Cucumber growing requires warm temperatures of at least 70°F (21ºC). Slicing cucumbers and pickling cucumbers: that’s how cucumbers are divided. It is said that the ancient Roman Emperor Tiberius demanded cucumbers on his table every day of the year. The story does not say if they were slicing or pickling cucumbers; maybe both. The English
Bitter melon can be eaten raw when thinly sliced raw but it’s commonly cooked. Bitter melon can be stir-fried, parboiled, or stuffed. The bitter melon picked at maturity will be bitter. The younger, thinner, shorter and bright green bitter melon will be less bitter tasting. The bitter melon harvest season runs from mid-spring through late
There’s an old rhyme that says, “A swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon.” And so it is, as summer arrives later this month in the northern hemsphere. Bees still have their work cut our for them in June even though many fruit blossoms–apricots and plums, for instance–have given way to green
Savory Radish-Cabbage ColeslawAuthor Steve Albert Here’s an easy coleslaw you can put together right from the early spring garden. This coleslaw has a sophisticated radish bite to it. It’s savory. No sugar, so it’s not your average picnic slaw. We matched this slaw with grilled salmon and steamed peas and mushrooms and every bite was
The first day of winter will arrive later this month in the southern hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and South Africa. Many birds have headed north and nature has finished its preparation for the cooler and cold days ahead. June is a good month to mulch strawberries and protect them from winter cold.
The fruit cobbler has an interesting history. It was invented in America sometime in the middle of the nineteenth century. Where is not exactly clear; some say the midwest; others say the west. The names of American cobblers are a study in themselves: the Betty, the Grunt, the Slump, the Buckle, and the Sonker. And
How do you cook peas? Peas are cooked in the least possible amount of water and in just the time for them to become just tender. The French cook peas in the water it takes to moisten lettuce leaves. Line a saucepan with damp greens and a few pea pods, pour in the shelled peas
Just cooked English peas, sautéd spring onions and roasted, salted almonds are a delicious combination of tender sweet, sweet pungent, and crunchy just salty. You can set this side dish next to grilled fish or chicken or mashed potatoes and a roast. It’s not too filling yet will holds its own. English peas and spring
Apriums are juicy, sweet eating out of hand. An aprium is a hybrid fruit—¾ apricot and ¼ plum. The aprium is bright orange on the outside with just a hint of skin fuzz. Its bright orange flesh is dense and surrounds a stone similar to an apricot’s. The aprium is about the size of a
Fresh light mixed green leaves salad. Lettuce, mizuna, arugula and oakleave lettuce in blue bowl on a table. Mizuna has a mild and tangy flavor. Toss young mizuna leaves in a mixed salad. Larger leaves—which can have a mustardy or bitter-green tang–are best cooked briefly. Mizuna is sometimes called potherb mustard. Mix mizuna with
