Crazy for Cukes

Congratulations to Melinda G from Missouri who won our Picnic Time English-style willow basket sweepstakes! We hope you'll have plenty of opportunity to use it this summer.

Sandy's out on vacation having fun in Japan this week. In her stead, Catherine Pantsios, one of our stellar Special Fork Food Editors is sharing her latest obsession: Thai Cucumber Peanut Salad.

By Catherine Pantsios

I guess it’s pretty obvious where the phrase “cool as a cucumber” comes from—there’s no denying this crisp green fruit (yes, cukes are a fruit, not a vegetable) is a sure-fire refresher on a hot day. Cucumbers have a bright, yet subtle flavor that blends well with many flavor palettes, whether it’s in a Russian salad with sour cream and dill; a Japanese quick pickle with rice vinegar, soy sauce and a touch of sugar; or a fiery Korean kimchi.

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The Charms of Rhubarb!

By Lori Powell

Get it while you can…as rhubarb is only with us for about 1½ months and is a true signal of spring. The first harvest begins in late May or the beginning of June.

Rhubarb has grown in popularity over the years since it’s easy to grow (it is a perennial), is pretty to look at (jewel-like color when red) and is versatile, since can be used in sweet as well as savory recipes.

Rhubarb is technically a vegetable but is treated more like a fruit. The tart celery-like ribs contain a good dose of vitamin C, K, calcium, potassium and manganese. However the leaves are poisonous so if they are still attached when purchased, remove and discard them before using.

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Oven-Finished Meat

By Katie Barreira

A very generous gift certificate sent me over to one of nyc’s finest meat purveyors. After helping me to select a prime cut of dry-aged porterhouse, the butcher asked, “you know what to do with this?” Well! It was nearly condescending enough to send me out the door, but I swallowed my chego (that’s chef-ego, a powerful brand of pride) and did what I always do, even when I think I know best: I asked the expert how he would prepare the steak. Passionate experts are always happy to offer knowledge about their goods; you’ll almost always learn something new, and if you don’t, you can quietly bask in the knowledge that you would have done it just like the pro.

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Feeding the Landfill

By Sandy Hu

Recently, The Wall Street Journal published a story called “Leftovers: Tasty or Trash?” in which the writer shared some eye-opening statistics:

- An average U.S. family of four throws away between $500 to $2,000 worth of food each year
- 25 percent of trash in a home (all avoidable waste) consists of vegetables
- 16 percent is fruits and juices
- 14 percent is grains
- 13 percent is milk and yogurt

Here’s another disturbing fact cited by the paper: After paper and paperboard, food is the next largest solid waste component in U.S. landfills and incinerators. A staggering 33 million tons of food was dumped in 2010 according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Kettle Corn Style Pistachios

By Andrew Hunter

I remember as a kid eating pistachios by the sacksful. In those good old days, my fingers, palms and face would be as red as the pistachios. It simply didn’t dawn on me that pistachios weren’t naturally red. Now I know that in fact red pistachios should be avoided like the plague. Why, because inferior and even moldy nuts are dyed to hide any number of impurities.

Recently, we were wandering around a farm in Northern California and got lost in the pistachio groves. The nuts hung in bunches with split creamy beige shells exposing the tender green and rosy hued kernels, waiting to be shaken from their branches, roasted and sold at farm stands and country markets along the roadways.

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