Market Fresh Report Week Ending 25th August

The delicate aniseed flavour and crunchy texture of fennel complement fish, chicken, lamb, pears and citrus. For a quick entrée or salad, combine shredded fennel with shaved parmesan, crisp slices of pear and watercress.

Golden buttered beans are a seasonally thrifty buy this week

Early supplies of Australian grown asparagus are now available at your local greengrocer

Zucchini may be mild tasting however its extremely versatile and suitable for combining with a myriad of flavours to creating scrumptious meals. Pick up a kilo of zucchini this week and whip up a delicious zucchini based meal this week

Avocados contain 14 vitamins and minerals including vitamins B1, B2, B3, C and E and despite their creamy texture, avocados provide valuable fibre.

Sweet eating and aromatic small, North Territory rockmelons are a thrifty buy.

Stock up on the pantry basics. Carrots are economical and extremely versatile.

Make the most of locally grown artichokes

With its reddish maroon coloured leaves, radicchio looks like lettuce however it is a member of the chicory family. Its mildly bitter taste is delicious enjoyed in salads but heads for radicchio can also be cut into wedges and lightly sautéed and served with grated cheese.

Look after your eyes and enjoy spinach and silverbeet. Both contain lutein also known as the eye vitamin. Its role as an antioxidant is to protect the lens and retina from the absorption of harmful blue - UV light and to mop up free radicals produced through oxidative stress in the eye area.

The sweet memorable fragrances of fresh strawberries are at their best at this time of year, so while strawberries are in peak supply its time to sniff out a bargain.

Supplies of large, antioxidant-rich blueberries from Caboolture and Coffs Harbour are delicious eating.

Did you know brown onions are the most widely used vegetable in the world?

Toss a few bunches of Asian leafy greens into a steamer this week, they are good at value, quick to cook and nutritious. Choose from Bok choy, pak choy, choy sum and gai lum

Premium quality large snow-white cauliflowers are a bargain. Cut a head of cauliflower into large slices (to make cauliflower steaks) Pan fry or roast until tender.

Ginger is a choice buy this week. Storing ginger correctly optimise the natural juiciness, flavour and crispness of fresh ginger. Place freshly-scrubbed and dried unpeeled ginger into airtight jars,cover with Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry.

Kon Fruit also sold as Sumo are large mandarins, resemble a large tangelo in shape, with a thick, wrinkly rind this fruit is easy to peel, seedless and ultra-flavoursome and juicy

Make the most of late winter lemons. Juice and lemon zest add flavour to marinades, cakes, steamed puddings or make your own preserved lemon. Select lemons that feel heavy for their size, this indicates good juice content.