Green Options

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 sustainability mantra may be “less is more,” but there’s one exception when buying more makes green sense: shopping the last farmers’ markets. If you’re not gardening and growing your own produce, your local farmers’ market serves as your easy connection to one-stop local fare shopping.

But as frosts linger and the cold winds start to blow, don’t punt and think your fresh local bounty will disappear till spring. With a little strategic shopping and planning, you can preserve a local meal focus all winter long by taking advantage of those last farmer’s markets.

Here’s another perk of eating local year round: you’re supporting the economic health of your community. Just ask Cindy Torres, manager of the Longmont Farmers’ Market outside Boulder, Colorado, and a Food and Society Policy Fellow. Passionate about using local food systems as a healthy economic development tool, Torres co-founded the Boulder County Food and Agriculture Policy Council to look at how her area can increase the local food supply to enhance the lives of community residents of all economic backgrounds.

“With a little bit of planning and preparation, we can readily eat local till the spring markets start up again,” explains Torres. Here are her favorite five tips:

After spending my first autumn surround by the amazing micro-climates of the Rogue Valley of southern Oregon, I was inspired to give the classic potato gnocchi recipe my own twist by adding roasted squash along with the roasted potatoes. Just like other dumplings, the key to making gnocchi is to make sure that the dough isn’t too sticky and that you don’t over mix or over knead the dough.

Is it a cake, a pie, or a wrongdoing for which a legal claim for damages may be brought? A torte - not to be confused with a legal tort - is a sweet, rich Austrian cream cake covered with nuts or fruits that originated in Austria. This savory version resembles a vegetable pie. I use the best of summer’s bounty, layer it with fresh mozzarella and enclose it in pastry. The flavorful roasted red pepper sauce adds a touch of sweetness and color.

Legend has it that mozzarella was first made when cheese curds accidentally fell into a pail of hot water in a cheese factory near Naples. For this recipe, use fresh, high-moisture cow’s milk mozzarella that contains more than 52% moisture, or Capriella (half goat’s milk, half cow’s milk mozzarella) from the Mozzarella Company in Dallas, Texas. Paula Lambert founded the business in 1982, using the same exacting methods for handcrafting fresh mozzarella that she witnessed while living in Italy.