The Hollywood Farmers Market is in transition. It's a really good time in my opinion for the market. No longer the first blush of spring, but the heat (and abundance) of summer is still a few months away. Which means there's a lot to look at and even more to consider.

You can still find favas and sweet peas. But the first of the stone fruit are starting to make an appearance too. See what I mean? Some of this and some of that. Somewhere between spring and summer. And though the market is indeed evolving with the  seasons, two of my springtime favorites can still be found. Green garlic and spring onions.

At first glance these two vegetables appear sorta similar. They look like a crude cousin of a scallion. A bit bigger, a bit leafier and slightly bulbous. But what they are really are just younger versions of onions and garlic. These vegetables are harvested early and sold fresh without the curing process that develops the dry papery skins. Green garlic and spring onions also are sold with the greens attached, which are edible. In fact they are delicious and I usually use almost all of the greens when I work with these vegetables.

Choosing both green garlic and springs onions is easy. Look for crisp tops and white, pink or purple bulbs. Once you get them home you can slice them and use them as you would a scallion. They both have milder flavors than their more mature versions and are best when used in dishes that highlight their delicacy.

For this week's Market Matters, I went to the Ojai Farmers Market instead of the Hollywood Farmers Market because I spent a wonderfully quiet weekend there, just plain relaxing at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. More coming about this weekend soon.

When I arrived home I was tired, feeling lazy (in that way only a weekend at a spa can bring) but hungry. I looked in my bag and saw zucchini. So, it's zucchini soup for dinner. But there are many versions of zucchini soup. I needed a soup to fit the season. Most of the zucchini soup I have enjoyed have really been summer soups. Probably because zucchini is such a 'summer food'. Every gardener in the world knows about late season zucchini. Big like nothing else in the garden. They are prolific and seem to come from nowwhere just as other things in the garden are slowing down. Typically these summer zucchini soups are served cold and creamy.

But this time of year I prefer hot soups. And though zucchini from the garden and at the Farmers Market hasn't peaked as prodigiously as it will within a few months, you can usually find smaller more delicately flavored specimens. They are perfect for simple soups with just a few ingredients. For me this is a 'no cream necessary' soup– even though sour cream or yogurt are fairly traditional in zucchini soup. But I find that yogurt, certainly, and even cream can overpower the taste of baby squash this time of year.