Vegetables

Whoever believes there's nothing new under the sun hasn't seen the plants being introduced for the 2013 gardening season. Think multi-colored blooms, high-yield vegetables bred for containers and ornamental edibles packing still more nutrition as breeders try to anticipate consumer demand. Grafted tomatoes appear to be the hottest new trend in home gardening, while cocktail gardens, featuring plants that make or embellish alcoholic drinks, top this year's niche category. "We're looking for earlier...

RICHMOND, Va. — More than 100 Virginia farmers are turning to the age-old practice of gleaning to help feed the needy. The growers are working with the Society of St. Andrews to clear their fields of excess fruits and vegetables. The society is devoted to that practice of feeding the poor. Last year in Virginia, society volunteers gleaned 2.5 million pounds of fresh fruits and produce. Nationally, the group collected more than 33 million pounds. John Cromwell Jr. is owner of Bay...

We hear it daily, it seems: "Cut down processed food and eat more produce and grains. " Okay, fine. But processed has its upside (easy and cheap), while produce and grains have their downside (prep-heavy and expensive). Right? Not so, says Allison Sosna, a local chef and founder of MicroGreens , a group dedicated to teaching families — in particular children — how to prepare healthful meals on a teeny budget (as little as $3.50 per meal for a family of four). "Produce is never too expensive, no matter what time of year it...

The Rev. Morris G. Henderson wasn't sure what do with a vacant city block of land behind his 31st Street Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. The church had purchased the plots, but didn't have the funding to build a planned family life center. Then, he had a vision. "Why not build a garden and people can learn to be self-sufficient and we can grow food?" Henderson said. With an 80-year-old congregant heading the project, the congregation planted its first garden in 2008: watermelons, tomatoes, okra, squash,...

To the counter-hipster critics of pop culture — with "Portlandia" serving as chief arbiter of all trends worth mocking — pickling is a punch line . The food-preservation process is merely a sign that an entire generation has overcompensated for its wired and electronic ways by donning vintage clothes and pouring brine over fresh vegetables, as if millennials could reverse time with hot vinegar. One look around the Washington area would seem to confirm that we're in the throes of a pickling mania.

Here are a few side-dish tips to help time-starved holiday cooks: · Cook vegetables just until tender, especially if they are headed for a buffet or will sit for a while before being served. · Whether you're steaming, boiling, microwaving or sauteing, have pots and pans set up and standing by. That will make it easier to slide things onto the stove at the last minute. · If you're overwhelmed, keep it simple. Compound butters (mixed with seasonings such as salt and pepper, citrus zest, garlic or herbs)

During a cooking session at The Post, Jen Lin-Liu showed us a technique Chinese cooks use to shred vegetables such as carrots and cucumbers, prepping them like julienne. Using a Chinese cleaver, she cut thin slices on the diagonal, then laid them on the cutting board so they overlapped. She then cut very thin strips, like matchsticks, working from one end of the pile to the other.

(HealthDay News) -- Instead of getting bored with the same old vegetable choices that take too long to prepare, choose convenience and variety in your vegetables. Here are easy ways to get plenty of vegetables in your diet, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Buy fresh vegetables that are in season -- they'll be at their peak flavor, and often less expensive.Keep plenty of frozen vegetables on hand for quick and easy microwave meals and sides.Look for conveniently packed vegetables, such as washed and peeled carrots, pre-washed...

■ When you buy frozen vegetables, choose bags whose contents feel as if they are in individual pieces instead of a solid mass. The latter can indicate that the product defrosted at some point and then was refrozen. ■The key to maintaining the quality of frozen goods is keeping them as cold as possible so ice crystals don't form. Gather frozen items last as you shop, and place them in an insulated carrier as soon as possible. ■Make sure your freezer maintains a temperature of 0 degrees (Farenheit)

For those of us accustomed to shopping at farmers markets and/or growing our own , it's tempting to lament the onset of winter. Sure, year-round markets are selling winter greens and crunchy radishes , cold-storage apples and turnips galore. But what about those beloved snappy green beans, dripping-ripe tomatoes and sweet, sweet corn? Tips for buying and storing frozen vegetables. Savvy cooks preserve them, you say. It's true: I've done more than my fair share of pickling (beans...

Whoever believes there's nothing new under the sun hasn't seen the plants being introduced for the 2013 gardening season. Think multi-colored blooms, high-yield vegetables bred for containers and ornamental edibles packing still more nutrition as breeders try to anticipate consumer demand. Grafted tomatoes appear to be the hottest new trend in home gardening, while cocktail gardens, featuring plants that make or embellish alcoholic drinks, top this year's niche category. "We're looking for earlier...

To the counter-hipster critics of pop culture — with "Portlandia" serving as chief arbiter of all trends worth mocking — pickling is a punch line . The food-preservation process is merely a sign that an entire generation has overcompensated for its wired and electronic ways by donning vintage clothes and pouring brine over fresh vegetables, as if millennials could reverse time with hot vinegar. One look around the Washington area would seem to confirm that we're in the throes of a pickling mania.

We hear it daily, it seems: "Cut down processed food and eat more produce and grains. " Okay, fine. But processed has its upside (easy and cheap), while produce and grains have their downside (prep-heavy and expensive). Right? Not so, says Allison Sosna, a local chef and founder of MicroGreens , a group dedicated to teaching families — in particular children — how to prepare healthful meals on a teeny budget (as little as $3.50 per meal for a family of four). "Produce is never too expensive, no matter what time...

Lots of recipes require ingredients that are chopped or sliced, so it's important to know how to handle a knife. Ask a grown-up to help you follow chef Jeremy Cooke's tips. The photos show how to chop vegetables for Cooke's couscous tofu recipe. If you are right-handed, shape your left hand into a claw and put your fingertips on top of the food, which should stick out slightly from under the knuckle of your middle finger. That knuckle will provide a guide for the knife. With your right hand, grab the knife handle...

The big news here in Food land is news I hope you've already heard: The very first Washington Post cookbook is on the newsstands. Compiled by Bonnie Benwick , it features favorite reader recipes from the past half-century. We're proud! So read all about it. Also in Food, Tim Carman introduces us to Danielle Vogel , a new grocer whose shelves are stocked with products sourced from the Chesapeake Bay watershed. And David Hagedorn writes about the Greek salad , a classic that never goes out of style...

Who's your favorite expert on cooking vegetables? For so many of us, it has long been Deborah Madison, she of " The Greens Cookbook ," " Local Flavors ," the landmark " Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone " and more. As a gardener, former farmers market manager and chef (with cooking chops honed at Chez Panisse and Greens), Madison knows her produce and what to do with it. In her latest book, " Vegetable Literacy " (Ten Speed Press; $40), she aims to bring us closer to her level of knowledge...

The big news here in Food land is news I hope you've already heard: The very first Washington Post cookbook is on the newsstands. Compiled by Bonnie Benwick , it features favorite reader recipes from the past half-century. We're proud! So read all about it. Also in Food, Tim Carman introduces us to Danielle Vogel , a new grocer whose shelves are stocked with products sourced from the Chesapeake Bay watershed. And David Hagedorn writes about the Greek salad , a classic that never goes out of style...

" Melonhead and the Vegalicious Disaster " By Katy Kelly. Ages 8 to 12. $14.99. 214 pages. This is the fourth book in the Melonhead series, which focuses on Adam Melon (you can see how he got his nickname), his family and his friends. The Melons live in the Capitol Hill section of Washington. Author Katy Kelly grew up on Capitol Hill and still lives in Washington, so part of the fun of reading these books is that Melonhead visits places you've probably been to,...

‘G oing green" isn't just talk at Walker-Jones Education Campus. The D.C. school, which opened in 2009, was designed to save energy and provide a healthful environment for preschoolers through eighth-graders. But in the past three years, students, teachers and lots of volunteers have taken the school's green commitment much further. They transformed a weedy lot across the street into a thriving farm. "It's a farm and not a garden," said David Hilmy, Walker-Jones's P.E. teacher and a trained biologist,...

Have you heard the one about the vegan cheesesteak? The first time I did, I thought it was a joke. Wrong. And then I thought it was a novelty or at best a one-off, served only at a restaurant in Philly called Govinda's Gourmet Vegetarian. Wrong again. Turns out, there are so many vegan cheesesteaks in the City of Brotherly Love that a guidebook includes a section on them, and the Philadelphia Inquirer recently dove in to list the five best. I'm mulling all this as I stand in line at...