WHITE, RED, ORANGE

At the markets, the root vegetables are at their sweetest and fattest and the best in season are white radishes, cherry radishes, watermelon radishes and the green-skinned turnips. Orange pumpkins are also in season.

The white radishes beloved throughout the country have been sweetened by the cold snap and can be used grated into salads, or slowly braised in a warming stew with beef, or cooked into soup. Northerners often just cut the crisp white roots into chunks and eat them like pears, or dipped into the ubiquitous bean sauces.

Cherry radishes, the little bright red balls with snowy white flesh and tiny tails, are a local salad favorite. They are best eaten after a quick wash and trim and they add color and texture to any dish.

The watermelon radishes are my favorite vegetables this time of the year.

Their bright red magenta centers are hidden underneath a thick green skin but the centers are crisp and chewy. Pickled with a light sprinkling of sugar and vinegar, the watermelon radish lives up to its name and are great palate cleansers that refresh and add color to the heavy foods of winter. My husband keeps the scrubbed green skin, pickles them and crunches them up as snacks.

Pumpkins, advertising their beta-carotene content boldly and brightly, are also cheap and plentiful. Steam them in chunks, cut them up for a stir fry or make them into a creamy soup. You can't go wrong with pumpkins.

- Pauline D LOH

For organic supplies, visit World Heath Stores at Shunyi and Dongda-qiao which stock produce from De Run Wu Farm. The farm offers greens in season as well as organic eggs, rice and tofu. E-mail: jiyunliang@vip.163.com or call 139-1189-3712.

(China Daily 12/04/2011 page13)