Shivering through our “frigid” San Diego nights? Turn on your oven and return to your roots—vegetables, that is!

The stand right now is brimming with vegetables that are perfect for roasting. Roasted vegetables are great as a side dish, but also make a fantastic main course all on their own. Serve them with good crusty bread, such as the amazingly flavorful, chewy baguettes from Darshan Bakery available in our weekend popup store, and you’ve got a very tasty, and warming, winter meal. Roasting vegetables is as simple as it sounds (see link below) – try for fun colors and interesting flavor combinations.

At the stand right now you will find beets, turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, celery root (celeriac), cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, leeks, and Negi onions (also called Santa Claus onions for their red and white color). FYI: Kohlrabi and celeriac are less intimidating than they look: just use a sharp paring knife to peel off the thick skin. (A knife works better than a peeler.)

Don’t discard the tops of the turnips, beets, and kohlrabi! These greens, along with the other winter greens now at the stand – chard, collards, kale, mustard, spinach -- are great when sautéed: try them as a bed for your roasted vegetables or in a soup.

Or how about this employee favorite: raw kale salad with leftover roasted Okinawa sweet potatoes, goat cheese, pecans, and dried figs (available now at the stand), tossed with good olive oil, salt, and pepper. The purple-fleshed potatoes look great against the kale’s deep green, vividly flecked with the white cheese: remember that we eat with our eyes, too!

Here’s a link to a New York Times article and video in which Melissa Clark prepares a recipe for a colorful and tasty Lentil Salad with Roasted Vegetables. For more information, check out this Los Angeles Times guide to greens.