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ByNancyLindahl Tempestuous April! A lover of thunder, wildflow- ers and weather variety, April is the perfect birth- month for me. The lumi- nous green of brand-new leaves is everywhere, and the markets are full of pointy green things that herald the arrival of deep spring. Farewell to the heavy starchy foods that kept us cozy in winter. The light, healthy produce of spring is in its prime, pushing up through the earth like as- paragus, peppery arugula, and silver-foliaged arti- chokes; ripening on the gro- cer's shelves, heavy, dark green oval avocados — it's a munificence of good pointy green things to eat. Consider asparagus' jav- elin shape as a weapon against age and disease — it's packed with antioxi- dants and loaded with nu- trients: fiber, folate, vita- mins A,C,E and K, as well as chromium, a trace min- eral that enhances the abil- ity of insulin to transport glucose from the blood- stream into cells. Asparagus, along with avocado, kale and Brussels sprouts — is a particularly rich source of glutathione, a detoxifying compound that helps break down car- cinogens and other harmful compounds like free radi- cals. This is why eating as- paragus may help protect against and fight certain forms of cancer, such as bone, breast, colon, larynx and lung cancers, accord- ing to Cheryl Forberg, RD, James Beard award wining author of "Positively Age- less" and dietician for NBC's "The Biggest Loser." This simple recipe by Yoachim Ottolenghi, Brit- ish-based chef, cookbook author and restaurant owner, enhances rather than smothering the fla- vor of asparagus in a heavy sauce. Use the freshest as- paragus you can find as it is one of the quickest vegeta- bles to deteriorate. Look for tight green tips and stalks that are moist and sappy — asparagus with a woody, puckered, bendy stalk is past its prime. To preserve the highest potency of as- paragus' nutrients, grill, stir-fry or roast instead of cooking in water. Asparaguswith capers and egg 1hard-boiledegg,freshly boiled 1bunch medium asparagus 1Tablespoon olive oil 1teaspoon small capers, drained ½ teaspoon sea salt Freshly ground black pepper Serves 2 METHOD: Allow the boiled egg to cool down well and then grate on a coarse cheese grate. Bend the asparagus until the bottom ends snap off and discard the ends. Place the spears in a large pot of boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes or until tender. It may take slightly longer if they are thick. Drain and while warm, but not hot, divide between two serving plates. Drizzle oil on top and sprinkle capers and some salt and pepper. Top with the grated egg, staying close to the centre of the stems so that the tips and bases are visible. Not so pointy, but equally abundant in the supermar- ket right now are Haas av- ocados. Technically a fruit, an avocado had more potas- sium then a banana as well as 37 percent of daily fiber, protein and good, monoun- saturated fat which helps lower cholesterol. This avo- cado recipe from Nan McE- voy, McEvoy Ranch Olive Oil, Petaluma would be a great light supper on one of those 90 degree spring days. You could substitute canned Albacore tuna sea- soned with pepper and a lit- tle crushed fennel seed. Fresh Tuna Salad with Avocado INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1Tablespoon fennel seeds 1Tablespoon black pepper- corns One 3/4-pound tuna steak, cut 1inch thick Salt 1/2 cup plus 2tablespoons mayonnaise 2anchovy fillets, minced 2Tablespoons capers, drained and chopped 1garlic clove, minced 2Tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2celery ribs, sliced cross- wise 1/4 inch thick 1small red onion, finely diced 1/3 cup pitted oil-cured black olives, chopped 4Hass avocados, halved and pitted Pea shoots or alfalfa sprouts, for garnish (op- tional) In a medium saucepan, combine the olive oil, fennel seeds and peppercorns and bring to a simmer over mod- erately low heat. Season the tuna with salt and add it to the saucepan. Simmer the tuna steak over low heat, turning once, until barely pink in the center, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate and scrape off the fennel and peppercorns. Strain and reserve the oil. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, blend the mayonnaise with the minced anchovies, capers, garlic and 1table- spoon of the fresh lemon juice. Stir the celery, onion and olives into the dressing. Using a fork, break the tuna into 1-inch pieces, then fold into the dressing. Season with salt. Set two avocado halves on each of four plates, skin side down. Drizzle the avocado flesh with some of the reserved spice-infused olive oil and the remaining 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the tuna salad into the center of each avocado half. Top the tuna salad with the pea shoots or alfalfa sprouts and serve. Serves four. I also liked this hybrid between hummus and gua- camole for a new dip to serve with fresh vegetable crudities, crackers, or tor- tilla chips. Recipe by Kay Chun: Avocado Hummus Dip Ingredients 2medium Hass avocados, peeled and chopped One 15-ounce can chick- peas, drained and rinsed 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 11/2 Tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling Kosher salt Freshly ground pepper Assorted crudités, bread and tortilla chips, for serving In a food processor, puree the avocados with the chickpeas, lemon juice and tahini. Add the 1/2 cup of oil and puree until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the dip to a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and serve with crudités, bread and chips. Pointiest of all, and thorny enemy of the cour- tesy clerks at your local gro- cer, the mighty green globe artichoke is in its peak spring season now. Arti- chokes were proclaimed to be California's Offi- cial Vegetable by Lieuten- ant Governor, Gavin New- som on April 10th, 2013, fit- ting as 99.9 per cent of all commercially grown ar- tichokes come from Mon- terey County. This veggie is also good source of folate, dietary fi- ber, and vitamins C and K, and artichokes are packed with antioxidants; they're number 7 on the USDA's top 20 antioxidant-rich foods list. If you're not sure how fresh your artichoke is, give it a little squeeze. If it squeaks it's fresh. This rec- ipe is from the California Artichoke Advisory Board and what's interesting is the mint. Artichoke Roman Style INGREDIENTS: 4large size California arti- chokes 1Lemon, cut in half Coarse salt to taste ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped 1tbsp Garlic, minced ½ cup Olive oil, divided INSTRUCTIONS: Wash artichokes; remove outer leaves until pale yel- low leaves are exposed. Cut off top two inches and stems so artichokes will sit upright. Remove fuzzy centers and rub all surfaces with half of lemon. Add juice of remaining lemon to water and dip artichokes to preserve green color. Mix mint and garlic with ¼ cup olive oil and spoon into hollows of artichokes.Place in pan just large enough to hold them upright. Add water to depth of three inches, remaining olive oil and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes or until just tender. Cooking will vary with size of artichokes. Remove artichokes, drain and hold warm. Reduce cooking liquid until of a syrupy consistency. Spoon sauce over artichokes and serve. Serves 4 For the grand symphony of spring's vegetable bounty, combine artichokes, aspara- gus, peas and Arborio rice in this Spring Vegetable Pa- ella from Food and Wine magazine: Spring Vegetable Paella You don't need a paella pan to make paella; any large frying pan will do. Serve this paella hot or at room temperature (as it is often eaten in Spain), as is or topped with toasted sliced almonds. Ingredients: 2Tablespoons olive oil 1onion, chopped 1/4 cup drained sliced jarred pimientos, chopped (one 4-ounce jar) 1tomato, peeled and chopped 1clove garlic, minced 11/4 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon turmeric 2cups rice, preferably me- dium-grain such as Arborio 3cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock 1cup water 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 1/2 pound asparagus, tough ends snapped off and discarded, spears cut into 2-inch pieces 1cup fresh or frozen peas 61/2-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced 2cups drained and rinsed canned cannellini beans (one 19-ounce can) In a large frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the pimientos, tomato, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Stir in the salt, turmeric, and rice. Add the chicken broth, water, and parsley and bring to a boil. Continue cooking over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, about 7minutes. Stir in the asparagus, peas, artichokes, and beans. Reduce the heat and sim- mer, covered, for 15minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes before serving. Try pairing this dish with a good Sauvignon Blanc which is almost singular in its ability to match both artichokes and asparagus, to nor- mally difficult foods for wines. Try a New Zea- land Sauvignon, pungent but balanced. A few little twists on the familiar vegetables of spring — Hope you will be encouraged to experi- ment and "eat more veg- gies," as your Mom would say. Happy Mother's Day on May 10th, and enjoy this lovely season. SWEET BASIL AND THE BEE The season of pointy green things PHOTO BY NANCY LINDAHL Asparagus, avocados and artichokes, three "pointy-green" vegetables from the front of the alphabet that provide flavor and nutrition this time of year. The Associated Press PARIS China now boasts more land dedicated to wine-making vineyards than France as it tries to satisfy a rapid rise in local demand. China's vineyards grew to 800,000 hectares (1.9 million acres) last year, put- ting it behind No. 1 grower Spain but ahead of France. Because its production is less effective than more established wine-making countries, China's output is only the seventh-biggest, according to figures re- leased Monday by the Paris- based International Organi- zation of Vine and Wine. France took over the ti- tle of top producer from It- aly last year, with 46.7 mil- lion hectoliters, or 6.2 bil- lion bottles. EU countries have intentionally reduced vineyards in recent years to make them more efficient and improve quality. By contrast, China's har- vest is expected to yield 11.2 million hectoliters. The bulk of that is destined for consumers in China, whose 1.4 billion people knocked back 15.8 million hectoli- ters (2.1 billion bottles) of wine last year. The taste for wine has grown rapidly in China over the last 15 years, more than local production can keep up with. Added to the status carried by foreign wines, China has become the world's sixth-largest wine importer, on par with Russia. According to London- based wine and spirits re- search firm IWSR China is the world's fourth-largest consumer of red wine, and the fifth-largest consumer overall. Sparkling wines are also quickly gaining popularity in the country but remain a niche market, with around 13 million bottles drunk in 2013. The United States re- mained the world's biggest wine consumer last year, at 30.7 million hectoliters (4.1 billion bottles). Wine sales worldwide grew 2.6 percent last year in volume, for an overall value of 26 billion euros. GRAPES China now has more vineyard land than France THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Grape-pickers work at the Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, near Bordeaux, southwestern France. China boasts more wine-making vineyards than France, while France has beaten out Italy to regain the title of world's No. 1wine producer. Peking Chinese Restaurant DineIn,CarryOut&Lounge 860MainStreet 530-527-0523 10%Off yourticketwiththisad. Limit 1 coupon per ticket/table. No other discounts apply. Alcohol, taxes or gratuity are not included. Offer expires 4/30/15 2 Bud's BBQ 592 Antelope Blvd. Red Bluff ( In the old Pronto Market) M-F 11am-6pm • Sat. 11am-3pm • Closed Sunday (530) 528-0799 ★ BBQ PORK ★ BEEF ★ CHICKEN How about BBQ Pork Ribs with 2 large sides? $29.95 for the entire meal Callthismorning,pickitupthisevening *Limitedtoquantityonhand,it'snotmicrowaved WEDNESDAY SPECIAL DidyouknowwehaveGenuineBBQ? Not Microwaved!! 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