up, the local vegetable stars of spring. Here's what I'm hunting down and some tasty ideas for how best to use them:

• Ramps
Stinky, musky goodness is how I think of these wild onions, pictured above and pickled below.
Make: Ramp pickles, Buttermilk ramp biscuits

• Asparagus
One of spring's most well known ambassadors and a crowd pleaser.
Make: Shaved asparagus salad, Asparagus with creamy dijon dressing and egg, or simply grill it

• Micro mustard greens
Endless Summer Harvest specializes in these adorable baby greens with a spicy kick.
Make: Pile them on a BLT in place of lettuce, or toss into a salad for extra flavor.

• Stinging nettles
Don't touch them raw or you'll understand where the name comes from, but dunk them in boiling water and they turn into perfectly edible, nutritious greens.
Make: Spring lasagna with asparagus, peas and stinging nettles, Nettle soup

• Rhubarb
Every spring I look forward to making tangy jam and a simple rhubarb crostata.
Make: Rhubarb quick jam, Strawberry and rhubarb crostata

• Morels
One of spring's more elusive finds, these mushrooms with a super short season demand high prices but can be worth the splurge.
Make: Quiche with morels and scallions