There are many ways to eat cucumbers raw or cooked. Favorite cucumber recipes How to Make Cold, Tasty Cucumber Soup Sliced Cucumber Flavor Matches How to Make Dill Pickles for Beginners Canning Sweet Pickle Relish Why do cucumbers and warm weather mix so well? Cucumbers are more than 90 percent water. Their crunchy texture, sweet […] More
Summer or tender squash can be sautéed, steamed, boiled, baked, grilled, microwaved, or eaten raw. Use raw tender squash as an addition to crudités trays and salads The tender summer squashes–zucchini, Costata Romanesca, round and globe, scallop or pattypan, yellow crookneck, and yellow straightneck, and Zephyr–mature during the summer and can be claimed as baby […] More
Winter squashes are the most plentiful from early autumn until late winter. Unlike the summer squashes, the winter squashes must be cooked before they are eaten. Add winter squash to soups, stews, couscous, and curries. Use winter squash to make pies, cakes, muffins, cookies, pudding, soufflés, and cream desserts. Choose a winter squash—such as the […] More
Fresh and quick, serve raw or cooked asparagus in salads or as a side dish during spring. Cut fresh raw asparagus into one-inch lengths with kitchen scissors. Then add them to the greens salad to add a bit of substance. Choose firm, plump, straight, round asparagus spears with tips that are tight and compact. Give […] More
Cooked asparagus has a subtle sweet grassy flavor. It is a perfect match to salty dairy ingredients such as butter, Parmesan cheese, and hollandaise sauce. Asparagus also is well matched to slightly sulfurous-tasting foods: eggs, shellfish, and garlic. There are three types of asparagus: green asparagus which can be both sweet and slightly tart flavored, […] More
Potatoes are not fattening. Potatoes are high in fiber content and contain quality complex carbohydrates that will fill you up but not fill you out. A medium-sized baked potato contains around 90 calories, about the same as an apple. However, potatoes drenched in butter or smothered in gravy or the fat in the steak you […] More
Potato salad is a summer classic—but it’s also a spring and fall and winter classic. Some like it moist and creamy. Some like it dry and crumbly. Some like it dressed in egg-rich mayonnaise. Some like it dressed in oil and vinegar. Some like it with sweet relish and a dash of sugar. Some like […] More
New potatoes make for sweet, moist eating. You can serve them steamed, sautéed, boiled, baked, roasted, or grilled. They can be served tossed in butter or olive oil or as a dip with butter or sour cream or horseradish or served as a side dish with chicken, lamb, steaks or burgers, or grilled fish. New […] More
Turnips can be boiled, steamed, and stir-fried. Cook turnips until they are just tender-crunchy–less than seven minutes or so for a young turnip. The flavor will be mildly sweet and crisp. Turnips can be cooked in several ways. Roast turnips, braise turnips in butter, make turnip and potato purée, glaze turnips, or make a turnip […] More
The taste of arugula has been described as tangy, peppery, nutty, and mustard sharp. You get the picture: arugula is the “mild” transformer. In Italian salads, arugula is often contrasted against red chicory and paler lettuces. In the mesclun salads originating in Provence, arugula is one of the zestier greens mixed with baby lettuces and […] More
Radishes are commonly eaten raw but they are also quite delicious cooked in butter. Radishes can taste mild and sweet or peppery and pungent. Common round and oblong radishes can be bright pink to crimson red, purple, and white. Daikon radishes –common in Asian cooking–are ivory. Black radishes–a winter radish–are spicy hot. Also of interest: […] More
Spinach has just the right balance of flavor—sharp and hearty but not overpowering. It is equally versatile raw or cooked. There are two main types of spinach: flat-leafed and savoy or crinkle-leafed. The more tender and mild tasting of the two is flat-leafed especially the baby varieties. Savoy spinach has a stronger flavor with a […] More
Stephen Albert