Eat Your Summer Vegetables

Eating seasonally has historically been seen as an important part of overall physical and mental health, since it allows you create a connection to your surrounding and where your food comes from, helps to expand your palate, provides you with the most nutrient dense options available. When you source and purchase produce, the environment, the local economy, and your wallet all benefit.

June 17 was National Eat Your Vegetables Day! With Summer just beginning, what better time to visit your local farmer’s market and fill your reusable shopping bags (and your plates) with some of our favorite seasonal crisp, flavorful vegetables.

Arugula

Arugula, also known as rocket, is a peppery, nutty-tasting member of the mustard family. It is nutrient dense and packed with vitamins A, C, and K, folate, and iron. This versatile leafy green can be served raw, but is just as often used in cooked dishes.

Look for:

Dark leaves indicate freshness and flavor; look for leaves that are uniformly green and avoid anything yellow, brown-spotted, wilting, or excessively moist-looking. Older (and larger) arugula is generally spicier than younger, smaller leaves, as is the wild variety.

Store it:

Wrap the stems in a moist paper towel, place it all in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for up to three days. When it comes to packaged arugula, store it in its container in the fridge.

Use it:

Arugula needs to be well washed and dried before use. It is delicious ground into pesto, as the base of a fresh salad or simply sautéed with garlic and olive oil.

Avocado

Technically a berry, avocados vary widely in size, color, and flavor. Depending on origin, ripeness and oil content they can taste grassy, sweet, meaty, nutty, milky, or buttery.

Look for:

Avocados are harvested unripe and ripen best off the tree. If you plan to eat them right away, choose avocados that yield to gentle pressure. If you plan to keep them for a few days, buy firm avocados and allow them to ripen at room temperature. Early season avocados will take a while to ripen, while those picked later in the season will ripen more quickly.

Store it:

Store them at room temperature; to speed up ripening, place hard avocados in a paper bag with an apple, banana, or other fruit that releases ethylene gas.

Use it:

Avocados are best eaten raw; cooking can turn them bitter. Cut avocados oxidize quickly once exposed to air; cover any exposed sides tightly with plastic. Adding lemon or lime juice will help slow oxidation. Avocados are a delicious accompaniment for fish, lend a silky texture to salsas, and can be used as the creamy base for certain Paleo friendly deserts. However, they are just as delicious served as-is with a squeeze of lime juice, a sprinkle of salt and chilli, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Beets

You can find beets in red, pink, orange, yellow, and white varieties, as well as a range of sizes. Both the root and leaves are edible, making it a versatile ingredient for raw and cooked dishes.

Look For:

Select beets that are firm, smooth, and blemish-free. If roasting whole, choose beets that are all of a similar size. The greens, if attached, are a good indicator of how long the beets have been in storage: look for bright green, perky leaves with no browning or wilting.

Store it:

Cut the roots from the stalk before storing; place the leaves and stalks in a perforated plastic bag in the crisper. The beet roots can be stored loose in the crisper. Do not wash either until directly before use.

Use it:

When working with beets you may want to wear gloves, as the color will stain your hands. If a recipe calls for cooked beets, try roasting them to concentrate their flavor. Leave the skin on; it prevents the juices from bleeding out, and they slip right off after cooking. To roast your beets, rinse each bulb, wrap individually in aluminum foil, and roast in a hot oven for an hour. The greens are delicious sautéed or in salads

Chard

A relative of the beet, chard is a mellow, earthy green. Both the leaves and stems, which are often vibrantly colored, are edible. This leafy green contains beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, along with vitamins C and E.

Look for:

Choose bunches with crisp stalks and fresh-looking leaves that are not cracked. Avoid wilted or browning leaves.

Store it:

Store chard wrapped in a perforated plastic bag in the crisper drawer for up to 3 days, away from fruits like apples, apricots, melons, and figs. Stalks separated from the leaves will keep slightly longer.

Use it:

Sauté the leaves simply with garlic and olive oil, stuff them with filling as you would grape leaves, or use them anywhere you would use spinach or beet greens. Chopped stems can be pickled, cooked on their own, or prepared along with the leaves. Simply cook until nearly done before adding the leaves, as the stems take longer to cook.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are technically a fruit in the same family as gourds. They are grown all over the world in numerous varieties, from tiny pickling cucumbers to the large, smooth, European greenhouse type.

Look for:

Choose smooth cucumbers with brightly colored skins; avoid yellowing cucumbers and those that have been waxed.

Store it:

Cucumbers keep if tightly wrapped to avoid drying out. Store them in a plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge for up to 10 days, or store cut cucumbers tightly wrapped in the fridge for up to 5.

Use it:

Enjoy cucumbers in all different kinds of salads, or pickle them! Thinner-skinned cucumbers, like Middle Eastern, Asian, and European varieties, don’t need to be peeled—simply wash in cold water before using. Larger cucumbers with thicker skins benefit from peeling.

Eggplant

Eggplants (also known as brinjal or aubergine) come in an incredible range of sizes, shapes, and colors, from smaller Italian eggplants to slender, mild Asian varieties to meaty, dense white-skinned eggplants and more although the large, bulbous, deep purple variety is the most common in north America. Eggplant is technically a type of berry that belongs to the nightshade family.

Look for:

Choose firm, smooth fruits that are heavy for their size; avoid any with soft or brown spots.

Store it:

Buy them just before you plan to use them, as they do not store well. Keep eggplants in a cool, dry place and use them within a day or two. You can store them in the crisper drawer for a few days if needed, but they generally fare poorly in cold storage.

Use it:

Enjoy eggplant grilled, baked stewed, broiled, fried, or in a stir fry. The skin of younger, smaller eggplants is edible. Slice them just before using as they tend to discolor quickly. Salting them will not “draw out” their bitterness, but it will help mask the slightly bitter taste of older/larger eggplants, and the salted slices will absorb less oil.

Green Beans

The green bean family covers a wide range of varieties: from green beans to yellow wax beans, purple snap beans, French beans or haricots verts, Romano beans, dragon tongue beans, and more. They vary widely in appearance but are similar in taste and preparation. They contain many nutrients including vitamin C and Beta carotene.

Look for:

Choose brightly colored, crisp beans that snap easily.  Avoid limp beans or those with blemishes or brown spots

Store it:

Green beans will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week; store them in a paper bag or wrapped in a paper towel inside a perforated plastic bag.

Use it:

Some varieties may have "strings" running down one side, which should be pulled off like a zipper before using. Add green beans to salads, stir-fries, and casseroles, or steam them and enjoy them as a side dish. Snip the stem end off the beans; boil them in water, chill, and marinate them to be used in a salad, or throw them into the frying pan with some bacon fat and fry until crispy.

Peppers

Peppers are an essential part of cuisines all over the globe from Senegal to China, India, Spain, Italy, Thailand, and more. While they vary greatly in size, color, and heat. Larger peppers tend to be milder and sweeter, since proportionally they have fewer seeds and veins than smaller varieties. Peppers are packed with vitamins A, C, and K as well as folate, lycopene (in sweet red peppers), and potassium.

Look for:

Choose peppers with vivid colors and firm skins. Avoid any shriveling or soft spots.

Store it:

Store at room temperature for up to 5 days or for longer keeping, in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. Store hot peppers separately from other vegetables, as their oils can transfer to other produce.

Use it:

Slice them up and eat them alone or with a dip, fold them into omelets, or add them to salads and stir fries. Roasted peppers are delicious marinated in olive oil or used to make a dip, sauce or soup. Whatever the potency, they welcome flavor to everything from stews to sauces, drinks and even desserts. It is best to wear gloves when prepping hot peppers, as washing your hands may not remove all the oils.

Spinach

Spinach is available year-round, but it is especially flavorful in spring and summer. This leafy green is often celebrated for its high iron, calcium and vitamin content.

Look for:

When buying fresh spinach, look for leaves that are crisp, dark green, smooth, and glossy. If you are choosing pre-packaged spinach examine the bag to make sure no leaves are wilted, crushed or rotting.

Store it:

Remove any damaged or wilted leaves. Wrap the rest lightly in paper towel or a cotton dishtowel and store in a perforated plastic bag in the most humid part of your refrigerator.

Use it:

Spinach boasts a sweet, slightly bitter taste when eaten raw. The flavor becomes more complex and mildly acidic when cooked. It is delicious puréed with nuts, spices and olive oil for a take on pesto, sautéed or cooked in some bacon fat, or bedded beneath a poached egg topped with creamy hollandaise sauce for a Paleo friendly breakfast (or anytime) treat.

Summer Squash

Squash was one of the earliest plants domesticated in Mexico and North America. While zucchini is the most popular summer squash variety, others include crookneck and straightneck squash, globe squash, pattypan yellow squash, cacozelia, and scaloppini. Summer squash is a good source of insoluble fiber and contains vitamins C B6.

Look for:

Small to medium summer squashes with bright-colored skin free of spots and bruises are your best choices. Larger specimens can be woody, bitter, and lacking flavor

Store it:

Summer squash is quite perishable. The blossoms should be eaten as soon as possible. Store squash in a perforated plastic bag and refrigerate (in the vegetable drawer) for a maximum of five days.

Use it:

When fresh, the sweet, buttery flesh of summer squash can be eaten raw, or prepared in numerous ways including grilling, roasting, steaming, pan-frying or even bakes into Paleo breads and treats. The blossoms of the summer squash plant are edible, too and can be stuffed and fried as a gourmet appetizer.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes, a member of the nightshade family, may be the single number-one draw to farmers markets and local eating. There are thousands of known tomato varieties and colors with popular ones including  Jersey or Beefsteak, plum or Roma tomatoes, cherry or grape tomatoes and countless heirloom varieties. Tomatoes are packed with vitamin C, potassium, and lycopene. They can help improve gum, skin, and blood health as well help in certain types of cancer prevention.

Look for:

Try to sample tomatoes before you buy them - even beautiful, heavy, unblemished specimens can lack the flavor you want. Generally, you want to look for firm, plump tomatoes with an aromatic earthy fragrance and a rich red color. Avoid overripe ones with blemishes, soft spots, or growth cracks.

Store it:

Store your tomatoes upside down at room temperature. Ripe tomatoes will keep for up to a week. Tomatoes should never be refrigerated as this deadens the flavor and gives the tomato a mealy texture.

Use it:

Tomatoes are so versatile and can be enjoyed during every meal! They can be enjoyed in alone, in salads, in salsa, roasted, grilled, stewed, sautéed, made into sauces, soups and bases for stews. Your choices are endless and tomato recipes are always abundant. The true pleasure of tomatoes can be enjoyed simply alone with a simple sprinkle of sea salt, or halved and roasted as a simple side.

For some great recipes and ideas on how to shop and cook, seasonal, delicious Paleo food, grab a copy of Chef Peter’s book Paleo by Season >>>>>>

At Peter’s Paleo, great care and pride is taken in sourcing the best quality, organically grown, seasonal produce from local farmers. All meals are made with what is available.  Our menu changes weekly and is filled with these, and more of our summer favorites.

Check out this week’s options here>>>>>

Admittedly, our top summer produce picks will change from one summer to the next, or even one week to the next, depending on what was harvested and tasted particularly good. There are so many delicious vegetable options it is difficult to be too partial to any item for too long. Enjoy a full summer harvest of your favorites this National Eat Your Vegetables Day or anytime they become available to you.

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