Vegetables

Last weekend my husband cooked roast lamb and beef caldereta. We also had roast chicken and some salmon sushi sometime between Friday and Monday. Delicious; but what's wrong with that picture? NO VEGGIES and no fruit!

There are only two vegetable dishes I know: Chopsuey and Pinakbet. I don't like chopsuey and according to Ka Uro, it's not ampalaya season in NZ yet. Furthermore, there's no okra, no stringbeans either. Perhaps in the weekend market I might find the okra or the stringbean (or both if I am lucky), but not in the nearby supermarkets. There are no wet markets here: you either wait for the weekend market to get your fresh vegetables or cook what's on the supermarket shelf. So how do I cook Pinakbet with only squash as the available ingredient? I don't. I shelved that idea.

If I want to eat vegetables, I am going to have to learn how to prepare unfamiliar (but common) veggies that are always available at the local groceries here.

Here are some that I often see:

Beetroots

here's another variety of beetroot:

If you are looking for beetroot recipes, sometimes they also call beetroots 'beets'.

Swedes

This vegetable is very common here. It looks quite tough, but I was surprised to learn that you can eat the younger variety of this raw (they're supposed to be as crisp as an apple).



Brussel Sprouts

These look like tiny cabbages. They are as big as our local tomatoes in the Philippines.


Courgettes
Better known as Zucchinis in the U.S.
Here in NZ, Cucumbers are less common, but courgettes are often available at the grocery.
They look a little like cucumbers from the outside, but they taste better (to me).
In the Philippines, this is not a common vegetable at all and only select stores carry it.


Kumara
This is NZ's version of the Sweet Potato. It comes in at least three colors: the maroon-red shade, the light brown shade, and a bright yellow shade too. I haven't tried cooking with this yet, but will this week.


Eggplants
The common eggplant here is the fat eggplant you see in the picture below. The other kind---the one that is common in the Philippines- is more expensive here.


Silver Beets

These don't look appetizing to me...but who knows. They are almost always available.


Leeks
Prior to coming to NZ, I have never cooked with Leeks before. It looks tough in the picture, but a leek is like a very large version of the spring onion. It tastes like a much milder version of the onion. You only use the lower part of the stem to the roots, and throw out the green upper portion if it is too tough.


Spinach

There isn't any Kangkong here, but Spinach is probably the most common leafy vegetable in NZ. (Along with Iceberg lettuce).


Now for some useful Veggie Synonyms.

These help if you're using American English to name vegetables. Here they're using UK English so some vegetables look the same but are named differently.

As mentioned above, Courgettes are also Zucchinis.

Capsicums are also Red or Green Peppers.

Swedes are also Rutabagas.

Kumaras are Sweet Potatoes.

Chokos are Sayotes/ Chayotes. (This stumped me, I thought it was a different vegetable that only looked a lot like our sayote!)

Oh, and here's a useful synonym for a fruit: PawPaws are Papayas too.