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Category: Veggie Highlights

Published on Leave a comment on Veggie Highlight: Tomatillos

Hi all! I've been having a blast harvesting honey every couple weeks this whole summer, but the season is almost over and I'm looking at pulling my last few frames this weekend before leaving the rest to the bees for their winter. So it's time for a non-bee related topic!

The last Veggie Highlight I did (on the Japanese sweet potato) was over 2 years ago so I'm MORE than overdue for a new one. And if you follow this blog, you know my Veggie Highlights will give you the basics, a few cooking ideas, along with a few crazy factoids thrown in.

On my last trip to Maple Acres Farm, my local farmstand, I picked up some heirloom tomatoes and a few tomatillos. While I love Mexican dishes including salsa verde and have enjoyed tomatillos in a variety of restaurant dishes, I had actually never cooked with them before. Tomatillos will be in season pretty much at the same time as tomatoes, even a little longer into Fall so you should be able to find them easily at your local farmers market right now. Figured this was a perfect opportunity for both you and me to learn something new, right?

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Published on Leave a comment on Vary Your Veggies

It's that time of year to get planting! It's still a bit cold here in Philly but I got my beds ready last week and planted one box with the usual greens plus a few new ones (trying to take my own advice from the "Lettuce Be More Exciting" post). So I've thrown some mache (corn salad), mizuna, and minutina in with the spinach and lettuce.

But I'm planning on stepping it up even further this year with a few more unusual greens as well as some exciting alternatives to the 'tried and true' veggies. I want to share with you a great book by Niki Jabbour titled "Veggie Garden Remix" that matches up the typical veggie garden staples with ideas for how to try more unusual alternatives. Many of them inspired by immigrant cultures who have introduced an amazing and flavorful diversity to our home gardens, the book has a stunning variety of suggestions - it was hard not to go overboard when I was deciding what to order from the seed catalog!

...continue reading "Vary Your Veggies"

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Published on 1 Comment on Veggie Highlight: Japanese Sweet Potato

The Japanese sweet potato or 'satsumaimo' was one of those mystery veggies that came in my CSA box that I stored away in my potato basket for a couple weeks while I figured out what to do with it. Weeks went by and while extended family was here for Christmas, I thought 'what the heck, just roast it' (which is basically my go-to strategy for most mystery vegetables) and see what happens.  It was a hit!

Roasted with just olive oil, salt and pepper, they were quite sweet with a 'carmelized' nutty taste.  To me, they had a flavor similar to roasted chestnuts.  Served with grilled pork loin, it made a nice pairing. They don't have a lot of water content so the roasted sections I cut almost had a homestyle french fry type texture.  If you've ever tried to make sweet potato fries before, you know they have a higher water content and can sometimes turn into a soggy mess....not the case here.

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Published on Leave a comment on Veggie Highlight: Leeks

leek1Many people consider leeks in the 'semi-exotic' category of vegetables. This was true for me until I began cooking with them more regularly the past few years.  But I've now come to view them as essentially just gigantic scallions. They're easy to throw into dishes anywhere  you might use an onion.  As far as flavor, they tend to be a little less 'oniony', sweeter than onions themselves.

In history, the leek has held both an exalted and abused status.  The Welsh actually wore leeks in their caps to help distinguish themselves from their opponents in the battle against the Saxons in 640 AD. They did win the battle (presumably partly because they weren't attacking their own men?) and the leek became the national emblem of Wales.   In contrast, the French thought leeks were 'the asparagus of the poor'.  This remained the opinion until a French chef at the New York's Ritz Carlton in the 1920's came up with vichyssoise (cold potato and leek soup). Leek reputation restored!
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Published on 3 Comments on Veggie Highlight: Hakurei Turnips and Watermelon Radishes

In my last post on Jerusalem artichokes, I mentioned there were a couple other new (for me anyway) discoveries in my CSA delivery.  I couldn't believe I had never had either before!  They were so delicious, I've already ordered seeds from Amazon and got them planted in my garden so I can enjoy more!

turnipsThe first is the Hakurei turnip. This lovely white small turnip is a salad turnip - no cooking required! Love that. There's also a similar variety you may see called the Toyko Cross turnip.

They are grown primarily during the cooler months, in Spring and Fall, so can be found in stores now.

Hakurei turnips have a sweet, mild flavor without the spicy or bitter flavor of traditional turnips (translation: kid friendly!). For prep, you just wash them and cut off the greens before eating - no need to peel. Fantastic sliced or chunked into a salad. Use them in place of water chestnuts for their apple-like crunch. Another idea is to serve thick slices of hakurei turnips and radishes with a dip - a healthy and colorful 'chip and dip'. If so inclined, you can eat the greens as well - best mixed in with other hearty mustard greens like arugula.

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Published on 2 Comments on Veggie Highlight: Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes)

raw-whole-sunchokesTo my delight, the last few CSA deliveries introduced 3 new veggies that won me over with their great taste. Once I figured out what they were!

The first is the Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke. (The other 2 will have to wait for future posts....oh, will you be able to handle the suspense???)

So to begin, I'll give you a topic. The Jerusalem artichoke is neither from Jerusalem nor an artichoke. Discuss. (your comedy chops are like 'buttah' if you get that SNL reference. If you don't, no big whoop.)

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