IN A RUSH? Prefer Another Vegetable? Skip Straight to the Recipes or Switch to the A-Z of Vegetables . TOMATILLOS: THE BASICS Pronounced [toe-muh-TEE-yo] in the singular and [toe-muh-TEE-yoz] in the plural. Other Names for a Tomatillo. Also called husk tomato, jamberry, husk cherry, Mexican tomato and Mexican green tomato. The Season. The tomatillo season is mid to late summer. Fruit or Vegetable? A tomatillo is actually a fruit. Like the tomato, the tomatillo belongs to the nightshade family. A Tomatillo Is NOT a Green Tomato. A tomatillo does resemble a small green tomato in size, shape and appearance. However, a tomatillo isn't a tomato. It isn't even a green tomato (that is, an immature and unripe tomato). Size-wise, tomatillos can be as small as a golf ball, as large as a baseball. Parchment Covering. A tomatillo has a thin parchment-like covering which should be removed before eating or cooking. Vegetables 101. For much more information about tomatillos, inc...

IN A RUSH? Prefer Another Vegetable? Skip Skip Straight to the Recipes or Switch to the A-Z of Vegetables . So I took a little poll about okra on Facebook today and was much shocked , I mean excited to discover so many fellow okra fans, not scientific or anything but still! I'm a recent convert myself: when Susan from Fat Free Vegan wrote a guest post here in 1996 for Chickpea Gumbo , I commented, not so wittily, that "... now maybe A Veggie Venture won't have to cook any of those slimy guys". Was I ever missing out, eating okra fresh from the garden makes such a difference! OKRA: THE BASICS Pronounced [OH-kruh]. Also called Lady's Fingers, for the bright green finger-shaped tapered seedpods. The Season. In the Midwest, the okra season is "late summer" when home gardens spit out okra like bullets. In the South, fresh okra is available year round. Good news, however, frozen okra is excellent, although best used in dishes where the okra its...

IN A RUSH? Prefer Another Vegetable? Skip Skip Straight to the Recipes or Switch to the A-Z of Vegetables . KOHLRABI: THE BASICS Pronounced [kole-RAH-bee]. Also called Cabbage Turnip, German Turnip. Kohlrabi is part of the cabbage family, its cousins are kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and turnips. The often-tough outer skins are usually pale green (there are also purple-skinned varieties) and strange tentacles emerge from the top of the "bulb" (actually, it's the plant's swollen stem). The interior white flesh and the kohlrabi greens are edible. Kohlrabi tastes like the mild, sweet broccoli stalks, just wetter and crisper, especially when fresh and young. It's wonderful raw! The kohlrabi growing season is "summer" into "late summer". KOHLRABI NUTRITION INFORMATION Per 1/4 pound raw kohlrabi : 30 Calories; 0g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 22mg Sodium; 7g Carb; 4g Fiber; NetCarb3; 3g Sugar; 2g Protein. WEIGHT W...

IN A RUSH? Prefer Another Vegetable? Skip Straight to the Recipes or Switch to the A-Z of Vegetables . BRUSSELS SPROUTS: THE BASICS Brussels sprouts are some times erroneously called "brussel" sprouts : just remember the Belgian city of Brussels, that's the right word, that's the right spelling. Some people call Brussels sprouts "baby cabbages" because they do belong to the cabbage family and indeed do resemble miniature cabbages . The "cousins" in the cabbage are kale, collards, kohlrabi, broccoli and cauliflower. Here in the Midwest where Brussels sprouts are grown only on small farms, the growing season is "late summer and early fall" . Still we've come to think of Brussels sprouts as a "winter vegetable" , thanks to a long growing season and imports: California Brussels sprouts are available June through January, Mexico Brussels sprouts December through June. HOW MANY PER POUND? There are about 50 tiny sprouts in ...

IN A RUSH? Prefer Another Vegetable? Skip Straight to the Recipes or Switch to the A-Z of Vegetables . Never know what to do with eggplant? Find new inspiration in this collection of Eggplant Recipes from A Veggie Venture. Many Weight Watchers, vegan, gluten-free, low-carb, paleo, whole30 recipes from simple for every day to special for occasions. EGGPLANT: THE BASICS Outside North America, eggplant are also called Aubergine [pronounced OH-ber-zheen or oh-ber-ZHEEN]. Eggplants are not vegetables, but fruits, specifically berries. The skins of young eggplants are both delicate and edible; older eggplants or eggplants with tough skins may be peeled. Since the flesh discolors rapidly, an eggplant should be cut just before using. Globe eggplant are large, purple cylinders. Italian eggplant or baby eggplant are smaller versions of globe eggplant with more tender skin and flesh. Japanese eggplant, or Asian eggplant are long and narrow. EGGPLANT NUTRITION INFORMATION Per 1/4 ...

IN A RUSH? Prefer Another Vegetable? Skip Straight to the Recipes or Switch to the A-Z of Vegetables . WINTER SQUASH: THE BASICS Pronounced [skwawsh]. In Britain, Australia and New Zealand, winter squash are called "pumpkin". (Some sources say that "pumpkin" is also used in Britain but a British reader corrected that notion, says that "pumpkin" applies only to the round jack'o'lantern-style pumpkins.) Common varieties include acorn squash, butternut squash, delicata squash and spaghetti squash. At a good farmers market, you might find colorful hubbard squash, buttercup squash and red kuri squash. Look especially for kabocha squash, it's great for making Homemade "Pumpkin" Purée ; commercial pumpkin purée is made with calabaza squash.

IN A RUSH? Prefer Another Vegetable? Skip Straight to the Recipes or Switch to the A-Z of Vegetables . CORN: THE BASICS Also called Sweet Corn, Sweetcorn, Sugar Corn, Maize [maze], Miellie [mee-lee] and Maellie. SEASON The corn season is "summer". Sweet corn becomes less sweet about three days after picking, so the fresher the better. In the grocery store, watch for ears still in their husks with glossy, not dry silk. But for freshness, a farmers market or vegetable stand with locally grown, just-picked corn is a better bet for really good corn. Farmers call the first most-tender ears of corn "green corn". HISTORY Along with tomatoes, chiles and potatoes, corn originated in the Americas. The word maize means "our life" and the Pueblo people honored corn as the fifth element: earth and air, fire and water, and corn! Modern sweet corn was developed at the turn of the 19th century but only became available to home gardeners in the 1920s. CORN ANAT...