Vegetable

This tomato relative is an essential ingredient in Mexican cooking. It's also known as the husk tomato, because the 2- to 3-foot tall bushy plants produce 2-inch diameter green or purple-colored fruits with a papery husk around them. They're cool to look at, easy to grow, and the fruits have a sweet, tart, citrus-like flavor. Use tomatillos (Physalis ixocarpa) when making salsa, chili, kebabs, salads, and other Mexican dishes. Tomatillos are prolific and unless you're making tons of salsa and Mexican food, you'll probably only need a few...

I got turned on to turnips (Brassica rapa) rather late in life. I was visiting a farm in New Hampshire when the farmer pulled a 'Hakurei' white turnip from the ground and bit into it like an apple. The only turnips I had known up to that point were the mashed ones at Thanksgiving dinner. I tried it and was hooked. The texture was juicy and crunchy and the flavor sweet and mild. While Southerns have enjoyed turnips as part of their traditional cooking, we Northeners are just getting turned on, too. Turnips are an efficient crop. You can eat...