Tag: Vegetables

Wilted Dandelion Greens

A little bit of bacon and a good spoonful of red wine vinegar bring balance to dandelion greens’ bitterness in this simple springtime side dish. It’s delicious partnered with roasted chicken and whipped potatoes. 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil 4 ounces bacon, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 shallot, minced 1/2 teaspoon crushed red…


How to Grow Potatoes in Containers

You don’t need a large garden bed or a field to grow potatoes. You can grow potatoes in containers on a balcony, deck, or patio and get a decent harvest to enjoy in late summer or fall. Growing potatoes in containers or pots is easy and fun. Just choose an appropriately-sized container, give it sufficient…


Spring Is the Time to Enjoy These Baked Stuffed Artichokes

This is the beginning of the spring season for fresh artichokes. Don’t worry if they are a little brown, which sometimes comes from a light frost before harvesting. You will usually find that these are the tastiest and have large hearts. Make sure to select globe artichokes that have tight, compact heads and tiny thorns….


The Best Vegetable Seed Catalog Companies for Gardeners

Q: I saw an article that you wrote that said there were garden vegetable seed catalogs available at the Direct Gardening Association website. I can’t find that site. Can you help? A: Well, that group ended last year during the pandemic. So, to help you out, here are my favorite vegetable seed catalog companies. Jere…


Best Vegetables for Your Heart

Research has shown that the more vegetables you eat, the lower your risk of heart disease, with different types of vegetables protecting your heart through different mechanisms. Leafy greens, for example, have high amounts of nitrates that naturally boost your nitric oxide (NO) level. Cruciferous veggies, on the other hand, lower your risk of stroke…


Roasted Winter Vegetables With Creamy Vinaigrette

This is a sensational, flavorful, and hands-off way to cook all kinds of vegetables. Play with what’s in season; just make sure to chop or dice everything to the same size so that they cook evenly. I salt them lightly in the beginning, as roasting vegetables naturally brings out their flavor, and I find that…


Winter Vegetable Soup

A bit of chopping, simmering, and stirring is all it takes to make a healthy soup that makes me feel like the healthiest person around. Winter vegetables, a flavorful, no-waste broth enhanced with the discards, and hearty white beans make this easy dish. Chop the vegetables as evenly as possible for even cooking and a…


In Season: How to Cook With Parsnips

Parsnips may be the paler, lesser-known cousin of the carrot, but they really deserve their day in the limelight. This humble root vegetable, related to both the carrot and parsley, is mild and sweet with a bit of the tang and bite that you would associate with parsley. Simply treat them as you would potatoes…


Growing Vegetables From Table Scraps

Science fair season is coming up. Many kids want to work with plants. One set of experiments that’s common is trying to grow seeds in a variety of media, such as water, milk, and cola. The seeds will sprout in all of those conditions, but they won’t grow well as a plant in all of…


Award-Winning Vegetables You Should Plant in Your Garden in 2022

Last week, we looked at the flowers that won the 2022 All-America Selections awards, and this week, we look at the eight new vegetable winners. The AAS is an independent, nonprofit organization that tests new plants. They have about 80 test gardens from Alaska and Canada to California and Florida. They also have almost 200…