The Best Things You Probably Aren't Eating Yet: Garlic Scapes

Behold the garlic scape.  Small yet mighty, beautiful but with a bite, simple in look but intense in flavor.  Garlic scapes and I were introduced through my CSA the first year we joined it, and I fell in love at first taste.

The Best Things You Probably Aren't Eating Yet: Quince

Quince.  It's a great scrabble word.  Also handy for crosswords and alphabet games.  And, in addition to all of that, it's actually a pretty decent fruit as well!

Quince is not easy to find, but even if you do, you might simply pass it by.  It looks like a lumpy pear, or a weird yellow apple.  I happened to spot them in the "exotics" section of the produce area at our grocery store the other day, and I may have freaked a few other shoppers out with my yelp of excitement.  I wasn't sure what exactly I was going to do with them, but I knew that I had just come across a quince recipe a few days earlier, so I sniffed the quince, fell in love, and scooped up 4.

The Best Things You Probably Aren't Eating Yet: Rhubarb

I think I need a springtervention.  I am so excited about spring, and all of the goodies it brings.  As my freezer starts to get more and more emptied of last year's harvest, I start to look ahead to the good things on the way.  In the spring and early summer, that means rhubarb.

Rhubarb is a puzzle to a lot of people.  It's hard to pass by its' beautiful ruby stalks without noticing it, but not many people stop and pick some up.  It's tart, it's big, it kind of looks like red celery, grocery stores put it in the vegetable section, but it's used more like a fruit, the leaves are actually poisonous...let's face it...it's kind of weird.  Even the word "rhubarb" means "a heated debate or controversy".  But there's no need to debate in my mind.  Used in the right ways, rhubarb is a real spring treat.

Rhubarb has potassium, vitamin C, fiber and calcium.  It's been used for centuries as a medicinal herb, reducing inflammation and assisting digestion.  And it makes some amazing baked goods, like this beautiful rhubarb cake from Not Without Salt, which I could eat everyday for the rest of my life.

The Best Things You Probably Aren't Eating Yet: Artichokes

Okay, so maybe the title is a little off this time around.  You probably are eating artichokes.  Most likely in some delicious creamy dip form.  But I'm talking about picking up a whole artichoke and cooking and eating it.  I'm guessing that only a handful out there do that.  Maybe I'm wrong on this one, but nearly every time I'm at the store and someone sees me putting a bunch of artichokes into my cart, I am asked, "But what do you DO with them?", or, "Yes, but do the kids eat them?".  We love them.  Well, except for the young picky one, but he'll get there soon enough.  In the meantime, more for the rest of us!

The Best Things You Probably Aren't Eating Yet: Asparagus

Spring is almost here.

I love it.  I've ordered seeds and plants for my gardens and yard, the sun stays out longer, the weather has a damp, rain-scented edge to it, and I feel myself come out of the shell that winter crowds me into.  And, off a few months in the distance, I hear the farmers' markets calling their siren song to me.

At the grocery stores, the seasons tend to be a few months ahead of us, because the food is transported from warmer climates.  That means that right about now, we are getting some of my favorite seasonal produce in the stores, and on some great deals.

A lot of veggies out there seem to be a "love it or hate it" kind of deal.  Green veg, in particular, seems to be a hard sell to some.  Just the word "asparagus" makes some people squirm.  But for me, it's spring in a stick. versatile, nutritious, and delicious.  No, it really is, I swear...give me a chance here!

The Best Things You Probably Aren't Eating Yet: Jicama

My family eats weird food.  And we love it.  And it may even be good for us.  Variety is the spice of life, right?  So, with that in mind, I'm going to share some posts of foods that we love, and that you might not be eating...yet.  Hopefully it will inspire somebody to get out there and broaden their horizons.

I'm going to start with jicama.  You pronounce it "hick-a-ma", or at least, that's how I say it.  It's a total hit at my house, loved by all 5 of us.  Yes, even little Mr. Picky will chow down on jicama.  It often makes it's way into the girls' lunchboxes, and at the start of every school year, they get a big kick out of telling me about all the people (kids and adults both) who ask them, "What the heck is that?".  The trials and tribulations of being a foodie kid, I guess.