Season: Snow peas are cooler climate vegetables and are often planted in early spring. Snow peas can be found most easily throughout the spring, summer and even into fall in California.

Flavor: Snap peas are also known as sugar snap peas and are a cross between snow peas and garden peas. The whole pod is eaten and has a crunchy texture and very sweet flavor.

Storage: Sugar snaps should be plump and crisp (they should “snap” when you break one in half); floppy sugar snaps are a no-go. Store peas in cold refrigeration in a bag in the crisper drawer with other vegetables. Snow peas should be kept at 32-36 degrees Fahrenheit, and usually last for 1 week.

How to use: Snow peas can be eaten raw or enjoyed cooked atop rice, salads, or just as a side. Natural partners with garden peas and sugar snaps include mint, butter, cream, bacon and prosciutto, lettuce, onions (especially spring onions) and mushrooms. Snow peas and sugar snaps are at home in stir-fries, pairing beautifully with garlic, sesame oil and soy sauce; sugar snaps are also pretty excellent raw.

Nutrition: Every variety of pea is really good for you. They sort of combine the nutritional benefits of veggies with the good stuff in legumes. Garden peas are higher in calories than most other veggies and are rich in fiber and protein. They also have huge amounts of Vitamins C, A, K and folate, and are high in manganese, iron, zinc and magnesium. They even contain a little bit of calcium. Snow peas and sugar snaps have a crazy amount of Vitamin C — just one cup provides you with 128 percent of your daily Vitamin C needs. They’re also super high in Vitamins A and K and are good sources of iron and Vitamin B6.

Season: Although available year-round in California, it is naturally a cool-weather crop, which means that fall and spring are its peak seasons. It cannot tolerate extreme cold or heat.

Flavor: Raw spinach has a slightly sweet, mild, herb-like, grassy flavor that blends well into any salad or sandwich. Cooked spinach becomes tangy and slightly acidic in flavor, which most people try to mask with garlic.

Storage: Those tender leaves are vulnerable to decay. Unlike chard, kale and other green leafy friends, baby spinach will keep, at the most, for a few days in the refrigerator crisper. Moisture is a villain, so dump accumulating water from produce bags and keep it unwashed until ready to use. Pre-washed spinach in bags and containers will keep for up to a week, but that’s no reason to get complacent, check often for moisture build-up.

How to use: For salads and other raw preparations, flat-leaf spinach, or young “baby” spinach, is the perfect base.

When cooking, do you boil, or not? There are varying schools of thought on the matter.  Many cookbook authors recommend transferring just-washed spinach to a saucepan, using just the residual water that clings to the spinach leaves for a quick wilt. The argument is that fewer soluble vitamins are lost compared to spinach cooked in rapidly boiling water. But others argue that boiling helps reduce the amount of oxalic acid, which can interfere with calcium and iron absorption. After you’ve cooked it, drain the spinach, then place in a skillet with a smidge of your favorite fat — anchovies, bacon, coconut oil, chopped walnuts — for an instant layer of flavor.

But remember, spinach is more than 90 percent water and shrinks like crazy when you cook it!

Nutrition: In the nutrient department, spinach has got it all. One cup of cooked spinach contains four grams of fiber and more than five grams of protein, all clocking in at 41 calories. It is exceptionally rich in Vitamins A and K, and delivers big time in calcium, potassium, Vitamins B-2 and B-6, Vitamin C and iron. It even has those heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, plus a respectable serving of choline, a B vitamin that supports the nervous system and snuffs out inflammation. It’s also loaded with disease-fighting phytonutrients called carotenoids that are being studied for their links to cancer prevention.

The caveats: Oxalates, which may be an issue for people with kidney or gall bladder conditions; and purines, which can contribute to excess buildup of uric acid, a potential issue with anyone suffering from gout. In addition, the amount of oxalic acid in spinach is enough to interfere with the calcium benefits from spinach. Consult your medical provider for further details.