Specialty Eggplants, Kale Sprouts and All About Mushrooms
Unfamiliar with Chinese and Japanese eggplant? Chances are, you’ve eaten them without realizing it, and these two varieties are what made you love eggplant! There are some similarities, but the trick is knowing the difference between the two. Chinese and Japanese eggplants are long and thin, not stout or ‘egg-shaped’ like their cousins. They are easier to work with because they have thinner skin that does not require peeling, and their flesh does not require salting. They slice easily into bitesize rounds and are perfect for stir-frying, stewing, and grilling. Pairs well with Asian seasonings and dressings, crumbled tofu, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, curries, and sweet balsamic to suggest a few.
As with all eggplant varieties, select ‘fruit’ (all seeded produce is botanically a fruit) that is plump and firm with taut, shiny skin and fresh-looking calyces. Avoid withered calyces, soft or brown spots, wrinkles, and punctures. Most varieties, when aged, can have an uncharacteristic bitter taste no matter how much seasoning is used. Store unwashed eggplant in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Wash well by rubbing the skin, as scrubbing the skin can cause puncture.
Chinese Eggplant – This variety generally has royal purple skin and is a bit broader in diameter and about 7-8” in length- longer than Japanese eggplant- with a rounded end. Its calyx is green, and sometimes purple, similar to Italian or common eggplant. Fleshy, yet mild in flavor with few seeds. Available year-round. Grown in USA
Japanese Eggplant – Gradually widening from top to bottom, this variety is dark purple with dark purple calyx with a slight tip at the base. Sweeter than Chinese eggplant with few seeds. Available year-round. Grown in USA
Not to be confused with curly endive (ahn-DEEVE), this variety resembles a small torpedo, and is versatile as it can be served raw, braised, or grilled. A member of the chicory family, Belgian endive has a slight bitterness, as do its cousins escarole, frisée, and curly endive. Red Belgian endives have beautiful, wine-colored leaves with cream-colored spines, and green endive leaves are pale in color. All chicories pair well with dairy, sweet or sweet-sour, crunchy, smoke or char. For a very stunning appetizer, trim, wash, and spin dry endive then arrange in concentric circles, and fill with layers of bleu cheese or feta crumbles, toasted and chopped walnuts, a sprinkle of pomegranate arils over the tops and finish with a drizzle of sweet vinaigrette or honey. Rushed? Make a salad using the same ingredients, but rough chop the endive and toss just before serving. Additionally, endive makes great crudité dippers! Also tasty, halved, seared, cut side down, then braised in chicken stock. Guild the lily with a bit of white wine before braising and finish with a bit of cream. Select endive with creamy leaves and no brown edges. Store unwashed endive in its original package, or remove and wrap in paper towel stored in plastic bag in veggie crisper up to 5 days. This vegetable can turn bitter if kept too long. Available year-round. Grown in USA.
If you’re into crunch, color, and toothsome veggies, kale sprouts are for you! A cross of Red Russian Kale and Brussels sprouts, these beautiful little clusters of green and purple can be served raw or cooked. If raw, think kale and ‘soften’ them with a massage of citrus juice or vinegar. Roasted, steamed, or fabulous charred, kale sprouts pair well with balsamic vinaigrette, wine, soy sauce, or dried fruits and nuts. Prepare kale sprouts as you would Brussels sprouts: Trim the root end, swish well in a tub of cool water, drain and repeat, removing all fine sand or soil. Pat dry and proceed with your recipe. If you’re like me, try them with a bit of chili crisp or gochujang over Melissa’s Cooked Quinoa or with bits of sautéed Melissa’s Organic Pressed Tofu. Available year-round. Product of USA.
A cousin of the potato (night shade family), sweet potatoes are members of the morning glory family. Neither are ‘yams’, though here in the US, we mislabel sweet potatoes as ‘yams,’ which are a different species of root. Sweet potatoes are generally elongated with tapered ends, and have thin, edible skin and moist flesh. Once scrubbed under cold water to remove soil, sweet potatoes may be eaten with skin or peeled, then prepared like a potato. If prepared using dry-heat—roasted, baked, or fried—the flesh is more intense in flavor. Combine a few different varieties in a dish for flavor, color and texture.
Select sweet potatoes that are firm and heavy for their size, free of cracks, mold, soft spots and cuts. Store, unwashed, at room temperature in cool dry location up to one week. Do not refrigerate. Grown in USA.
Baby Charleston yams have beautiful, deep purple flesh and a dense texture with a sweet taste. There is no need to add brown sugar or honey, but a nice dollop of butter enhances their richness. Did you know the purple flesh is also an antioxidant that helps ease inflammation and will hold its color when cooked?
A very dense sweet potato with beige skin and cream-to-yellow flesh. Very sweet and filling on its own, this sweet potato can stand as a ‘meal in itself,’ though I’d still be tempted to add a knob of butter and a wee sprinkle of Himalayan salt. Organic Baby Murasaki Sweet Potatoes can be sliced into thin planks or rounds and deep fried as tempura, or thick grate or shred and use them in ‘sweet’ hash browns or cottage breakfast potatoes.
What could be better than butternut squash? USDA Certified Organic Honeynut squash! Honeynut tastes very much as the name implies: sweet squash with a hint of nuttiness. Developed by Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill Tavern fame, this variety of hard squash is denser than the butternut variety, so it holds shape better and contains less moisture. Additionally, its skin is a bit thinner for those who like to eat squash skin (think kabocha, acorn, and carnival varieties). Simply scrub the skin prior to preparation, carefully halve, then seed and prepare as you wish. Why not try this squash as a substitute for pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread?
Select squash that is firm with no soft spots or mold. The skin should appear blemish-free. Store in a cool area of your counter for as long as six months, though the product will begin to lose moisture after a few months. Raw, peeled, and seeded squash may be refrigerated in an airtight container or bag for up to three days. Cooked and puréed squash may be frozen for up to three months. Organic Honeynut Squash is available September through June, weather and harvest permitting. Product of Mexico or USA.
October weather generally calls for comfort foods, warm casseroles or filling salads. Let Melissa’s help put a hearty-but-faster ‘cleaner’ meal on the table with our Organic Peeled and Steamed Red Beets, Organic Steamed Lentils, and Organic Peeled and Steamed Chestnuts. Available in your grocers refrigerated produce section, all Melissa’s Steamed items, whether conventional or organic, are best kept under refrigeration, but may also be stored in a cool pantry at room temperature up to use by date as they are vacuum sealed and pasteurized.
Organic Lentils
USDA Certified Organic. Additional fiber in a diet can be difficult to achieve, but it can be easy with Melissa’s Organic Steamed Lentils. Already cooked in their vacuum-sealed bags, just open, rinse if you’d like, and add to salads; combine with bell peppers and spice for patties, heat through with cottage potatoes, stir into soups, add to broth and purée for a lovely cream soup topped with a dollop of sour cream or coconut cream. Best kept under refrigeration, but may also be stored in a cool pantry at room temperature up to use by date. Also available non-organic. Available year-round. Product of France
Organic Peeled and Steamed Chestnuts
USDA Certified Organic. Did you know Chestnuts are one of the lowest in fat nuts and highest in fiber? They’re quite tasty, mildly sweet, and convenient to use as Melissa’s has, again, done all the work for you! No more scoring the shell, boiling or roasting until the shell pops, then peeling off all the shell and second ‘skin’. Simply open the vacuum sealed pouch and use in your recipe. They’re great broken up and added into a fresh salad with a sweeter dressing, puréed with broth or dairy to make a spread on crostini and cream cheese, left whole and tossed in honey and pumpkin spice, added to smoothies, or in a rich bourbon ice cream! Best kept under refrigeration, but may also be stored in a cool pantry at room temperature up to use by date. Available year-round. Product of Italy.
Organic Steamed and Peeled Beets
Beets? YUCK! NOT WITH MELISSA’S! USDA Certified Organic. We truly have found beet converts once they try our Organic Steamed and Peeled Beets. Reason is, these beets don’t have the metallic flavor often found in canned beets, allowing their sweetness along with earthiness to shine through. Beet juice can stain, so carefully cut open the package, drain the juice, and add to fresh green salads (accompanied by oranges is nice); tasty with Melissa’s Organic Steamed Lentils in balsamic, puréed for cold borscht, heated through with roasted veggies, quick pickled, or simply on their own on a veggie grazing board. They pair well with soft as well as hard cheeses, citrus, vinaigrette, fowl as well as meat. Available year round. Product of France
A few more versatile items are our Hearts of Palm Rice and Hearts of Palm Pasta. They are an added source of fiber, lower carb, and vegan friendly! Since they are cooked, you can just open the package, rinse in a colander, and add to your recipe. Pat them well with paper towels which helps to remove the added liquid and prevents diluting any ‘pasta’ sauce or dressing you may use.
Hearts of palm, whether pasta or rice form, have a firm texture resembling cooked pasta or rice, so substitute these two high-carb ingredients wherever you choose. You’ll not be disappointed! It may be kept under refrigeration or stored in a cool pantry at room temperature up to use by date. Available year round. Product of Ecuador
Dried Mushrooms
If fresh mushrooms are not your thing, dried mushrooms are a must-have in your pantry. If you seem to have an overabundance of them, don’t throw them away… give them a quick once-over with a clean toothbrush, then place them in a spice grinder and make mushroom powder! Store in a sealed jar or old spice bottle (moisture will be your enemy) with a shaker lid to add oomph to ground meats and seafood, any sauce or soup/broth, marinade/dressing, or sauté. Remember: mushrooms add flavor and can replace a portion of added salt.
If you are in need of fresh mushrooms and only have dried on hand, the general substitution is 3oz of dried will reconstitute to about 1 pound of fresh. Please refer to the instructions on our packages to rehydrate or reconstitute the mushrooms. Additionally, do not throw out the drained water. Add it to your recipe for additional flavor, or put it in an ice cube tray and freeze for future broth!
Morel Mushrooms – One of the more expensive and sandiest mushrooms, morels, should be rehydrated by applying a clean toothbrush to the cracks and crevices prior to rehydrating. It will save you a lot of time and frustration. A classic dish is to serve morels in cream sauce, tossed into pasta, added to risotto, etc. You get the picture.
Porcini Mushrooms – Creamy textured mushroom, great for braised meats and poultry.
Chanterelle Mushroom – Earthy with a bit of pepper.
Oyster Mushroom – Mild in flavor with a velvety texture. Great for salads.
Shiitake Mushroom – The essential mushroom for Asian cooking and providing lots of umami in all types of dishes. Remember to remove the small, tough stem once hydrated. Save them for seasoning broth.
Mushroom Medley – If you simply cannot decide, or want different flavors and textures of mushroom, then go for this mixture which includes a bit of each of the above. Available year-round. Product of France.
