(Photo by beyondtheflavor.com) In the United States, duck has been a traditional autumn and early winter food because that is the appropriate time to pull it from the sky with a gun and some luck. The happy hunter would enjoy an animal robed in fat from easy summer eating. In late fall, the birds have […]

(File photo) Bread is made from grain, liquid, leavener, and love. Laugh if you will at the last ingredient, but without love in bread, you may find yourself in the bread aisle of the supermarket, attempting to choose between Limp Insipid (made with high fructose corn syrup) and Limp Insipid with Added Fiber (also made […]

Paying homage to the pepper The long, strong days of sunshine are slipping away, and nighttime falls silent as the insects finish their summertime symphony. Every environmental cue carries one message to the plant world: FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED.  If you haven’t bloomed yet, bloom. If you need to be pollinated—you better find a bee. […]

When in Romas The humble Roma tomato is easy to overlook at summertime markets. Let’s face facts—you’ve bypassed them a million times in the supermarket, so red and cheerful (even in the dark night of winter) that they seem to be imitating wax fruit. Amid the motley, knobbly heirloom tomatoes (Mr. Stripey! Cherokee Purple!) and […]

If strawberry season came and went as something of a surprise to you, the natural world has but one message for you: WAKE UP. The Year in Fruit is an annual parade that arrives in town, marches through, and then is gone until next spring. Each fruit is a group that marches together, with a […]

Spring siren The strawberry is a sign of spring in full swing. Her neat appearance, modest curves and sweet, enticing aroma create quite a stir at City Market—everyone wants to smell, and touch, and move closer to this bright berry. Children cannot be called off. She catches your eye, peeking out from beyond the spinach […]