Nozlee Samadzadeh

Down & Dirty: Tiny Citrus

Citrus

Down & Dirty: Tiny Citrus

Last week, we talked all about citrus, from simple navel oranges to elegant bergamots. Today we're scaling down to talk about a whole range of tiny citruses, from the quotidian (lemons and limes -- what's the difference between them, again?) to the fantastical (calamondins). Pucker up and get ready -- we have so much to cover!

Latest

Citrus

Down & Dirty: Citrus

Citrus are winter's glory, the bright spot of sunshine amongst a cellar's worth of dirt-covered root vegetables. There's a fantastically wide array of them, too -- so many that we're taking two weeks to cover them all. Stay tuned for tiny citrus next Friday, because today it's all about the big guns: orange clones, grapefruit's meaty predecessor, hard-to-find Bergamot, and everything in between. (Bonus points if you correctly identify all 8 varieties in the above photo. No peeking!)

Root Vegetable

Down & Dirty: Turnips and Rutabagas

We'll be focusing on more glamorous cold-weather produce in the coming weeks -- citrus, anyone? -- but today it's all about winter's root vegetable workhorses. Turnips and rutabagas are both in the brassica family (along with broccoli and cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and more) and are as hardy as root vegetables can be -- although telling them apart can be tricky!

Fruit

Down & Dirty: Quince

It seems so obvious that quinces are close cousins to apples and pears -- that is, until you bite into one. Astringent and sweetly bitter (very similar to persimmons, in fact), they're not easy to love. But with proper handling, some seed-saving, and the right recipes, you'll be stocking up on quinces all winter long.

Down & Dirty: Winter Squash

Squash

Down & Dirty: Winter Squash

With tan, green, and yellow skin that yields to bright orange insides, winter squash provide a cold-weather splash of color at farmers' market. Though they're closely related to melons and (of course) summer squash, winter squash have unique characteristics -- their tough skin, delicious seeds, and sweet flesh make them kitchen staples from the beginning of autumn until spring.

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|January 25, 2013
Down & Dirty: Persimmons

Fruit

Down & Dirty: Persimmons

Persimmons -- have you submitted your recipe to this week's contest yet? -- are a winter fruit easy to overlook. They're sold unripened, to start, which can be confusing. But your patience in ripening them is rewarded with silky, gently jellied, intensely sweet flesh that can be used in everything from salads to baked goods.

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|January 18, 2013
Down & Dirty: Potatoes

Potato

Down & Dirty: Potatoes

The last time we talked about potatoes, Marian Bull helped us figure out how to match recipes to the potatoes that suit them best -- starchy Russets for mashing, waxy red potatoes for salads, and more. Today we're digging underground to learn even more about the potato: we'll talk about how they're actually the stems of the plant, what exactly a potato fruit looks like, and what it really means when their skin turns green after storage.

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|January 11, 2013
Down & Dirty: Cranberries

Blueberry

Down & Dirty: Cranberries

Today we're learning all about the jewel-like cranberry as it goes from puckeringly sour in the raw to richly sweet when cooked. Native to this continent and a close cousin to blueberries, lingonberries, and huckleberries, the cranberry is so much more than just a Thanksgiving one-off. As American as apple pie? Try as American as cranberry sauce!

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|January  4, 2013
Down & Dirty: Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprout

Down & Dirty: Brussels Sprouts

There's a lingering stereotype about brussels sprouts that says they're mushy, funky, and to be avoided. Not so! Brussels sprouts, which originated in Northern Europe in the 13th century or so, are actually the greatest of all brassicas: they have cabbage's vegetal sweetness, kale's versatility, cauliflower's nuttiness, and more surface area (which equals more potential crispiness) than just about any other vegetable.

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|December 28, 2012
Down & Dirty: Sweet Potatoes and Yams

Sweet Potato/Yam

Down & Dirty: Sweet Potatoes and Yams

 What's in a name? Well, for starters, sweet potatoes aren't really potatoes -- they're actually in the morning glory family. And yams are in a genus all their own, more closely related to lilies than spuds. The naming confusion can be traced to the American South in the 18th and 19th centuries, when African slaves encountered the sweet potato and naturally linked it in their minds with their native yam. But they're both delicious no matter they're called -- nomenclature aside, today we take a close look at sweet potatoes and yams. 

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|December 21, 2012
Down & Dirty: Kohlrabi

Leafy Green

Down & Dirty: Kohlrabi

We might as well just say it: kohlrabi is a little weird. The name literally means "cabbage turnip" in German (makes sense, right?), and they're as common as cabbages and turnips themselves in Eastern Europe, where they've been around for centuries. Stateside, though, they're a little more unusual -- "you'd think it had just landed on earth," Elizabeth Scneider says in Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables: A Commonsense Guide -- so farmers' markets and CSA boxes are your best bet for the hardy, prolific stems.

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|December 14, 2012
Down & Dirty: Dark Leafy Greens

Salad

Down & Dirty: Dark Leafy Greens

Today we're taking a nose dive into the salad bowl with a half-dozen varieties of dark leafy greens. These plants come from a few different plant families -- arugula, kale, and collards are Brassicas, spinach and chard are in the Amaranth family, and dandelion is from the family Asteraceae -- but they share certain essential characteristics in the kitchen: all can be enjoyed raw or cooked, and they're all hardier than the fragile salad greens of spring.  

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|December  7, 2012
Michael Cirino of A Razor, A Shiny Knife

Lists

Michael Cirino of A Razor, A Shiny Knife

We're sitting down with our favorite writers and cooks to talk about their upcoming cookbooks, their best food memories, and just about anything else. Today: We talk to chef and artist Michael J Cirino about the love of collaboration and his group A Razor, A Shiny Knife.

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|December  4, 2012
Down & Dirty: Pears

Asian Pear

Down & Dirty: Pears

Pears are so distinct that the only word we have to describe their shape is "pyriform," which means, literally, "pear-shaped"! They've been cultivated for millennia -- there were pear tree groves in China 3000 years ago -- and there are thousands of varieties, many of them decorative or inedible. In the US, you'll find about 10 common varieties, among them Comice, Anjou, Bartlett, Seckel, and Bosc.  

by: Nozlee Samadzadeh|November 30, 2012

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