The best way to enjoy corn is to serve it within 20 minutes of picking. This is very doable if you are growing your own corn. But if you do not grow corn or live close by a corn farm, then choose corn that has been picked in the last day or two. After the…
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Early August Fresh at the Farm Market
August is truly the month of plenty. All of the vegetable and fruit gardeners’ and farmers’ hard work seems to come to fruition in August. This is the month that we had in the back of our minds back in April, May and June. Time to get out the garden harvest basket and enjoy the…
Marjoram and Oregano: Kitchen Basics
Marjoram and oregano and oregano and marjoram. Have you noticed that these two spicy herbs are inseparable when you go to cooks’ reference books? The reason is that marjoram and oregano are generic names for two frequently interchanged (but different) herbs. Both are small aromatic shrubs that grow to approximately 2 feet (.6 m). Both…
Thyme: Kitchen Basics
Thyme adds a spicy note to soups, stews, tomato and wine-based sauces, dried bean dishes, stuffings, and stocks. It can be used in marinades for pork and game and also in chowders, gumbos, and jambalayas. What this says is that thyme can take a long, slow cooking and—unlike other herbs—still bring something special to the…
June Planting in the Southern Hemisphere
June is the slowest time of the year in the gardens of the cool, temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere—Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. Winter starts on June 21. The spring planting season is not that far away, so now is the time to clean up around the garden and get…
Mid-June Fresh at the Farm Market
Spring ends and summer begins next week in the Northern Hemisphere. There are more flowers in June than in any other month. Bees are at work now: “A swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon,” says an old rhyme. The flower of June is the rose. This month, fruit blossoms are starting…
How to Cook Cauliflower
The perfect thing about cauliflower is that the size of the head is no indicator of quality. Big heads or small snack-sized heads–as long as they are fresh–will be equally tasty. Cauliflower is best harvested in late spring or fall when temperatures are moderate to cool. How to Choose Cauliflower Select heads of cauliflower that…
Strawberry: Kitchen Basics
The peak season for flavorful, naturally sweet strawberries is late spring. Local strawberries at the peak of their natural season are most likely to be the tastiest strawberries you will eat all year. Strawberries are perennial herbs that grow in temperate zones all over the world. There are native strawberries in Europe, Central Asia, North America,…
Rhubarb Cooking and Serving Tips
Rhubarb is sharp and pungent with a fresh spring taste. Fresh rhubarb sauce and pie season starts in early spring and runs nearly to the first day of summer. Often thought of as a fruit, rhubarb is a vegetable. In some regions, rhubarb is so much thought of as a dessert fruit that it is…
Seven Ways to Cook Rutabaga
Rutabaga is tasty served mashed with butter, cream, and spices. Sauté rutabaga in butter with apples and brown sugar, or dice and add rutabaga to vegetable soups and stews. Rutabaga harvest comes from late summer to early spring. How to Choose Rutabaga Rutabagas are a cool-weather vegetable and taste best after the first frost. They…
