Today’s tip is: Keep your eyes open for new foods. Then, share them with foodie friends.

Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog discovered sea asparagus—a vegetable that grows in or adjacent to salt water—on a recent trip to Hawaii. Sea asparagus grows in warm salt marshes and on beaches, there for the foraging. It is harvested wild, and also cultivated.

What Is Sea Asparagus

Sea asparagus (Salicornia europaea), also known as glasswort, samphire or sea beans, is a tender, green, spindly stalk that resembles tiny land-grown asparagus (although they are not related). It is a member of the Amaranthaceae family, which includes everything from amaranth, a high-protein grain, to ornamental cockscomb and picturesque tumbleweed.

Sea asparagus can be purchased fresh in areas where it is harvested, and packaged in specialty food markets. You can purchase it fresh, frozen, pickled (this year’s stocking stuffer?) and in other forms (sea pesto, powdered seasoning) from Olakai Hawaii. The season in British Columbia is currently “in full swing,” according to West Coast Seaweed, another e-tailer.

Fresh sea asparagus can be eaten raw, pickled or steamed (and then tossed in butter or olive oil); in a salad, as a side dish or a garnish (see the sushi photo below). Dried sea vegetables can be added directly to soups or stews and to the cooking liquid of beans or rice.

“Absorbing the sea salt like a sponge, sea asparagus can be quite salty if not thoroughly rinsed, and should never be salted no matter what else you add to it,” says Hannah. “Slightly crunchy when raw or par-cooked, it’s an exotic delight, and a surprise given my experience with flat, gelatinous, and/or stringy sea vegetables. As long as I can find sea asparagus, you can be sure that this salad will find its way to my table.”

Hannah’s recipe was inspired by the serving suggestion printed on the label for Olakai sea asparagus, purchased in Hawaii. Hannah combined them with other local pleasures: tiny currant tomatoes, a local product even smaller than grape tomatoes, and sweet Maui onions.

You can add a protein to turn the recipe into a luncheon salad. Consider grilled or smoked salmon (which makes the Hawaiian recipe lomi lomi), tofu, canned tuna, grilled fish or seafood. We used raw scallops: delicious!

RECIPE: SEA ASPARAGUS SALAD

Ingredients For 2-3 Side Dish Servings

 
Preparation

1. SNIP off any brown ends on the sea asparagus before rinsing them thoroughly under hot water. Toss them in a bowl along with the diced onion, oil and lemon juice.

2. MASSAGE the vegetables with your fingers for a minute or two, just to tenderize the stalks slightly. Add the tomatoes and mix to distribute throughout the salad.

3. SERVE immediately or chill. The salad will keep for up to two days. Don’t be tempted to add any salt, since sea asparagus is already infused with sodium from the sea.

Sea vegetables as a garnish, here on inari
sushi. Photo courtesy TastyIslandHawaii.com.

Vegetables don’t grow only on land. If you’re a fan of Japanese food, you’ve probably had one or more types of seaweed—a salad of hijiki or wakame, the nori wrapper of sushi rolls or a bowl of dashi (clear soup) made from kombu (kelp).

Sea vegetables are loaded with of chlorophyll, dietary fiber and vitamins and minerals from the ocean, including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, vitamins A and C and trace minerals such as iodine and vanadium. Many health food advocates eat them for the nutrition (details).

Sea asparagus, in particular, is an excellent source of calcium, iron and vitamins A, B2, B9 (folic acid), plus dietary fiber, amino acids and minerals.

Look for sea vegetables in natural food stores in dried form. Just soak them in water for 10 minutes and they’re ready to use.

If you like seaweed salad, you’ll like a mixed sea vegetable salad—say, arame/hijiki, dulse, sea palm and wakame. Try a mirin-tamari-ginger juice-soy sauce marinade, or a simple rice vinegar, olive oil and sesame oil vinaigrette.

 
Ready, set: Enjoy discovering the world of sea vegetables.

The term “cherry-pick” is a hint. The expression comes from harvesting the fruit: The pickers are instructed to carefully select the ripe fruit only. Unlike other tree fruits, cherries don’t ripen or improve in flavor after they’re picked.

Are we getting unripe fruit? Have growing conditions been substandard? Is the fruit mishandled after it’s harvested? We want answers (but more importantly, we want good cherries).

 
 
> July 11th is National Rainer Cherry Day.

> July 16th is National Cherry Day.

> Check out all the cherry holidays and more cherry recipes.
 
 
TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT

You can’t bite into a peach to see if it’s sweet enough before you buy it, but you can score a cherry. It’s the only way to make sure you’ll be happy with them.

If the flavor doesn’t deliver, it’s not worth the calories if you’re looking to snack on raw fruit. Find another variety. Keep tasting cherries as you come across them, and hope for a successful score.

[2] Queen Anne cherries have red and yellow skin (photo © Neha Deshmukh | Wesual | Unsplash).

[3] Bright red Montmorency cherries are tart cherries that are used for pies and jams (photo © Mandira Banik | Unsplash).

While these tips don’t ensure that the fruit will be sweet, they’re a good start:

 
If the cherries aren’t sweet enough in their natural state, perhaps a homemade cherry tart will put you in the summer grove?

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Here’s another delicious blackberry recipe: Chocolate Blackberry Macarons. Blackberry, a summer fruit, is a nice change from the chocolate or raspberry fillings often found in macarons.

The recipe was developed by blogger Naomi Robinson of Bakers Royal, and contributed to Driscoll’s recipes. Visit Naomi’s blog for more delicious recipes.

Prep time is 30 minutes, cook time is 15 to 17 minutes, plus cooling time.

RECIPE: CHOCOLATE BLACKBERRY MACARONS

Ingredients For 24-30 Macarons

For The Chocolate Macarons

 
For The Blackberry Filling

A summer flavor for macaron lovers. Photo courtesy Driscoll’s.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 330°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

2. TRACE out 1 inch circles on parchment and set this aside as a “master copy.” Reserve two extra sheets of parchment and set aside.

3. PLACE egg whites and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and fit mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium low speed until egg whites start to form loose, translucent bubbles.

4. INCREASE mixer speed to medium and beat until meringue turns foamy and white and starts to resemble well-lathered shampoo, about 2 minutes. Increase mixer to high and beat until meringue holds glossy stiff peaks, about another 2-3 minutes. Turn off mixer.

5. PROCESS almond meal, powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor and then sift. Add these dry ingredients to the meringue. Using a sturdy spatula fold and smash dry mixture into meringue against the bowl for about 20-25 folds.

Don’t worry about being gentle; the idea is to knock the air out. The batter should hold its shape when spooned on itself and start to slowly flatten out after about 15-20 seconds. Start checking the batter after 20 folds for readiness. Transfer batter to pastry bag and let rest for 20 minutes before piping.

7. GIVE each pan a quick hard tap against the counter, turn the pan 90 degrees and give it another quick hard tap. This will deflate any bubbles and prevent cracked shells.

8. BAKE for 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Leave meringue shells to cool completely on the pan. Shells will cleanly peel away from the parchment when ready.

9. MAKE the blackberry filling. Place water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir until sugar is melted. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool, 15-20 minutes. Once cooled, sprinkle gelatin on top and leave untouched for 1-2 minutes for the gelatin to bloom.

10. RETURN the pan to the stove top and over low heat stir the mixture until the gelatin bloom melts and mixture resembles the consistency of maple syrup. Remove from heat and stir the gelatin mixture into the blackberry purée. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 10-15 minutes or until the filling becomes thick and slightly sets.

11. ASSEMBLE the meringues. Pipe the filling onto one shell, place a second shell on top and repeat.

We love this idea from Spoonful Of Comfort: a soft drink turned into “ocean water.”

It’s not just for kids! Even adults like the Swedish Fish garnish; and they’ll especially appreciate it with a hit of vodka or other clear spirit.

RECIPE: OCEAN WATER

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. FILL a glass or mason jar with soda. Add spirit to taste.

2. Using an eye dropper, add one drop of blue food color. Stir. Add more color as desired.

3. Drop in a Swedish Fish. Serve with a straw.

[2] Why not grow these heirloom lemon cucumbers at home. Head to Burpee for the seeds (photos #2 through #5 © Burpee).

[3] These White Wonder cucumbers were a mutation. The seeds were then developed into this eye-catching variety, which happens to be extra-crisp.

[4] Check farmers markets for specialty varieties like the Armenian cucumber, shown here.

[5] Brown Russian cucumbers have a brown peel.

The different types of cucumbers are below, but we’re starting with a cocktail to celebrate National Cucumber Day, June 13th.

Hendrick’s Gin sent us a cocktail recipe called Cucumber Lemonade. We enjoyed both the drink and the garnish and thought: Why don’t we use more cucumber garnishes?

The Cucumber Lemonade recipe is below, but you can also use a cucumber garnish with:

 
Try adding a cucumber spear to these drinks, and you’ll have a crunchy snack to enjoy with it.

> The history of cucumbers.
 
 
RECIPE: HENDRICK’S CUCUMBER LEMONADE

Ingredients For 1 Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the first three ingredients in a tall glass. Add ice.

2. TOP with sparkling water, stir gently and garnish with a cucumber spear or wedge.
 
 
CUCUMBER TYPES
 
You can garnish with any supermarket cucumber, but why not have fun and look for specialty varieties?

Add them to your salads, and serve them as crudités.

And check out the history of cucumbers.

Growers define cucumbers in five categories: slicing, pickling, burpless, space savers, and specialty.

 
There are nearly 100 varieties of cucumbers grown in most countries in the world.

Here’s your homework:

Go to a farmers market and look for specialty cucumbers. If you have a garden, check out the options and plan to plant at least one variety next year.

By the way: cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) are a fruit, not a vegetable. They are members of the Cucurbitaceae family, which also includes watermelons, pumpkin, and zucchini, among others.
 

*Botanically, cucumbers, Cumis sativus, are fruits. They are members of the same binomial genus as cantaloupe, honeydew, Persian and other melons. The difference between fruits and vegetables:

Fact: Fruits are not necessarily sweet. Tomatoes are fruits, avocados are fruits, hot chile peppers are fruits, cucumbers and squash are fruits.

Because they aren’t sweet, people think of them (and classify them in recipes and in produce departments) as vegetables.

But by botanical definition, fruits have their seeds on the inside; the only exception is the strawberry.

With fruits, the seeds, or pits, are contained in the fruit’s ovary sac. True vegetables have no “pit” or seed sac.

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