Hello, February!

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Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables for February

 

Listed below is a broad range of beautiful vegetables that are available right now, as well as tips on how to prepare them. Hopefully you’ll be inspired to skip the peas and corn in the frozen section of the grocery store and pick up one of these seasonal vegetables instead.

Arugula
Asparagus
Beets
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Carrots
Celery		 Cilantro
Clementines
Dill
Endive
Fennel
Grapefruit
Kale
Lemons
Lettuce
Leeks
Oranges
Onions		 Parsnips
Pears
Radicchio
Shallots
Sweet Potatoes
Swiss Chard
Tangelos
Tangerines
Turnips
Rhubarb

BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Brussels sprouts are the small, nutty members of the cabbage family. They are wonderful roasted, shaved, or on their own as a filling, flavorful side dish.crispy-balsamic-brussels-sprouts-2.jpg

 

CABBAGE
Iredgrncabbagex-56a495175f9b58b7d0d7ae20.jpgf you are eating on a budget, cabbage might be the best bargain out there and it still is extremely easy to come by in the middle of winter. It also tastes just as great as it did in October, making it a prime candidate for winter eating.

 

 

WINTER GREENS
Kale, Collards, Radicchio, Endive, and Chard are some of the greens that shine during the winter months. Take advantage of their amazingly unique flavors and textures by enjoying them raw or cooked.

 

BEETS
beets.jpgNot every one will jump up and down with excitement in eating beets. From a healthy viewpoint, beet roots contain valuable nutrients that may help lower your blood pressure, fight cancer and inflammation, boost your stamina, and support detoxification. Try adding beet roots raw to salads or as part of your vegetable juice; beet greens can be sautéed with spinach or Swiss chard. I hope that beets are making their way into your kitchen more frequently.

Vietnamese Caramel Chicken

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This  main dish is an addictive take on ga kho gung, a spicy Vietnamese caramelized chicken with ginger and fish sauce, that is sweetened with onions, carrots, garlic, and light brown sugar.

Adapted from LAURA REGE
Food & Wine Magazine
January 2018

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 whole chicken legs (2 1/2 pounds)
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
I medium white onion, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, julienned
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 whole Vietnamese Red Bird Chilies
1 Jalapeño pepper, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or scallions, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a deep 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add chicken to skillet, skin side down. Cook over moderately high heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn chicken and brown other side, about 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Pour the oil out of the skillet and discard.

Return skillet to moderate heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil, onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger powder; cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes.

Add sugar, vinegar, fish sauce, and 1/2 cup water to skillet. Bring to a boil, and return chicken to skillet, skin side down. Simmer over moderate heat, occasionally basting the chicken, 8 minutes. Turn chicken and continue basting, adding water by tablespoonfuls if sauce thickens too rapidly, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of chicken registers 165° and sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Add the jalapeño, and toss to coat in sauce.

To serve, transfer chicken to a platter, and drizzle sauce over the chicken. Garnish with cilantro or scallions, if desired.

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Cheesy Cauliflower Dippers

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Photo Credit: Super Health Kids, 2014.

Cauliflower is kind of a rockstar when it comes to eating well. Not only is it a delicious side veggie to include with dinners or a great veggie to serve raw on a veggie platter; it can also turn many of your favorite guilty pleasure foods into healthier, but still tasty, options. This idea from Super Healthy Kids is another great way for cauliflower to shine as a snack or meal. Check it out.

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided in half
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 ° F.

Rinse a head of cauliflower thoroughly. Then, roughly chop. Put chopped cauliflower into the food processor until it has broken down into very fine bits.

Heat an inch of water in a pot until it boils. Put the cauliflower mixture into the water and steam for 4-5 minutes. Cover with a lid while it cooks, but be sure to keep an eye on it so the water doesn’t boil over.

Once steamed, put cauliflower through a fine mesh strainer to drain the water. Use a spoon to squeeze as much water out as you can. Then, use a clean dry towel to squeeze out the rest of the extra water. Be careful though – water will be hot!

Combine cauliflower with the rest of your ingredients (using half the mozzarella and none of the Parmesan). Mix until well combined.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Spoon cauliflower mixture onto parchment paper and form a kind of “loaf” with your hands – recipe should form a rectangle that’s about 8 1/2″ x 11″.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and set. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Bake for another 10 or so minutes, until cheese is bubbly.

Remove from oven, slice and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

All photographs and content, excepted where noted, are copyright protected. Please do not use these photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this photograph and all other contents, then we kindly ask that you link back to this site. We are eternally grateful and we appreciate your support of this blog.

Thank you so much!

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