ColumnReaders tell us what they’re growing in their summer gardens.

As a fun way to look at what’s in season across the country and in other parts of the world, we took this month’s Seasonal Superfoods on the road. We asked our readers via Facebook and Twitter what they’re growing, where they’re located and how they prepare the goodness from their gardens and compiled the results below.

If you didn’t get a chance to participate, leave a comment below and let us know what you’re doing with your garden’s bounty!

Lisa: Toronto, Canada—Lisa says she’ll be eating her Heirloom tomatoes sliced or like an apple.

Teresa: Boise, Id—Heirloom tomatoes in tarts and sauces will be all the rage in Teresa’s kitchen.

Katy: Rhode Island—Tired of kale chips? You aren’t the only one. “We are sick to death of kale chips,” says Katy. She suggests trying something different and putting Kale in green smoothies.

Leslie: Oakland, CA—If in Oakland, Black Mission Figs eaten off the tree or preserved are par for the course.

Susan: Merced, CA—For those lucky enough to have sage grow year round like at Susan’s place in Merced, the opportunity for it to be folded into Thanksgiving stuffing with lemons from her very own tree is the plan. She also likes to add her extra to turkey, chickens, pork chops, tomato sauces, vegetable curries, frittatas and chicken soup. “Cherry tomatoes are easy to grow and great eaten in salads or right off the vine.”

Wade: Lebanon, OR—Blueberries, lots of blueberries! Wade likes to eat them “hot or cold in breakfast cereals or frozen in a bowl with milk poured over them. And of course nothing is better than picking and eating the big plump ones in the garden.”

Haven Bourque: Oakland, CA—”I wrap fresh-caught sardines stuffed with garlic and herbs in the fresh-picked, blanched grape leaves from my native California grape vine and grill or roast, and serve topped with garlic yogurt sauce. You eat the whole thing- leaf, sardine and all. Accompany with roasted tiny okra, over rice.” Purloined from Claudia Roden’s Middle Eastern Cooking.

Oliver: Oakland, CA—”Herbs, lots of fresh herbs: parsley, thyme, dill, marjoram, spearmint, oregano, and basil. They’re great in nearly anything we make. One of our favorite easy dinners is a cheese and herb omelet, but also stews, soups, pastas, and bruschetta with fresh heirloom tomatoes and grated parmesan and pecorino. Spearmint in mojitos and in frozen pops with fresh fruit.”

Laiko: San Francisco, CA—Laiko’s Early Girl tomatoes, sage, two different kinds of oregano, rosemary, lavender and Meyer lemons all grow to full-on fruition on her back deck in San Francisco. We think she’ll be starting her own tomato sauce business soon enough.

Susie: Berkeley, CA—”Tomatoes but they have this problem on the base from lack of calcium,” she says, and because of that, she’s become an eating machine gobbling them straight off the vine.

Sarah Bird Lewis-Hammond: Brighton, UK—Sarah’s Purple Runner Beans and Lemon Crystal Cucumbers are more than adequately growing this summer. How is she eating them? “Lemon and orange glazed salmon with bean and bulgher wheat salad. Cucumbers got eaten as they were. Delish.”

Marianne Swallie—Marianne is all about oven roasted tomatoes. “Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, whatever herbs you have growing in the garden and bake slowly at 170 degrees. When they are withered and yummy, cool them off, then pop them into your mouth and enjoy! If you can force yourself to part with a few, they freeze very well and come out in December to add a little bit of summer to your winter-time pasta recipes.”

Abigail Wick: Berlin, Germany—Cherry tomatoes and potted basil are growing crazy on her terrace. “We make vegan thin-crust pizzas with them, plus arugula, toasted pine nuts, and browned garlic. In short…bliss.”

Amy Stevenson Hall: Auburn, AL—In Alabama? “Peas, eating fresh and freezing, putting up cucumber pickles and banana pepper pickles (and just eating raw). Sadly, the tomatoes, okra, and squash have run their course. Sweet potatoes weren’t very sweet this year.”

Blissoma Natural Body Care and Candles: St. Lewis, MO—There’s no shortage of okra, cucumbers, green beans, squash, cantaloupe and watermelon in St. Lewis. “Our pumpkins are still just babies right now and our tomatoes went in late. We’ve made several gallons of refrigerator pickles, and we eat a giant melon-based fruit salad every morning. We’re going to make a giant batch of oven baked/breaded squash fries as well. Yum!!!”

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate,  on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Images: Manjithkaini, Joe Quick, Richard BH

The post The Best Superfoods Are the Ones Growing in Your Garden appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnFava beans are a seasonal superfood you should make time to enjoy.

People who don’t like to spend time in the kitchen tend to think that fava beans were surely invented by some sort of cooking sadist. I have a farmer friend who grows them and she won’t even prep them. Instead she puts a pile in the middle of the table and serves them as a “peel & eat” raw dish.

It’s true that you have to peel them twice and its also true that those big giant pods take up a lot of space for a distressingly small yield of actual beans, but I’m here to tell you the return is worth it.

They’re Tasty:

Otherwise, why bother? They have a nutty, slightly sweet flavor that is mild, yet pleasantly “beany.” Favas have a natural affinity for other spring vegetables like peas and asparagus and also pair well with mint, olive oil, and salty cheeses. Sauté them up as a side dish with a nice chop or roast chicken; add them to salads, risotto, or pasta; pureé cooked favas and make a bed for seared scallops or salmon; flavor fava puree with olive oil, lemon, garlic, and oregano and use as a dip for warm pita bread. You get the picture.

They’re Special:

They’re in season for only a short period during spring and they don’t get shipped from far away throughout the year, so enjoy them while you can.

They’re Ancient:

Consumed in ancient Rome, China, and the Middle East since antiquity, favas are one of the oldest domesticated crops. Often associated with death in ancient cultures, they were used in ancient Rome by Christians to celebrate the Day of the Dead.

Pods, Leaves, and Beans are all Edible:

Three cheers for no waste. These days you’ll see tender fava leaves in the farmer’s market all ready to take home and toss into a salad or sauté up like any other green. The pods that house the beans are tasty as a raw, crisp, green snack.

They’re Fertilizer:

Favas, like other legumes, are often planted as a cover crop to fix nitrogen into the soil. Farmers and gardeners call this type of cover crop “green manure.”

Favas have Highly Interesting Health Properties:

Like other beans, favas are a good source of protein and also contain concentrations of vitamins C, A, and B, as well as potassium. Fava beans have some other very appealing health properties that may improve your brain power, mood, and sex life. Their high concentrations of L-dopa (dopamine), an amino acid that works as a neurotransmitter in the brain, may improve memory, energy, sense of well-being, and sex drive. L-dopa is also used as a treatment for Parkinson’s Disease, leading some experts to suggest that eating fava beans may alleviate the symptoms of the disease.

Favas are Just Dangerous Enough to Appeal to Extreme Eaters:

Favas come with their own rare syndrome called favism, which can make some people really sick. It’s a deficiency that sparks a severe form of anemia in sufferers that can even cause death.

The Low-Down on Shopping and Prepping Fava Beans:

Choose vibrant green pods that are smooth and not too large. Larger, more mature beans can be mealy and bitter. A little discoloration is normal. Shuck the beans from the pods and then boil them in salted water or steam them for about 30 – 60 seconds to loosen the opaque white sheath that covers them. Rinse them in cold water to cool and then gently pinch the bright green beans free of their protective skins. Sauté, or add to dishes as is. To serve as a purée, you may need to sauté or boil the beans until tender, especially larger, older beans.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: bhamsandwich via Flickr

The post The Green Plate: In Praise of the Fava Bean appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnWhat to eat and when to eat it for better health and greater enjoyment.

Most people know enough about nutrition to realize they are better off eating Daikon than donuts, and many have heard of “superfoods,” but beyond that very basic knowledge, how much do we know about which foods are best for us, when they are in season, and how to prepare them?

Recently, while walking through the bulk and produce sections of my local Whole Foods, I noticed posters listing “nutrient dense foods” and their Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) Scores. I’d heard of nutrient density, which certainly makes sense intuitively, but I’d never heard of an ANDI score.

A quick Google search revealed that ANDI was developed by a Dr. Furman to help guide people toward more healthful eating. The scale scores foods from 1,000 points, with foods like collards earning the full 1,000 and cola and white bread coming in at one and 18 points, respectively. Good-for-you foods like sweet potatoes and walnuts score 83 and 34.

I was curious how the foods were scored because, knowing that sweet potatoes and walnuts are widely considered superfoods, why were their scores so much lower than collard greens?

Foods with the highest nutrient density have a high ratio of nutrients to calories. Because walnuts contain a lot of fat (albeit good fat), they are high in calories compared to collard greens. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat them. It just means you shouldn’t eat too many of them. The natural sugars present in vitamin-rich sweet potatoes give them a relatively low score compared to collards. The lesson, as in everything, is balance. If you ate nothing but collard greens, Brussels sprouts and other top scorers, you’d waste away.

The benefits of nutrient dense superfoods are many.

Besides improving your overall health, eating nutrient dense foods can help you lose and maintain weight and regulate blood sugar. Bulky, fibrous foods will help you feel satisfied, nutrients will energize you, and steady blood sugar levels will help with cravings and mood swings.

Adding more nutrient dense foods to your diet is simple: shop the perimeter of the grocery store and buy whole foods that don’t come in packages. It’s best to buy most of your foods in the bulk and produce sections, and for greater enjoyment, eat seasonally.

Unless you’re a habitual farmers’ market shopper, it’s likely you’re not going to know what’s in season since grocery stores carry produce from all over the world all the time. For a quick refresher course or to look up a specific item, my favorite go-to resource is the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture’s (CUESA) seasonal produce charts for fruits and vegetables.

To help you eat superfoods more often, each month, The Green Plate will choose one to highlight, giving shopping as well as preparation tips for it.

This month, hail the artichoke!

With an ANDI score of 244, it comes up high on the list. Plus it’s abundant and affordable in farmers’ markets right now. For this first article in the series, we’ll head to the archives for a recipe for Baby Artichokes with Potatoes and Fresh Herbs with Lemon.

Image: Natamagat via Flickr

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

The post The Green Plate: Seasonal Superfoods appeared first on EcoSalon.