Gather as many baby veggies as you can find (or cut larger specimens into quarters).  Look for new potatoes, carrots (especially the red and yellow varieties), baby squash, fennel and I’itoi green onions.  Spring vegetables such as chopped green garlic, fava beans and tender greens are also welcome additions.  Also pick up one or two fresh herbs (tarragon, basil, thyme and chervil are all good choices). 

Scrub the vegetables well so you do not have to peel them.  Cut them into smaller pieces as needed.  Chop the herbs. 

In a large frying or sauté pan gently heat a couple tablespoons of high quality butter or olive oil or both.  Add the green garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes until it begins to soften.  Then add about ¾ cup of filtered/bottled water to the pan along with the sturdiest vegetables such as the potatoes and carrots and one half of the herbs.  Season with sea salt, partially cover the pan, and cook gently for a couple of minutes.  Add the rest of the veggies every couple of minutes in order of size/tenderness (e.g. fennel slices and green onions would probably be next, followed by peeled fava beans, then the tender greens at the end).  Include another light sprinkle of sea salt with each addition. 

Once all of the vegetables have been added to the pan, season with the last half of the herbs.  Remove the cover from the pan and let the remaining water evaporate so that you end up with a shiny olive oil or butter glaze on the vegetables and just a little bit of moisture in the bottom of the pan.  You want everything to be tender, but don’t let it get gray or mushy. 

Serve the vegetable braise in a shallow bowl on its own, or topped with a piece of poached salmon or chicken or a few curls of Parmesan or other hard cheese.