*chuckling* Well, not a head chef by any means, just a Southern cook with a large family! Black eyed peas I will cook fresh, frozen or dried. They cook the same way with a couple small differences. After rinsing fresh shelled peas, I'll add water and simmer them for an hour or so until they are tender. Seasonings to taste, a little sauteed onion, maybe a little bell pepper, perhaps a little bacon or ham for flavoring. I also will just drop a ham bone into the pot. Frozen, the same, though the temp starts out lower and they simmer a little longer to give them time to thaw completely. Dried, depends on when I'm starting them. If the night before in my crockpot, I will just add the water and everything else, put them on low and let them cook all night and the next day. Check the water and how done they are first thing in the morning to decide if they need more water and how much longer they need to cook. We like ours just tender, but not mushy. I have a crockpot that I can set the cooking time on, after that, they just stay warm until we get home and are ready to eat. If I'm cooking dried for that evening, I'll get my tap water as hot as possible, drop the beans in and let them soak, keeping the water at a simmer to gently rehydrate them. Then I'll bring the heat up and cook them. While I was between crockpots, I use to get the tap water as hot as possible, drop the peas in and cover them overnight to let them soak, rinse them, then start cooking them the following morning. Notice that the only real differences in the way I cook them is whether the amount of time and whether or not they'll need soaked. Serving them, there are a lot of different ways- peas and corn bread, pea salad, a spoon of peas on a green salad, etc. Most dried beans can be treated the same way, though different beans and peas need different cooking times, may not need to be soaked, etc. Kidney beans, for example, I add beef or mixed beef/pork sausage to and let it simmer with garlic, onion, bell peppers and cayenne pepper, a few other seasonings and dried herbs and serve with rice- I grew up in SW Louisiana :)These I let cook a little longer because I want it to form thicker 'gravy' that coats and clings to the rice. You can combine several different types of beans/peas to make bean soup. English split peas make a lovely creamy soup and there are several recipes for them. Swiss Chard and collards I like to do the greens like I do any other greens. I'll either Southern pan fry them (which is more wilting with a very little oil) or use them in scrambled eggs or omelets or in salads as fresh greens, or on sandwiches to replace lettuce or stir fried with other veggies and perhaps a little chicken . All of these retain the nutritional value (yes, even the wilting, especially if you sop up or drink the pot liquor. Keep in mind that all leafy greens will shrink as they cook and wilt, so you will need what seems like an enormous amount is you're cooking them. Cow peas I'm not as familiar with since we don't care for them much, aside from the purple hulls- these I do like black eyes. Hot peppers can be used a number of ways. If they are big enough, they can be stuffed and oven baked or deep fried. My family likes cream cheese and cheddar to stuff them with, perhaps a little diced mushroom. Stuff them, then sew or tie them shut with a little turkey twine (you can find this where ever your store sells cooking gadgets)We also use them in salsa and in just cooking a variety of things. We also pickle them with vinegar and use the juice after it's set for a couple months in beans on the plate to taste. You can also grind them, add some vinegar and make home made hot sauces. You can also make pepper jelly or pepper chow chow with them. Sweet peppers- banana, etc, I will often use as I would any bell pepper. A different flavor, but I often use them the same. I'll stuff and bake them with ground meat and rise or the cheese mixtures, I'll even stuff and serve them fresh - stuffing often depends on the size and how much time I have. They're also great cut fresh for salads, in Mexican dishes, with sandwiches, etc. Another way is to take your hot peppers and add banana peppers for pickling. This will give you the banana pepper flavor, with a little heat and kick! I've also pickled them by themselves to preserve them for the winter. I've dehydrated them in my oven like I do tomatoes (my alternative to sun dried tomatoes)After dehydrating, I'll make a dried salsa of tomatoes, a variety of peppers, garlic, onions and toss it all together in a freezer baggie. In the dead of winter I'll have homemade salsa with the addition of some lime juice, a little warm water and fresh cilantro from my window. I've used both sweet and hot peppers cut into strips and grilled (or pan grilled) to use for fajitas. Larger peppers can be oven or grill roasted, similar to garlic, and added to a variety of dishes. I don't do a lot of winter squashes, we prefer summer squash, which I freeze in abundance and use a variety of ways. DH's Aunt pickles the winter ones, but I'm not as familiar with them except for perhaps Hubbard, which I've had baked. Hopefully someone else will chime in with ideas for many of the things your asking about and will have more info on the winter squashes. Pumpkin is one that I am familiar with. We bake the pie sized ones into pies after preparing the puree. We've also stuffed and baked the smaller ones with a variety of things- ground beef and rice.. apples pears and brown sugar with a bit of nutmeg. They are rather versatile. And of course, there is roasted pumpkin seed! These are a favorite for my kids and they will eat them by the handful! We'll do them several different ways- tossing with a little olive oil and sprinkling with cinnamon, salt, a dash of red pepper, tossing with a bit of honey, ranch dressing mix, or Italian seasonings- these are fun to experiment with! The larger pumpkins, especially if they're thicker and tougher, chickens and livestock enjoy a lot! Horses adore melon rinds, but be careful to make sure they're ripe and to give them as a treat. Sometimes the rind can cause colic in horses. I'd check with my vet first about the type of melon. Whew! That got long and I was tying to just give some ideas and not get into *all* the different ways I prepare these things! We eat a lot of veggies, fresh and preserved in one way or another. The kids really enjoy taking a handful of over dried cherry tomatoes and snacking on them like most kids do potato chips! I'm hoping some of the others will chime in too! I'm always interested in learning new ways, or ones that I know about but am not as familiar with, to preserve or prepare the veggies I grow. Ask away, Nichol! And everyone else, please jump in! I want to learn how others preserve and prepare! LOL, a lot of the things I do are things my grandparents and Daddy taught me and are wonderful, but I'm always looking for new or different ways! Kathy

I've been doing a lot of mixed roasted winter root vegetables this season, usually a mix of carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, onions, celeriac, and even winter radishes, both Asian types (Daikon, Korean green and white long type, round Chinese types)and European type (Long black spanish). I would certainly throw beets into that mix if I had any raw ones, but all I have are canned, pickled beets, which wouldn't taste good roasted. I usually pre-cook these in the microwave for about 10 minutes until fairly soft, then roast with some oil, herb seasoning mix, and black pepper, I often throw a little apple cider in there as well, to add flavor and sugars to promote carmelization. The radishes, by the way, are pretty much indistinguishable from the turnips once roasted, same texture, same flavor. Dennis SE Michigan

Ruthanna -- This recipe appeared in Chicago Trib's Good Eating section today. I, obviously, haven't made it but their recipes are consistently outstanding and it does sound great! Turnips glazed with sherry vinegar Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Yield: 6 servings 1 3/4 pounds small turnips (about 12 small turnips with 1 inch of stems attached) 1 small shallot, minced 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar 1. Peel the turnips; cut into quarters, leaving the stems attached. Combine turnips, shallot, water, butter and salt in a large skillet. Stir; cover. Cook over medium-high heat until the turnips are almost tender but still slightly crisp, about 8-10 minutes. 2. Uncover; increase the heat to high. Cook until water disappears and bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan begin to brown. Stir in the walnuts; cook until the turnips are covered in a brown glaze, 8-10 minutes. 3. Add the vinegar. Stir to mix well; scrape up some of the brown glaze from the bottom of the pan (you won't get it all). Nutrition information per serving: 99 calories, 62% of calories from fat, 7 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 8 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein, 487 mg sodium, 2 g fiber Angie

Depending on how fresh, cut off tops and small part of roots, and as lucky gardener said, cut the root into several pieces, then peel each piece. Cut into small squares, sort of like potatoes or carrots, boil in salted water till tender. Drain, maybe save water for soup, add butter, pepper and perhaps other additions as mentioned - or try sour cream. Alternatively, cook just slightly more, then mash them and garnish as indicated. As someone said, they make a good addition to soup or stew, with or without dumplings ... or try scalloped potatoes. Enjoy. By the way ... with beets, how many of you boil up some of the tops for greens, this late in the year when you're harvesting them? ole joyful