Plants

Here's your proof, folks. I do eat my veggies. Granted, I prefer my veggies covered in cheese. (OK, I'll admit it: I'd probably eat a newspaper if you put enough cheese on it.)

Candied fruit peel is one of those miraculous acts of culinary alchemy. You take tough, bitter fruit rind that's packed with oil you could use to polish your furniture, and, thanks to the magic of sugar, transform it into heavenly, fragrant candy.

These biscuits are a versatile companion for almost any cold-weather meal. Made with mashed sweet potato, they're moist and fragrant with ginger.

Chanterelle mushrooms have got such a fantastic flavor—and when you infuse it into melted butter, half a dozen mushrooms goes a long way. This is an elegant and luxurious appetizer for about four, or main course for two.

While the venerable pig is one of my favorite beasts to cook, I followed the recipe I had, and made these spring rolls with tofu. And I have to admit: They were damned good.

Tapenade is seriously savory, salty business. Think of it as a kind of pate made with black olives—with some anchovies, capers, and olive oil thrown in for good measure.

Concord grapes are the very same little purple wonders that give Welch's grape juice its signature flavor. Here's how to turn those jewels into jam.

I have to admit: Until recent years, I was scared to death of these little things. Are you kidding me: "Prune" in the same sentence with "dessert?" No, thank you. I didn't get over it until well into my late twenties. And I'm still kicking myself that it took me that long.

Did you know that if you plant those pits, you can actually grow your own avocado tree at home? Even though trees rooted like this rarely bear fruit without help (more on that in a little bit), it's still a ton of fun to plant your own tree and watch it grow. Here's how.

You can make this easy, no-cook strawberry ice cream in your blender. (No cooking required!) The hardest part is waiting for it to freeze.