I have written a fair amount about fresh produce in prior Cooking Tips. Now, I would like to talk to you about what some people might call “Unusual” vegetables. They are only unusual in that many people either do not know what they are or have never tasted them before. In this Cooking Tip, I hope to encourage you to seek them out and give them a try.

Fennel

This is a crunchy veggie with a refreshing and complex flavor. Because it is often mislabeled “sweet anise”, many people shy away expecting it to taste like licorice. However, the flavor is sweeter and more delicate than anise and when cooked, becomes even lighter. Fennel is not anise. They are unrelated plants. One large difference is that the entire fennel plant is edible but only the seeds of the anise plant are edible.

There are two types of fennel. The one I am discussing is called “Florence Fennel” or “Finocchio”. It is cultivated in the Mediterranean, and has a broad, bulbous base with wispy fronds. (Fennel pollen is the golden powder taken from blooming fennel flowers.)

The other kind of fennel is common fennel. This is where we get fennel seeds. The plant does not have a bulb. Rather, the stems and greenery are used just as with the Florence variety and is considered more of an herb rather than a veggie.

To prepare it, cut off the stalks and trim a thin slice from the base of the bulb. Halve it from top to bottom, through the root end. Cut out and discard the triangular piece of core in each half. Peel off and discard any outer, wilted layers. Now, you may cut each half in half again and then slice crosswise. You may also use a mandoline to get very thin, shaved slices. The fronds may be chopped and sprinkled as a garnish. It may be eaten raw or cooked.

Fennel is freshest from late fall to early spring. Look for firm, tightly packed bulbs with fresh, unwilted fronds. Avoid any with bruises or brown spots. After purchasing, it can be refrigerated in a plastic bag for up to 5 days

Kohlrabi

This is a version of the basic cabbage plant in which the main stem swells to several inches in diameter. It is a member of the turnip family. In fact, the name comes from the German for “cabbage turnip”.

There are two varieties: Green & Purple. The green version has a pale green bulb and green leaves with light green veining whereas the purple has a purple root, stems and purple veining on green leaves. Both varieties have a creamy white flesh. One source says its flavor is reminiscent of a “sassy-sweet blend of mild broccoli and celery root”.

Both the bulb-like stem and the greens are edible. Young kohlrabi are tender enough to eat raw or cooked briefly. The leaves or stems are also edible and can be used in sautés and stir-fries. The leaves are said to have a flavor similar to collard greens. Kohlrabi is most often sold without leaves. If the leaves are still attached, separate the bulb from the leaves. The bulb should be peeled and sliced prior to being consumed. The smaller bulbs won’t need to be peeled, while the larger bulbs tend to have less flavor, with a thicker, chewy peel.

It can be sliced or shredded and tossed in your salad in its raw form, where it will add a fresh, crisp texture with a sweet yet mild peppery bite similar to a radish. It can also be roasted, stir fried or added to a soup or stew. The greens may be cooked just as you would kale, turnip, or beet greens with just a quick sauté.

To prepare it, cut off the stems and any leaves. Cut it in half down through its center and slice into quarters. Use the tip of your knife to cut at an angle through the core and discard it. Using a sharp vegetable peeler, peel off any tough skin. At this point, slice off the top and then slice the quarters into your desired size. For thinner slices, a mandoline may be used.

Choose a kohlrabi that is heavy for its size but no wider than 3 inches. The green leaves should be firm and deeply colored. Avoid soft spots with yellowing leaves. When stored properly in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator, kohlrabi can last for weeks. The leaves can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Rutabaga

Rutabagas are also known as Swedes and they are a root vegetable that’s related to both the cabbage and the turnip. Some people confuse rutabagas with turnips. They are related, but rutabagas are generally larger, have a more yellowish flesh and are more mild tasting. They are also denser than turnips and will require a longer cooking time.

Due to being related to both turnips and cabbage, they share flavor characteristics. They can have the peppery, bitter bite of turnips but can also be creamy and sweet if roasted.

Cooking them is easy. They can be cooked until tender and then added to mashed potatoes. They may also be roasted or pureed into a soup.

It is recommended to choose smaller roots (under 5 inches in diameter) to ensure they’re tender. Avoid cracks, bruises, soft spots, or wrinkles. Rutabagas are freshest in the late fall and winter. They may be white or yellow.

As many rutabagas are sold waxed, be sure to scrub the outside before peeling it. Then, just cut into your desired shape.

Pick out rutabagas that are firm, smooth and heavy for their size. They can be refrigerated in a plastic bag for 2 weeks.

Parsnip

Although parsnips look like carrots and are related to them, they are a different root vegetable. They can be eaten raw although they are usually cooked.

Some chefs recommend only giving them a thorough scrubbing rather than peeling as they say most of the flavor is right below the skin. The larger ones have a woody core. I like to cut this out although Cooks Illustrated finds this to be unnecessary if you are going to puree them rather than another application such as roasting. Popular ways of using parsnips include mashing, baking, broiling or pureeing them into a soup.

They are at their peak from fall through early spring. They accumulate more starch than carrots but then they convert it to sugar when exposed to cold temps. This results in the winter roots being sweeter than autumn roots.

Look for ones that are small to medium in size with an ivory color and a firm texture. Avoid any that are soft, shriveled or blemished.

Experts say you can store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks although I find they don’t last quite that long.

Celery root

Also known as celeriac, this is another root vegetable that has a crisp & firm texture. Its roots project from a knobby surface that requires deep peeling.

It tastes somewhat like celery because it has similar aromatic compounds as celery but the flavor sweetens with cooking. It can be grated or cut into fine matchsticks and added to a salad but it really shines when made into a mash (either on its own or in combination with other veggies), baked or roasted.

Choose small, firm ones with a minimum of knobs. They are not the easiest to peel and you may find that a knife works better than a veggie peeler.

It can be refrigerated in a plastic bag for 7-10 days

There are other even more unusual vegetables. These, though, are ones that you can probably find in your grocery store. If you haven’t tried them, I encourage you to do so. You may just find a new favorite veggie!

Last week’s Cooking Tip was all about peas, a type of legume. Beans are another legume that most of us consume. This Cooking Tip will discuss the differences between dried and canned beans and how to cook them.

Beans can be categorized differently but one of the major categories is Dried vs Canned. Which do you use? Does it make a difference? Canned beans actually are dried beans but they have already been cooked. Therefore, you can use them without soaking or simmering them for hours. These are certainly more convenient but, as with most convenience foods, there is a downside. The canned beans sit in a brine in the can, which can draw out starches & proteins, leading to an alteration in texture and flavor.

Do you need to soak dried beans? This is usually recommended for dried beans as it softens them and decreases the cooking time. It is also thought that some of the elements that lead to gastrointestinal symptoms are leached out during the soaking. Serious Eats found that smaller beans with thin skins such as black beans actually do better without soaking. They did a testing with black beans by cooking them three ways. (Note that this test was only done with black beans and does not translate to all dried beans.)

• Soaked in water overnight and then cooked in the soaking water.
• Soaked, drained, rinsed and cooked in fresh water.
• Cooked without any soaking.

Their results showed the following:

• Time – un-soaked black beans only took an additional 20 minutes to cook.
• Color – the darkest beans were those that were not soaked or were cooked in the soaking water.
• Flavor – soaked and rinsed beans were the least flavorful. The other two methods yielded similar flavor. Another interesting finding is that if you add aromatics to the cooking beans, the most flavorful result was the un-soaked beans.
• Texture – not much difference here but the beans that were un-soaked or those that were cooked in the soaking water were creamier due to the fact that you are not rinsing away the starch.

If you are cooking larger and thicker-skin dried beans, soaking is recommended. The age and quality of the bean are other factors as the lower quality they are and the older they are, the more they will need a soak. Since this is very difficult to assess when you are buying dried beans, it is probably smart to err on the side of soaking. Of course, the longer they sit in your pantry, the more they dry out and the more they will need soaking.

Should you salt the cooking water for dried beans? Serious Eats recommends salting, saying that the sodium helps to release magnesium & calcium from the beans. These elements give beans their rigidity and decreasing that leads to softer and creamier beans. They recommend that you season your soaking liquid with one tablespoon of kosher salt per quart of water. Drain and rinse the beans before cooking in lightly salted water. Cooks Illustrated agrees with this advice.

The procedure for cooking dried beans begins with sorting through the bag of beans and discarding any that are off-color or damaged as well as any stones you may find. Rinse them to remove any dust or dirt. Unless you are using black beans or you know you have very fresh beans, opt for soaking. Cover the beans with water. Since the beans will double (or more) in size, use enough water so they will stay submerged as they plump out. Add salt as discussed above. Allow to stand at room temperature for four to eight hours. If more than eight hours, refrigerate them. However, do not soak more than 24 hours. Drain and cook.

To cook, cover with fresh water and season with salt. Add flavorful aromatics such as onion, carrot, celery, garlic, leeks, fennel and herbs. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to obtain a gentle simmer. More vigorous boiling can lead to disintegration of the beans. As you are cooking, skim off any foam that develops. It is difficult to recommend a definite cooking time. It is better to just test the beans periodically until they are tender without any firmness or graininess. When done, remove from the heat and allow them to cool in the water. If they are close to being over-done, put the pot in an ice bath and allow to cool.

One caveat about cooking dried beans at altitude. Because of the lowered boiling point at altitude, cooking beans will take longer than suggested in most recipes.

Some experts recommend adding a small amount of baking soda to speed up the cooking process. Do not use more than 1/8 teaspoon per pound of beans to prevent an off-flavor from developing.

There is a quick-soak method that some recommend. It is to cover the beans with salted water, bring to a boil, remove from the heat and allow to stand one hour before draining and cooking. This does shorten the overall time but it also results in decreased nutrient levels.

There are other methods such as using a pressure cooker, a slow cooker or your oven. Those that promote the oven method claim it is second only to the pressure cooker in quickness of cooking, it cooks the most evenly and is the least likely to burst the beans. Some say that soaking is not required with oven cooking but others still recommend it with larger and older beans as they do cook faster and more evenly. After draining the beans, put them in a large oven-safe pot with enough room for the expansion of the beans. Add seasoning and aromatics and cover with water by at least an inch. Bring to boil on the stove. Bake in a pre-heated 325° F oven for 75 minutes and check for doneness. Continue cooking until done, once again realizing that it may taker longer at altitude. The Kitchn cautions that with red kidney beans or white cannellini beans you should boil on the stove for 15 minutes to ensure toxins that are present in raw/undercooked beans are eliminated. Still others advocate a cooler oven (250°) and cooking for a longer time, 6-8 hours.

With a pressure cooker (something I do not own), it is said that presoaking is not necessary but if you do not soak, you are more likely to end up with beans that have split open. Here is a great source for using your pressure cooker (or Instant Pot) with a chart for cooking times. It even includes recommendations for altitude adjustments.

For a slow cooker, the same pros/cons of presoaking your beans apply. Drain and put the beans in your slow cooker and place aromatics on top. Cover with water by two inches. Add salt and stir to dissolve. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (remember altitude may lengthen this). Start checking after about 5 hours and then every 30 minutes until done. Some people will cook on high, which results in the beans being done in less time. Sources do not recommend using the slow cooker for kidney beans due to the toxin issue. Here is a link to a source discussing this issue of Red Kidney Bean poisoning.

Cooking canned beans takes much less time. Be sure to drain and rinse them as they are in a very starchy and salty liquid. They should be cooked for at least 30 minutes to allow them to absorb the flavors of the recipe.

What if your recipe calls for dried beans but you only have canned beans? You need to know how to covert from one to the other. Cooks Illustrated recommends using 58 ozs of canned beans for every pound of dried beans.

Serious Eats tested a number of different types of beans and created the following chart.

Type of Bean	Weight Dried	Equivalent Cooked
Cannellini	1 pound	2 lb. 8 oz. (6.5 cups)
Chickpeas	1 pound	3 lb. 4 oz. (7 cups)
Red Kidney	1 pound	2 lb. 7 oz. (6.5 cups)
Pinto	1 pound	2 lb. 5 oz. (6.5 cups)
Black	1 pound	2 lb. 5 oz. (7 cups)
Black-Eyed Peas	1 pound	2 lb. 13 oz. (6.5 cups)

What’s your favorite way to use beans – baked beans, hummus, soups, stews? Whichever it is, I trust this Cooking Tip will help you on the way to success!

I was making a delightful pea salad the other day that contained three types of peas along with arugula. I also added some of my husband’s micro pea greens, which made it even better. With spring coming and the memory of this salad, I thought the subject of peas might make an interesting Cooking Tip.

A pea pod is actually a fruit and the peas inside are seeds. Some of the pods are edible, while others aren’t due to the fibrous and tough nature. There are three types of peas that you are most likely to find in your supermarket: English peas, sugar snap peas and snow peas.

When you say peas, most people will think of English or garden peas. These are the ones we find in the freezer section. Supermarkets rarely carry the whole, fresh pods as customers really do not want to shell them. They would rather have someone else do that for them. They must be shelled as the pods are too tough to digest.

If you are a gardener, there are many varieties (or cultivars) of garden peas that you can plant. In the store, though, the particular variety will not be listed.

Snow peas are also known as Chinese pea pods. They are flat and the pods are edible. The seeds inside are not allowed to plump out before harvesting. They can be eaten raw or briefly cooked. Just as with garden peas, there are a number of cultivars that can be grown.

Sugar snap peas are a cross between English peas and snow peas. Once you remove the strings, the entire pod is edible either raw or after blanching. The pods are sweeter and rounder than snow pea pods

Another word you will see on some packages of peas is “petite” or in the French, petit pois. As the name implies, they are smaller but they are also more tender and sweeter in flavor. This is my preferred variety.

In my local supermarket right now, I can buy fresh snow peas and fresh sugar snap peas. The only garden peas to be found are frozen. This is not a bad thing, though, as frozen vegetables are picked at the height of ripeness and quickly frozen to preserve their flavor and nutrient level. I think frozen vegetables are a great item to keep on hand and are not necessarily inferior to fresh varieties, especially out of season.

Peas are very easy to prepare. They can be boiled, steamed, stir fried, or microwaved. They can be added to foods such as salads, omelets, quiches and savory pies. They only require a brief cooking time and can even be eaten raw. Try not to over-cook them. One exception might be if you are making the very British dish – Mushy Peas. Although you can make mushy peas from garden peas, they are traditionally made from a variety called marrowfat peas, a large, starchy and mature pea that is left to dry outside in the field.

Are you a lover or hater of peas? If the latter, could it be you have only had inferior and over-cooked peas? I encourage to try some wonderful and tasty peas cooked to perfection. They are one of my favorite side dishes and are especially nice when the different varieties are combined in the same dish. Spring is coming. Enjoy the produce!

As many of you know, my husband has a full-time job but is also a part-time gentleman farmer. He keeps chickens and bees as well as growing fruit trees, berry bushes and all sorts of vegetables. He has a greenhouse, which keeps us in fresh greens for much of the winter. He has recently become interested in growing Microgreens and I thought that would make a good Cooking Tip topic.

Many of you have probably heard of baby greens, especially baby spinach. Baby greens are small versions of fully mature plants that are picked before they are fully grown.

Microgreens are similar but are cut even younger in their growing lives. They are the first, tiny shoots of herbs, lettuces and other greens. They are usually grown in soil and require sunlight. They are harvested between 7 & 14 days after germination and are under 3 inches tall. Because of their small form, the flavor is said to be more intense than the mature greens.

Microgreens are different than sprouts as the latter are obtained by sprouting seeds in water to achieve germination. They are harvested within 2-3 days. As you may have heard in the news, sprouts do carry a higher risk of bacterial contamination that can cause illness. This concern has not been found with microgreens although caution is recommended depending on how the greens are grown, harvested and stored. Be sure to wash them thoroughly before consuming.

It is said that all the nutrients that you would find in the mature plant are packed into the microgreen version. That makes it possible to amp up the nutritional value of your salads (or other dishes) by adding just a small amount of these greens. Therefore, they are said to be nutrient-dense. One caveat is that the nutrient content can vary widely depending on where the microgreens are grown, when they are harvested and the kind of soil used.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Maryland conducted a scientific analysis of nutrients in microgreens. The results were published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and were summarized in The Salt in 2012.

According to the study, “The researchers looked at four groups of vitamins and other phytochemicals – including vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene — in 25 varieties of microgreens. They found that leaves from almost all of the microgreens had four to six times more nutrients than the mature leaves of the same plant. But there was variation among them – red cabbage was highest in vitamin C, for instance, while the green daikon radish microgreens had the most vitamin E.”

Some caution, though, that the amount nutrients can vary depending on how and where it is grown, handled and harvested. Not only are additional studies needed to evaluate the effect of these agricultural practices on nutrient retention but also to compare microgreens to their mature counterpart. Finally, according to the Agricultural Research Service, “no known study has been conducted to evaluate whether consumption reduces cardiovascular disease risk factors.”

In a 2018 issue of The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the authors state that not only are they easy to grow but, “microgreens are environmentally friendly and serve as excellent sources of various nutrients.” They conclude that, “based on existing literature, microgreens appeared to be excellent low-caloric sources of nutrients and bioactive components. Based on their chemical compositions, we propose that these nutrient-rich plants may provide health-promoting effects related to abilities to prevent the development of the vast array of inflammatory-related chronic diseases.”

They do end with stating that more studies need to be done “to fully realize the value of microgreens in human health.”

Here is just one list of popular microgreens.

Amaranth	Arugula
Basil	Beets
Broccoli	Cabbage
Carrots	Celery
Chard	Chia
Chives	Cilantro
Dill	Fennel
Garden cress	Kale
Mint	Mizuna
Mustard greens	Parsley
Radish	Radish
Sunflower	Watercress

Microgreens do have a very short shelf life, only a few days. They are not always readily available in grocery stores but they are easy to grow – even without a greenhouse.

There are many ways to include microgreens in your diet. We throw them on our salads but you can also add them to sandwiches and wraps as well as blended into smoothies. Add them to omelets or sprinkle them on pizza.

Whether you toss them on your salad for color, for taste or for nutrition, microgreens are a great addition!