Hi all,

I'm just back from the farmer's market with a giant pile of produce that definitely falls into my "least favorite" category. I'm a newcomer to the winter veggie scene and I'm trying hard to like all these greens and squashes and odd root vegetables.

Among my purchases I have kale, rhubarb chard and some kind of 'gourmet' bok choy. I don't know how to cook ANY of these things. We've been having chard regularly since it started appearing at the market, and bf has been sauteing with olive oil, garlic, sometimes pine nuts and also pancetta when we had some on hand. That's tasty enough, but I figure there must be other ways of preparing it and the other greens as a side dish. Can anyone offer other suggestions for these things?

Also, what on earth does one do with a rutabaga???

Afraid I can't help you with some of those greens . . . but rutabaga (also know as yellow turnip or swede) is one of my all time favourites. Just peel it, dice it up and cook like you would potato or sweet potato.

Good luck with your all veggies . . .

Oh boy, kale! It's become one of my all time favorites!

Sautee an onion in a tiny bit of olive oil. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper. Dice up the kale stems & stir fry with the onions. If you like them, add some cut up ****ake mushrooms (or portabella if you'd prefer). Add the cut up kale leaves, a teaspoon of sesame oil, stir, cover & turn the heat off in a couple of minutes. The onion & stems should be soft, the kale leaves should be barely softened but bright green. If you'd like, stir in a tablespoon of splenda & let that incorporate. This is one recipe I go nuts over, love the flavors.

Butternut squash & all of those winter root veggies. Cut them up into cubes & toss in a huge bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil, Mrs. Dash, coumin, a little nutmeg & cayenne if you like spicey. Roast in oven at about 250 degrees on a big cookie sheet until soft. Wonderful flavors!

Enjoy & have a great day!

Marylynn

That kale recipe looks great! I bought some sh*take mushrooms (btw, I cannot believe that word is censored out! It's very hilarious) today for a quiche I'm making tomorrow morning. I'll make sure to save a few for dinner.

Any other ideas?

I think the correct spelling is "shiitake"

On the squash - I'd cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, add whatever seasonings you want (butter/brown-sugar is what my son likes, I just sprinkle mine with Nature's Seasons seasoning). Put them with the cut side up in a pan, cover with foil, and bake for a while.

I use kale in stir-fries, soups, and stews. I frequently sautee it with a little olive oil, garlic and lemon juice.

You could steam the bok choy and add a little lemongrass to the steaming water for flavor, and have it as a side dish.

You can use chard and kale in place of spinach in any recipe (my SO won't eat spinach; chard is my standard substitute). Here are a couple of recipes where I've used chard to great success:

• Pork Chops Stuffed with Spinach and Feta (I subbed 10 oz chard for the spinach, just sauteed it with the rest of the filling. It came out great; looked just like the picture.)
• Apple-Spinach Chicken (I subbed chard for the spinach. Both my SO and I love this recipe. When chard and apples are in season, it is in regular rotation.)
• Chard-Wrapped Chicken (This recipe actually calls for chard, so no subbing required. It's very easy and the chicken comes out really tender.)
• Baked Cheese Polenta with Swiss Chard (This recipe also calls for chard, so no subbing required. I cut the recipe in half, use Trader Joe's light chevre, and non-fat yogurt in place of the sour cream, then divide it into 4 servings. With my changes, it comes out at about 120 calories per serving, which I can manage for a side dish.)

Consider adding some red wine vinegar when you saute your chard. Also, consider mixing in other veggies, like carrots, fennel, onions, or mushrooms.

You can eat the small, tenderest leaves of chard raw in salads. They will really add some depth to your salad. The chard growing in my garden is having trouble reaching full size because I keep cutting the new leaves for my salads.

The only way I've had success with bok choy is using it in stir-fry. I've tried a bunch of other recipes but nothing has ever come out well--it always ends up wilted, watery, and cold. It seems like it might work in soups if you added it at the very end.

I use chard in place of spinach all the time. I cut out the tougher ribs if I'm having it raw. Often I'll just chop it and steam it, then eat it with vinegar - kind of a hot salad. I'm not a huge fan of kale, but the posted recipe sounds great. Bok choy is not available locally, so I've not cooked with it much. The hard squashes and rutabegas - yum! Roasted, steamed, cooked like potatoes - all good. My mom always mixed cooked rutabega and carrots together and mashed them. The carrots are sweeter and blend nicely with the rutabaga.