This is an awkward time of year for produce. The world is greening and veggie starts are bumper-to-bumper in professional greenhouses and home windowsills, elbowing each other for space and light, but hearty winter storage roots are thinning and the overwhelming summer array are but inches high, some just a twinkle in the farmer's eye. Still, what's lacking in quantity is made up for in quality, nutrient-packed foods. "Baby" veggies are springing up: beets, turnips, salad greens, potatoes. They're sweet, neat and fun to eat. But one doesn't live by produce alone, unless you're a vegetarian or vegan. If so, you still eat pretty doggone well on local fare, even this time of year. Carnivores and omnivores may have a bigger menu to choose from, and aren't encouraged to be quite as creative. Too bad, 'cuz fewer discoveries beckon from the easy path.

Braising mixes

These are the nutrient-packed foods mentioned above. They're the hearty greens that laugh at cold, damp spring, such as mustards, kale, Chinese cabbages, chard, collards, arugula and spinach. Some people find them a bit too strong to eat as salads, though others of us love them that way. Raw, they're packed with vitamins K, A and C, and richly veined with minerals such as calcium, iron, manganese and more. A quick option for those of milder taste is to cook them in just a touch of water or broth in a closed pan, every so briefly, 'til they barely melt into a delicious "mess o' greens." They're especially tasty on cornbread (freshly ground corn launches it into the divine category). If you're not a vegetarian, quickly sautee the greens in a little bacon grease, then toss in crumbled bacon pieces. Don't count on leftovers.

Kimchee

Now, wipe that disgusted look off your face. Yes, I'd heard how awful it is, too. Then a friend gave me a jar of it she'd just made with big bags of napa cabbage a farmer friend had given her. Oh my. It was as delicious as it was beautiful, the deep green and white offset by bright orange carrot ovals. Feeling a bit like Oliver Twist, I returned the empty jar, begging "more, please." She has inspired me to try making my own. You can use almost any vegetable to make a healthful food even more so and preserve what's in abundance. Among books and Web sites, perhaps best known are those by Sandor Katz (www.wildfermentation.com). Another is my favorite book on food preservation by Scio author Linda Ziedrich called "The Joy of Pickling," which covers fermentation, too.

Food for your food

The Corvallis Tilth Organic Gardening Club is hosting its annual organic fertilizer sale the next two Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot of First Alternative Co-op's South Store at 1007 S.E. Third St. Get the nutrients your soil needs by the bag or by the cup. If you're buying less than a full bag, you're welcome (encouraged!) to bring your own sack or container. Information: 541-758-0316.

Fresh Sheet alerts readers to the seasonal foods that make the mid-valley such a rich culinary area. Through tips from farmers, ranchers, fishers, cheese-makers and other food producers, as well as chefs and restaurateurs, Chris Peterson tracks what's flowing from soil and sea to local plates. Readers can contact her at localfood@peak.org.