Arizona: Yuma goes green with ‘Lettuce Days’ and cooking class

Yuma, Ariz., is inviting visitors to partake in the region’s bounty of all things green through the end of March, when fields are full of every conceivable type of lettuce - - including butter, iceberg and romaine -- plus other veggies such as asparagus, broccoli and cabbage.

Candy Zavala-Porchas, a certified dietitian and restaurant manager, is making the most of the harvest with “Cooking with Sabor (Taste)” classes at her Main Street Café in neighboring Somerton. For $15, participants learn how to use locally grown ingredients in healthy dishes. Lettuce leaves, for example, replace traditional tortillas as wraps.

One of Yuma’s biggest annual festivals is Lettuce Days, March 11 through 13. The weekend events will include cooking demonstrations by Chef Amy Finley, a winner of “The Next Food Network Star” reality-TV series. Chef Ray Duey of Woodbridge, Calif., will be showing off his vegetable-carving skills. Admission is free.

The Yuma area also hosts popular “Field to Feast” tours during the winter months. The 2011 tour dates are sold out, so register early for next year’s tours. Info: (800) 293-0071.