Fancy Food: Edible Plant Parts Mrs_Roach's Students are discovering-

sugar snap snow pea pods

Sugar Snap has become a household name in the U.S. since its 1979 introduction. The vines are tall, growing about 6' or more, and need support. Pods are about 3" long, 1/2" across, and bear over a long picking period. Both peas and pods are sweet. Yields well in both hot and cold weather. Remove string from pods before cooking.

okra

Tall coarse annual of Old World tropics widely cultivated in southern United States and West Indies for its long mucilaginous green pods used as basis for soups and stews

Parsley

aromatic herb with flat or curly leaves

Persimmons

yellow and orange-colored sweet fruits that are like plums

Rutabagas

yellow roots cooked as vegetables

squash

A field crop grown by the Huron First Nation

basil herbs

A herb from India that has been written about for 5000 years. There are many varieties of Ocimum basilicum, as well as several related species or species hybrids also called basil. The type used in Italian food is typically called sweet basil, as opposed to Thai basil (O. basilicum var. thyrsiflora), lemon basil (O. X citriodorum) and holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum), which are used in Asia. While most common varieties of basil are treated as annuals, some are perennial in warm, tropical climates, including holy basil and a cultivar known as 'African Blue'.

Leeks

A vegetable related to the onion, having a narrow white bulb and long dark-green leaves.

Dates

Dates are the fruit of a date palm. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around Iraq. The species is widely cultivated and is reportedly naturalized in Australia, Spain, North Africa, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Cape Verde, the Sahel region of Africa, Mauritius, Réunion, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Israel, Iran, China, (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan), Fiji, New Caledonia, the United States (California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Puerto Rico), northern Mexico, El Salvador, the Leeward Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Dominican Republic.

Articokes

Edible flowers

kale

Kale can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in kale do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they've been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it's easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw kale still has cholesterol-lowering ability—just not as much. Kale's risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently been extended to at least five different types of cancer. These types include cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits. Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.

kohlrabi

Kohlrabi possesses many attributes worth notice: Low in calories, only 19 for a half cup raw, sliced High in dietary fiber, 2.5 grams for one-half cup Potassium content peaks at 245 grams for one-half cup Vitamin content for that same one-half cup includes 25 I.U. vitamin A, 43.4 mg. vitamin C, 11.3 mcg folic acid, and 16.8 mg. calcium. Of kohlrabi's two varieties the purple globe is sweeter and tastier than the apple-green. Both have a pale green, almost ivory colored, flesh inside. While the entire vegetable is edible raw or cooked, the small, young kohlrabi, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches (3.5 to 5 cm) in diameter, is ideal for its flavor and texture. This vegetable is also called the cabbage turnip, & its name includes the German word for cabbage

Apricots

Look for a plump, juicy, and uniform colored Apricot. The apricot should yield to slight pressure. Avoid over-ripe, under-ripe, or pale fruit.

Root beer Leaf

Piper auritum (Hoja santa) is an aromatic herb with a heart-shaped, velvety leaf which grows in tropic Mesoamerica. The name hoja santa means "sacred leaf" in Spanish. It is also known as yerba santa, hierba santa, Mexican pepperleaf, acuyo, tlanepa, anisillo,[root beer plant,[] Vera Cruz pepper and sacred pepper.The complex flavor of hoja santa is not so easily described; it has been compared to eucalyptus, licorice, sassafras, anise,nutmeg, mint, tarragon, and black pepper. The flavor is stronger in the young stems and veins. It is native to the Americas, from northern South America to Mexico, and is also cultivIt is often used in Mexican cuisine for tamales, the fish or meat wrapped in fragrant leaves for cooking, and as an essential ingredient in mole verde, the green sauce originated in the Oaxaca region of Mexico.[3] It is also chopped to flavor eggs and soups, such as pozole.[13] In Central Mexico, it is used to flavor chocolate drinks.[4] In southeastern Mexico, a green liquor called Verdín is made from hoja santa.[14] It is also used for tea. In some regions of Mexico, goat cheese is wrapped with the hoja santa leaves and imbued with its flavor.

Swiss chard

Potassium-Rich Variety of beet grown for leaves a leafy green vegetable that is comparable to spinach

beet greens

The green, edible leaf that grows out of the top of the beet root vegetable. They are full of vitamins and minerals and contain more iron than spinach. They have a bitter taste similar to chard. They are often braised or sauteed. They should be cooked within several days of purchase.

Rhubarb

Was said that the Chinese couldn't live without tea and rhubarb (noun) a plant with green or red stalks that taste sharp or sour (often cooked in pies) Non Dairy calcium

Blackberries

What fruit has highest antioxidant content?

pumpkins

a large round fruit having thick orange rind and pulp; often used for making pies or carving on Halloween

Culantro

a mexican spice like cilantro

parsnips

a plant having a large, whitish edible root

Watercress

a plant often used in soups and salads that has crisp, peppery-tasting leaves

turnips

a plant with a large, round, white root used as a vegetable.

Honeydew

a sweetish excretion produced by sucking insects, particularly aphids and scales the fruit of a variety of winter melon vine

cauliflower

compact head of white undeveloped flowers

tangelos

cross a grapefruit and tangerines

Raisins

dried grapes- come in the different colors of grapes

Figs

edible fruit that is shaped like a small pear and grows on a tree

papayas

large yellow fruits of a tropical american tree.

mustard greens

leaves eaten as cooked greens

Eggplants

purple plants that are shaped like a demented egg

Wax Beans

seed pods- like green beans only yellow

Kumquats

small, oval shaped orange colored fruits with soft, sweet skin and slightly bitter flesh

Endive

species of leafy plant used in salads

kidney beans

these familiar beans are large, red, and kidney shaped (the white variety is called cannellini). They have a bland taste and soft texture but tough skins. Use in chili, bean stews, and Mexican dishes (for red) or Italian dishes (for white).