Nasturtiums Taste as Good as They Look

I recently returned to the store after a short vacation and was greeted by a cascade of nasturtiums overflowing their window boxes and spilling merrily down the side of the building. It was a cheering sight, made all the more so by my knowledge that these colorful blossoms are as tasty as they are beautiful. […]

You Say Tomato

One of the drawbacks of living in Alaska is that you can’t grow tomatoes. Where I grew up in Virginia nearly everyone had at least a couple tomato plants growing in their yard. The sight, taste, and smell of ripening tomatoes was as sure a sign as any that summer had come into its fullness. […]

Choosing the Perfect Melon

When I was a kid, I memorized several poems by Ogden Nash. I enjoyed his offbeat sense of humor, and the fact that his poetry rhymed. One poem I remember goes like this: “One cantaloupe is ripe and lush. Another’s green, another’s mush. I’d buy a lot more cantaloupe, If I possessed a horoscope.” Cantaloupes […]

Kumquats: Little Fruit with Big Flavor

As we enter the later part of winter, there is scant cause for excitement among purveyors of fresh produce. Fall fruits like apples and pears are getting a bit long in the tooth, while early spring vegetables like asparagus are just starting to poke their heads above the ground. One bright spot are the citrus […]

Cara Cara Oranges: Sweet Winter Treat

A hundred years ago, oranges were a rare treat in Northern climes like ours. They might show up as a special gift in a Christmas stocking, but were not a common food for most people. Today, they are ubiquitous. Because oranges are available year-round, we rarely think of them as having a season. However, oranges […]