Instructions: Winters a great time for fresh veggies. Here are a few of this seasons best offering...

Carrots:
This popular root crop get rave reviews for its healthful stores of beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A) and fiber. For best flavor, choose smooth, firm carrots that are brightly colored, small to medium size and tapered at the tips. (Baby carrots - about 2" long - are usually tender but
often flavorless.) Healthy-looking attached greens indicate freshness, but
remove them before storing carrots in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Cooks Tips: Cook carrot slices with potatoes and onions; then puree them and and a little stock, skim milk and thyme to make a savory cream soup.

Collard greens:
With ony 26 calories per cup, cooked collard greens are the perfect partner
for any low-cal entree. Nutritional bonus: vitamins A and C. Choose young,
crisp greens with deep green, velvety-textured leaves.

Cooks Tip: Toss chopped greens into a glass pie plate, sprinkle with soup
stock and cover with vented plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH until just tneder, about 2 minutes, then drain. Serve sprinkled with slivered almonds
or feta cheese, ro stir the greens into vegetable soup.

Rutabagas:
Also called yellow turnips or Swede, rutabagas are large, yellow turbers that resulted from cross-breeding turnips and kale. Rich in vitamin C and potassium, this slightly sweet vegetable can replace potatoes in many recipes. Look for heavy roots that are round and very hard.

Cooks Tip: Remove wax from the root before cooking. Since rutabagas have
a hard flesh, they cant be eaten raw and should be cooked until tender.

To
serve, mash them with a little margarine and skim milk, or add rutabaga chunks to soups and stews.

Turnips:
These mild-flavored roots are virtually fat and calorie-free and a source of
vitamin C and fiber. Select smooth, heavy round globes with purple crowns and firm flesh. Those less than 2" in diameter usually have the most flavor. Cooks Tip: Use these as you would rutabagas.

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