Category: Seasonal

In the United States, millions of pumpkins are carved every autumn into fanciful jack-o’-lanterns, their flesh baked to make pumpkin pie, and their seeds roasted as a seasonal snack. Post-Halloweeners that didn’t sell get sent to feed livestock. In Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and parts of Asia, however, pumpkins are used more widely in […]

One of the earliest signs of spring, other than April showers, allergies, and warming temperatures, are the brilliant red stalks of rhubarb. Rhubarb is a curious phenomenon, for it is one of the few plants of which we consume just the thick stalks, or petioles. Its assertive tartness is caused by large quantities of oxalic […]

These days much of America is in deep freeze, heavy snow, frigid temps, or chilly rain. Unless you happen to live in the West Coast, Florida, Hawaii, or the Deep South, this can be one of the bleakest times in the produce sections of many grocery stores. When you just can’t face one more pale cabbage, […]

Many of us have menus and recipes that we rely on for holiday meals or parties year after year. And yet, with the abundance of winter produce available at this time of year, it’s a great time to try a few new recipes, too. With that in mind, I asked Lisa Gordanier, editor and recipe […]

Depending on where you are in the Northern Hemisphere, strawberry season is either cresting or ebbing. For many people, strawberry season is an all-too-brief opportunity to gorge on a fruit that embodies the very taste of early summer. Strawberries are cultivated intensely and shipped globally so they are available year-round, but honestly, have you ever had […]