Let's get to the ROOT of it!


	ROOT VEGETABLES
	Chicken soup just wouldn't be the same without them. A rutabaga, carrots, potatoes, and parsnips add great flavor to the cure-all soup. Sweet with wonderful flavors, root vegetables are higher in sugar than other vegetables so they are appealing to children too. Make the most amazing Chicken soup with parsnips, rutabaga, celery, carrots and fresh dill (and of course a kosher organic chicken), salt and pepper. Or really show off the flavor or root veggies by making Mixed Roasted Root Veggies. Many root vegetables are cruciferous vegetables, including radishes.
	Radishes are great as a tasty snack with lovely contrasting color, sharp peppery flavor and crunchy texture. Red Radishes can be eaten raw, added to your salad, or served with cheese in a sandwich. Try them by themselves with olive oil or serve with a beautiful gourmet salt. The French eat them for breakfast with salt, bread and butter. They can also be pickled. Most people think of radishes only as raw in salads, but they are quite delicious and less of a bite when cooked. Add to soups, roast, sauté as a side, or add to a stir-fry. They also can be used to make nice decorations for your plate!
	Long Scarlet Radishes are becoming a rare delicacy! They are an heirloom radish that is bright red, long and thin. It is tender with a great texture - crisp bite and a flavor that is mild but is rich. These are prized in Italy.
	Japanese Long Scarlet are bright red, long and thin. Popular in Japan where they are eaten raw or pickled.
	D'Avignon Radishes are from France. Also called the Breakfast Radishes or French Breakfast are a beautiful oblong shape. They have a rosy color with a white tip. They have a delicate juicy and crunchy texture and a zesty-mild flavor. Do like the French and eat them for breakfast dipped in butter and kosher salt and eat them with bread and butter for breakfast! Also called the White Tip Scarlet Turnip.
	Easter Egg Radishes come in glorious spring shades reminiscent of Easter eggs. Each small radish is either white/off-white, pink, purple or lavender, and red. Together they look absolutely lovely! These Radishes are as beautiful on the plate as they are delicious on the palate with a nice peppery bite. Add it to salads, roast them (that lessens the bite of radishes) whole or cut in 1/2, or sauté them. And you can use the greens too to add a little spice to salads, but I think they are better sautéed as you would any green.
	Daikon Radish is popular in the Orient and in Macrobiotic cooking. It is crisp and juicy in texture and the flavor is mild. It is quite versatile and can be cooked, pickled, or used raw. Traditional in Macrobiotic or Ayurvedic cuisine, the Daikon Radish is a cleansing vegetable that fortifies the liver and enhances digestion. Daikon radishes are milder than other radishes and are great to add raw shredded on salads. Cooking makes the radish bite even milder. They can also be roasted, sauteed, added to stir-fries, grilled, steamed, baked, or added to soups. Daikons are rich in Vitamin C, potassium, folate and magnesium. Greens also contain calcium, iron, and beta-carotene and can be sauteed or added to soups or added to salads raw. Pink Daikon Radish are smaller with a pink blush (antioxidants!).
	Make an awesome homemade Horseradish to put on sandwiches by pureeing (in Cuisinart) equal parts raw peeled beets (cut up) and peeled horseradish (add more for more heat), a tablespoon or so of agave nectar and the same amount of apple cider vinegar, and a pinch of sea salt. Pulse and enjoy!
	The Watermelon Radish is GORGEOUS and when sliced looks just like a watermelon with a green rind and rosy interior. The color intensifies with a splash of vinegar! Just gorgeous in a salad raw, this radish can also be roasted, added to stir fries, sautéed, added to stews, or even boiled and mashed! Milder than most radishes, it is actually slightly sweet with a nice crisp bite when raw, the watermelon radish is an heirloom variety of the Daikon.
	Nutrition: source of Vitamin C Storage: Like Beets, the greens should be separated from the root before putting in the refrigerator for optimal flavor and nutrition. And like Beets, the greens are highly nutritious too! Add them to a salad or saute them as you would other greens. This is a cruciferous vegetable. Preparation tip: after washing and cutting into the desired shape, put them in an ice water bath for a few hours if you want them to be a bit more mild in flavor. Radishes can be added to salads and eaten raw in crudités. They can also be cooked or sautéed and make a wonderful side dish. You can also cook the Radish Greens or add them to soups, stir fries or stews. Sautéed Radish and Dill
	Beets
	Potatoes
	Rutabagas are like overgrown turnips but are yellow inside while the Turnip is white. They can be added to roasts, soups, stews. They are delicious roasted as a side dish with other root vegetables. Once roasted they have an al dente texture and are even sweeter. Ours come without the waxy coating common to conventional rutabagas!
	Rhubarb is considered a root vegetable too. It has a lovely tartness to it which blends well with sweeter items. Commonly used in pies (usually with berries like strawberries or raspberries, and also in nice rhubarb apple pies), it can also be made into a sauce to top meats, fish and chicken, or turned into wine. Add chunks to cakes and muffins, make jam out of it. Discard the greens as they contain harmful toxins, but the stem itself is loaded with flavor and color and is worth a try! Before using in a recipe, soak in water and a pinch of baking soda to bring out the acid and allow the sweetness to shine through. Try these Rhubarb Recipes
	Turnips Cut up to use in soups or stock or cut in chunks and roast at 425 for 40 minutes until tender and beginning to brown. You can also steam them or boil them and then mash them like a potato. They make a great mock mashed potatoes - just puree in the food processor with a little butter or milk or both, salt and pepper. When roasted these become caramelized on the outside and smooth and creamy inside.
	Parsnips look like a white carrot and have a sweet flavor. Treat like a carrot. Add soups or stock or cut in chunks and roast at 425 for 40 minutes until done. You can also steam them or boil them and then mash them like a potato. Try parsnip latkes
	Carrots are sweet and can be eaten raw, steamed, sautéed, added to soups, stews, stocks, juiced. They pair nicely with many meats and add flavor to any dish. The basic trio in cooking is carrots, onion, and celery (and of course olive oil and garlic). In Cajun cuisine, we replace the carrots in this trio for Peppers. Carrots can come in a variety of colors - white, black, red, purple, yellow, and pink. These are heirloom varieties that are making a come back so look for them!
	Less starchy with less calories, Jicama is a nice change from potatoes, plus aside from mashing, you can use it raw in salads. It has a wonderful crunch to it and light flavor. Jicama, Orange, Beets, Carrot Salad Jicama & Romaine Salad Jicama, Red Pepper, Pineapple Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette
	The Sunchoke is more commonly known as a Jerusalem Artichoke, although it is actually native to the U.S.. It is a root vegetable and a member of the sunflower family. It tastes like a cross between a potato and an artichoke and can be eaten raw or cooked. Add slices or grate it into your salad or make slaw as you can with Jicama. Like Kohlrabi, it can be served raw as a snack or on your crudités platter. You can also blend it into a soup, mash it, use it in a stir fry (4-6 minutes until tender), bake it (30-45 minutes for 20 minutes or so), roast it, steam it or boil it (10 - 15 minutes until tender). Like potatoes, it's easier to peel off the skin once cooked. Sunchokes assist the body in regulating blood sugar without the big ups and downs like many other carbs. They are high in iron, potassium and thiamine, low in fat, and feed the healthy bacteria in our stomach. Keep them in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. More A bout Sunchokes
	Recipes: • Cheese & Jerusalem Artichoke Chowder • Chicken with Jerusalem Artichoke and Lemon • Gratin of Sunchokes and Yukon Gold Potatoes • Jerusalem Artichoke Cheese Soup • Jerusalem Artichoke Quick Bread • Jicama Sunchoke Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing • Scalloped Ginger Sunchokes • Sunchoke Gratin • Sunchoke Latkes
	Facts:
	Nutritionally:
	How to choose: Firm with nice color, no cracks.
	How to store: Store them in the crisper drawer in the refrigerator or in a sealed bag to maintain crispness.
	Fun Fact:
	Cooking Tip: Turnips and Rutabagas are usually coated with wax to protect them and maintain freshness so those must be peeled before using. Make Mixed Roasted Root Veggies: Simply peel them, chop into good bite size chunks (bigger than you'd think comfortable as they are going to shrink down during cooking), toss together with olive oil and kosher salt. Lay out flat on a cookie sheet and put into a preheated 425 oven for 40 minutes or until they are tender and begin to brown. YUM! You can make almost any vegetable this way. It's quick, it's easy, but most of all, it is amazingly delicious! Try hard squash like this or even tomatoes! The cooking intensifies the sweet flavor!
	Recipes: Winter Root Vegetable Soup Links: Vegetables from Underground