Thursday, July 9, 2009

Summer sustenance: The bounty of local farmers' markets

ind plenty of good food — food that's good for you — at local farmers markets

 

Fresh vegetables get sold at Happy's Home Grown stand at the farmer's market at 21st and Ridge.

Fernando Salazar/The Wichita Eagle

Fresh vegetables get sold at Happy's Home Grown stand at the farmer's market at 21st and Ridge.

Ask a couple of dietitians about the best summer finds at the grocery store and farmers market, and you'll get lots of ideas. And some fun facts. Wichita registered dietitians Linda Nye of Via Christi HOPE and Lisa Friesen of Sedgwick County Extension had no problem coming up with a list of summer goodness.

"As we return to savoring simple pleasures in these 'economically challenged times,' how easy, environmentally friendly and relatively inexpensive it is to add beauty and richness to life with good food," Friesen says.

These are readily available at farmers markets, she says, which means lower transportation costs and a way to keep food dollars invested in the local economy.

Here's the list, plus comments from Friesen and Nye:

Squash

The smaller the squash, the more flavorful it is. Squash is low in calories, high in fiber and full of vitamins and minerals. Pumpkin, a winter squash, is one of the best sources of vitamin A and beta-carotene.

The world's longest zucchini was 70 inches, Nye says. The world's largest squash weighed 654 pounds.

Friesen says, "Squash has become my absolute favorite stir-fry ingredient, usually with sweet onions and red bell pepper for color. Yellow and zucchini squash are my workhorses, but other varieties are fun and easy to experiment with also."

Cabbage

There are three main varieties: red, green and savoy. Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable high in phytochemicals associated with lower risk of a number of cancers; it's also a good source of vitamins K and C, fiber, manganese, B6 and folate.

Nye suggests cutting the amount of lettuce in your salad by half and replacing with thinly sliced cabbage.

The world's largest cabbage weighed 123 pounds.

Swiss chard

It's a leafy green vegetable related to the beet and has white or red stems, which can be used as you would celery. It's a good source of carotenoids, vitamins K, A and C, manganese, potassium and iron.

"I saw some at Omaha's botanical garden on my vacation," Nye says. "I paid to see them growing, even though my husband always grows them. He uses it in his sandwiches and wraps instead of lettuce."

Watermelon

What would summer be without watermelon, an excellent source of beta-carotene and vitamin C? Rather than having seed-spitting contests, scoop seeds out and do what they do in China: Roast them, salt them and eat them like popcorn. (But they're 65 percent fat, Nye says.)

Friesen cuts watermelon into thin wedges for her "super-simple summer potluck staple."

Cantaloupe

Another great source of beta-carotene and vitamin C, a cantaloupe won't ripen under refrigeration, so keep it at room temperature. When the aroma indicates it's ripe and sweet, refrigerate.

An average cantaloupe will make 45 to 50 melon balls, Nye says. Friesen says they make a delicious frozen snack.

Peppers

Peppers are a good source of vitamins A and C. Red bell peppers have more vitamin C than oranges. Sweet red peppers are 11 times higher in beta-carotene and 1½ times higher in vitamin C than green peppers.

The hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it has. Wear gloves when working with hot peppers or you'll feel their heat when you touch your eyes or lips. You can decrease the heat by 70 to 80 percent if you remove the white ribs and seeds and rinse the pepper in cold water, Nye says.

"Capsaicin does not dissolve in water or beer," she says. "They only spread the capsaicin. Ideal remedy is to use milk, yogurt or sour cream. The protein casein in them breaks the bond between capsaicin and the pain receptors in your mouth."

Eat lots of hot peppers and you'll become less susceptible to their heat. There also is some research linking spicy foods and hot peppers to lower body weight, Friesen says.

Tomatoes

Botanically, the tomato is a fruit, actually a berry, Nye says. The U.S. Supreme Court declared them a vegetable in 1893 for tariff purposes — so they could tax them, Friesen says.

Choose a vine-ripened tomato for the best taste, store them stem-end down at room temperature and slice just before serving. If ripened in direct sunlight, they lose most of their vitamin C.

Cooked tomatoes are higher in lycopene, an antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of some cancers.

Adding chopped carrots to tomato-based recipes will reduce the acidity, Nye says. And never cook a whole tomato in a microwave — it will explode.

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