Some recipes work like a quick-witted aside in a conversation. So unassumingly apropos that they go almost unnoticed, but appreciation for them grows the longer you savor them. That’s the case with these little hazelut-crusted grapes. We had them for dessert after trolling through the farmers’ market. I should have gotten a picture. But I [...]

Many people harbor a small, secret fear of the shelling bean. They’re alluringly pretty but securely sealed inside their waxy shell. But what do you do with them? And is it worth it? First, shelling beans are an heirloom’s heirloom. Easy to preserve by simply drying, they have been farming currency for hundreds of years, [...]

…Well, not quite. But it’s getting terribly close. I go a little mad when it’s heirloom tomatoes season, and inevitably bring home way more tomatoes than I can possibly use in a week. No supermarket tomatoes, these–they will not keep in the fridge, half green and unyieldingly firm in their arrested development. They are ready [...]

The best thing about a place is the way its people live, day to day. Tourism boards can tell you where the “hot spots” in town are located, but the real test is whether you see locals doing their shopping there. A park isn’t beautiful unless mothers take their children there to play. A restaurant [...]

Moon and Stars (Citrullus lanatus) All of us know that watermelon is a summertime standby. It evokes sweet memories of picnics, family reunions and trips to the beach. The parents cut them in triangles–like pie, but you could eat as much as you wanted. And we chewed from the tip to the edge, the fruit [...]

Recently I went to visit family in Florida. (Yes, Florida…in August. Try not to be jealous of me.) My aunt, uncle and grandparents live just outside Tampa, a town named after an American Indian word for “sticks of fire.” Do I need to tell you we spent most of the visit hiding from thunderstorms? I [...]

The hotter it gets, the more water we should be drinking. Obvious, I know. But you know you forget all the time, and so do I. And when I forget to drink water, I start forgetting other things, too. Like why I’m standing in the middle of the room, what I came in there for, [...]

I used to hate tomatoes. Really. To me, they were just sandwich filler, mostly there for looks. About a year and a half ago, I met the Early Girl tomato. And wow. Early Girls are visually unassuming. They aren’t giant, like a beefsteak tomato. They don’t have stripes, or ridges, or pleats. To be perfectly [...]