Exotic, delicious wild morels are a fleeting spring
treat. Photo by Yin Yang | IST.

While dried morel mushrooms are available year round—and are a treasured ingredient in soups, stews and sauces—this is fresh morel season.

These incredibly flavorful gifts of nature, with their earthy and woodsy aroma and flavor, have a distinctive look: a honeycombed, hollow, cone-shaped cap atop a ’shroom that ranges in size from 2 to 4 inches high. Colors vary from blonde, grey or tan to an extremely dark brown.

Morels are gathered by hand in the woods, and brought to specialty markets. Look for the #1 grade, meaning that each mushroom is a whole, young specimen with a white stem.

FOOD TRIVIA: Morels are one of the first species to colonize forests after a fire, which may explain the intense earthy, smoky and nutty flavors that characterize their taste.

Thanks to MarxFoods.com for inspiring this post.

Skewers typically can be found in different sizes: 4-inch skewers for single bites; 6-inch skewers for a multi-bite hors d’oeuvre or snack; and 10-inch skewers for main course “kebabs.”

Just peek into the fridge and you’ll find what you need to assemble healthy skewers. A combination of textures and colors always looks good:

 
Also consider ingredients for kids: hot dog chunks, cherry tomatoes and sweet pickles, for example.

Some people offer skewers with a dip, for example, with plain chicken; or mustard with ham-and-cheese skewers.

If you’re grilling wood skewers, always soak them in water for 20 minutes before assembling and grilling, to avoid charring.

Skewers can be washed and re-used.

What are your favorite foods to “skewer?”

Our favorite solution to “what to do with
the skewers.” Photo by River Soma |
THE NIBBLE.

But what happens to all the sticks when the food is consumed?

They typically lie like an unattractive pile of pick-up-sticks on the serving plate.

Here’s a better idea:

 
This tip gracefully solved an ongoing problem for us, so we especially love it!

One was for the Lightlife brand of vegan “meat” products. The other was to the opening of celebrity chef Todd English’s new restaurant.

We made plans to stop by and taste Lightlife, a product line we’d never tried, and then head to Todd English’s restaurant. Here’s how the evening turned out:

We liked the Lightlife foods so much, we stayed the entire evening, happily tasting everything. We never made it to the restaurant. Could there be a better endorsement of how good the Lightlife “vegan meat” products are?

We are neither vegetarian nor vegan. We eat everything that’s delicious, and nothing that isn’t.

Eating more vegan foods (products without any animal-based ingredients) supports our personal commitment to eating more sustainably. As much a we love meat, cheese and dairy foods, producing them takes a big toll on the planet.

The line is certified vegan and kosher by OK. Read the full review. It also explains the differences between tempeh, tofu and seitan.

If you’re looking for delicious, prepared vegan food, also see these Top Picks Of The Week:

“Supermarket” honey is blended to achieve a
generic sameness. This very distinctive black
sage honey is from Savannah Bee Company.

As with wine, it’s the difference between a bland jug wine and a varietal wine, which has the distinctly delightful characteristics of its particular grape.

And as with wine, different honeys pair better with certain foods. See this comparison of nine top varietal honeys and the foods they complement.

There are many different kinds of honey—300 varietals in the U.S. alone. While some people might make it a life’s work to try all of them, start small. In fact, start with the pairings we’ve just mentioned.

Life’s too short to stick with generic honey.

Like flavored honey? These creme honeys in six flavors—apricot, blackberry, cranberry, lemon, raspberry and spiced—are among our favorites.