A Tomato It’s Not

September 15, 2011

Despite its nickname, Mexican green tomato or Mexican husk tomato, and—squint—vague physical resemblance, once shorn of it paper covering, the tomatillo is not really a tomato, nor the Spanglish name for one. It is a distant relative, a member of the large nightshade family, but its first cousins are the ground cherry and cape gooseberry. [...]

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Eat Fresh, Eat Local

August 22, 2011

It felt like a tipping point of local food in Truro this summer. The Outer Cape fish and shellfish have always been outstanding—the striped bass, Wellfleet oysters, steamers and blues. But this year it seemed that everyone with a spare patch and the energy to work it decided to grow fresh vegetables for the rest [...]

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A Pair of Pigweeds

July 26, 2011

Pigweed. A nickname for lots of common plants. And a pejorative, for potherbs fit only for pigs. You know, not for proper humans, unless you’re that poor. But that’s so old school. Championed by Euell Gibbons, Wildman Steve Brill, and other foragers, some pigweeds have come quite far indeed, especially purslane (top photo), served at [...]

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Lemony Sorrel

July 16, 2011

This ancient Eurasian relative of buckwheat and rhubarb grows up looking like spinach—with green arrow-shaped leaves and juicy stems—but is used primarily as a flavoring; though not, in this country, a very popular one. When fresh and tender, sorrel is deliciously sour, packing a green, lemony tartness. Older sorrel tends to bitterness because it develops [...]

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Coolrabi

July 6, 2011

Maybe you’ve seen it at the market. Or in the bins in the produce section, if you go to well-stocked supermarkets. Or definitely in the CSA share, if you belong. And chances are you’ve thought: What the hell is that? Trimmed of its leaves, kohlrabi looks like Sputnik or some other dawn-of-the-space-age satellite, or with [...]

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10 Things to Know About Avocados

June 20, 2011

1. The name comes from the Nuahatl word ahuacatl, which means “testicle,” for how the fruit, which usually grows in pairs, hangs from the tree 2. George Washington is the first English-speaker to make note of the “agovago pairs,” during a trip to Barbados 3. Crafty California growers once tried to goose sales of the [...]

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Easiest Tastiest Guacamole

June 20, 2011

Perfect Guac This makes about 2 cups and really features the avocado flavor: Take 4 ripe avocados, cut in half lengthwise, remove pit with knife, then, using a spoon, scrape out flesh into a bowl. Mash to desired consistency with back of the spoon, fork, or pestle, and season with juice of 2 limes or [...]

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Wile E. Chayote

June 7, 2011

When our oldest was two, discovering a new life in Brooklyn with a new babysitter, and using the bizarre and sadly all-but-forgotten expressions unique to every toddler in the first great bloom of language, he spoke of a new favorite food: christophene. Or christophine. Or something like it—we hadn’t a clue. It filled us with [...]

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Rhubarb Awakening

May 29, 2011

Here’s a Luddite thought. Instead of paying lip service to the idea of seasonality—spurning, say, corn on the cob, as I do, until it’s at the farmer’s market with a sign that says Just-Pikt!—actually eat the way your great, or great great great grandparents did. Or at least an idealized version of them. Try to imagine [...]

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3 Easy Rhubarb Recipes

May 29, 2011

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Preheat the oven to 375. Wash, string if necessary, and cut 1 lb rhubarb stalks cross-wise in 1/2 inch pieces. Wash, hull, and slice in halves or quarters a quart of strawberries. Mix with 1 cup of sugar and 2 TB of flour. Set aside in a pyrex baking dish. Top with [...]

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