The other day I was shopping at Whole Foods and I spied one of my favorite springtime delicacies: fiddlehead ferns. If you have access to a good produce store, you've probably seen these strange-looking greens; they're flat, tight coils, wrapping around tiny budding leaves.

Fiddlehead ferns always remind me of a trip to Alaska I took four years ago. It was memorable because I got engaged during that trip, but I'll also never forget the tiny reindeer sausage stand that we came across in the little Denali village of Talkeetna (most famous for being the town in which the television show Northern Exposure was set). With your reindeer sausage you could have French fries or fiddlehead ferns. It was August, so the season was long over for them, but the woman who ran the stand told me that in the springtime she had harvested a good 60 pounds of them, blanched them, and froze them to serve at her stand all year round.

So to me, fiddlehead ferns always taste like Alaska, and of the excitement of a new life with the man I love.

Sorry to get sentimental. If you don't have such halcyon memories associated with fiddleheads, they'll probably taste grassy and slightly bitter. People liken their flavor to asparagus and artichokes, a comparison that I think is apt. I think they're best sautéed in a little butter or olive oil, and either eaten on their own, or atop risotto or pasta.

The fiddleheads I bought at Whole Foods were from Oregon, but they're also common in the Northeast. In Maine, they appear in April and May, the new-growth fronds of any fern plant, but usually the ones that we eat are from the ostrich plant.

When you find them, you should choose small, tightly coiled ferns that are bright green in color and firm, not limp. They don't keep well, so you should cook them as soon as possible after you've bought them. Rinse them well under running water, and rub away any brown residue inside of the coils.

There have been reports that people have gotten food poisoning from eating fiddlehead ferns, so it's recommended that they are blanched for at least 10 minutes before eating.

As for me, I sautéed my stash of fiddleheads in butter, along with one of my other favorite springtime indulgences: morel mushrooms. Try my recipe here.

What is your favorite springtime treat?