"I have green beans coming out of my ears!" This is the time of year when the garden is lush that I hear that phrase often. It makes me reminisce back to my childhood days of snapping hundreds of green beans until my tiny fingers hurt. Green beans are actually immature dry beans that taste the...
When asked what my favorite herb is, I'd have to go with basil. Not only is it fragrant and flavorful, but it's also a beautiful plant. Basil is an annual herb belonging to the mint family. It's so easy to grow that even I, a wannabe gardener with a black thumb, cannot kill it. If you grow your...
This blog post is written by Taylor Streitmatter, student-intern from Illinois State University! Its summer, the children are home all day, and their little fingers seem to make food disappear from your cabinets and refrigerator faster than it did during the school year. This may mean...
Do you ever wonder why spinach is green, why strawberries taste sweet, or why basil smells so good? It's all thanks to the plants phytochemical composition. Phytochemicals are a variety of compounds produced by plants that may be responsible for its unique color, taste, and smell. Researchers...
Some people believe that they hate to cook, but often find that what they actually hate is the decision process: What should I fix? What will the whole family eat? What's quick? It's much easier to make those decisions when the plan is already in place. In fact, you may decide that you actually...
As we head into the fair season, it's quite possible that you may come across a gyro stand. Gyros, a popular Greek sandwich, are traditionally made with roasted lamb on a vertical spit and served on pita bread with tomato and onion. Gyros are most commonly topped with tzatziki sauce, made with...
Fruit juice may be part of your morning breakfast routine, but some argue that even the natural sugar found in 100 percent juice, is partially responsible for the obesity epidemic and the debilitating diseases that may follow. But does the fruits' healthy vitamins and antioxidants trump any...
There's just something about eating food on a stick that brings out your inner child-being. Popsicles, corndogs, and cotton candy were kid-favorites, but now that you're an adult, you may have a bit more refined tastes. Kebabs (or kebobs) can satisfy your fun-loving nature and grown-up taste buds....
Being a "foodie," I have many kitchen tools that I love dearly, and I sometimes wonder how I ever lived without them. The rasp grater is one of those tools that went from being a "nice-to-have" to a "gotta-have-it." A rasp grater wasn't something ever found in home kitchens until the 1990's when...
Have you ever wondered what the sweetest fruit in the world is? If you go by sugar content, you may be surprised to learn that it is the date. Dates have over 60% sugar content. However, in terms of taste, the Guinness Book of World Records lists the Philippine mango called Caraboa, as the sweetest...
