This week’s Medium box has:

• Collards
• Green Leaf Lettuce
• Purple Carrots
• Red Beets
• Red Leaf Lettuce
• Romanesco Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Stripetti Squash
• Gold Potatoes

Romanesco cauliflower: That beautiful fractal vegetable is the romanesco cauliflower, one of my favorites. Cook it like a typical cauliflower. Have you tried cauliflower steaks? Or small chop and roast with garlic and olive oil. Sprinkle with lemon and/or grated parmesan.

Beets: The easiest way to both cook and peel a beet is to roast/steam it. Slice off the ends then either wrap individually in foil or place in a tightly closed pan, like a dutch oven. When the beet is done, the skin rubs away with little pressure. If you’re feeling up for a big project, but with big reward, try borscht soup. The main “difficulty” is chopping and peeling raw beets, instead of the aforementioned technique. The borscht is delicious, and keeps well for leftovers.

Collards: I usually like a long braise, but these collards look like prime candidates for a quicker cook.

Stripetti squash: Treat like spaghetti squash. Cut short wise for the longest noodles. With this cold weather, perfect timing for paring down the squash pile! You are checking your squash pile regularly for soft spots and mold, right?

Gold potatoes: These are good for roasting or frying. Want to read a lot about roasting potatoes?