How great would it be if there were want ads in your local newspaper or on Craigslist for organic fruits and vegetables, grown in your town, by your neighbors?  A new website - Veggie Trader has sprung up that offers exactly such a service, a purchasing and bartering clearinghouse for locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Veggie Trader describes itself as the “place to trade, buy or sell local homegrown produce”.  The idea is simple, you register on the website and then offer to purchase, to sell, or trade any manner of surplus fruits or vegetables.  If you have too many tomatoes and want to see if anyone nearby has a surplus of peaches or peppers, you can log on, run a search, and find out who in the neighborhood may be willing to exchange with you.

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My favorite Bayview corner sandwich shop, Upper Crust Deli on Third Street in San Francisco, has just started carrying fresh seasonal produce. They are now selling a variety of melons, potatoes, apples, bananas and many other healthy fruit and vegetable options.

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A team of British designers have created a new racing car made entirely of vegetables and powered by … chocolate.

The car, named the ecoF3, has a steering wheel made of carrots, a body made of potatoes and a seat made of soybeans. The team, from World First Racing, hope that environmentally-friendly technology used in their car will be adopted by Formula 1 teams such as McLaren and world champions Ferrari.

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Vegetables today are larger, but contain more “dry matter” which dilutes the concentrations of minerals.  This results in 5% to 40% less magnesium, iron, calcium, and zinc.

Selective breeding to increase crop yields has let to genetic dilution, which has also in turn caused declines in protein and amino acid levels in produce.

Because of the increased use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, crops are now harvested so quickly that the plant has less time to absorb nutrients either from synthesis or the soil.

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Hammy the hamster repeatedly demonstrates her preference for organic fruits and vegetables. For five out of the six food types, Hammy preferred organic; she did, however, seem to have a preference for conventional walnuts over organic. Please visit http://www.cooksden.com/hamster/ for more information.

Kids who eat bacon and other meats containing nitrites more than once a week have a 74 percent increased risk of leukemia than children who did not eat these foods.

Conversely, children whose ate veggies and soy regularly have more protection against cancer.

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To emphasize this, researchers at Saint Louis University have determined that families who eat out often are more likely to skimp on fresh fruits and vegetables compared to those who eat more meals at home.

After focusing their study on young families in southeastern Missouri, it was found that close to 73% of parents don’t consume the minimum recommended amount of fruits and vegetables each day.

Researchers also discovered that families who eat out frequently are less likely to have fresh produce on hand at home.

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When we experience stress too often, our autonomic nervous system rarely has a chance to activate the relaxation response.  This can eventually lead to physical or emotional illnesses such as high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, and depression to name just a few.

Making simple diet changes can help reduce stress, here are a few tips to get you started:

(Remember to always use organically grown foods when possible, it’s healthier for you and for the planet.)

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I confess:  I’m on a personal quest to generate a little respect for root vegetables.  Easy to grow and store and with a decent serving of nutients, sometimes root crops need a little spiffying up with a dash of flavor and presentation value to earn some appeal.

Kabobs make a particularly easy dish as all the marinating and prep work can be done beforehand. All you need is to quickly roast them on the grill before serving.  Make a hearty batch as this flavorful tak approach to root crops adds up to tasty leftovers.  Grilled beets, turnips and rutabagas taste surprisingly good cold and also work great on an open-faced sandwich with grilled cheese on top.

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Seasonal food is plentiful right now, much of it in the shape of squashes and gourds. Last night I took a page (literally) out of Barbara Kingsolver’s recent book, Animal, Vegetable Miracle. Ever since I read the chapter on smashing pumpkins, I knew I had to try the pumpkin soup experiment.

For the uninitiated, she took on the task of making pumpkin soup in the actual pumpkin. She describes the culinary feat in detail, including the collapse of the shell when she attempted to serve the soup!

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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.

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Parsley root extract has been shown to be useful for chronic liver and gallbladder diseases. It is a diuretic, blood purifier, carminative, and hepatic.

The parsnip-like root is white, dry and has a flavor somewhat like celery, turnips, and, of course, parsley. It’s usually available August through April, being at it’s peak in November through February. Use it like you would a parsnip, carrot, celery root or turnip. Think aromatic, a little aggressive, herbal and pungent.

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

Kohlrabi season is upon us!  Rejoice and partake! And it looks like I’m not the only one finding locally grown kohlrabi in the kitchen.  I am ridiculously fond of kohlrabi, perhaps somewhat in part due to its alien appearance.  It’s crisp and refreshing when sliced thin and eaten raw or grated into a slaw, but I actually like it even better when sauteed.  It releases its juices and becomes almost buttery in texture. 

As for the squash, it’s not quite here yet in the Northeast so if you don’t have it locally grown, just use the kohlrabi by itself or add another in-season vegetable.  At the time I created this recipe, I was desperate to use up as much squash as possible.  I figure I’ll give you a head start with ideas for this summer’s onslaught!

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