Eating Seasonally: Two Simple Tips

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Lately, it seems a lot of people have been writing books and articles and blog posts giving us advice on how to eat more healthfully, including two of my favorite food writers, Mark Bittman and Michael Pollan. Once you boil away the excess, their advice always comes down to the same thing:

Cut back on processed foods and meat. Eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Surprisingly, I have seen quite a backlash to this simple, commonsensical advice on the blogosphere. Eating fruits and vegetables is expensive. It’s downright elitist!

Huh? Okay, I’ll grant you that for the urban poor who live in food deserts, a fresh fruit or vegetable is hard to come by. And our inequitable food system subsidizes “product” crops such as corn and soy over whole fruits and vegetables, making them seem more expensive.

But… Many people can still afford to eat fruits and vegetables. Here’s what I think is a big part of the problem. We here in America have forgotten how to eat seasonally.

For the better part of human history, people ate fruits and vegetables when they were ripe and harvested. Yes, we have figured out some ingenious ways of preserving the harvest. Canned tomatoes are one of the great products of civilization, in my opinion. But unless you had frozen or jam on hand, you didn’t expect to eat blueberries in March or to have pears in the spring.

In our modern food culture, though, we’ve grown accustomed to having all fruits and vegetables available to us at all times. But when you buy produce out of season, it’s two or three times as expensive, and it doesn’t taste nearly as good. That’s because it was picked before it was fully riped and shipped all the way from Chile or some such place. It’s simply a bad deal all around.

One commentator on this post remarked that she tried to give her kids healthy snacks like blueberries but they cost so much. Of course they do. Blueberries don’t grow this time of year in our part of the world, so their scarcity is going to make them much more expensive. On the other hand, avocados are selling 2 for a dollar at my local grocery, and tangerines are 6 for 99 cents. That’s because they are in season and plentiful right now. They’re awfully yummy too.

If you try to eat seasonally, you’ll find that your produce bill will go down. I know it can seem like a drag, not getting to eat blueberries in the winter, but think of how much more you’ll appreciate them when they’re ripe, tasty and abundant. If you absolutely must have something out of season, buy it frozen, where it will probably be cheaper.

A while ago, I learned two simple rules to help me eat seasonally. The first is to remember what’s in season when. I just think of the life cycle of a plant and buy produce to match. For example:

• In spring, when plants are budding, eat tender leaves and flowers, i.e., greens, fresh shell beans, peas, asparagus, artichokes.
• In summer, when plants are at their most beautiful, eat colorful soft fruits, i.e., berries, melons, peaches, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini.
• In autumn, when plants are distributing seeds, eat nuts and firm fruits, i.e., apples, pears, pumpkin, winter squash.
• In winter, when plants have gone dormant, eat root vegetables, i.e., carrots, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips.

Here’s another simple rule for deciding how to prepare those seasonal fruits and vegetables:

What grows together, goes together.

Here are several links to other food blogs to help you eat better on a budget via MetaFilter. Happy eating!

Potatoes & Leeks & Onions, Oh My!

So, it’s Sunday afternoon, and I have cut-up potatoes, onions and leeks moldering in my fridge. They need to be eaten or they will be tossed. So what do I do?

Make creamy potato-leek soup, of course! Other than those 3 ingredients, you only need butter and stock or water. I follow this formula for making pureed soups and vary the ingredients to suit.

With an excess of onions, it is also a good idea to caramelize some of them. To caramelize onions, slice the onion thinly. Melt some butter or heat some oil over medium-low in a nonstick pan. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook until very tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover and raise the heat to medium-low. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn golden-brown, another 20 minutes or so. To get a deeper brown color, sprinkle on a little sugar during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Caramelized onions keep about a week in the fridge and are good on omelets, pasta or just eaten on toast with some creamy cheese.

But I still have some odds and ends of root vegetables lurking about. A mixed root vegetable mash is the answer. Combine potatoes, carrots, celery root, leeks or whatever root vegetables are on hand and simmer until tender in just enough water to cover. Drain and add a little butter, seasoning and cream or milk. Mash with a potato masher. This makes a lovely side dish for pan-seared tuna, which is what we ate last night.

And all the root vegetables have now been properly disposed of.

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Creamy Root Vegetable Soup

Last night I made a pureed soup using various root vegetables: potatoes, celery root, carrots and scallions. I really like the flavor of celery root in pureed soups. It’s not too assertive, but definitely has a presence. I much prefer it to celery. If this isn’t a vegetable you buy a lot, you should try it.

I browned the vegetables first in a little butter and water, which I think deepened the flavor and gave the soup a nice dark color. I served the soup with some grated cheddar and a dollop of sour cream, like a pureed baked potato in a bowl. This is one of my favorite kinds of soups to make, very warm and comforting, especially on a snowy day.

Risotto with Roasted Vegetables

Dinner last night: a plain risotto. I made it with sherry and a little lemon zest, per the suggestion in The Improvisational Cook. Topped it with slow-roasted carrots and onions. It was delicious, but risotto usually is. It’s the best way to eat rice, in my opinion.

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Roasted Asian-style Chicken with Vegetables

Last night, I made one of our rare Asian-themed meals. I don’t often cook Asian, because I don’t usually have the necessary ingredients on hand, but this simple menu didn’t require many unusual ingredients. Also, it helped me clean out the refrigerator by using up the last of the tahini.

For the entree, I roasted chicken according to this method, but I added some mushroom caps and asparagus, cut into 2-inch lengths, to the roasting pan. I also added whole garlic cloves and shaved ginger. Unfortunately, the chicken took a longer time to cook than I thought, so I had to remove the vegetables halfway through or they would have turned to coal. But roasted vegetables taste good whether they’re piping hot or just warm, so all was not lost. When the chicken was finally done, I poured a mixture of soy sauce and lime juice over it on top of the stove. It didn’t take long for the liquid to reduce to a thick glaze in the hot pan. The whole dish was really simple and delicious.

On the side, I served Sesame Noodles vegetarian-style (which was where I used the tahini). I was able to make them ahead of time since they taste just as good at room temperature. My husband really liked the noodles, and I think they made a hearty accompaniment to the chicken and vegetables.

Fresh-from-the-Garden Minestrone

This minestrone recipe is designed to take advantage of whatever is growing fresh in your garden right now. While you may want to stick to the combination of root vegetable, squash, beans and greens, substitutions can and should be made depending on what’s available. What makes this soup really tasty is the “garnish” of bacon, shallot and garlic that is swirled in right at the end.

This recipe is very adaptable. It can made ahead of time and then reheated before serving. Extras can be frozen, so make a big batch.

Garden Minestrone

Time to make: ~45 minutes
Serves: 6-8

• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 sm. summer squash, diced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 oz. bacon or prosciutto, diced
• 1 shallot, sliced thinly
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 can any beans, drained and rinsed, or the equivalent of cooked beans
• 1 bunch arugula, chopped
• 1 handful parsley, minced

Add the stock, carrots and squash to a large soup pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium. Add the bacon, onion and garlic. Cook slowly until the bacon is crisp and the onion is translucent, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Add the beans to the soup and let heat through, about 5 minutes. Add the arugula and parsley. Stir in the bacon mixture. Warm through about 5 minutes to wilt the greens and blend the flavors. Serve with crusty Italian bread.

Mashing Vegetables Beyond Potatoes

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Lately, I have been experimenting with mashing a wider range of vegetables than the standard potato. And why not? The baby loves mashes, even when he’s turning his nose up at vegetables in general. For adults, they are comfort food. Everyone’s happy.

What is the difference between a mash and a puree? Generally, purees are smoother, more like baby food consistency, and in our house at least, we don’t like to eat them as side dishes. I prefer to use a puree as part of another dish, such as a soup or dip. I mostly puree in the food processor so I can choose from a wider range of vegetables (such as broccoli, mushrooms and eggplant, to name a few), although I will occasionally use a finer sieve in the food mill to puree.

I always serve mashes on their own as sides. I like to leave mashes a little chunkier than purees and to enrich them with butter and cream, milk, buttermilk or sour cream — whatever I have on hand. If I am serving the mash right away, I use a potato masher to make quick work of mashing the vegetable and mixing in the additions. If I am planning to serve the mash later, I’ll use the food mill with its coarsest sieve instead, and I’ll mix in the butter and dairy when I’m reheating.

For mashed potatoes, choose the russet, white or Yukon Gold varieties. These varieties have more starch and are better suited to mashing, although I will mash large red potatoes, if that’s what I have. Other vegetables that mash well are carrots, celeriac, parsnips, peas, sweet potatoes, turnips and winter squash.

A new vegetable often benefits from being mashed with potatoes so it’s not entirely unfamiliar. Mashed potatoes and celeriac (or celery root), for instance, has a wonderful nutty flavor. The baby likes mashed vegetables like turnips and winter squash mixed with cooked apples — not a favorite of mine, but if he’ll eat it, I’ll go for it. I like to experiment with strong flavor additions to enliven a mash. Salsa, pesto or herb purees, roasted garlic and cheese are all great additions to try.

Here is the basic technique:

1. Select the vegetables you want to mash and pre-cook them. Most vegetables can be peeled, cut into chunks and  boiled until tender. You might choose to bake starchier vegetables, such as russet potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squash.
2. If you are serving the mash immediately, transfer to a large bowl. Add ½ tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. cream, milk, buttermilk or sour cream per serving (just eyeball it). Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Using a potato masher, mash until the vegetables are the desired consistency, the butter has melted and the cream is incorporated. Mix in any other flavorings with a rubber spatula.

If you are not serving the mash right away, omit the butter and dairy. Use a potato masher or food mill to mash the vegetables, and either freeze or store in the refrigerator. Before serving, add the butter and dairy. Reheat over low until heated through, stirring frequently.

Mashed vegetables, including potatoes, can be frozen. Usually, I freeze them without the butter and dairy, which I add when reheating. To freeze as individual servings, scoop the mash into muffin tins. Once frozen, store in ziploc freezer bags, and just remove the number of servings you need.

Garden Goodness: Mixed Sauteed Vegetables

When the garden starts really producing at the end of summer, you need to think of lots of ways to eat up all those lovely vegetables. You can’t go wrong with a mix of sauteed vegetables.

This versatile dish goes with so many things. Use it as a bed for grilled chicken, steak or fish, or top a heap of pasta or rice. Cool, toss with a vinaigrette and serve as a salad, or use them to top bruschetta. Sauteed vegetables also make a nice filling for tacos, omelets or sandwiches.

My favorite garden vegetables for sauteeing are onions, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, summer squash and zucchini. (The pictured mix is onions, cherry tomatoes and diced eggplant, sprinkled with parsley.) But experiment with different vegetables and combinations.

The technique couldn’t be easier:

1. Cut the vegetables into small slices or dice.
2. In a nonstick or well seasoned skillet, heat a small amount of oil over medium-high until the oil is shimmering.
3. Add the vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until they are browned and tender. Most vegetables take 10-15 minutes.
4. Season and sprinkle with fresh herbs to serve.

Note: Watch the vegetables carefully while they’re cooking. If they’re browning too fast, reduce the heat.

Glazing Vegetables

Glazing vegetables is an extremely useful technique for punching up an otherwise boring vegetable side dish. I used to avoid recipes that used this technique, because I associated glazed vegetables — specifically, carrots — with a sugary, syrupy sweet dish. If I wanted to eat dessert, I’d have ice cream.

But I was wrong. The traditional method for glazing requires very little or no sugar. The technique relies on reducing a flavorful cooking liquid, such as chicken stock, to a glaze and thickening it with butter. While this technique works very nicely on carrots, many other vegetables can also benefit from it, such as brussels sprouts, pearl onions, sweet potatoes, turnips and winter squash. The other night, I made some delicious green beans also using this technique. So I encourage experimentation.

Here is how you do it:

1. Prepare the vegetable by slicing or cutting into bite-sized pieces, if necessary.
2. In a large skillet, add the vegetable, a pat of butter (about 1 tbsp.), salt and just enough good (preferably homemade) chicken stock to halfway cover.
3. Bring the liquid to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer the vegetables until tender, adding a little more liquid if necessary.
5. When the vegetables are done, raise the heat to medium-high and add 1-2 tbsp. butter. If desired, stir in 1-2 tbsp. sugar.
6. Stir until the liquid reduces to a glaze coating the vegetables; there should be very little liquid left, and the glaze should be thickened and browned.
7. Remove from the heat and stir in a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice to finish.

Farmers Market Vegetable Soup

The problem with going to the farmers market is that it is all too easy to yield to temptation and grab up way too many fresh vegetables than you can possibly eat in a week. What better way to take advantage of all that bounty than to make a huge pot of soup? You can eat some of it for dinner and freeze the rest for when you need a quick meal. Since the produce comes from the farmers market, each batch of soup will reflect the seasonal goodness of that particular visit.

This is not a recipe. This is just a blueprint for how to make a hearty vegetable soup with all that good stuff you might bring home from the farmers market. You should feel free to vary this any way you see fit to produce the soup you want to eat. I made my version in the slow cooker, so I am providing instructions for both slow cooking and stovetop cooking below.

Farmers Market Vegetable Soup

1. Go to the farmers market and pick out an assortment of fresh vegetables. For instance, this time of year, you might choose sweet or spring onions, cabbage, tender greens, baby potatoes and carrots.
2. At home, chop the vegetables into roughly equal pieces and toss into the slow cooker or pot.
3. Salt to taste.
4. Pour in just enough chicken stock to cover. (You may want to use more liquid if cooking on the stovetop, because some will boil away; use at least 4 cups.)
5. If you have it on hand, for extra flavor stir in a tablespoon or two of pesto, a couple of rashers of cooked bacon or a Parmesan cheese rind (I keep them in the freezer for making soup).
6. In the slow cooker, cook 4-6 hours on low, until the vegetables are tender. Add fresh herbs, pepper and other desired seasoning during the last hour of cooking.
7. In the pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 30-60 minutes.
8. To serve, garnish with croutons and/or shredded cheese. Remove the Parmesan rind before serving.