Spring may be on the way but we are still in the middle of the winter here in New England. If you are anything like me around this time every year you start craving fresh produce. It can be hard to know what to go for in the grocery store if you are trying to eat seasonably and let’s face it, imported produce never tastes as good as fresh. It helps to know what is currently in season, and it might be more then you thought. With a little knowledge and some creativity you can be eating well all winter long.
A few of my favorite winter vegetables:
Broccoli – It can be grown year round but is sweeter when harvested in cool weather. Steamed or roasted it is a great side dish.
Carrots – Good cooked or raw carrots will add to a soup, salad, or roast them as a side dish. Carrots keep for a long time when stored in a cool location in a plastic bag.
Kale – Kale is packed with nutrition. If it’s not your favorite raw, try it steamed or in a soup. This is another vegetable that is sweeter when grown in cool weather.
Cabbage – Try slicing it into wedges and roasting it at 400 degrees for 20 minutes with some oil, garlic powder, paprika and salt. The longer it cooks the sweeter it is.
Onion – When stored in a dark cool area onions will keep for a long time. This vegetable is essential to a good soup and adds flavor to most savory dishes.
Sweet Potatoes – This versatile vegetable is good baked or even made into muffins. Store it with your onions and whenever possible, get it organic.
Winter Squash – Winter squash could be butternut, acorn or even pumpkin. One of my recent favorites is to make burritos with squash. Put it in soups and it will break down and give to soup a creamy consistency without the need for cream.
This is just a few of the vegetables you can get fresh this time of year and it doesn’t take much to create some yummy dishes to get you through the cold.
