“What are these?” the grocery checkout girl was asking me. In her hand she held a clear plastic bag of plain old Purple Top Turnips. Nothing special, just turnips. She confessed she had never seen them before, much less eaten them. I told the her what they were and suggested an easy way to cook them (my favorite: diced and sautéed with a little butter, salt and pepper). She seemed really interested and said she would try some, I hope she does! OK, so maybe you don’t love turnips, you’re not alone. But there are all kinds of wonderful roots that are delicious and nutritious, too.

Any local grocery store will have a good selection of root vegetables and Farmer’s Markets will have a terrific range of choices. Look for Sweet Potatoes, Purple or Red Potatoes, Beets, Carrots, Turnips and Radishes. Specialty stores may offer Parsnips, Salsify, White Salad Turnips or Jerusalem Artichokes. These are all grown throughout the year and many are kept in storage for later eating. Early Spring harvests can be the finest so now is the time to look for them or even plant your own. When shopping, look for firmness: none of these should be rubbery or shriveled up. If you’re not sure ask the produce manager when they came in to the store. Better yet, if you buy directly from the farmer you can learn all kinds of facts about that very tuber they grew for you. Each of these wonderful roots has a different flavor, texture and color.

We have some sure-hit ways to prepare any of these, or better yet a mix of a few different root vegetables … great to win over picky eaters!

Roasted Roots

1. Wash, peel and chop equal amounts of at least three kinds of Root Vegetables.

2. Toss together in a bowl with enough Olive Oil to coat.

3. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Spread in a baking pan and roast on high heat (400 degrees) for 15-20 minutes or until tender and crispy.

Smashed Roots

These can be really dramatic depending on the type of roots you can find: Potatoes, Purple Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes or Carrots are really pretty together.

1. Wash, peel and chop Roots.

2. Steam until tender (this preserves the flavor and color much better than boiling).

3. Remove to a bowl, season with salt and pepper, add butter and cream to your taste. Mash together with a potato masher until they reach the consistency you prefer: we like to leave them a little chunky. Try adding some roasted Garlic cloves, yum!

Bake your Beets

My husband never cared for Beets until I baked them like a Potato. Wash and wrap Beets in foil, bake at 350 degrees for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour. Serve as you would a potato with butter, salt and pepper. These are really pretty and different especially if you can find Golden Beets.

Really Grate Turnips

One last way to sneak Root Vegetables into your family’s meals is to grate them and add to soups. This is one of the best methods for those plain old Purple Top Turnips. Make your favorite vegetable beef or chicken noodle soup and add the grated Turnips. They will add a deliciously mysterious “background” flavor that no one will say they don’t like!

About the Gardener

Moore Farms, with a lot of help from our Friends, offers a new way to order fresh local and organic foods for your family’s table. We distribute locally in the Southeast with pickup locations in Metro Atlanta. Features of our program include custom ordering options, a wide array of products, nutrition information and plenty of our own delicious recipes for your culinary delight. Based on farmer availability we offer items such as fresh fruits, vegetables, honey, eggs, cheese, flowers, herbs, and pantry foods. All produce is either grown naturally on our farm, on one of our Friend’s farms or Certified USDA Organic grown here in the Southeast. Other items are carefully selected for their artisinal character. For more details goto: www.moorefarms.locallygrown.net.

From an Ayurvedic Medicine perspective, cabbage is a calming and grounding food. It is balancing for all body types. It clears the blood, fortifies the stomach and treats constipation. It has a slightly bitter taste that helps to stimulate gastric juices contributing to a better digested meal. Cabbage also is a mild diuretic.

There are many cures associated with drinking juiced cabbage. Cabbage has been called the poor man's medicine chest. Many people swear that drinking raw cabbage juice is what took care of their stomach ulcer. Gargling and swallowing fresh cabbage juice is a great remedy for a sore throat.

Cabbage poultices are also used to effectively treat a variety of ailments. External application of fresh cabbage poultices are great for increasing circulation to a congested or inflamed part of the body, helping with arthritis, chest infections, sore throats, tonsillitis, lymph blockage, tumors and sciatica. Cabbage poultices are antiseptic and draw out infection and toxins. I have seen cabbage poultices work miracles for general skin infections and hot swollen joints. Cabbage poultice is also a very soothing remedy for mastitis from breast feeding, irritated varicose veins and boils.

To make a cabbage poultice, just chop up the cabbage and put it in the blender with a little boiling water until you make a thick past. Apply the paste about one inch thick on the desired area of the body and leave on for about twenty minutes. When you apply cabbage poultice to an inflamed or infected part of the body, you can actually feel the heat being absorbed by the cabbage.

Like other brassica family vegetables of which cabbage is a member it has the ability to lower the risk of certain cancers. When eaten raw it has been shown to help protect against the effects of radiation.

Cabbage is a nutritious vegetable. Raw cabbage is a source of vitamins and nutrients including vitamin C, potassium and Folic Acid. If you want to really turn your head of cabbage into medicine, learn how to ferment it and make real sauerkraut. Talk about a medicine chest. Raw sauerkraut is an amazing healer for the digestive tract and helps the body to fight off just about any disease.

Weather you eat it or slather it on your body, enjoy this vegetable medicine chest.

Herbal Cole Slaw

• 6 cups finely chopped cabbage
• ½ cup grated carrots (You can also add other vegetables that you have on hand such as cucumbers, celery, radish and grated beets)
• 2 finely chopped green onion
• 1 cup chopped herbs (combination of cilantro, rosemary, chives, sage or whatever you have on hand)
• ¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon mustard
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Add 2 tablespoons whole plain yogurt if you like a creamier cole slaw

Crock Pot Cabbage Soup

• 1 head of chopped cabbage
• 5 organic chicken legs or whole chicken
• 3 carrots
• 2 potatos
• 2 stalks celery
• (really you can add any vegetable to this soup, just clean out your refrigerator)
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tablespoons other savory herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage or oregano

Chop the vegetables; put everything in the crock pot and let cook for at least four hours. This soup is EASY. It is nutritious and helps to ward off colds and coughs.

About the Gardener

Farm Fresh To You presents the Herb Garden by Kami McBride.  Farm Fresh To You provides delivery of organic, seasonal fruits, vegetables and greens right to your door. Every week the Farm Fresh to You family farm, Capay Organic, puts together a box of seasonal fruits, vegetables, and greens and delivers the box directly to your home. 

Italian Eggplant

Primarily a summertime vegetable, eggplant grows during warm summer months which is why it is used so often with tomatoes.  Mid- to late-summer is the best time for eggplant but you will find it readily available in the grocery store off season as it is always summertime somewhere in the world.  Try some of the more interesting eggplants such as solid white small "Casper" eggplant and the gorgeous orange Turkish type eggplant.  There are nearly as many shapes and sizes as there are peppers.

Bianca di Rosa Eggplant

Eggplants can be roasted, grilled, baked, fried and sautéed for just about any recipe.  With so many types of eggplant available they can be one of the most versatile vegetables around.

Japanese Eggplant

Eggplant Caponata

• 2 medium-large eggplants (about 3 pounds)
• 1/4 cup coarse salt
• olive oil
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 red pepper or 1/2 (8 oz.) jar of roasted peppers
• 2 tablespoons of chopped sweet basil
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup capers, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup fresh plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• (optional) crushed red peppers
  

Peel the eggplants and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Sprinkle with coarse salt and drain in a colander, weighted, for one hour. Rinse well, and dry in a kitchen towel.

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan and fry the eggplant in batches until golden on all sides, adding more oil if necessary. Drain on paper towels. (You can also roast the eggplant and red pepper under a broiler for a fuller flavor).

Sauté the onions in olive oil until just translucent but not brown. Add the eggplant, peppers, celery, garlic, & tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes more. Remove mixture to a bowl and add capers & vinegar.  Season with salt and crushed red peppers to taste. Let sit in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and serve chilled or at room temperature with pita or crackers.

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

• about 4 cups sliced Japanese eggplant (1" slices)
• peanut or stir fry oil
• 8 cloves garlic minced or pressed
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1/8 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese chili sauce
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• about 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in water 

Fry eggplant in oil in a skillet over medium heat, for about 8 minutes, about 4 minutes per side. After frying drain well and set aside.

Fry ginger and garlic in a little oil for about 30 sec. When you smell their strong aroma, add ketchup and stir for a minute or so. Add Chinese chili sauce and stir well. Next, add sherry and simmer for a minute or two. After this, add all other ingredients except green onions and cornstarch. Stir and allow mixture to simmer for a couple of minutes before adding cornstarch in water. Just as mixture starts to thicken, add chopped green onions, stir for a minute or so and add eggplant to sauce. Once eggplant is coated with sauce, turn off fire, remove from skillet and serve over white rice.

About the Gardener

The Tasteful Garden

Shiitake mushrooms are a highly regarded herbal remedy in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. Once called the “Elixir of Life” and reserved only for Emperors, these healing mushrooms are now delivered to your doorstep!

Shiitake are rich in vitamin B, helping you to manage stress and mood swings. Shiitake are anti-inflammatory and are used in treating the inflammation contributing to cardio vascular disease, allergies, and arthritis. If you have arthritis, consider making shiitake a regular part of your diet. If you have high blood pressure, eat more mushrooms!

Shiitake mushrooms are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and help to keep your immune system strong. They are the perfect food for the cold and flu season. With the current crisis in bacteria antibiotic resistance, building your immune system is a good thing. Use your food to stay well and stay off antibiotics. If someone around you is coughing, add shiitake to your meal or drink shiitake tea.

If you are prone to allergies, continue eating shiitake as spring approaches. They help reduce the inflammatory response that is so miserable with spring allergies. Eat them in your food and also start making shiitake tea a couple times a week.

The Japanese have been studying the anti-tumor effects of shiitake since the 1960’s. Shiitake mushrooms are shown to have multiple nutrients that help slow, stop or reverse the pathological process of cancer development. One of the best selling anti-cancer drugs in Europe and Japan is derived from shiitake. Less than half of cancer patients in Japan receive chemotherapy and radiation. They use mushrooms extensively in cancer treatments.

Shiitake is one of many medicinal mushrooms that are being used extensively in working with cancer and other chronic diseases. Shiitake is more readily available and is less expensive than some of the other medicinal mushrooms, so take advantage of it. By the way, they also taste great! They store best in a brown paper bag in the fridge. 

Shiitake Scrambled Eggs

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 finely chopped shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped greens from your box (chard, kale or spinach)
• 1 clove minced garlic

Warm the coconut oil in a skillet, add the garlic and mushrooms and sauté for about two minutes. Add the greens and cook just enough to wilt them and then add the eggs and cook on low heat until light and fluffy. I love this breakfast!

Shiitake Tea

• 4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons chopped shiitake mushrooms

Put water and mushrooms in a pot and simmer on lowest heat for one half hour or until liquid is one half of its original volume. Strain the mushrooms out and enjoy your longevity elixir!

Shiitake Tacos

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms
• Corn tortillas

Sautee onions, garlic and shiitake in olive oil until tender. Warm up corn tortillas and fill with mushroom mixture. Garnish with lettuce, cilantro, lime and whatever else you like in your tacos.

The shiitake are so meaty that they taste great almost by themselves in tacos.

About the Gardener

Farm Fresh To You presents the Herb Garden by Kami McBride.  Farm Fresh To You provides delivery of organic, seasonal fruits, vegetables and greens right to your door. Every week the Farm Fresh to You family farm, Capay Organic, puts together a box of seasonal fruits, vegetables, and greens and delivers the box directly to your home.