"vegetable" news and stories

Sometimes even farmers find new vegetables to add to their gardens and to their daily diets.

Carol Ann Sayle, co-founder and co-owner of Boggy Creek Farm, a five-acre urban, organic farm in Austin, Texas, grew beets, potatoes, squash, broccoli and green beans, to name a few. But only recently did she discover the root vegetable scozonera, she wrote at theatlantic.com.

What's a scozonera?

The name comes from the Italian "scorza" meaning bark and "nera" meaning black. It's a dark-skinned root vegetable that's similar to salsify -- called the oyster plant as it allegedly tastes like oysters. (We have never actually tried that one either.)

A cucumber. A pickle. They're the same thing, but are they fruits or vegetables?

Think you know your stuff? Take my little quiz here on a piece of paper and see the answers after the jump.

QUESTIONS - FRUIT OR VEGETABLE?

1. Cucumber
2. Potato
3. Bell Pepper
4. Corn
5. Tomato
6. Radish
7. Peanut
8. Acorn Squash
9. Artichoke
10. Snow Peas

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Are you a fan of bad puns and fresh produce? Ho, boy, do we have a fashion line for you.

FoodTee.com features t-shirts, canvas bags, aprons and camis with pics of produce and cute accompanying slogans (a pic of cherries reads "no sugar added" and a radish simply reads, "rad"). Cute, eh? Although the "stalker" slogan aside the stalk of celery is a little creepy.

If you purchase a bag or tee for your favorite all-natural friend, a portion of the proceeds go to Food Studies, Two Angry Moms, and Better School Food, all of which support child education on nutrition and good eating habits.

And that's, to borrow a slogan from the cucumber shirt, pretty cool.

You probably won't win any nutrition awards for this meal (its painfully whitish-tan color reminds us that there aren't many rich nutrients hidden in the dish), but no matter - it's still a delicious dinner choice for meat eaters and veggies alike.

The recipe does call for anchovy filets, so simply omit those if you're a vegetarian (unfortunately, though, anchovies are known to produce a certain je ne se quoi in foods that is hard to reproduce). But there's nothing wrong with a simple pasta and cauliflower dish, too.

One of the keys to this recipe is the roasted cauliflower - you cook them until they're just browned, which is sure to bring out their best flavor. And don't forget the parmesan cheese at the end for an added salty kick.

I know, I know. You're thinking "Blech, those yucky things my mom was always telling me to eat." Perhaps something close to that, anyway.

I think these poor little guys have gotten a bad rap. This cousin of the cabbage can be really good if prepared well. Maybe your mom over cooked them when you were growing up. That makes the sprouts release sulfur compounds which definitely make them hard to swallow.

I personally love the things. They just need a little love to taste as good as they are for you. Brussel sprouts are high in vitamins A and C, folic acid and fiber. There are even studies that link the veggies to prevention of colon cancer.

Brussel sprouts, or brussels sprouts, got their name because they were first cultivated in the Brussels area. That doesn't mean you can't add them your Irish feast.

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