Brussel Sprouts

Do you hate brussel sprouts? So did I. Until I bought these and took the advice of Louis Lacopi, a farmer from Half Moon Bay in California, commenting for a market report from Oakland, Calif., in January, about how to prepare them. Lacopi's revelation: Don't steam them. That's how I've always tried brussel sprouts in the past, and they are, quite frankly, awful when prepared that way, in my opinion (and I'll eat just about anything). Lacopi told Victoria Slind-Flor at the farmers market in Oakland, Calif., in January to simply cut them in half and saute them in a skillet in olive oil with some garlic, salt and pepper. That's my favorite way to quickly cook lots of vegetables, from asparagus to Tokyo turnips (see below) to zucchini. So why had it never occurred to me to cook brussel sprouts in that manner? If you thought you hated brussel sprouts, try them this way and I think you'll agree. They're fantastic.  

Price: $3/lb.

Tokyo Turnips

These are one of my perennial farmers market favorites. Here's what I do with them: I trim off the roots and with a paring knife, scrape off some of the toughened skin at the base of the tops, leaving them otherwise unpeeled. Then I cut off the tops of the greens, setting them aside, leaving several inches of the stem attached to each turnip. I slice the turnips in half, leaving a "tail" of stems on each half, and saute them face down in a cast iron skillet in olive oil, salt and pepper, until they are lightly brown. Then I stir in some minced garlic and the rest of the turnip greens, chopped up, turning the turnips over for a few more minutes of cooking on their backs. They are so good this way that I often whip up a batch for a snack immediately upon my return from the farmers market. 

Price: $1.50/bunch

Ground Cherries

According to the sign on the display table where I found these heirloom husk tomatoes, known as ground cherries, they're supposed to have a pineapple taste. Indeed, some of them do. About half of them, anyway. They were quite nice. The other half of this sample? They ranged in taste from rather insipid to unpleasantly sour. If you could tell by sight which would be which, that would not be an insurmountable problem. But you couldn't tell. The good and the bad looked alike to me. While the lack of uniformity makes eating these fresh a chancy proposition, according to Slow Food USA's description of them, they have a high pectin content and therefore, are well suited for preserves or pies. Next time I buy some of these, I'll experiment with cooking them.

Price: $3/pint.