Spring is upon us, and that means the best of spring's vegetables and herbs are popping up in people's gardens and appearing in grocery stores and farmers markets. Vegetables, such as asparagus, snap peas, beets, carrots and radishes, are coming out of the ground in many parts of the United States. And with this kind of abundance, many stores are selling these wonderful, fresh vegetables at a discount.

Of course, that means a bounty for your dinner table. Here are four delicious, simple recipes to really show off the best of what these spring vegetables have to offer.

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Simple Garlic Asparagus. This is a perfect side dish that complements almost every kind of main dish you might have, from chicken to beef, bean burritos and stir fry. It only requires about five minutes of effort and three ingredients, too.

Just pick up a bundle of asparagus – 15 to 20 spears or so – along with a garlic bulb and some butter. Trim the bottom off of each asparagus stalk and toss those bits, then cut the rest of the asparagus stalks into 2-inch pieces. Melt two tablespoons of butter in a skillet and then toss in a couple of garlic cloves, which you can easily extract from a bulb by taking it apart. Let the garlic cook for about a minute, then add the asparagus and cook over medium-high heat for a few minutes until the asparagus is tender and has the texture you want. You can serve this directly from the skillet, and it accompanies all kinds of dishes.

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Grilled Radishes. There are many wonderful things you can do with fresh radishes – pickling them, braising them, roasting them, shredding them for salads – but one simple, delicious way to prepare radishes is to grill them. Their flavor mellows, and their texture softens beautifully on the grill.

Just take some radishes, toss them in melted butter or olive oil, and put them directly on the grill, turning them a couple of times, until grill marks are apparent on all sides of the radish. Remove them to a plate or bowl and serve them along with whatever else you're grilling. The butter or oil helps with the flavor and cooking of the radishes, and the grill mellows the sharpness and softens the radish, making it a really wonderful little side dish for those first spring grilling sessions after a long, cold winter.

Snap Pea Stir Fry. One great way to use fresh snap peas is to cook them, pod and all, in a simple stir fry in your kitchen. It doesn't have to be complicated – just heat up a skillet with a bit of oil in it, cook a protein you love (tofu, chicken, beef, whatever) over medium high heat until it's partially done, then turn the heat to high and add some vegetables, including the snap peas. Onions, radishes, tomatoes, sliced peppers, sliced carrots – all of them work well here. Cook some rice on the side and add a bit of your favorite sauce to the finished product, and you have an amazing, tasty dinner for you and your family.

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Fresh Vegetable Coleslaw. Radishes, carrots, beets and many other root vegetables are often harvested in spring , and they all have something in common: They make for a really tasty and fresh simple slaw, which can work on the side of almost any meal.

This dish is easy to prepare, too. Just get out your food processor or a box grater and shred the root vegetables into little strips, then chop them short if you prefer. Shred several different kinds of root vegetables together – choose ones you like and skip ones you do not. You can easily supplement them with shredded and chopped cabbage. Once you have a healthy batch of shredded and chopped root vegetables or cabbage, simply add a bit of salt to the mix. Then, in another bowl, mix half a cup of mayonnaise, two tablespoons lemon juice, one tablespoon vinegar and half a teaspoon of ground black pepper, then add this mix to the shredded vegetables. You'll have instant delicious coleslaw, made with the freshest ingredients of your choosing.

Another use for shredded root vegetables, including the fresh carrots, beets and radishes, is to make latkes with them. Just form discs out of the shredded vegetables with your hands, add a bit of oil to a skillet and fry them. They make for wonderful little side cakes for any meal.

Using fresh spring produce can add amazing flavors to your table at an incredibly low price – and it doesn't take a whole lot of work, either. Dive into the flavors of spring today.

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