My beets were slow to grow this year, so I bought a bunch at the farmers’ market. I was taken aback when the seller chopped off the vegetable’s foliage and attempted to discard it after handing me a sad sack of leafless roots.

“Wait! I’ll take those, please,” I blurted, catching him just before they hit the trash bin, and explaining that they’re edible. He knew, of course, but said that most customers don’t want them.

There are a lot of tasty and nutritious uses for secondary plant parts that would otherwise be discarded or, at best, added to compost. Waste not, want not!

A zipper bag of ‘scraps’

When I roast beets – homegrown or otherwise – I sauté their greens with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic for a tasty and nutritious second side dish from the same plant.

Likewise, I have a

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