Green Options

Recent data showing sugar’s rising popularity over high fructose corn syrup is good news, right?  Not if that sugar is genetically-modified.  In fact, if you’ve purchased beet sugar recently, there’s a very good chance that you’ve unintentionally consumed a genetically-modified product. Industry statistics show that more than half of the sugar beets grown in the US in 2008 were genetically-modified varieties.

If that isn’t enough to make you cringe, consider the following: most of those engineered beets were Roundup-resistant, courtesy of agri-tech giant Monsanto.  Last autumn under the Bush administration, the USDA approved the Monsanto seed without preparing a standard Environmental Impact Statement.   But certainly President Obama, with an organic garden on the White House Lawn, would have done things differently.

Wouldn’t he?

Winter veggies usually get short shrift, but there are many reasons to savor them. They add loads of vitamins and nutrients to our diets, do wonders for our immunity, and are wonderfully versatile. Plus, eating seasonally is eating green: as it takes us back to the old days of eating only the freshest available products, it’s a more sustainable eating model and it’s better for reducing our carbon footprints.

Here’s my guide to making the most of these five fabulous winter veggies:

1. Play Squash

I actually look forward to winter just for its squash varieties. Acorn, banana, butternut, spaghetti, delicata, hubbard, sweet dumpling, buttercup, and turban squashes—not to mention pumpkin—add a colorful and sweet accent to your plate. Plus, they are among the healthiest types of complex carbohydrates (the best kind of carbs), with high fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C content. Roast ‘em, mash ‘em, or slow cook ‘em into a heaping bowl of soupy goodness for the perfect warm winter meal.

The first year we grew beets on our farm, it was on a serendipitous whim because neither me nor my husband had ever cooked with beets. As serendipitous gardening fate would have it, we pulled out a bumper beet crop that fall — quickly necessitating research in what to do with them.

Which led us to developing this Beet Burger recipe, a new twist on the veggie burger. It’s a very adaptable, forgiving recipe—feel free to modify and experiment with ingredients, like substituting carrots for some of the beets. The burgers freeze well (freeze them on a tray before placing in a freezer bag so they don’t stick together) and taste surprisingly good cold. The recipe is a bit complex, so I usually make a triple batch in a jumbo bowl and stock up for a while.

Recipe after the jump.

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden.  

With the rising costs of food (and everything else to boot), I’m sure I’m not the only one who has vowed to be more frugal with menus by using up what’s already in the fridge before heading to the market.  To this I say, “here, here!!”   That was until I started looking around my own fridge and realized I should have taken on this resolution about four months ago - moldy cheese, sad-looking shriveled carrots, and dried out halves of onions that I was sure I’d use up the next day but forgot all about and ended up cutting a fresh onion.   Frugal I am not.

Instead, those bright and shiny new bunch of beets I’d plucked from the farmer’s market immediately caught my attention.  I know I had opened the fridge with the intention of salvaging something that might otherwise go to waste, but as it was, I thought I’d give the beets a chance before they too shriveled up in the crisper drawer.  After all, the spring beet season is fast drawing to a close. 

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes
designed to showcase produce gathered
from local farms or grown in my own garden.  

I love eating with my eyes first.  I know many a foodie has said that before, but the look of a dish can often mean more to me than the taste.  Lucky for everyone, this post’s recipe has it all - vivid color, dramatic presentation and refreshing deliciousness.  The flavors in this beet salad were meant for each other, although I wouldn’t have thought to put them together myself if Chef Bill Telepan hadn’t suggested it.  By the way, Mr. Telepan is a man after my own heart, using lots of citrus and unusual seasonal ingredients like kohlrabi in his own special style of ”lovin’ fresh” recipes.   

Does anyone really need an excuse to bake a chocolate cake? I know I don’t. But it happened that I had a couple of ingredients at home that I was looking to use up. I was excited to discover a great recipe I could adapt to fit the bill.

I have an abundance of fresh mint from my herb garden. Drinking Mojitos with every meal seemed a little impractical, so I did the next best thing and combined my mint with chocolate. While scouring the internet for a basic chocolate cake recipe. I was so excited to find this great recipe from FatFree Vegan Kitchen that included an unusual ingredient: beets!

Beets are admittedly not high on my list of favorite vegetables. But a co-worker brought me some from his CSA and assumed the office vegan would know what to do with them. They’ve actually been sitting in my crisper for weeks, so I was quite happy I got to use them before they went bad. Here’s the (only slightly modified) recipe for this delicious cake, published with permission.

Now that the weather is warming up and produce is coming into season up here in zone 5, I am trying to be more conscientious about eating a raw diet. While I don’t think I have the patience and stamina (or the gadgets) to go completely raw, I am trying to incorporate more raw elements into my meals. So when I saw these gorgeous, organic early spring golden beets and carrots at the farmer’s market this morning, I filled up the entire bag.

I have been noticing more recipes in the past month or so that incorporate raw beets, which appeals to me greatly. Beets are one of the most nutritious foods a person can consume. With high levels of folic acid, soluble and insoluble fiber, iron and potassium, beets are healthy no matter how they are cooked. However, when left raw, beets offer the most complete nutrition, including a complete form of betacyanin, which has been found to reduce cholesterol, help prevent colon cancer, and detoxify the liver. I always juiced them to eat raw, but - frankly - beet juice gets old.

But why raw to begin with?