Peas! Today we're talking about peas, which are so ubiquitous as a readily-available frozen food that it's almost hard to remember that they are fleetingly in season come early summer. There are three major varieties of peas, and we'll be talking about them separately: shelling peas (also called English peas or garden peas), snow peas, and snap peas.
Fava beans aren't afraid to give you a hard time -- what other vegetable needs to be shelled twice? But they're worth it. Their intensely green pods are used in spring dishes all over the Mediterranean world, from Italy (in the spring stew la vignarola) to Iran (blanched and tossed with angelica). FOOD52er innoabrd's Besara -- think of it as Egyptian hummus -- is another classic preparation. As you blanch and peel your fava beans to tender perfection, here's more about them, both inside and out.
We had a special guest in the office today -- FOOD52er Kitchen Butterfly, visiting New York from her native Nigeria, came to pay us a visit! (The weekend before several FOOD52 users met up at Eataly -- you can see Panfusine's recap of the event here.) It wasn't until the end of her visit that she surprised us all with a set of gorgeous gifts -- we were speechless! From left to right, we have a reprint of a 1930s-era Yoruba cookbook, gorgeous placemats made from coconut fibers, grains of paradise -- which apparently cost next to nothing in Nigeria -- Kitchen Butterfly's favorite curry powder, dried chiles, ground melon seeds, and a gorgeous wooden bowl.
Strawberries are nuts! Actually, they're fruit -- and despite the name, they're not berries. Whether you're eating them plain or with clotted cream, stacking them sky-high with meringues, or using them to top a spinach salad, here's everything you need to know about buying, storing, and eating everyone's favorite all-American fruit (literally -- the Pilgrims had them at the first Thanksgiving)that's versatile, delicious, and as good for snacking as it is for sherbet, ricotta, or roasting.
Rhubarb, with its red-green stalks and tart taste, is one of spring's first harbingers. Whether you like it in scones, shortbread, a fizzy drink, or compote, here's everything you need to know about buying, storing, and cooking with rhubarb.Are there any rhubarb facts we've missed? Have you ever grown it in your garden? Let us know!
Here's what you encounter when you visit the website for Michael Natkin's new book, Herbivoracious: A Flavor Revolution with 150 Vibrant and Original Vegetarian Recipes, based on his blog of the same name: "I Don’t Care if you are a Vegetarian, Omnivore, Carnivore, Vegan, Pescetarian, or Flexitarian!" And it's true! Whether you're a lifelong vegetarian or just looking to work more meatless meals into your diet, Natkin's refreshing and beautiful recipes are a wonderful place to get started. We spoke with him about how he came to food blogging after a years-long career in computer graphics, what it was like transforming a blog into a book idea, and more. Be sure to check out Herbivoracious (the blog), and find out more about Herbivoracious (the cookbook)!
We love the profiles of food world leaders and their real-life kitchens in Pantry Confidential, and this time they've picked Alaina Browne, General Manager over with our friends at Serious Eats. Her short interview is inspiring: she talks about her favorite ingredients (she always adds more ginger than is called for), her culinary inspirations (her Chinese mother and Indian mother-in-law), and the best places to shop for spices in NYC (Kalustyan's and Dual Speciality).
Do you spend your days dreaming up new ways to cook with bacon? Does assembling a home smoker sound like your ideal weekend project? Were you a fan of our Holiday iPad app? Then the new Better Bacon Book: Make, Cook, and Eat Your Way to Cured Pork Greatness just released for iPad is the cure (pun intended) for you.
As Emily Fleischaker points out in this article from Bon Appetit, we go to restaurants to eat food that we can't make at home. And, I'd like to add, because every once in a while you order something that totally reimagines what you thought food was supposed to be. The radishes with butter and salt at the NoMad Hotel are exactly that edge case. Butter is gently tempered -- melted slowly to stay creamy instead of liquifying -- and liberally salted, then one by one the baby radishes are dipped whole into the butter and left to set. The result solves a dilemma that has faced Francophile radish-and-butter eaters since the dawn of time: how do you make sure you have a little bit of butter with every bite of radish? Problem solved. Butter-covered radishes...kind of like chocolate-covered strawberries, right? Just for fun, we put the choice between the two "something-covered somethings" up to our staff and got the following results: Amanda: Please don't ever put chocolate near my strawberries. No wire hangers! Merrill: Anyone ever tried radishes dipped in chocolate? Nozlee: I'm 100% in the butter-covered radish camp. Kristy: Team Radish!! Peter: I come from a split household. My sweet tooth says strawberries and chocolate but we served radishes and butter at our wedding per my wife's request. Hmmm... has anyone thought of buttering their chocolate? Jennifer: Second for Team Radish! Stephanie: Even I'm in the radish camp on this one. And we all know how I feel about chocolate. Kristen: Sorry, team radish, you New York Elites. Team strawberry FTW -- and we all know how I feel about butter. Amanda Li: Radish is a vegetable. Therefore, I'm team Choco Strawberry. Jenny: Isn't this a little like asking, "Would you prefer to lie on a beach and have no one talk to you, or go to a beautiful mountain and have no one talk to you?" Both are great, but totally different. We're not really sure who the winner is here, but I think the Jenny-ism says it all. You *Can* Judge a Radish by Its Cover from Bon Appetit
Today we celebrate the too-short season of ramps, our vegetable of the week. As we wrote during our contest for Your Best Ramps, they have a sweet pungency that many believe trumps all others in the onion family. Fleeting as they are, now's the time to capture their fragrant bite. Click through for more on the spring's hottest vegetable.
The voting is on in our Your Best Maple contest. While we wait for the votes to come in, here are some facts and figures about everyone's favorite pancake topping.
Spring is finally here and so is its lovely green herald, asparagus -- our vegetable of the week. We're just starting to see them at the Greenmarket here in New York City, although the delicate, purple-topped spears tied into fat bundles sell out fast.
The first day of Spring is today, March 20. But did you know that it's also the first day of the Iranian year 1391? The Iranian New Year is called Norooz, which literally means "new day," and it happens each year on the Vernal Equinox (also known as the first day of the spring season). Such a lovely time of year to start afresh, don't you think? Norooz is by far the country's biggest holiday, and it's been celebrated in the same way for centuries and centuries -- which is more than you can say for those "2012" sunglassses left over from last December 31. Many of the traditions around Norooz are based on food, cooking, and meals with loved ones -- all FOOD52-friendly pursuits! Read more for a look at what Iranians around the world are doing right now with their loved ones to celebrate the new year.
From the hyperseasonal (ramps and strawberries are just around the corner!) to the unusual (ever wondered how cardoons are grown?), to the quotidien (kitchen workhorses like leeks and garlic), we'll be highlighting our favorite fruits and vegetables every week. This week, at the request of mrslarkin, it's all about celery! (Have you contributed to our contest yet?)
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