In Season: Lambsquarters

Where can you get it? Your backyard, probably. But if you want to be certain you’re eating the right thing, you can also buy it from Garmon Family Farm at the Dunwoody Green Market. Corinna Garmon sells a beautiful cultivated variety called magenta spreen, which features a shockingly bright splash of pink on the younger leaves. (And if you ask, she can even pick some of the regular stuff out of her weed patch to sell you. But I recommend the pink stuff.)

“You can use it any way you cook spinach,” Garmon said. “I’ve had people tell me that they put it in quiche, lasagna, scrambled eggs. You can use it in spinach dip.”

Just like the wild stuff, the cultivated variety is prolific. The Garmons have let it naturalize, so it pops up all over.

“We don’t have to reseed it anymore; it just comes up voluntarily,” she said.

At local farmers markets

Arugula, beets, bok choy, broccoli, broccoli raab, cabbage, carrots, chicory, collards, English peas, escarole, garlic, green onions, herbs, Italian dandelion, kale, kohlrabi, lambsquarters, leeks, lettuce, mustard greens, onions, radishes, spinach, spring onions, strawberries, sugar snap peas, Swiss chard, tatsoi, turnip greens, turnips, vegetable plants

From farther afield

Looking good: Washington asparagus, Guatemalan blackberries, Florida and Georgia blueberries, California corn, Florida cucumbers, California and Florida eggplant, Chilean and Mexican grapes, California and Carolina greens, Arizona honeydew, Chilean kiwifruit, California oranges, Florida peppers, Oregon rhubarb, Florida and Georgia summer squash, North Carolina strawberries, Florida and Texas watermelon

Coming in: California apricots, North Carolina blueberries, Florida and Arizona cantaloupe, California cherries, Georgia cucumbers, Georgia and South Carolina peaches, Florida okra, California peppers and watermelon

Variable quality: California artichokes, Texas and Mexican beets, Mexican blackberries, Mexican cantaloupe, Florida corn, Mexican eggplant and honeydew, Guatemalan and California peas, Mexican peppers, California and Mexican raspberries, Mexican summer squash, California strawberries, Florida and Mexican tomatoes, Mexican watermelon

Local reports and the Packer

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Lambsquarters Spanakopita

Hands on: 25 minutes Total time: 1 hour Serves: 4

The taste difference over the traditional spinach filling is subtle, but you’ll certainly notice the bursts of bright pink in the filling of this Greek-style pastry. Serve it as an entree or as a side dish.

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 bag (8 ounces) magenta lambsquarters, chopped

Pinch fresh grated nutmeg

Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

10 sheets phyllo dough

1 egg, beaten

4 ounces crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and parsley and cook 1 minute. Add lambsquarters. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes, until greens are wilted and pan is dry. Stir in nutmeg and lemon zest and juice. Remove from heat and cool.

Pour remaining olive oil into a small bowl. In a pie pan or round casserole dish, place 1 sheet of phyllo, allowing edges to hang over edge. Brush with olive oil. Place another sheet of phyllo in the dish, slightly offset from the first piece. Brush lightly with oil. Repeat until you’ve used 6 sheets of phyllo. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and feta. Combine with the greens mixture and spoon into the pie pan. Smooth top. Fold corners of phyllo over the filling. Place one of the remaining phyllo sheets over the filling and tuck in the edges. Brush with oil. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and oil, offsetting each sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until browned, about 30 minutes. Cut into pieces while hot. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Per serving: 271 calories (percent of calories from fat, 67), 18 grams protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 20 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 113 milligrams cholesterol, 292 milligrams sodium.