Fruits & VEGETABLES - Introduction

Be nice now! This is a cookbook, not a biology class.

I know tomatoes are fruits, even if the US government passed a law saying they're vegetables.
Let's see what Wikipedia has to say about the subject.

  • Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food.
    This original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, leaves, roots, and seeds.
  • The alternate definition of the term vegetable is applied somewhat arbitrarily, often by culinary and cultural tradition. It may exclude foods derived from some plants that are fruits, flowers, nuts, and cereal grains, but include some fruits such as tomatoes, flowers such as broccoli, and seeds such as pulses.
  • The word vegetable is also used in scientific and technical contexts with a different and much broader meaning, namely of "related to plants" in general, edible or not—as in vegetable matter, vegetable kingdom, vegetable origin, etc.

MY COMMENTS:

Hundreds of different fruits and vegetables. Millions of recipes to choose from.

I usually keep it fairly simple.

  1. Raw vegetables do occasionally visit my table 'as is' or in raw salads.
  2. Soups and stews are the most common preparation methods.
  3. There is the occasional casserole, but those are usually cooked in advance to limit the oven-time.
  4. One kind of fruit or vegetable with a meal can be very nice.
  5. Soups usually have mixed veggies and I frequently use frozen vegetable mixes.
  6. I do use starches—potatoes, rice and/or pasta—with some frequency, but I also have many meals without them.

Health implications

For many non-vegetarians, 'veggies' are just a side dish that accompanies the main meat/seafood dish, and some would gladly forego them if they were allowed to. And yet, vegetables are essential for our health (and regularity!)

Vegetarians have long proven that adults can live a healthy life without eating meat, although it does require consuming a wide variety of vegetable food sources. The opposite, eating only meat, is not nearly as healthy.

sub-divisions

There are many different vegetables available, even in small-town America. As a result, this is the largest listing in this website. I gathered some vegetable families together for easier referencing.

I do try to keep the recipes mostly for the main ingredient, but at times that is a bit artificial. I don't always prepare my vegetables separately, on the contrary. One-skillet stews are a big favorite of mine: everything goes together in the same pot, fewer dishes to wash. Because those vegetables are already mentioned in those earlier recipes, you will find many references to recipes already included in different chapters.

Wikipedia

see also:

Sub-categories

 

CHAPTER 6.1. fruits

These are the fruits that are not treated as culinary vegetables.

  1. pomes
    include any fruit which has its seeds arranged in a star-like pattern. These fruits may be crunchy and have an inedible core.
    1. apples
    2. pears
    3. quince
    4. etc.
  2. drupes
    represent any fruit (even berry-sized) that has only one seed or one hard capsule containing seeds.
    1. apricots
    2. peaches
    3. mango
    4. et.
  3. citruses
    represent any fruit that has a wagon wheel-like cross section. These fruits may also be mostly sour and acidic.
    1. grapefruits
    2. lemons, limes
    3. oranges
    4. etc.
  4. berries
    represent any fruit that is berry-sized ("berry-sized," meaning you could hold many in the palms of your hands), unless they are a Pome or Drupe, which go in their respective categories.
    1. blackberries
    2. blueberries
    3. cranberries
    4. etc.
  5. melons
    represent any fruit in the cucurbitaceae family that are not treated as a culinary vegetable.
    1. canary melon = yellow flesh
    2. cantaloupe = orange flesh
    3. watermelon = pink to purple flesh
    4. etc.
  6. Tropical and tropical-like fruit
    are any culinary fruits that do not fit in any other category.
    1. banana
    2. jackfruit
    3. pineapple
    4. etc.

A few preparations that are common to most fruits:

 

CHAPTER 6.2. VEGETABLES

See also: Wikipedia

  1. Leafy and salad vegetables
  2. Fruits
  3. Edible flowers
  4. Podded vegetables
  5. Bulb and stem vegetables
  6. Root and tuberous vegetables
  7. Sea vegetables

A few preparations that are common to most vegetables:

 

recipe page links

Chapter 6.1. Fruits:

fruit

Apples, crabapples, pears, quinces, etc. = pomes

Anything you do to apples, you can also do to the others.

apricots

bananas

berries

cacao

cactus

cherries

citrus

coconut

coffee

dates

figs

  1. growing figs at home
  2. raw figs
  3. figs in salads
  4. dried figs
  5. candied figs
  6. fig preserves
  7. fig paste
  8. fig candy
  9. growing figs at home

grapes

kiwi

lychee

mango

melons

nuts

papaya

passion fruit

paw paw

peaches

pears

persimmon

pineapple

pomegranate

plums

quince

yaca = jackfruit

Chapter 6.2. Vegetables - alphabetical:

achiote

  1. achiote. annatto, achuete

amaranth

  1. amaranth, a most useful weed
  2. creamed amaranth

artichoke

asparagus

avocado

bamboo

basil

beans

beets

borage

cabbages

carrots

cassava (aka manioc, tapioca)

celeriac

celery

chard

chaya

chayote

chervil

chia

chives

  1. growing chives at home
  2. chives cream sauce

cilantro = coriander

corn

cucumber

datura

dill

eggplant

endive / chicory

fennel

flax

garlic

ginger & turmeric

  1. growing ginger / turmeric at home
  2. candied ginger / turmeric
  3. curry sauces

gourds

hibiscus

hops

  1. growing hops
  2. hops stir-fry
  3. hops in beer brewing

jicama

  1. jicama
  2. jicama 3-ways: raw, fried, stewed
  3. jicama with salt, lime, hot sauce
  4. jicama with lime & chile
  5. jicama fries
  6. jicama fries
  7. chicken soup with mixed vegetables (jicama, bell pepper, tomato, celery)
  8. jicama chicken stew

leeks

lentils

 

lettuces

 

lovage

millets

  1. millet bird-feeders

mint

  1. growing mint at home
  2. mint tea

mushrooms

nopales = prickly pear (opuntia)

nasturtium

  1. nasturtium

oats

okra

  1. growing okra at home
  2. blanching okra for the freezer
  3. deep-fried breaded okra and zucchinis
  4. okra in the kitchen
  5. okra in tomato sauce
  6. shepherd's pie with beans, okra in tomato sauce
  7. gumbo

olives

onions

 

parsnips

 

peanuts

  1. peanut sauce (pollo encacahuatado)
  2. peanut & fruit mole aka nutti-frutti sauce

peas

peppers

potatoes

quinoa

  1. quinoa
  2. rice and quinoa

radishes

rhubarb

  1. growing rhubarb at home
  2. rhubarb compote
  3. rhubarb duck
  4. chicken breast with rhubarb and brown rice
  5. lamb steak with rhubarb
  6. king salmon with rhubarb
  7. cod, tilapia, sausages with rhubarb compote and creamed spinach
  8. ham, eggs, cheese and rhubarb compote
  9. cheddar jalapeno sausages with rhubarb

rice

  1. boiled rice
  2. stir-fried rice
  3. refried rice
  4. Caribbean rice
  5. dirty rice
  6. saffron rice
  7. Spanish rice aka Persian tomato rice aka arroz rojo
    1. Spanish rice with zucchinis

 

salsify & scorzonera

  1. growing salsify and scorzonera at home
  2. salsify Hollandaise
  3. béchamel scorzonera, served with pork loin, rice and red beans

sorghum

  1. growing sorghum at home
  2. sorghum in the kitchen

spinach

squash family

sunflowers

tamarind

  1. tamarindo paste
  2. seafood tamarindo soup
  3. tamarindo beef tongue soup
  4. tamarindo beef tongue with vegetables and fries
  5. tamarindo beef tongue soup
  6. tamarindo beef tongue with Provencal rice
  7. ribeye steak with tamarindo vegetable stew

tomatillo

  1. cream of tomatillo soup
  2. tomatillo soup with celery
  3. celery & potato soup
  4. stuffed cucumber soup
  5. nopal soup with tomatillos
  6. creamed tomatillo sauce
  7. tomatillo sauce with meatballs
  8. tomatillo pasta sauce
  9. tomatillo cream sauce
  10. meatballs in tomatillo sauce
  11. tomatillo-smothered tilapia
  12. tomatillo-stuffed poblano peppers

tomatoes

turnips

  1. growing turnips at home
  2. boiled turnips
  3. chicken soup with mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, turnips)
  4. cream of turnip soup
  5. turnip soup with tomatoes
  6. collards & turnip greens soup
  7. green vegetable soup (broccoli, green cabbage, chad, carrot + turnip greens, lettuce,
  8. hutsepot soup (onions, carrots, turnips, leeks, potatoes, Brussels sprouts)

water chestnuts

wheat

yam
sweet potato

  1. growing sweet potatoes at home
  2. baked sweet potatoes
  3. boiled sweet potatoes
  4. stuffed tomatoes, served with sweet potatoes
  5. mashed sweet potatoes
  6. baked mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows

yucca

  1. growing yucca at home
  2. yucca root

 

Chapter 6.3. mixed Fruits and/or Vegetables

mixed vegetables

These are mixed vegetable recipes without any one dominating ingredient. Most of my soups and many stews have mixed vegetables and/or fruits.

  1. the Cajun-trinity
  2. braised Oriental stir-fry veggies
  3. 'classic' vegetables mix
  4. stir-fried vegetable medley
  5. stir-fried veggie grillers in BBQ cream sauce
  6. tuna steaks with Normandy vegetable mix, corn on the cob, fettucini
  7. vegetable stir-fry (onions, celery, red & yellow bell peppers, mushrooms)