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Chayote – Out of Your Gourd

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If one didn’t know better, one could easily mistake a Chayote (Chy YOH Tee) for a pear having a major meltdown. While it shares the pear’s shape, size and colouring, this Mexican gourd’s skin is fraught with folds of what could be misunderstood for fatigue and worry. But once you peel back the furrowed, light-green […]

Okra – My Pod

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Seedy and slimy are not my usual favourite qualities in friends or food, but I’ve made an exception for Okra. A flowering plant in the mallow family (related to cotton and cocoa), Okra produces beautiful green fruit in long, slender, curved pods. Sometimes referred to as lady fingers, Okra is also known as ‘gumbo’ particularly […]

Yuca – Bark is Worse Than the Bite

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I have food sensitivities – not just lactose intolerance or a curious allergy to cucumbers; I mean I’m queasy about the appearance, texture, and even names of certain foods. By my early 20s, I overcame most of my childhood food aversions, but occasionally some still crop up. Like yuca. It sounds so bad; it has […]

Nuts About Lychee

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  It wasn’t exactly love at first sight when my sister brought home a plastic bag of small, round, bumpy-encased fruits called lychee. And even after peeling open the reddish-brown shell to discover a translucent-white glossy fruit, I still wasn’t exactly smitten. But at first bite, it was a different story. Its sweet, juiciness was […]

I Heart Artichokes

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If ever there were a vegetable so full of intrigue, it could be the centrepiece of a steamy romance, a potboiler and a hotbed of controversy, the globe artichoke would take the prize. With its ties to mafia, royalty, celebrities and even the gods, the artichoke has been called a monstrosity, rhapsodized in poetry by […]

Kohlrabi – Down to Earth

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Often described as a little Sputnik, Kohlrabi may look like something from out of this world, but this member of the cabbage family is very down to earth. Growing just above-ground, Kohlrabi is an easy and prolific vegetable to grow, adapting well to various climates and geographic areas. Some say Kohlrabi was popularly grown throughout […]

Kale – Turn Over a New Leaf

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While kale is anything but new, it’s not exactly the most popular green to populate a plate. You may have been served a leaf or two as a garnish at your favourite restaurant, but that doesn’t do this versatile leafy green justice. Kale may look frilly, but these colourful leaves are hardy stuff. Tough enough […]

Strawberry Papaya – Fruit of the Angels

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Reportedly declared, “the fruit of the angels” by Christopher Columbus, papayas, like explorers, have made their way from Central America and the Indias to Hawaii, Mexico and Florida. I never much liked this fruit, preferring a deliciously sweet mango over the blandness of papaya. Then I encountered the strawberry papaya. Sweeter and less acidic than […]

Honk If You Love Gooseberries

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Thanks to my Grade Six ‘scary berry’ training, which taught me to never trust a wild berry, not once have I strayed from the safety of the familiar strawberry, blueberry, blackberry or raspberry bush. Despite tempting, vibrant-coloured berries bursting from shrubs, with branches reaching over fences as though they were beckoning, ‘pick me, pick me’, […]

Belgian Endive – A Mistake Worth Making

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  What do potato chips, Popsicles and chocolate chip cookies have in common with a leafy vegetable from the chicory family? They were all discovered by accident. The difference is, Belgian endive is a much healthier choice than the other three. Whether you pronounce it, EN-dive or on-DEEV, Belgian endive was one of history’s better […]

Prickly Pear – From Desert to Dessert

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While the thought of eating a cactus plant sounds more perilous than pleasurable, the prickly pear cactus is one plant that provides a triple whammy of healthy edible fruit, vegetable and flower. Grown widely in the United States, Mexico and South America, the prickly pear cactus also proliferates in the Mediterranean and some areas of […]

Here Comes The Sunchoke

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  It’s been a long, cold winter. Having endured the teasing of the sun occasionally poking through the clouds only to be followed with more snow, more wind and more cold, I was happy to snatch a little ball of sun from the produce market. Actually, a little ball of sunchoke. Also known as the […]

Enter the Daikon

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I have a love-hate relationship with radishes. As a child, I loved to watch them grow in our garden. It was always the little green radish leaves that were the first to poke up through the soil. I knew I didn’t have to wait long before I could wrap my little hands around a bundle […]

Persimmon – The Sweet Sensation

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Known to the ancient Greeks as the ‘fruit of the gods’ a persimmon can be a bitter bite or sweet sensation depending on the variety of fruit you are eating. In North America, the two most popular types are the astringent Hachiya and the non-astringent Fuyu. While both contain tannins, the Hachiya tannins are more […]

Welcome to Jicama!

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I wouldn’t have given it a second glance if the name hadn’t popped out at me like a flashing neon light through the bleak, wintry darkness. Maybe it was the fluorescents playing tricks on my already failing eyes, but I thought the label said “Jamaica.” What a coincidence as that was exactly where I wanted […]

The Future of Taro Root

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When I think of my favourite vegetable, the potato doesn’t immediately come to mind. Yet, it is the most widely-consumed vegetable in North America. Even the United Nations touted 2008 as the International Year of the Potato. But the potato isn’t the only tuber that can show its starch. Its tropical counterpart, the taro root, […]

The Pummelo – Worth the Wait

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Although Christmas is over, there’s still something special you may want to unwrap, and it coincides with the upcoming two-week celebration of Chinese New Year that starts January 26. As part of Chinese New Year festivities, special foods are not only eaten, but also used to decorate homes as a sign of prosperity, and to […]

The Princess and the Dragon Fruit

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  My little Princess has always been a good shopper. Contentedly sitting in the cart she’s quick to point out what I’m looking for, but can’t seem to find. Perhaps the relaxed view from the front buggy seat while being escorted about, puts things in just the right perspective for discovery. Our experiences at the […]

New Year’s Greens

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If you’ve had enough White Christmas, or perhaps Red Christmas from blowing your budget, your luck is about to change. Now you can look forward to a Green New Year. While across the globe, an economic crisis has put a damper on spirits and bank accounts, there is a glimmer of hope this New Year, […]

The Pitfalls and Pleasures of Pomegranates

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“Can we get one of these?” she asked, pulling a deep pink orb from a large box. My 8-year-old niece and 10-year-old nephew were spending a week with us this past September and I had taken them grocery shopping to make sure we were well equipped with their favourite foods. “It comes with a book,” […]