Growing for the taste

Imagine that  you're deciding what to eat today - maybe its inspired by a recipe or something that you often make and enjoy. With experience, you know that there are some ingredients that aren't essential and you can replace them with something else which will have a similar taste or texture. 

Now the pedants will say that if the recipe requires an onion, it has to be an onion - not a leek, spring onion or the leaves of elephant garlic.
Similarly if it requires cabbage, it can't be kale, cauliflower leaves or sprouts. 
Spinach must be spinach - not chard or beetroot leaves. 
A salad must have lettuce........

All year round I can pick leaves of spring onions, leeks and elephant garlic, chard, cut and come again lettuce, rocket and various other salad leaves. They're all quite easy to grow and undemanding. 
However, I struggle with cabbage, cauliflowers & sprouts, broccoli, bulb onions and heading lettuce.

So why put myself through all the work and expense when I could grow the taste substitutes with relative ease.

Suggestions welcome for other easy taste substitutes.

Not particularily relevant (why spoil the habit of a lifetime?)  But, I tend to add very small amounts of veg as a condiment, mainly from the onion family as it has such a strong adaptable taste.

Some ingredients can easily be substituted. I think you’ve suggested all the really easy ones yourself. I regularly swap ingredients to something I have at hand . Not always a close swap. The mushroom omelette we had for tea the other night called for fresh parsley mixed into the cheese & mushrooms. I just added rocket just before folding the omelette. The only similarities were they’re both green. But it tasted lovely. The other thing I swap quite regularly is when making fresh salsa I use sweet pepper instead of red onion. Works really well also. Quite often the only connection the swaps have is, it’s swapping veg for veg.

Thanks SC.
My aim is to be able to grow these veg all year round so there will always be an onion, cabbage, spinach, lettuce (or their substitute) available to pick every day. If I can do it in January,I should be able to do it for the rest of the year. I need to consider different varieties of each to ensure year round picking.

I haven't work out how to grow substitutes for the fruiting veg - like tomatoes, and climbing beans so I'll have to settle for extending the season as much as possible,
Peas can be grown over much of the year but I may substitute pea shoots during the winter months.
Beans are more difficult and I'm not going to mention courgettes and other cucurbits!

Thanks SC.
My aim is to be able to grow these veg all year round so there will always be an onion, cabbage, spinach, lettuce (or their substitute) available to pick every day. If I can do it in January,I should be able to do it for the rest of the year. I need to consider different varieties of each to ensure year round picking.

I haven't work out how to grow substitutes for the fruiting veg - like tomatoes, and climbing beans so I'll have to settle for extending the season as much as  possible,
Peas can be grown over much of the year but I may substitute pea shoots during the winter months.
Beans are more difficult and I'm not going to mention courgettes and other cucurbits!

Have you considered a bush type courgette in a big tub in one of your greenhouse’s? Not necessarily for this time of year, just in general. As they’re not playing nicely for you outside at the moment. Have you not got any dried / frozen beans & tomatoes you could use. Or is it just fresh substitutions you’re looking for?  Maybe make those things a priority pick when you go to your fresh freebies. If you’re aloud to choose. As for home grown substitutions, I’m afraid I’m at a loss.

I tried bush courgettes in pots last year in the GH. Not very good but, amazingly, the Trombas in pots on the patio did very well!.
I want to pick all these veg fresh, frozen/dried/cooked don't count. For the record, I still have some tomatoes left from last year in the GH, off the plant. I may try some of those "Eternal" tomatoes this year.