UPDATE: The Color of Money -- and Nutrition

Updated with a list of what's available in the market as it opened Sunday, March 13, at Alamitos Bay Marina.

If you're cooking up a traditional St. Patrick's Day meal this week, you might not want to skimp on the cabbage. It tops a list of vegetables with the most nutrition for its price.

Right behind cabbage are three of its closest relatives in the Brassica oleracia family of leafy greens.

At No. 5 was another component of a traditional corned beef dinner -- carrots.

You can see cabbage's impressive nutritional breakdown at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web page. 

Here's the entire list of best nutritional buys, most of which you should be able to find at Sunday's Harbor Area Farmers Market:

1. Cabbage
2. Collard greens
3. Mustard greens
4. Turnip greens
5. Carrots
6. Cauliflower heads
7. Brussels sprouts
8. Broccoli
9. Spinach
10. Cauliflower

Cabbage is selling for this morning about $1.50 to $2 a head at the market, and several vendors have them. The Gonzaga stand has an especially nice selection of greens at $2 a bunch. Carrots range in price from about $1 a pound for the standard variety to $3.50 a pound for gourmet varieties. The same for potatoes.

As easy as it is just to quarter a head of lettuce and toss it into a boiling pot of corned beef, potatoes and carrots, that can be a recipe for bitter, nutrient depleted cabbage -- and when it's overcooked it starts to give off that intense sulfuric odor. According to "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" by Harold McGee, it's much better to slice the cabbage thinly and cook it until just tender. 

If you want to infuse it with the flavor of a traditional Irish boiled dinner:  About 20 minutes before serving the boiled corned beef, potatoes and carrots, put some of the broth from their pot into a pan, along with a steamer basket. Then bring the broth to a boil and steam the cabbage until its color brightens and it's just reached the stage of limpness. 

In abundance and looking very good at the Sunday market, around 8:45 a.m.:

• strawberries
• broccoli
• spinach
• lettuce (romaine, red leaf, butter) and mixed greens
• citrus fruits (navel oranges, cara caras, tangelos, satsumas, Page tangerines, lemons, grapefruit, pomelos, kumquats)
• red grapes
• cilantro
• beets 
• brussels sprouts
• artichokes
• yams
• sweet potatoes
• garlic
• onions
• avocados

Also available:

• Persian cucumbers
• tomatoes (including on-the-vine)
• green beans
• asparagus
• blackberries
• red raspberries
• blueberries
• parsnips
• turnips
• mushrooms
• apples
• bok choy
• Chinese broccoli
• shallots
• Jerusalem artichokes
• radishes (including watermelon radishes)

It looks as if the season has ended on Romanesko broccoli and there was no Cheddar cauliflower, although the Weiser Family Farms stand had Savoy spinach at $5.50 per pound.

Southeast). Alamitos Bay Marina, on East Marina Drive, one-quarter mile south of East Second Street, just west of Pacific CoastHighway. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. (though some vendors are ready to sell at 7 a.m.). www.goodveg.org.