As a child, I often wondered what sort of monstrous creature would lay a huge, purple-black egg, for surely the eggplant was named after such an egg laid by such a creature. Imagine my relief, tinged with disappointment, when I eventually learned that the first eggplants, grown in China, were small, ivory, and egg-shaped, with […]

Edamame (eh-dah-mah-may) are sweet young things — sweet, young soybeans, to be exact. And they are perhaps the world’s easiest and most nutritious snack food. Popped from the pod directly into your mouth, the slick orbs have a pleasing toothiness, followed by a sweet, buttery taste that makes it impossible to eat just one. In […]

When I go out on hot summer days, I often trade my bottle of water for a cool cucumber—or two, or three. The clean flavor and crunch make cucumbers much more satisfying and thirst quenching, not to mention more nutritious, than plain old water—or even newfangled vitamin water. A TALL, COLD…CUCUMBER? Because cucumbers are mostly […]

What looks like a yellow cherry tomato hidden inside a little paper lantern, and tastes sweetly tropical with pineapple, mango, and vanilla notes? No, this isn’t a bad joke. It’s a delicious vegetable in the tomato family known as the ground cherry—presumably because they fall to the ground when ripe, and are about the size […]

Chard will always be there for you. Like a reliable friend, it is one of the greatest, and often least appreciated, of all the gifts from your local farmer. Chard’s long, thick stalks have wide, glossy green leaves that may be smooth or curly, depending on the variety. The stalk comes in many colors, from […]