Seasonal veggies warm the heart

Despite the fact that the Vermont weather gods think that it's April, it is actually the middle of a normally snowy winter season. 

When it comes to winter eating in Vermont -assuming you want to eat fresh and local- a staple of your diet must be root vegetables. 

For a while, roots got shafted and were seen as ugly, dirty produce that didn't have the vivacious attitude of spring and summer crops. But now more than ever the spotlight is shining on these hearty little suckers as many restaurants and households choose to highlight the seasonal offerings even during the duration of the winter.

Beets may be the most popular root veggie available during the cold months. Their plump and colorful little bodies remind you of an Oompa-Loompa, and after slicing them, your hands are left looking like a tye-dying fifth grader's. They are, nonetheless, irresistible and invaluable in this season. 

Aside from the classic purple-red, beets are found in white and gold varieties too. Betaine gives the beet its deep hue and is a powerful antioxidant in lowering blood pressure. 

Beets were originally cultivated for their nutritious leaves, which one often neglected, but can be eaten in the same way as spinach or kale. Beets can be boiled whole for about an hour or brushed with a little olive oil and roasted in the oven. If you're brave you'll eat a beet like an apple; otherwise, the can be added to salad, salsa and juice. 

Carrots, another vegetable available in the winter, are the richest in carotenes of all plant foods and help keep eyes and lungs über-healthy. They are commonly eaten raw, but their nutrients are more readily available when this veggie is cooked. Boiling, steaming, sautéing and roasting are all viable cooking methods for this all-star. 

When buying fresh carrots, don't stray from the ones with little leg-like limbs-these splits happen when the carrot hits gravel or compacted soil: and leave the carrots just as delicious.

U.S. consumers are most familiar with the bright orange carrot but there are also other colorations. Purple carrots include varieties such as Indigo and Purple Haze. Common types of yellow carrots are the Sunlite and Yellowstone varieties. 

The most routinely unheard of winter vegetable is celeriac. The vegetable world's ugly duckling is a powerhouse of dietary fiber. Celeriac is a celery variety that has, with time, been refined to produce an increasingly large, solid, globular root just below the soil surface.  

For the gardener, this crop has its drawbacks: it's a long-season plant, arriving about 112 days from seeding. For the consumer, this veggie is often used as a starch substitute for a warm meal. When peeled and mashed the taste resembles a surprisingly delicious mixture of celery and parsley. 

Winter vegetable turnips belong to the Cruciferae family, the same family that brings you nutrient-rich vegetables like cabbage, kale and broccoli (genus Brassica).  The common turnip is mostly white, with the upper part of the bulb — which receives sunlight — a purple-red color. 

Turnips are extremely high in vitamin C and are an excellent source of potassium. Like beets, this root vegetable is a two-for-one deal — their greens resemble kale in flavor except with a tad more bitterness and a delicate consistency. 

This is just a short glimpse at a Vermont's winter abundance. Other available vegetables include kohlrabi, rutabaga and parsnips, as well as potatoes (don't forget the purple ones), sweet potatoes and yams, the classic tubers. 

Another reason to feature these edibles on your plate is their capacity to substitute for one another; with identical densities their cooking time is comparable. Throw sweet-taters, beets, rutabaga, turnips and other fibrous nourishment on a baking pan with some olive oil and roast away — you may be surprised by how amazingly heart-warming — and local — your winter medley is.