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It’s Time to Grow Italian!
It may be too early to plant, but it is never too early to plan. From Arugula to Zahara Eggplant, gardeners are marking calendars and making lists, drawing up plans, checking availability and placing orders. In short we are getting hyped for summer.
Italians have a way with vegetables. There is just no doubt about it. And they have varieties that until recently were unavailable to us here in the United States. But now Italian seeds from companies such as Pagano and Franchi Sementi are available at many local nurseries. My neighborhood nursery, Sego in Studio City, California, has a large selection of Italian seeds. If your nurseryman does not carry them, Seeds from Italy will come to your aid. They are the exclusive U.S. mail order distributor for Franchi seeds, Italy’s oldest and best known seed supply. Over the years I have grown many vegetables from Franchi seeds, always with tremendous success. I urge you to plant their Zucchini Romanesco. This variant is creamy and tasty, a breed apart, easily the finest zucchini I have ever tasted. Currently the top seller at Seeds from Italy is Red Pear Tomato, another I heartily recommend. It is a big, but early tomato that will please every gardener and cook. Read the remainder of this entry »
LA Times Gravenstein Thin-Crusted Apple Tart
When you have really nice apples you don’t need anything else. Well, except for some butter and flour to make a tart. When I saw the article in the August 11 edition of the Los Angeles Times about the endangered Gravenstein apple and the accompanying recipe, I just had to give it try. I had forgotten about Gravensteins. They were one of my mother’s favorites for baking, along with Jonathans. The Gravenstein apple, once a large crop in California is now in danger of disappearing. There are several reasons, foremost among them, the apples are difficult to harvest, perishable and quite simply, farmers can make more money growing other crops. However the Gravenstein is not without friends. Read the remainder of this entry »
Red Fig Tomato
Another in the ongoing series – Exploring Tomatoes
These pear shaped heirlooms are small, averaging about 1.5 inches long. They have been grown in United States gardens for over two hundred years. In the past cooks used the fruit to make a sweet preserved delicacy that was enjoyed throughout the winter. Nowadays gardeners grow them for use in salads, contorni, tomato jam and more. Read the remainder of this entry »