Valley Bounty, November 30, 2013: Crunchy Winter Vegetables
Butternut squash soup, sweet potato puree, mashed potatoes: they’re all good, but sometimes you just want a plate of crunchy raw vegetables. Here are some winter season options. Carrots, of course. Sweet hakurei or salad turnips, and their misnamed cousin, Gilfeather turnips, which are really a rutabaga. Watermelon radishes, named for their beautiful color. Dark and spicy black Spanish radishes, or the space-ship-shaped purple or green kohlrabi. Eat them as is, dress them like a salad, or add your favorite dip for a winter snack or side dish.
I’m not recommending this, of course, but I was interested to see that Gilfeather turnips have enough cachet to rate two-day shipping from the Vermont Country Store. Instead, get ‘em right here at your local farmers’ market!
Here are a couple of recipes if you’d like to dress up your raw veggies.
Kohlrabi and Turnip Slaw from Riverland Farm
Salad with Ginger Vinaigrette from Mountain View Farm
Curried Carrot Dip from Red Fire Farm—make some of your vegetables into a dip, into which to dip more vegetables!
