Fish and rhubarb? Absolutely! Photo
courtesy McCormick.

• Ginger is a wonderfully pungent spice with a long history of cultivation. In China, where the plant originated, as well as in other Asian countries, the spice is used in a multitude of both savory and sweet dishes, is eaten raw or pickled and is made into candy. In the U.S., ginger is especially associated with holiday baking, thanks to the western tradition of making gingerbread cookies at Christmas. Crystallized ginger is another favorite baking item—as well as a candy. Ginger makes a soothing tea (by itself, with boiling water, or by adding raw slices to your favorite tea). Ginger is high in antioxidants, and as such, is one of the Seven Super Spices.
• Rhubarb is actually a vegetable, not a fruit. The giveaway might be that it looks like red celery stalks with cabbage-like leafy tops (some can be dark green like spinach or kale). By the time it gets to market, the leaves have been cut off, and we only see the red stalks. (Another giveaway: fruits carry their seeds inside; vegetable seeds scatter in the wind. You see seeds in an apple, avocado, cucumber and tomato, but not in broccoli, carrots or lettuce. Lacking sweetness doesn’t make it a fruit.)