FOOD FUN: Red Lettuce

Last week we presented two irresistible heirloom cucumbers. This week’s noteworthy produce comprises red lettuce varieties we discovered while perusing the “produce section” on Burpee.com.     YUGOSLAVIAN RED LETTUCE Burpee calls Yugoslavian Red Lettuce “perhaps the most beauteous lettuce we’ve grown: a star selection for your salad bowl.” With bright-green cupped leaves splashed with…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Spring Ramps (Wild Leeks)

The prettiest recipe we’ve seen with ramps: a ramp-stuffed torta from chef Catie Baumer Schwalb of PitchforkDiaries.com. Here‘s the recipe.   We were surprised and delighted to see spring ramps in the store yesterday. We thought that the brief ramp season was over. An early spring vegetable, ramps are so delicious—a combination of garlic and…
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Baked Potato Tots & More Tater Tot Recipes

Tater Tots are so beloved that the term is used generically, although it’s a trademark of Ore-Ida, which invented the little potato bites in 1953. (The story is below.) Everyone else can call them “potato tots.” These days, chefs reaching back to childhood are serving fresh-from-scratch versions. This variation, Baked Potato Tots, comes to us…
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FATHER’S DAY GIFT: Jalapeño Plant

Here’s something fun for chile-loving dads who’d like to try their hand at gardening. You can look for a jalapeño plant at your local nursery, or give Dad the “ingredients” to grow his own. Combine a packet of seeds, a planter and soil, along with some fresh jalapeños to show Dad what’s in store in…
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Heirloom Produce Part 1, Heirloom Cucumbers

Charming lemon cucumbers. Photo courtesy Burpee.com.   LEMON CUCUMBERS It’s a lemon…no, it’s a cucumber. We spotted these unusual cukes and the ones in the photo below on the Burpee Seeds website. Imagine the surprise and delight when you serve a new and different twist on an everyday vegetable—or rather, fruit (see what makes something…
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