What, Where & When?
They may have “potatoes” in their name, but they aren’t even in the same family as potatoes. These tubers are a different kind of root vegetable that comes from the same plant family as the morning glory flower. And even though some folks use the names interchangeably, sweet potatoes also aren’t the same as yams, which are starchier root veggies with a less sweet flavor.

So what are they? Well, sweet potatoes are one of the oldest veggies on record, with traces of them dating back more than 10,000 years! These days, you’ll find them in season from as early as August through November.

Sweet potato skin can range in color from brown to orange to purple, while the flesh can be white or various shades of orange. One of the most common varieties is “Beauregard,” but I’ve seen some wild ones at my local farmers’ market. My favorite so far this year has been the purple-skinned and dark orange-fleshed “Carolina Ruby” — great for roasting or baking in the skin.

Nutrition Facts
A medium baked sweet potato has 105 calories, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber and more than 400% of your daily vitamin A in the antioxidant form known as beta-carotene. They’re also a good source of vitamin C and potassium. Sweet potatoes with dark orange flesh also contain the antioxidant lycopene.

What To Do With Sweet Potatoes
I love to make my sweets smashed. Instead of boiling them, I bake them in the skin until tender. Once they cool, I remove most of the skin and place them in a saucepan over low heat with a pat of butter, a few spoonfuls of Greek yogurt, salt and pepper. A quick smash with a fork or a potato masher and they’re good to go — simple and yummy! I also make lots of oven fries; I always make extra to chop up and add to grain salads. Try my Sweet Potato Quinoa for a satisfying lunch.

You can also steam, sauté, grill or boil sweet potatoes for salads, soups, pancakes and biscuits. Many folks like to pair theirs with brown sugar or cinnamon, but I prefer mine with salt, lime, smoky chipotle pepper or even coconut. If you’re a fan of the even sweeter combo of sweet potatoes and marshmallows, how about swapping out sugary marshmallows for the natural sweetness of honey instead?

Shopping Tip: Choose sweet potatoes that are firm with intact skin (no large dents or blemishes). Store in a cool, dry place for up to four weeks. Once cooked, keep in the fridge for five to seven days or freezer for six to nine months.

Recipes to Try:
• Sweet Potato Quinoa
• Penne with Sweet Potatoes and Fennel
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Milk
• Honey-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potato and Celery Root Fries
• Sweet Potato Salad with Chili-Lime Vinaigrette
• Sweet Potato Fries
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange Essence
• Sweet Potato Hash
• Sweet Potato Soup
• Potato and Sweet Potato Torte
• Vegetarian Sweet Potato Pie

What, Where & When?
Harvested in September and October, pumpkins are an autumn favorite for Americans. In fact, the U.S. is one of the top producers of pumpkins in the world. Morton, Illinois, is the self-proclaimed “Pumpkin Capital.”

A relative of watermelons and cucumbers, pumpkins are a type of squash. They’re round or oval in shape with orange or white skin. Inside, you’ll find pale orange flesh and seeds that are edible. Some varieties of pumpkins have fun names like “Oz,” “Spooktacular,” “Autumn Gold” and “Baby Boo.”

Nutrition Facts
One cup of cooked pumpkin flesh has about 50 calories and no fat or cholesterol. They are loaded with beta-carotene and also contain the antioxidant lutein. Pumpkin seeds, meanwhile, have protein, healthy fats, minerals and a small amount of omega-3 fats.

What To Do With Pumpkins
When you pick up one for Halloween, pick up another to cook. If carving up and cooking a big guy isn’t your thing, supermarkets are full of pre-cooked, canned pumpkin this time of year. Just be careful not to confuse it with the highly sweetened canned pumpkin pie filling. You cook pumpkin like you would any other winter squash — peel it, slice it and remove the seeds. Then roast, boil or steam the pieces until tender. (I sometimes roast pumpkin with the skin on and scrape out the insides after cooking.) You can dice the cooked flesh into bite-sized pieces or puree them in a food processor.

Cooked pumpkin adds moisture and flavor to baked goods. I add pumpkin butter (concentrated cooked pumpkin) to muffins and pumpkin puree to carrot cupcakes. Get adventurous and try some cooked pumpkin in soup, puddings, pancakes, soufflés, pasta dishes, smoothies or veggie burgers.

Most associate pumpkin’s flavor with earthy spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, but also try it with orange, hot sauce or chili powder.

Shopping Tip: Choose pumpkins that are firm, smooth and brightly colored. You can store whole pumpkins in a cool, dry place for up to three months. Once sliced, keep the pieces in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic for five to seven days. Place cooked pumpkin in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for three to six months.

Recipes to Try:
• Southwestern Pumpkin Burgers
• Pumpkin Flan
• Spiced Pumpkin Cookies
• Orange Pumpkin Soup
• Penny-Wise Pumpkin Pasta
• Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie
• Slimmed Pumpkin Pie

What, Where & When?
A relative of apples, pears are a type of orchard fruit grown on trees. They have a recognizable bell shape, which can range in height and width depending on the variety. Some are short and fat; others are tall and slender. You’ll find pears in a wide range of colors, including green, red, yellow and brown. Inside they have an ivory flesh that’s juicy and slightly grainy. The longer they ripen on the tree, the more mealy pears become. This is why it’s better to choose ones that are slightly firm and let them ripen for a few days at home.

Available from August through October, more than 95% of the ones grown in the U.S. come from western states like California, Washington and Oregon. Some of the most popular varieties are the juicy and sweet Bartlett (green), firm and crunchy Bosc (brown) and the sweet Anjou (green or red). Recently, I sampled a lesser-known variety called Devoe from my local farmer — it’s mildly sweet and tastes best when it’s still a bit crunchy.

Nutrition Facts
Pears are an excellent source of fiber, which helps fight hunger and lower cholesterol. One medium fruit has covers more than 20% your daily need and only knocks out 100 calories. They’re also a good source of vitamins C and K.

What To Do With Pears
The top 3 ways I’ve been enjoying this season’s pears are:

1. With sharp cheddar cheese and whole grain crackers
2. In a salad with mixed greens, toasted walnuts, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette
3. Baked in Pear and Apple Muffins

Your options don’t end there, of course. Try them thinly sliced on a turkey sandwich, roasted and pureed in soup or wrapped in thin slices of salty prosciutto. Pears are also great for canning or you can dry them.

Shopping Tip: Choose pears that are free of blemishes and dents. Eat ones that are ripe and soft immediately or store them in the refrigerator for up to three to five days. You can keep firm, unripe pears at room temperature as they ripen.

Recipes to try:
• Pear and Apple Muffins
• Spiced Red Wine-Poached Pears
• Pear Ginger Crumble
• Crunchy Pear and Celery Salad
• Prosciutto with Pears and Arugula
• Pear Soup

When, Where & What?
Rhubarb hits peak season for a short time in early spring. Though I’ve never tried, I hear if you grow it in your home garden, it’s a little hard to control. I’ll see how my mother-in-law makes out and get back to you.

Rhubarb is easy to spot at the market thanks to its dark green leaves and shiny crimson stalks. The leaves are high in toxic oxalic acid, so when it comes to eating it, stick to the stalks. Known for a distinctively tart flavor, rhubarb is good raw, but is more often cooked to mellow the flavor out.

Nutrition Facts
One cup of rhubarb has about 25 calories and is full of vitamin C and vitamin E (it actually has 45% of your daily vitamin E needs). The veggie also contains some calcium, but since its oxalic acid interferes with calcium absorption, the body can’t take advantage of it. Yes, it’s yummy, but you also want to limit your enjoyment. It contains anthraquinones, which may have a laxative effect.

What To Do With Rhubarb
Since rhubarb is so tart, most folks usually prepare it with sugar or some other sweetener to give it balance. Classic dishes are sugary, strawberry and rhubarb tarts, pies and other pastries (strawberry-rhubarb crisp is my personal favorite). You can also stew rhubarb or preserve it in jams, jellies or spicy chutneys. Try spreading rhubarb chutney on toasted bread and top with sliced turkey and sharp cheddar cheese — amazing! You can also boil rhubarb with sugar to make a syrup for drinks or sundaes.

Shopping Tip: Choose rhubarb stalks that are firm and bright red. Store them in the refrigerator trimmed and wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 2 weeks.

Recipes to try:
• Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
• Strawberry Rhubarb Calzone
• Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade
• Rhubarb Onion and Raisin Chutney
• Ruffled Phyllo Tart with Spring Fruit

[Photo: Katia Grimmer-Laversanne / SXC]

What to look for: Two common varieties are Hachiya and Fuyu; they differ slightly in appearance but have unique textures and flavors. Hachiya persimmons are round with one pointy end (think: super-sized acorn). With bright orange skin and dark green leaves, they taste best when very ripe and soft. Beware: unripe Hachiya can be extremely bitter because of their high tannin content. (Tannins are what make your mouth feel dry when you drink some red wines.) With a tomato-like texture, ripe Hachiya persimmons are soft and sweet and taste similar to an apricot.

Fuyu persimmons may be lighter in color and are shorter and rounder than Hachiya. Best when firm and crisp, they taste more like sweet apples or pears and can be eaten the same way — just grab and crunch!

Their benefits: Tastiness aside, we love persimmons because they’re an excellent source of vitamin A, which keeps skin and eyes healthy. They’re also high in fiber, which aids in digestion and may help lower cholesterol. Chinese medicine credits them with curing everything from hiccups to bee stings to constipation. And, yes, because they’re so high in fiber, enjoy in moderation — just to be safe (you know what we mean).

To serve: Add Hachiya persimmons to hot or cold cereals and smoothies, puree in sauces for poultry or fish or slice one in half and spoon out the tender, orange pulp for a sweet snack. Chopped Fuyu works well in salads and salsas or baked in muffins and breads.

Recipes to try:
• California Poached Persimmon
• Sauteed Persimmons with Green Beans

Shopping tip: Choose persimmons that have smooth and glossy skin. Pick Hachiya that are soft and Fuyu that are firm. Store in the refrigerator and dig in as soon as possible — they’re highly perishable.

Looking for an adventurous alternative to the everyday orange? Well, let us introduce you to this beauty: the blood orange.

Carried in local grocery stores from January to March, the blood orange is originally from Spain and Italy, but also now come from California, Texas and Florida. (You may need to visit specialty stores to find imported ones.) Slightly smaller than a regular navel orange, they often sport a red blush on the outer skin and contain dramatic scarlet or purplish flesh. Some blood oranges may have a slightly sour note, but they are less acidic than other orange varieties. They have a distinctive floral aroma and sweet flavor that boasts a hints of raspberry.

Low in calories, blood oranges contain vitamin C, potassium and fiber, and the red flesh is loaded with anthocyanin, a protective antioxidant that is often found in cherries but not in many citrus fruits. They make a beautiful and delicious addition to fruit salad, sangria or a seafood dish. Make a quick-and-elegant salad with blood orange segments, thinly sliced fennel, olice oil and toasted walnuts. I especially love them in a refreshing margarita.

To savor blood oranges throughout the year, freeze freshly squeezed juice in ice cube trays. Add frozen juice cubes to smoothies or defrost and use in savory sauces.

Other recipes to try:
• Sauteed Sea Scallops
• Blood Orange Salad
• Blood Orange Sorbetto
• Blood Orange Lemonade
• Shrimp with Citrus & Spinach Salad
• Texas-Style Blood Orange Margarita

Shopping Tip: When picking them out, choose fruit that are firm and heavy. Store on your kitchen counter for a few days or in your refrigerator for up to two weeks.