[1] It may be familiar, but a stalk of celery can be an inspiration (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] Celery salad tops a piece of grilled fish (photo © King Restaurant | New York City).

[3] A Japanese take on raw celery sticks. Here’s the recipe from Bon Appetit (photo © Bon Appetit).

[4] Celery Caesar Salad. Here’s the recipe from Bon Appetit

March is National Celery Month.

When you think of celery—most of us don’t spend much time on it—you likely think of “the usual”:

 
Here are more ways to enjoy the chewy green stalks:

 
Don’t throw away the leaves! They taste like a spicier, stronger version of the stalks.

 
Check out these 35 celery recipes from Bon Appetit.

FOOD TRIVIA: According to the USDA, “stalk” refers tp the whole bunch or head of celery.

A single stick is called a rib.

 
THE HISTORY OF CELERY

Celery is a marshland plant that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Believed to have originated in the Mediterranean basin, it has a long fibrous stalk that tapers into leaves.

Ancient literature documents that celery, or a similar plant, was cultivated for medicinal purposes before 850 B.C.E. Woven garlands of wild celery have been found in early Egyptian tombs.

Celery is a member of the Apiaceae family, commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family. Common celery is Apium graveolens.

In ancient times, Ayurvedic physicians used celery seed to treat quite a few conditions: arthritis, colds, digestion, flu, liver and spleen ailments, even water retention.

Celery was considered a holy plant in classical Greece, and was used to crown the winners of the Nemean Games, similar to the use of bay leaf crown at the Olympic Games.

The Romans valued celery more for cooking than for religion.

Early stalk celery often produced hollow stalks. The plant was bred over many centuries, and by the 17th century, Italian farmers had created a variety with solid stalks that we know today.

Breeding also eliminated the plant’s natural bitterness and strong flavors.

There are two types of stalk celery varieties: self-blanching or yellow, and green or Pascal celery, the type typically found in the U.S.

Blanching is the process of covering the growing celery stalks to reduce bitterness and lighten the stalk color to a pale yellow-green.

Blanching also produces a sweeter celery stalk.

In North America, green Pascal stalk celery is preferred and mainly eaten raw. In Europe and the rest of the world, self-blanching varieties are preferred.
 
Celery seeds—actually very small fruits—are used as a spice, either as whole seeds or ground. The ground seeds are mixed with salt to produce celery salt.

The seeds provide a valuable essential oil that is used in the perfume industry.

Is celeriac related to celery? Yes: very closely!

Celeriac, a knobby root vegetable also known as celery root, is a sibling of stalk celery: Apium graveolens var. rapaceum. While it’s found at French restaurants and other fine restaurants in the U.S., it hasn’t caught on in a big way.

Celeriac is very popular in Europe, where it is eaten cooked or raw.

 
 
WHERE OUR CELERY COMES FROM

Currently, California harvests about 23,500 acres of celery per year, Florida harvests 3,500, Michigan 3,000 acres, and Texas 1,200 acres.

California harvests year-round, Florida harvest from December to May, Texas from December to April, Michigan through September. Per capita consumption of celery is about 9 to 10 pounds per person annually.

Source: California Celery Research Advisory Board

February 29th occurs only once every four years: It’s the leap year day.

There are actually two food holidays on Leap Day:

 
We love Surf & Turf. In addition to the classic Surf and Turf, we’ve created a list of modern approaches to “one from the land, one from the sea.”
 

 
There’s even Surf & Turf Poutine, Surf & Turf Fondue and a Surf & Turf Cocktail.
 
Today, it’s frog’s legs.
 
 
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FROG’S LEGS

Frog’s legs are one of the better-known delicacies of French and Chinese cuisine.

Other area keen on the delicacy include Albania, the Alentejo region of Portugal, Cambodia, Indonesia, Northern Italy, Northwestern Greece, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Thailand, the Southern U.S. and Vietnam.

Frog legs are rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and potassium. But what do they taste like?

“They taste like chicken,” the cliché used to describe the flavor of an unusual food.

Frogs legs have mild flavor and a texture most similar to chicken wings. Some have called the taste and texture of frog meat a cross between chicken and fish.

In fact, only the upper joint of the hind leg is served in the dish, which has a bone similar to the joint of a chicken wing (photo #1).

Frog legs are a traditional item on classic French cuisine menus, where they are prepared with butter, garlic and sometimes parsley sauce and served only with salad or steamed rice.

The dish is popular in French speaking parts of Louisiana, particularly the Cajun areas of Southern Louisiana as well as New Orleans.

 
 
MOST OF OUR FROGS’ LEGS ARE IMPORTED

Frog legs were also introduced to the U.S. in the 1880s by a gourmet chef in New Orleans, Donat Pucheu.

He sold juicy bullfrogs to New Orleans restaurants. The delectable dishes became popular immediately in the French speaking parts of Louisiana: not just New Orleans but also the Cajun areas of Southern Louisiana.

The sales of frog’s legs attracted the Weill Brothers from France, who started a lucrative business exporting frogs from Rayne, Louisiana in Acadia Parish, to restaurants in Louisiana and beyond.

Rayne became known as the capital of frog’s legs. For years, world-renowned restaurants like Sardi’s in New York boasted of offering frog legs from Rayne, Louisiana [source].

Today, our frog’s legs come from abroad.

As of 2014, the world’s largest exporter of edible frogs was Indonesia. Japan is another large exporter of commercially farmed frog’s legs.

In Brazil, the Caribbean and Mexico and the Caribbean, many frogs are still caught wild as opposed to farms [source].

But harvesting wild frogs has its share of environmental impact:

Bangladesh at one time supplied most of the frogs-legs consumed in the U.S. But the Bangladesh government discovered that its fly and mosquito populations increased drastically, with fewer frogs to eat them.

It was more expensive to control the flies with insecticides, so they banned the export of frogs.
 
 
HOW TO SERVE FROG’S LEGS

Serve them as you would any fish dish:

 
You can:

 
Then, you can celebrate both Leap Day holidays in one dish.

[1] Raw frog’s legs (photo © Euro USA).

[2] The most popular casual preparation: simply grilled frog’s legs (photo © Anagoria | Wikipedia).

[3] Frog’s legs “drumettes” (photo © Chef David Burke).

[4] A beautiful preparation by the gourmet chefs at The Chef’s Garden (photo © The Chef’s Garden).

There would be no need for February 29th if Earth’s orbit took exactly 365 days. But the solar year is actually 365.2422 days. Thus at the 365-day mark, Earth hasn’t quite circled all the way back to its starting point.

If this discrepancy were to go unheeded, after three centuries January 1st would occur in autumn; after six centuries, it would occur in the summer (source).

By the 1st century B.C.E., when the Roman calendar had slipped a full two months out of alignment with the seasons.

So in 46 B.C.E., Emperor Julius Caesar instituted a new calendar (called the Julian calendar) that added a leap day to February once every four years.

It was a good start, but not a perfect solution. The Julian calendar produced years that average 365.25 days long. By the 16th century, the error had added up to a 10-day discrepancy.

So Pope Gregory XIII replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar, which solved the problem by adding an extra day every four years.

[5] Nuoc cham is the national condiment of Vietnam. Here’s the recipe from Gastronomy Blog (photo © Gastronomy Blog).

[6] Peri-peri sauce is the national condiment of Peru. Here’s a recipe (photo © Flavor And The Menu).

[7a] Romesco may be the most famous sauce in Spain (photo © Chef Aida Mollenkamp).

[7b] Muhammara, a Syrian nut-based sauce, can be used on everything from pizza to sandwiched. Here’s a recipe from Food 52 (photo © Food 52).

[8] Sambal is an all-purpose condiment from Indonesia. Here’s the recipe from McCormick (photo © McCormick).

This is Part 2 of a three-part article on 12 international flavors that can be used as sauces.

The idea is to enhance your home cooking’s flavor profile by adding international-inspired sauces to chicken, fish, meat, meat, poultry and other everyday foods.

You can make the sauces from scratch, or purchase them at specialty stores.

Thanks to Flavor & The Menu, that presents new ideas for cuisine to restaurant chefs , for the inspiration for this article.

Some are thin like marinade, others are pastes that can be thinned with broth, oil or water.
 
The 12 sauces include:

 
 
5. NUOC CHAM

This vinegar/fish/chile-based dipping sauce is the Vietnamese “mother sauce.”

In Vietnam, is used with everything from pork dishes to spring rolls. It’s very adaptable beyond Vietnamese cuisine.

This bright red, sweet and salty sauce is not too spicy, anc can be used:

 
Here’s a terrific recipe.
 
 
6. NUT-BASED SAUCES

As vegan fare becomes more mainstream in the U.S., more nut-based sauces are substituted for dairy-based sauces.

Two notable nut-based sauces are:

 
These sauces work with everything, including grains and proteins. We like romesco:

 
 
7. PERI-PERI

The national condiment of Peru, peri-peri sauce (also spelled piri-piri) is made in medium to hot levels of spiciness. The more chiles, or the hotter the variety of chiles used, the hotter the sauce.

Original peri-peri uses the African bird’s eye chile (the African word for the chile is peri-peri). Milder sauces may use only cayenne and serrano chiles.

To a base of red wine vinegar and oil, garlic and lemon juice are added, plus other seasonings, which often include paprika or tomato paste for flavor and color, onions and herbs.

Each company and home cook has their own recipe.

Peri-peri is also used as a cooking sauce. Here’s a recipe.

Peri-peri gained popularity in the U.S. through restaurants like Nando’s Peri-Peri, a South African-based chain serving barbecue chicken marinated in the sauce. Use it for:

 
We recently used it in a refined dish of octopus, potatoes, fennel and olives.

As with all recipes, the only limit is your imagination.

Sambal is an Indonesian chili sauce or paste, a mixture of different chili peppers with garlic, ginger, lime juice, palm sugar, scallion, shallot, shrimp paste. It is an all-purpose condiment in Indonesian cuisine.

Sambal could be the next trending hot sauce. According to Datassential, which monitors food trends, menu mentions of sambal have gone up 47% over the last four years.

Sambal’s bright, hot heat from chiles and tangy lime juice have just a touch of funkiness from the shrimp paste. It can easily move beyond Southeast Asian cuisine to global mash-ups and modern American cuisine, such as:

 
You can start by mixing sambal with ketchup or mayonnaise for a dip or spread.

Stay tuned for Part 3: Savory Caramel, Tahini, Tamarind and Yogurt-Based Sauces.

February 27th is National Protein Day.

If you don’t remember high school biology:

Proteins are made up of chains of smaller chemicals called amino acids. The human body can’t store amino acids, so it must be obtained daily from the foods we eat.

Protein deficiency can occur when you’re not eating enough protein to maintain normal body function.

 
 
FOODS HIGH IN PROTEIN

You know what they are, but here’s the official list:

 
While vegetables don’t have as much protein as these, the higher-protein vegetables include artichokes, asparagus, avocado, bean sprouts, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, corn, green peas, lima beans, mushrooms potatoes and sweet potatoes, and spinach.
 
How Much Protein Do You Need To Eat

At a minimum, your daily consumption should include [source]:

 
And by the way, if you haven’t eaten your daily quota of protein but don’t want a meal, a couple of spoonfuls of hummus from the container do the trick.
 
 
HUMMUS BOWLS: PROTEIN IS FUN!

One way to get your protein is a hummus bowl.

Not only is hummus (made from chickpeas) protein-packed, but you can add any other protein on top of it—as well as grains and veggies.

A bonus: You can go into your fridge, find odds and ends, and toss them them on top of the hummus. A basic template for bowl-building:

 
We don’t have to look too far in our kitchen. We always have a container of hummus in the fridge, a bag of peeled hard-boiled eggs, cheeses, raw vegetables, and jars on the shelf of artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, roasted red peppers and sundried tomatoes.

No leftover proteins? Grab a can of tuna.

MINI-TIP: You can turn a hummus bowl into a pizza! The pizza crust or naan with everything but salad ingredients, which go on top after the pizza comes out of the oven. (Our favorite salad topping is arugula.)
 
 
HUMMUS BOWLS FOR ANY MEAL

Looking at the lists above, it’s easy to conceive hummus bowls for lunch and dinner. What about breakfast?

Here are some ideas to add to the hummus:

 
Ready to go bowl-ing?

[1] Hummus breakfast bowl with soft-boiled eggs, roasted cauliflower and toasted pita. Here’s the recipe from Pinch Of Yum (photo © Pinch Of Yum).

[2] For lunch, a Greek Salad hummus bowl with quinoa. Here’s the recipe from Baked Greens (photo © Baked Greens).

[3] Dinner time: Chicken Shawarma (or any chicken preparation) with cucumbers, feta, red cabbage and pickled red onions. Here’s the recipe from Plays Well With Butter (photo © Plays Well With Butter).

[4] Double the protein: This hummus bowl includes roasted chickpeas, colorful veggies and Kalamata olives. Here’s the recipe from Culinary Hill (photo © Culinary Hill).

>>> CHECK OUT THE HISTORY OF HUMMUS <<<

[1] Chermoula, from North Africa, is spiced with cumin (photo © Off The Meat Hook).

[2] You can serve this papaya sauce with a dessert, or spice it up to serve with fish, and meats. Here’s the recipe from A Spoonful Of Yum (photo © A Spoonful Of Yum).

[3] Makhani is a gravy/curry flavored with chiles and spices. Here’s a recipe from My Food Story (photo © My Food Story).

[4] S’chug, also spelled zhug, a popular Yemeni sauce (photo © Anson Mills).

[5] Harissa has been gaining in awareness in the U.S. Here’s a recipe to make your own harissa paste, from Slow Burning Passion (photo © Slow Burning Passion).

Many of us eat global cuisine at restaurants, but why not dabble in them more often at home?

A simple path is to add an international-style sauce to chicken, fish and other everyday foods.

Flavor & The Menu, a resource for restaurant chefs nationwide, offers 12 global sauces for you to try.

They range from mild to spicy—and of course, you control the level of heat in your own kitchen.

We’re presenting these dozen dazzlers in a three-part article, so you can “digest” your thoughts—four sauces at a time.

Some are thin like marinade, others are pastes that can be thinned with broth, oil or water.
 
 
1. CHERMOULA

This bright herb sauce and marinade from North Africa has cumin as its main ingredient.

It is typically ground or blended into a paste with garlic, cilantro or other herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper.

While chermoula is often used as a sauce accompaniment to seafood in countries like Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, it can also shine in “American” cuisine:

 
 
2. FRUIT-BASED SAUCES

Fruit adds sweetness and texture to a sauce, helping to round out richer dishes and tame those with a bit of spice.

American and European recipes have long used berries, citrus and stone fruits to sauce both savory and sweet dishes.

Go global and make sauces from more tropical fruits—cherimoya, guava, mango, pineapple. Season them with spices from another culture—chile, curry, ginger, lemongrass, star anise…the combinations are endless.
 
 
3. MAKHANI

The name is new to us, but the concept is familiar: It’s a type of Indian curry (a.k.a. gravy).

Makhani is traditionally made by simmering green and red chiles, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, spices, nuts and seeds in plenty of butter, and then grounding or blending it into a paste.

Thanks to a growing interest in Indian cuisine, bright red makhani sauce can move beyond Chicken Butter Masala, Paneer Butter Masala, and egg and vegetarian Indian dishes, to flavorful fusion dishes.

Consider the sauce on:

 
 
4. MIDDLE EASTERN HOT SAUCES

As with most hot sauces used in the U.S., Middle Eastern hot sauces work across cuisines, providing lots of fusion opportunity.

Harissa is perhaps the best known, but take a look at s’chug, with bright, acidic notes from cilantro and green chiles.

Another hot sauce to watch is shatta, from Lebanon. It blends Kashmiri red chiles, lemon juice, garlic and chile powder.

Perfect with Middle Eastern dishes like shawarma, these sauces work equally well with tacos, wings and more.

In fact, how about a plate of tacos or wings with all three hot sauces for a fact-finding mission (i.e., which Middle Eastern hot sauce you like best)?
 
 
COMING UP