Apple
Use in pies, eat whole, dice up in salads, slice and use on cheese platters.
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Apricot
Artichoke
Large globe artichokes. Steam and serve with butter or mayo. Storage: Refrigerate fresh artichokes for up to a week.
Baby artichokes
These can be eaten whole, with just a few of the outer leaves trimmed. In Italy they are often eaten raw or quartered and cooked with potatoes and spring onions and lemon juice. You can also
eat them fried or steamed with olive oil, garlic and sea salt.
Arugula
Use in salads or make a pesto.
Storage: Wrap in damp paper towel and refrigerate in plastic bag.
Asian Greens
Storage: Wrap in damp paper towel and refrigerate in plastic bag.
Asparagus
Lovely in a frittata, steamed with sea salt and parmasean, grilled with garlic and olive oil. Storage: Refrigerate wrapped in damp paper towel and plastic bag, or standing vertically in water.
Avocado
Obviously great for making guacamole, on salads, sprinled with sea salt and eaten with a spoon out of the shell.
Over 80% of avocados in California are Haas. Storage: Store at room temperature, or to speed up ripening, store in a paper bag with an apple. Once ripe, refrigerate for up to two days.
Basil
Bean, Fava
In the pea family, favas must first be shelled from their large, fuzzy pods, briefly cooked (usually boiled for 3-5 mins), and then each bean individually peeled. They are labor intensive, but absolutely delightful. Mash or puree and spread on crostinis, mix with pasta or toss in salads. Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag. If you cook them you can also store them in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Bean, Green
Trim the stem off the beans and then blanch for a couple of minutes. Storage: Wash to add moisture and refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Bean, Wax
Trim the stem off the beans and then blanch for a couple of minutes. Storage: Wash to add moisture and refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Beet
Baby Jewel Beets: gorgeous, flavorful and delicate in flavor. Roast in oven at 350 for 30 minutes in skin and slip out of peels when done. (Don't forget to sauté the beet greens!)
Blackberry
Eat whole, use in pies, sprinkle on salads, put on ice cream, make a sauce and top steak. Storage: Very perishable and don't ripen after picking. Use immediately, or refrigerate in single layer and wash right before use.
Blueberry
Eat whole, use in tarts and desserts, top granola and yogurt. Storage: Very perishable and don't ripen after picking. Use immediately, or refrigerate in single layer and wash right before use.
Broccoli
Steam, sautee or chop up and use in stir frys. Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag. Wash before use.
Broccoli Rabe/Rapini
To lessen bitterness, blanch rabe in salted, boiling water for a minute or so, drain, rinse with cold water, and then cook as desired. Saute with garlic, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Storage: Wrap in damp paper towel and refrigerate in plastic bag.
Brussel Sprout
Steam, blanch, chop small and sautee with butter, garlic, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Storage: Refrigerate in plastic bag. Use within a day or so of purchase.
Cabbage
Carrot
Mixed Heirloom Rainbow Carrots: November is the beginning of the seasonforn these-from Wieser Farms
Cauliflower
Steam or sauté. Use in a gratin with an aged cheddar. Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag. Wash before use.
Celery
Chard
Available year-round. Chop and sautee with olive oil, butter and garlic. Storage: Wrap in damp paper towel and refrigerate in plastic bag.
Cherry
Collard Green
Storage: Store unwashed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. The sooner they are eaten, the less bitter they will be.
Corn
Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag. Remove husks right before cooking.
Cucumber
Great in salads.
Storage: Refrigerate in the 'crisper' drawer.
Culinary Lavender
Boil a quart of water, turn off and add lavender and let it steep for 10 minutes, serve as a hot or cold tea.
Dates
Eggplant
Use in stir frys, for eggplant parmasean, in pastas. One vegetable that benefits from “over cooking”.
Storage: Refrigerate for a few days at the most, before the skin wrinkles.
Endive
Available year-round. Great in salads, top with blue cheese and pecans for a great appetizer. Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Fennel
A root vegetable. Use in pastas, stir fry's or just sauté and serve as a side vegetable. Also use in soups, stews, shepards pie. Or sautee and serve it as a side. Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag for only a few days.
Fig
Mission figs have dark purple skin/light red flesh, kadota figs have green skin/amber flesh , brown turkey figs have brown-copper skin/white-pink flesh. Figs are great eaten whole, in salads, wrapped with bacon and suffed with blue cheese and roasted. You can drizzle them with honey and serve on a cheese plate. Storage: Handle very carefully; they bruise very easily. They also don't ripen after picking. Refrigerate to store.
Garlic
One garlic bulb consists of numerous cloves. The cloves and the entire bulb are encased in a paper-like sheathe that can be white, off-white or purplish. Storage: Store in a cool, dark place away from heat and sunlight to prevent sprouting.
Grape
Table grapes are great eaten right off the stem. We get ours from K and K farms. November is the very end of the season, so enjoy!
Grapefruit
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Green Garlic
Use it in the place of garlic, green onions or scallions. Most people cook with the white and pale green parts, but you can use the tougher green tops in broths or soup stocks. Storage: Stand upright in water with a plastic bag around it.
Greens
Spicy Mixed Baby Greens from Better Grow Farms
Kale
Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Kiwi
Storage: Once ripe, store in the refrigerator for up to four weeks.
Kumquat
Leek
Leeks have a complex yet mild flavor, and are very versatile. You can dice them, or cut them into rings or matchsticks. Use in soups, stews, curries or as a side dish. Storage: Cut off green tops (can be used when making stocks) and refrigerate in a plastic bag. Wash throughly before using.
Lemon
Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 2 weeks (up to 1 week for Meyer lemons).
Lettuces
Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Lime
Squeeze into iced tea, make fresh margaritas, make limeade, squeeze onto fish tacos.
Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 10 days (up to 5 days for Key limes).
Melons
Mint
Apple Mint: boil a quart of water, turn off and add lavender and let it steep for 10 minutes, serve as a hot or cold tea.. Use chopped up on salads, fruit salads, dips and sauces, or fish.
Mushrooms
Portobello, Shitake, White Button, Cremini, Oyster, Black Trumpet, Horn of Plenty, Morel, Hen of the Woods, and Chanterelle, just to mane a few. The best ways to cook mushrooms are sautéing, grilling or roasting. Nothing goes better with mushrooms than cooking them with wine, garlic and butter or olive oil and a little thyme. A lot of sources say not to wash mushrooms with water, but it is fine to do so if they are not sliced. If they are cut, the exposed flesh becomes like a sponge. Storage: Due to their high moisture content mushrooms are very perishable. Store mushrooms in a cardboard box, loosely wrapped, or in a partially open zip lock bag to release the ethylene gas emitted from the mushrooms. Do not store them in paper bags-they will turn spongey.
Nectarine
Onions
Storage: Store in a loose, non-plastic bag in a cool, dark, dry, well-ventilated place. For longer term, wrap in foil and refrigerate.
Onion, Green
Finely chop to use raw in salads or as a garnish, or cook them briefly in soups, sauces, stir-frys or tacos. grill and put on top of steak. Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Orange, Mandarin/Tangerine
Storage: Keep at room temperature or refrigerate in a plastic bag for 2 weeks.
Parsnip
They look like white carrots. They are a nutty tasting root vegetable. Great in soups, stews, chowders, pot pies, or roasted as a side vegetable.
May be used in the following ways: oven roasted with curry and elephant garlic; mashed with sweet butter and fingerling potatoes; grated raw and added to waldorf salad; pan roasted with brown butter & sage; sauted with apples and shaved brussels sprouts; baked with cream and bread crumbs; braised with nantes carrots, sweet butter and cumin; shaved raw into autumn salads; matchstick saute with fresh herbs and olive oil; diced and added to autumn soups & stews.
Pea, Green
Pea, Snow
Pea, Sugar Snap
Peach
Pear
Storage: Place unripe pears in a paper bag at room temperature until ripe. Store unbagged until use at room temperature or refrigerate in a plastic bag to keep longer.
Pear, Asian
Storage: Place unripe pears in a paper bag at room temperature until ripe. Store unbagged until use at room temperature or refrigerate in a plastic bag to keep longer.
Pepper, Sweet
Great in stir frys, pasta dishes or stuffed. Storage: Refrigerate until they soften or wrinkle. Since green peppers are less ripe, they usually last longer. Don't wash them until use.
Pepper, Hot
Persimmon
Eat whole or use in salads. Storage: Hachiya are often sold unripe, so let them sit at room temperature until the skin is transluscent and they're VERY soft. Fuyu can be be eaten crunchy, or store them at room temperature to soften the texture. Once either are ripe, they don't store well, so use immediately or refrigerate for a day or so.
Fuyu Persimmons from K&K Farms. Eat whole. Delicate floral tasting fruit.
Plum
Pomegranate
Storage: In the refrigerator up to a month, or at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks. They get juicier and more flavorful over time. From K&K Farms: eat the seeds, or use them in salads.
Potatoes
Mixed Heirloom Potatoes: use just like any other potato. Mash, roast, make potato salads. From Wieser Farms
Potato, Sweet
Radicchio
A
slightly bitter vegetable. Use like cabbage or lettuce. Really good cut in quarters and sautéed in a very hot pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Take out of pan and drizzle with a bit of honey and balsamic vinegar.
Radish
Easter Egg Radishes from Underwood Farms
Ramp/Wild Leek
Rapini/Broccoli Rabe
Raspberry
Eat whole, use in salads, in desserts, on ice cream or in lemonade.
Storage: Very perishable and must be refrigerated. Moisture speeds rotting, so rinse only right before using.
Rhubarb
Use in pies, make compotes and jams, use in brown bettys, buckles, crisps and crumbles. It is a tart vegetable, so generally needs a good amount of sugar in the recipe. Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 1 week.
Rosemary
Snip into salad dressings, dips, any roasted vegetables. Leave out on your counter in a glass of water.
Rutabaga
Shallot
|Spinach
Squash, Summer
So many different types! Zephyr, sunburst, space ship, crookneck, goldrush, cousa, buttercup, cocozelle, costrata romanesco. Great in salads, sautéed or steamed. Storage: Keep cool and off the ground, if possible. Don't stack or store in paper or plastic bags. If there are raw cuts or bruises from harvest, let squash sit in a warm temperature until they heal.
Squash, Winter
Lot and lots. Acorn, banana, butternut, delacata, kabocha, pumpkin, speghetti, red kuri. Storage: Keep cool and off the ground, if possible. Don't stack or store in paper or plastic bags. If there are raw cuts or bruises from harvest, let squash sit in a warm temperature until they heal.
Butter Cup Squash: slice up and roast or sauté. Or slice in half and stuff. From Wieser Farms. Sunshine Squash-Use the same as the Butter Cup Squash. Also from Wieser Farms.
Squash Blossom
Stuff with a soft cheese and deep fry, use in quesadillas.
Storage: Refrigerate in a plastic bag. Use within a day of purchase.
Strawberry
Cover and refrigerate unwashed, lightly wrapped in a plastic bag.
Sweet Pea Greens
Delicate flavor. Perfect for Asian flavored stir frys. Or do an asian flavored steak or short ribs, then quickly sauté greens with a bit of sesame oil and garlic and top the steak with them.
Tomatillo
Tomato
So many lovely varietys. Costoluto, Golden Girl, Green Zebra, Kentucky Beefsteak, Marvel Stripe, Odoriko, Pineapple, Purple Calabash, Purple Cherokee, Red Stripe Stuffer, Roman Candle, Yellow Ruffle and Zapotec, just to name a few.
Turnips
Baby Turnips: root vegetable. Small, tender and delicate tasting. You can also quickly sauté the tops (turnip greens). Use just like parsnips or carrots.
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