Australian passionfruit is small and purple-
skinned. Photo by Brybs | SXC.

You may have assumed, like many people, that passionfruit was named for the passion it inspires in those who consume it.

But the name actually comes from a religious source, rather than any aphrodisiac properties.

The fruit is named for the plant’s flower, which is said to symbolize parts of the Passion of Christ, including the crown of thorns and the nails of the crucifixion.

So, add passionfruit to your Easter menu.

Like pomegranate, the pulp and seeds are the edible parts of the fruit. Here are some ideas on how to use them:

We’ve found two types of passionfruit in our market: Australia/New Zealand-grown passionfruit, which is purple and the size of a small lemon, and Hawaiian passionfruit, which is yellow and as large as a grapefruit.* The purple variety is less acidic, with a richer aroma and flavor.

*Passionfruit is grown worldwide in subtropical climates, from India and Indonesia to Israel to the Caribbean and South America. And of course, Australia and New Zealand.

When ripe, the flesh of both varieties is very wrinkled. Cut the fruit in half and scoop out the pulp and seeds with a spoon.

According to produce expert Melissas.com, choose fragrant, shriveled, wrinkled fruit that is rich in color. If the skin is smooth, ripen at room temperature and turn occasionally. The fruit may then be refrigerated in a plastic bag for a few days or frozen for longer storage without any loss of quality.

The initiative, called KeepRecipes For Recovery, offers 21 Japanese recipes from nine chefs, including Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Annisa Executive Chef & Top Chef Masters alumna Anita Lo, Madonna’s personal chef Mayumi Nishimura and The New York Times columnists Mark Bittman and Amanda Hesser.

Donate $10 or more by June 30th, and the 21 recipes are yours, via download.

You can eat well and feel good about more than just the food.

If you enjoy making feasts, prepare several recipes and invite friends for dinner and a donation to the Red Cross.

You can be certain that the many thousands of people displaced by the recent natural disasters in Japan, now homeless and living in makeshift shelters, are grateful for your support.

Browse the recipes.

It adds delicious flavor, but it also serves as an emulsifier, so the dressing doesn’t break back into separate oil and vinegar layers.

You can use prepared Dijon mustard, or–if you like some heat–Coleman’s mustard.

Prepare your vinaigrette in the usual ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. In addition to the mustard, you can include fresh garlic.

Ingredients

Check out the different types of mustard in our Mustard Glossary.

If you bring home the bacon, you’ve got to pay tax on it—very soon.

Even if you’ve already filed, Tax Day (on April 18th this year*) is a painful reminder of those hard earned dollars that never make it to the bank.

*Why not April 15th? The District of Columbia celebrates Emancipation Day on April 16, the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s signature of the Compensated Emancipation Act. But this year, April 16 falls on a Saturday, so Emancipation Day will be celebrated on Friday, April 15th.

So, you deserve a drink. Mix up a “Bringing Home the Bacon” shot, courtesy of Hornitos Tequila. Sweet and smoky, it’s easy to make.

The 16th Amendment, ratified by Congress on February 3, 1913, is generally cited as the beginning of personal income taxes. However, to pay for expenses during the Civil War, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861, which included a tax on personal income. Learn more.

We love asparagus, and eat it almost daily during the season (April, May and June).

Simply steamed fresh asparagus is so delicious, we find it needs no embellishment—no salt, no butter, no lemon juice or other seasoning. It requires just a quick visit to the vegetable steamer (or microwave) and is ready to eat. (Note: While some people love it, we think that a vertical asparagus steamer is a waste of space.)

For a more complex dish, try this easy recipe for oven-roasted asparagus with feta cheese, garlic and a balsamic drizzle. It’s a combination of sweet, earthy, salty and garlicky flavors. If you don’t like feta, you can substitute fresh goat cheese.

The recipe uses balsamic cream (crema di balsamico), a reduction of balsamic vinegar that has sweet and tangy notes. It’s pricey, but you only use a drizzle at a time. If you don’t want to purchase a bottle, you can substitute balsamic glaze or even plain balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy the recipe with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc; or check out these wines and beers that pair with feta.

1. Look for firm stalks of a uniform width and a minimum amount of woodiness at the end. It doesn’t matter if they’re thick or slender: both are equally tender. But you need uniformity of size to cook them evenly.

2. The tips should be tightly closed. Once they begin to separate, it means that the asparagus is older and won’t have the best fresh flavor.

3. While most sources advise you to trim the asparagus at its natural breaking point (just bend the stem end down and you’ll see it), we find that we can trim as far as the green portion goes—often an extra inch or two—without having the end being woody in texture.