VEGGIE PROFILES

The aroma of this delicate herb infuses its effervescent flavor into whatever surrounds. Marjoram will heighten the interest and intrigue of any dish, making dynamic and flavorful cooking as easy as the addition of this one ingredient.

Storage: Keep in a bag in the refrigerator for up to a few days.

Preparing: You can use marjoram instead of oregano. Try it in soups, salads and salad dressings, with eggs, with beans, or with roasted vegetables.

Preserving: Freeze and dry marjoram! Also try making herb oil or using it in pickles.

There’s simply nothing more refreshing than mint. This herb can work wonders on a hot summer day (and not just in homemade mint-chocolate-chip ice cream). Its role in a meal is clear: to make everything taste better.

Storage: Clean, dry, and store in a bag for up to a week.

Preparing: Chopped mint is good in many, many dishes. Not just a garnish, it brings the body of a meal to life. Try it in a minty summer salad with asparagus and fava beans, or have it on bruschetta, in a chutney, or with lentils.

Preserving: Try drying or freezing mint.

If you’ve never had mizuna greens before, then you are in for a treat. This spicy Japanese green will tickle your tastebuds and add some oomph to your salads! Use it as you would arugula or mustard greens.

Storage: Store like other lettuce leaves, in a bag for up to a few days. If it looks wilted, revive by running under cold water.

Preparing: There is so much to do with mizuna because it does so much for the flavor of your dishes. Mizuna is great thrown into sandwiches or salads, but you can alsi try it raw, sautéed, steamed, or on bruschetta!

Preserving: You can pickle mizuna!

There are so many delightful varieties of mushrooms, including:

• Oyster Mushrooms - Vibrant oyster mushrooms come in all sorts of colors and sizes. You can prepare them traditionally or be bold and daring in the kitchen with them. Either way, their easily enjoyed flavor will make eating them one of your favorite activities.
• Shiitake Mushrooms - These fantastical fungi have an earthy flavor and will add an inspired texture and taste to many dishes. Shiitake mushrooms are also incredibly easy to dress up or down, making for a fast dinner or featured as the highlight of an elaborate spread.

Storage: Refrigerate for up to a few days, but not in plastic. To maximize freshness, try keeping them in a paper bag or in damp cloths in the refrigerator, but eat sooner rather than later.

Preparing: If dried, rehydrate; if fresh, just rinse them. Remove the stems (and use those in soup), and enjoy sautéed, roasted, grilled, or in a stir fry.

Preserving: Try marinating them in oil, or pickle them!

For those of you who find greens boring, be prepared to eat your words (literally!) with these spicy and exciting leaves. You can tone them down by cooking them or leave them raw. Mustard greens can perk up any salad or dish and are great either as the centerpiece or side.

Storage: Keep like other lettuces in a bag in the refrigerator for up to a few days.

Preparing: Wash and dry. Try them in salads, sautéed, in pesto, on pizza, with Indian spices, or in frittatas. Feel free to substitute them for other greens and see the exciting flavor combinations that result.

Preserving: Pickle them!

While the edible flowers of nasturtium plants are delightful in their own right, the sensational leaves of nasturtiums will produce a devoted following in their wake. These spicy leaves will awaken any salad and reproduce the energy accompanying springtime on your plate. Don’t miss the leaves for the flowers!

Storage: Keep in a bag in the refrigerator for up to a few days.

Preparing: Like many other spicy greens (think arugula), there are innumerable ways to enjoy nasturtium greens. Gently rinse and dry them, and after that your options are nearly limitless. Substitute other spicy greens with nasturtium greens (think dandelion greens, mustard greens, and arugula) in all sorts of dishes or just toss them into salads and pesto for some extra heat! Nasturtium greens are infinitely variable and always exciting.

Preserving: Although the leaves will freeze similarly to other greens (blanch, drain, and freeze), if you happen to find yourself with nasturtium pods, you can pickle them and use them like capers! You can also try making nasturtium vinegar!

Although chopping them might require goggles (just wear clear ones you would wear in the pool)!, onions are an essential part of anyone’s pantry. Either sharp when raw or sweet if caramelized, onions can be anything you want them to be.

Storage: Onions, depending on whether they are cured or not. An uncured onion will last up to a couple of months, while a cured one will last for almost a year. Keep onions in a cool, dark place away from potatoes.

Preparing: Wash and peel. Slice onions (and wipe away any tears). Raw onions have a bite that can be tempered by soaking. They are great in salads and on sandwiches. Onions can be cooked in a variety of ways and become very sweet and juicy: roasted, caramelized, and grilled.

Preserving: You can freeze chopped onions for cooking later. You can also pickle onions and use them in salads and on sandwiches!

These little leaves are packed with flavor and can be used in a wide array of sauces, salads, and dishes. The appealing smell, taste, and appearance will spruce up even the simplest of dinners.

Storage: Store wrapped in a damp towel in a drawer in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Preparing: Rinse and dry. Remove leaves and chop. Oregano can be used on pizza, in salad, tossed with roasted vegetables, in pesto, with eggs, in almost anything you can imagine… including ice cream!

Preserving: Oregano oil is an awesome sauce, and dried oregano is good to have on hand. Oregano also makes for a more interesting pickled pepper.

Parsley is a wonderful herb that can work miracles on food. Herbs in general can make any meal worth remembering and parsley is no exception to that rule. There are different kinds of parsley, all of which are worth using.

Storage: To have parsley last for longer than a week, remove the leaves and keep sealed in the refrigerator.

Preparing: Clean leaves and chop to add to any recipe or garnish any dish. Even if a recipe does not call for an herb, sample a spoonful of the dish with some chopped parsley on top. If it tastes good together, then add the parsley!

Preserving: Parsley can be washed, chopped, and frozen. Parsley oil is also a great way to have the flavor linger!

Parsnips are a perfect food for any dish in any season. These delightful roots are rather sweet and earthy, making a wonderful base for many meals. With just a little cooking parsnips go a long way and are very versatile.

Storage: Keep in a bag in the crisper in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks. Remove any greens and throw them away — they are not edible!

Preparing: Parsnips are bound to taste good no matter what you do to them. Try roasting them, sautéing them, or boiling and puréeing them, or putting them in pesto!

Preserving: Make pickles!

A single pod, several small spherical peas, vitamins and calciums. You cannot lose with peas. Let this crop become popular in your home!

Storage: As soon as peas are picked they start to lose their sweetness. If you cannot use them right away, try freezing your peas.

The flavor, texture, color, and scent of a fresh, ripe peach has no equal in its perfection. Enjoy them while they last. Although peach season is shorter than you might like, it still can be quite abundant and perfect for Pick Your Own opportunities in Rhode Island.

Storage: To ripen, keep peaches in a brown bag on the counter until just soft. Once they are ripe, eat them or keep them in the refrigerator to stop the ripening process.

Preparing: Rinse and enjoy (just don’t eat the pit). Nothing rivals a peach by itself, but you can put them in sauces, salads, salsas, breads, muffins, cookies, cobblers, pies, and sorbet.

Preserving: Go crazy! Make peach season last all year by making peach jam, peach preserves, canned peaches, pickled peaches, or just freeze them.

Evocative of spring time, pea greens are a light, delicate salad green. Although they are the shoots from pea plants, pea greens deserve their own limelight.

Storage: Keep in the refrigerator in a bag. Eat sooner rather than later because they taste best when fresh.

Preparing: Rinse and dry. Pea greens are wonderful in salads, sautéed, stir-fried, in quesadillas, or on eggs.

Preserving: Be adventurous and try pickling them!

With a crisp, refreshing, and sweet taste, pears are a great snack, complement to a meal, or base of a dessert. Pears have beautiful speckled skin and a great soft texture that make them unique.

Storage: Pears should be stored at room temperature. You will know a pear is ripe because it will give slightly when gently pressed and smell wonderfully aromatic. The stem will also have a little give when it’s jiggled slightly.

Preparing: You can eat pears raw, bake them into muffins, make a pear crisp, or a pear upside-down cake... Pears are also great poached.

Preserving: Try making a compote, can them, or make pear butter!

Hearty, comforting, and filling, potatoes are a staple. So simple to prepare and so easy to make in so many ways, potatoes can be a core ingredient in building an array of dishes.

Storage: Keep away from onions in a cool, dry, dark place. Make sure they are dry and check them often.

Preparing: Do not eat raw. Potatoes are fantastic baked, boiled, smashed, in curry, in soup or stew, in salads, grilled, roasted, and sautéed.

Preserving: Since potatoes last so long, unless you find yourself with a glut of potatoes, you should not have to worry about other preservation methods.

The hallmark of Halloween and a common flavor of Thanksgiving, pumpkins are sure to be celebrated. Don’t let their hard exterior keep your from trying out all kinds of fantastic pumpkin dinners and desserts.

Storage: Keep at room temperature for up to a few weeks in a pantry or longer in the refrigerator.

Preparing: Pumpkins are delicious roasted, grilled, and puréed. Don’t forget to roast the seeds for a tasty, crunchy snack!

Preserving: Make pumpkin butter ,or if you are feeling adventurous, try some pickled pumpkin! You can always freeze your cut/prepped pumpkin for future meals.

Purslane, although often dubbed a weed, deserves an alternate reputation as an object of edible admiration. Its pleasant flavor, springy hue, and delightful name prove that one gardener’s trash is another cook’s treasure.

Storage: Use purslane as soon as possible to maximize fresh flavor. Store in the crisper for a couple of days if necessary in a bag.

Preparing: Like many other greens, purslane is great in a variety of ways. Although the stems are edible, most people enjoy the leaves and tops. You can eat it raw or cooked — just rinse, dry, and enjoy.

Preserving: Pickle purslane.

As pretty as they come, radishes are sweet to look at and spicy to taste. They are a powerful addition to a dish, transforming basics like bread and butter into picnic staples. Like beets, there are plenty of varieties from which to choose. The greens are an added bonus. Although slightly bitter by themselves, with company radish tops are a meal on their own.

Storage: Like beets, remove tops and store bulbs and tops separately in bags in the refrigerator. Eat the tops within two days. The radishes last for a few days.

Preparing: Raw, roasted, sautéed, and grilled, radishes run the gamut in terms of their flexibility and willingness to be delicious at any given moment.

Preserving: Who doesn’t love a pickled radish? And if you don’t, freezing for the radishes and their greens will also suffice.

This vibrant vegetable often disguises itself as a fruit by frequenting summer deserts. With the ability to lean toward both the sweet and savory ends of the flavor spectrum, rhubarb lends itself to endless variation for any meal of the day. Just make sure you only eat the stalk because the leaves are inedible.

Storage: Store stalks whole in a bag in the refrigerator for several days. Revive rhubarb if necessary by soaking in water before using.

Preparing: Remove leaves (they are poisonous) and rinse your rhubarb. Raw or cooked, rhubarb can be prepared in both sweet and savory dishes. Try putting it in soups, salads, pies, and oatmeal.

Preserving: Freeze, dry, and can your rhubarb. Also, try rhubarb pickles!

Eaters owe much of their dining pleasure to this fragrant and fantastic herb. Rosemary infuses but does not overpower whatever it accompanies, making it a perfect dinner companion.

Storage: To keep fresh rosemary from becoming dry and brittle, rinse it (do not dry) and wrap in a paper towel and store in a bag for up to a few days.

Preparing: Try rosemary in soups and salads, with roasted or sautéed vegetables, or in pasta or grain salads. Make skewers out of the stems for grilling!

Preserving: Dry your rosemary or make rosemary infused olive oil.

Everything about a rutabaga is pleasant including its wonderful name, satisfying flavor, and ease of preparation. Make hearty dishes or springy salads with it. Whatever you choose, the rutabaga will make for an amazing meal.

Storage: Keep in a bag in the crisper of the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks.

Preparing: Eat rutabaga raw chopped, grated, or sliced into salads or try it roasted, mashed, or sautéed.

Preserving: Make rutabaga chips or rutabaga pickles!

Both understated and powerful, sage can transform your food from ordinary to extraordinary. Not confined to the traditional binary of sweet and savory, sage can expand your palette and your appetite.

Storage: Store in a bag in the refrigerator for up to a few days.

Preparing: Cook and bake with this magical herb. Finely chop sage into salads, roast vegetables with it, make sage tea, enjoy sage with pasta, or try eggs in sage butter.

Preserving: You can dry your own sage to intensify its flavor! Or easily make sage olive oil!

More demure than an onion, scallions can perk up almost any savory dish. Otherwise known as a green onion, the delicate flavor subtly reminds skeptics that onions can be remarkable.

Storage: Store in a bag for up to a few days, however the green tops should be eaten as soon as possible. Do not wash until use. If you have scallions with roots, store them in a vase like flowers, with just enough water to just cover the roots and some access to sunlight. Then just snip the green tops to use as needed (the rest of the scallion will continue to grow.

Preparing: Snip root and enjoy the entire scallion in a variety of fashions. Or snip off just the greens and use more like chives. Scallions are superb raw in salads, with grains, or as a garnish. Scallions can also be sautéed with olive oil, baked into breads, roasted, and grilled.

Preserving: Wash, chop, and freeze raw in an airtight container. Remaining scallions also make happy pickles.

Savory is an herb with a long history and large place in lore. Introduced to northern Europe by the Romans. In fact, the herb is so famous it has become synonymous with a whole category of food! Its peppery flavor is used for many different dishes, although traditionally used to spice beans and other slow-cooked meats and vegetables. Its tender leaves can also be added to fresh salad to give it more flavor. If you are making a savory dish consider adding some savory!

Storage: Keep dry in an airtight container away from sunlight.

Preparing: As an herb, savory is used to add unique flavor to other vegetables and countless different dishes. Something to try is boiling savory alongside broccoli or sauerkraut. This technique also helps to eliminate strong cooking odors. You can also try steeping this herb in vinegar or salad dressing to create a nice aromatic flavor. The simplest use involves throwing some savory atop a salad, adding a zesty, citrus taste to your meal.

Preserving: Savory will not spoil, however over time will lose potency. Keep it stored in a dark, cool place. After some time, to test the herb's potency and effectiveness, crush or rub a small amount in your hand and check for strength of its aroma. The stronger the smell, the better the taste!

A sister to the onion, shallots are shaped more like a garlic. Shallots are sweet and mild, and are delicious additions to salad dressings, soups, and stir-fries.

Storage: Store your shallots in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in a well-ventilated place away from sunlight for up to a month.

Preserving: If you cannot go through your shallots quickly enough, try freezing them.

This dark and leafy green has a delicious flavor and infinite uses.

Storage: Keep in a bag in the refrigerator for up to a few days.

Preparing: Spinach is as good raw as it is cooked, and there are many ways to prepare it. Try it in salads, soups, creamed, microwaved, roasted, sautéed, and wilted.

Preserving: Make spinach chips! Or, just freeze it.

Bulkier and more robust in flavor than scallions, these early onions can transform your food from boring to brilliant. The greens on these onions are an added bonus and make using spring onions double the fun.

Storage: Store in a bag in the refrigerator for up to a few days. Like scallions, use the greens first because they only last up to a couple of days once refrigerated.

Preparing: Treat similarly to scallions, but expect a stronger flavor. Clean and cut off the bottom root. Sautéed, roasted, grilled, or raw are all fabulous options for eating spring onions — it just depends on what kind of onion flavor you are seeking.

Preserving: Although pickling and freezing (like scallions: clean, chop, and freeze) are always options, try preserving your spring onions in some olive oil for a temporary tasty measure.

There are few foods that scream summer so much as strawberries. These berries are simultaneously light and hearty with so much versatility. Make sure to make the most of them as long as they are in season.

Storage: Do not wash until ready to use. Eat within a couple of days. Store in an airtight container with a paper towel between each layer to absorb moisture.

Preparing: Remove stems and either eat whole or slice to desired size. Strawberries can be eaten plain, or dipped in whipped cream or granulated sugar (but fresh and in season they are sweet enough on their own!) Strawberries are also delicious tossed into salads, cooked on the stovetop, roasted, grilled, and put into baked goods.

Preserving: Freeze, dry, and preserve by making strawberry jam. Also make pickled strawberries!

Summer squash and zucchini are staples of summer. They are substantial additions to any meal, but their flavor does not overwhelm. Their vibrant greens and sunny yellows make eating them all the more pleasant.

Storage: Store in a bag in the refrigerator. Eat within a few days, the squash sooner than zucchini. Everything, including the skin and seeds, is edible and there are a zillion things you can make!

Preparing: Wash and dry. Raw or cooked, you can chop, slice, grate, or make “pasta” with squash. They can also be sautéed, roasted, and grilled for marvelous results. For something crunchy, try dehydrating summer squash into chips!

Preserving: To freeze, first wash and blanch for a few minutes. Then chop, drain and seal in an airtight container. Pickling also does the trick!

Sweet potatoes are tubers with a mildly sweet and pleasing flavor. They are also packed with nutrients. Malleable to almost any dish, sweet potatoes can be prepared sweet or savory, crunchy or soft. Don’t forget to eat the skin… it tastes delicious and is great for you too!

Storage: Store sweet potatoes in the cool, dark place away from onions for many weeks.

Preparing: Scrub the potatoes under running water and dry. Sweet potatoes can be roasted, boiled, mashed, puréed, grilled, and microwaved.

Preserving: Freeze your sweet potatoes!

A brightly flavored alternative to spinach, tatsoi puts a delicious spin on traditional fare. The hint of mustard in this Asian green makes tatsoi the star of your salad.

Storage: Store in a bag in the refrigerator for up to a few days.

Preparing: In addition to all of the possibilities for substituting tatsoi in for spinach, there are a multitude of tatsoi-specific recipes. Try it in salads, grilled, or sautéed.

Preserving: Try pickled tatsoi!

This herb has its own distinct flavor that provides a dish with an additional dimension and contributes to the depth in flavor you strive for in the kitchen. Thyme’s delicate little leaves are unobtrusive in stature and in taste, making them handy to keep on hand.

Storage: Wrap fresh thyme a damp paper towel in a bag and refrigerate for several days.

Preparing: Separate the leaves from the stem. Use the leaves in a whole range of dishes, from pasta to muffins to soup, and use the leaves and stems in soup stocks and when you braise (just remove them before you serve).

Preserving: To use up your thyme a little more slowly, try making thyme-infused olive oil, freezing it, or drying it.

Not to be confused with a green tomato, these green and zesty fruits of summer are a great way to add new flavor to your cooking. Commonly used in Mexican cuisine (e.g., salsa verde), tomatillos are a refreshing treat.

Storage: Keep in their husks in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks.

Preparing: Remove husks and rinse off. Tomatillos can be served raw or cooked. Often used to make tomatillo salsa, there are also several other ways to use them. Try them grilled, raw in salads, roasted, or stewed!

Preserving: Freeze your tomatillos whole or make salsa and can it.

A summer delicacy with many varieties, shapes, sizes, and colors — enjoy tomatoes plain... or just eat them with everything.

Storage: Keep on the counter in a cooler place for a few days, but not in the refrigerator!

Preparing: Whether tomatoes are eaten sliced with a sprinkle of sea salt, in a classic salad with fresh mozzarella, or enjoyed on toast with goat cheese, there is nothing like a fresh local tomato. Also try them roasted, sautéed, grilled, and stir-fried!

Preserving: Freeze! Make tomato paste! Dry them! Or pickle them!

Whether they add some crunch to your salad or you roast them until tender, you will be glad they turned up in your kitchen. Hakurei and Scarlett Queen varieties of turnips are generally considered "salad turnips" because they are particularly delicious raw!

Storage: Remove greens (which are delicious!) and store them separately in a bag. Wash greens only immediately before use and use within a couple of days. Store turnips in another bag in the crisper for several days.

Preparing: You can enjoy turnips and their greens together in a salad, with grains like farro. You can also enjoy them on their own, raw or cooked. For the greens, use them as a salad green or sauté them like beet greens. For the turnips, eat them raw (chopped or grated) in salads, roasted, sautéed, or grilled.

Juicy, crunchy, sweet, and satisfying &mdsh; watermelon is an annual highlight of summer’s harvest. Big or small, yellow or pink, this melon is delicious in all shapes and sizes. Eat as much as you can while it lasts.

Storage: Keep on the counter in a cool place until ripe. You can tell a watermelon is ripe when you knock on it and it sounds hollow. Keep leftover sliced watermelon in a closed container in the refrigerator for a few days.

Preparing: Refrigerate watermelon either whole or chopped to improve the eating experience. Rinse the outside of your watermelon prior to cutting and slice. Watermelon is great raw, in salads, as popsicles, grilled... or try roasting the seeds!

Preserving: Don’t waste the rind, pickle it! To save extra cut watermelon you can freeze it!

Get to know the Winter Squash family:

• Acorn Squash - Even the name of this quintessential fall food sounds cozy. Sweet, hearty, and comforting, there are endless ways to make a satisfying meal entirely out of an acorn squash. Roasted, grilled, or sautéed... all are delicious ways to enjoy acorn squash. Don’t forget you can roast and eat the seeds.
• Butternut Squash - The poster child for the wonders of winter squash, butternut’s fame is well deserved. Its versatility, rich flavor and lovely color make for a beautiful and bountiful meal. The enormous health benefits of butternut squash also make it wonderful addition to your table. Cutting butternut squash may seem daunting but once you’ve learned the method it’s simple as can be. Roasted, grilled, microwaved, sautéed, or pureed, butternut squash is absolutely wonderful.
• Carnival Squash - Nothing says party like the brightly colored stripes and speckles on this happening squash. With its lively appearance and flavor, and the myriad ways to prepare it, carnival squash is sure to brighten up any of winter’s gray days. Rinse, dry, and cut. Then roast, bake, or braise to enjoy.
• Delicata Squash - This quirky, colorful squash has the personality to match its appearance and a delightful flavor to match its delicate and delectable name. Although a fall and winter squash, delicatas don’t hide under a hard shell, so once you’ve roasted the squash you can enjoy the skin along with it! Try it grilled, sautéed, steamed, microwaved, and mashed too! Also roast and eat the seeds like pumpkin seeds.
• Kabocha Squash - This cute winter squash is as delightful to eat as it is to look at. Smooth and silky, rich and earthy, it won’t cause you any kitchen conundrums. It also is very low maintenance, meaning dinner will be ready in minutes. Rinse and cut this squash. Don’t eat the skin but enjoy every other part of it by roasting the squash, roasting the seeds, sautéing it, braising it, or puréeing it!
• Spaghetti Squash - Although it looks like your average squash on the outside, spaghetti squash has a world of wonder to reveal in its center. Cooking produces long, noodle-like pieces of squash. Its unique appearance and delicious flavor make for exciting and diverse “pasta” dishes. Cook your spaghetti squash by roasting, boiling, grilling, or microwaving.
• Yugoslavian Finger Squash - This star-shaped squash can function as either a summer or winter squash depending on when it was picked. It has a very mellow flavor that makes its uses variable and it can be dressed up or cooked simply for however you feel like eating. You can roast this squash as you would any other winter squash by cutting off the top, scooping out the seeds, and baking it in the oven at about 350 degrees. It can also be cooked on the stovetop or in the variety of ways you cook your other winter squash. It is related to acorn squash, so you can treat it similarly and substitute in other winter squash recipes. You can also bake with it and use it in soup.

Storage: Keep all winter squash in your pantry or a dark, cool place for a couple of weeks.

Preserving: Freeze your winter squash.

While yu choy is related to bok choy and broccoli, it has a thinner stalk and yellow flowers. Used by many tossed in a stir-fry or a salad, it's also delicious sautéed with garlic and onions.

Storage: Store unwashed in the refrigerator crisper for up to three days.

Preparing: Remove any leaves that are yellow, have holes or any sort of imperfection, and cut about 1/4-inch off the stems. Then soak yu choy in 6:1 water to vinegar solution for 15 minutes, rub out any sand with your hands, and rinse several times in cold water. It is also very tasty when steamed!

Preserving: Chop up yu choy and put in freezer bags, squeeze as much air out as possible. Freeze to avoid becoming soggy or mushy.