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How To Enjoy Underappreciated Vegetables

March 15, 2012 By

Looking for a way to infuse your mundane meal with new life? Next time you're in the produce aisle fill your cart with these underrated but delicious vegetables, and bring something new to the dinner table.

Kale
This nutritional powerhouse is packed with iron, but is often underserved when it comes to taste. Perk up boring steamed kale with a dressing made of garlic, lemon, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. Or for a crunchy snack, baked kale chips – dry the leaves thoroughly, spritz with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper, and bake in a single layer at 350 for 5-10 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown.

Radishes
We all know that radishes provide a nice zip to salads and make pretty garnishes, but have you ever tried cooking one? They are delicious and beautiful sliced in half and sautéed in butter or olive oil or roasted – season with salt and pepper as needed.

Parsnips
This humble root vegetable is divine roasted or mashed with butter and cream. Parsnips are also great grated raw and tossed with a citrus dressing. Parsnips are a great option if you're looking to do prepare something other than a traditional potato.

Zucchini
In late summer, every backyard gardener has about a million gigantic zucchinis to get rid of, and the price at the market drops to almost nothing. This is a great time to take advantage of this squash’s versatility. Make breads and muffins, grill them or slow-caramelize in oil with a few mustard seeds for a surprisingly decadent side.

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Cooking with Fennel

January 26, 2012 By

Fennel is a widely under-appreciated vegetable. But this fragrant, flavorful root packs an incredible herbal aroma that lends itself to a wide variety of dishes. If you’ve never cooked with fennel, here are some excellent ways to try it:

-        Salads. Slice the root thinly, much like you would celery, and mix it into a flavorful assortment of greens. The strong taste works well with arugula and other vegetables that can match it. Cherry tomatoes also complement it well.

-        Pair with fish. Make a mixture of fennel, onions, and tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil. Top the veggies with a filet of fish and wrap it in parchment paper. Bake in a 325 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes and the flavors will meld together wonderfully.

-        Add to slaw. If you’re making a vegetable slaw, fennel can be an interesting addition. Use lightly, because the flavor is strong and can overpower the dish. Substituting fennel for onion in chopped salads also works well.

-        Side dish. Fennel is delicious braised in butter and stock – the bulb softens and the flavors mellow, making it a great side dish. Braised fennel pairs deliciously with mashed potatoes.

-        Pair with chicken. Fennel also goes well with chicken. One popular recipe is to roast chicken thighs and drumsticks over a bed of fennel bulbs in the oven. The juices will permeate the fennel as it cooks, making it truly delectable. Serve over rice to soak up all the flavorful juices!

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Keep It Fresh: Five Ways To Preserve Produce

December 13, 2011 By

There’s nothing more frustrating than buying some delicious-looking produce and taking it home, only to find it spoiling before you can eat it. With fruits and vegetables coming to our grocery stores from all over the world, it’s difficult to know how long something will stay fresh after you bring it home. Here are five quick tips that will help you keep your produce fresh longer:

  • Buy local. The absolute best way to know how fresh fruit or vegetables are is to know when they were picked, and you’re not going to get that when your apples are coming from Chile. The longer an item has to travel, the less fresh it is. Buying from local farmer’s markets and CSAs is the absolute best way to get the freshest produce.
  • Examine produce carefully in the store. Most fruits and vegetables have visual cues that you can use to see how fresh they are. Pick produce that doesn’t have wrinkles or yellow spots and is firm to the touch. It’s better to buy fruit that is unripe and let it ripen at home, as there are several ways to speed that process up.
  • Store your fruits and vegetables in airtight containers. The less environmental impact your home has on your produce the better. Airtight containers help prevent bacteria from speeding the process of spoilage.
  • If you have carrots that have gone floppy, you can reconstitute them by putting them in an ice water bath for several hours before preparing them. This works for several other root vegetables as well.
  • If you’re not going to use the vegetables for a bit, many do very well in the freezer in an airtight container.

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