Think of Missouri agricultural products. Do corn and soybeans come to mind? Of course. But now, think gourmet: do oh-so-sweet local Missouri pecans top the list? If not, you heard it here, first! Missouri pecans are smaller and sweeter than southern-grown pecans. They're harvested tree by tree from 200-year old native trees that line rivers and separate fields ... and are spectacular in a pair of recipes from this week's Kitchen Parade column , a delicious buttered pecan ice cream and an old recipe from my Auntie Gloria, pecan meringue cookies. For the record, this is my contribution to the summer ice cream event at Sweet Pleasure! (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

From A Veggie Venture's Recipe Box Greek Greens ... the base technique is a wonderful way to 'hold' fresh greens for a couple of days so they can be used later, this year in a great fish and pasta salad (recipe added to the post) ... how great? so great that a nine-year old came back for seconds! Leeks & Asparagus ... very simple, just leeks in butter, this year with fat spears of asparagus that held their shape but turned almost cream ... luscious! No-Cook Taboulleh ... just delicious! And the calories dropped in half by changing the proportion of couscous:tomato and cutting the olive oil. Carrot Coins with Dill ... served at room temperature or cold, just barely cooked carrots tossed with fresh dill, great flavor and texture combination, a good refrigerator salad Red Onion Beets ... if you've got cooked beets, a quick 'n' easy side dish ... just sauteed red onions warmed with beets and capers ... isn't it pretty?!

Can one uphold tradition while flouting it? Meet the Bakewell Tart, an English favorite inimitably conjured by Becks & Posh , English Patis , Caper Berry Gravy and Sarah Discovers How to Eat along with the English-born Albion Cooks whose recipe I followed. Despite all the tarty food bloggers, there's some fear that Bakewells are a dying (t)art. So the ever-so-English SpittoonExtra is encouraging a revival . The traditional Bakewell Tart (or its country cousin, the Bakewell Pudding) begins with a pastry crust spread with strawberry or raspberry jam, then is topped with frangipane (a good English word if there ever were one ...) and then baked to fluff and fall. But for a vegetable-obsessed blog like mine, where's the vegetable in a strawberry or raspberry tart? Enter rhubarb, botanically a vegetable even if often treated as a fruit! (And one of my favorite foods, to boot.) And so I cooked a thick rhubarb sauce to substitute for berry preserves ... with great success. And

Wild rice is such a treat! With this long-time family favorite salad from a 2003 Kitchen Parade column , I used up the last of my current stock before heading home to the Canadian border of Minnesota to replenish the pantry with new rice ... Red Rose tea ... Macintosh toffee ... Canadian peanut butter ... homemade jam from my former Sunday School teacher Mrs Colbath ... Holte honey from the 40-year old hives next door ... wild blueberries unless the bears get to 'em first ... sun-drenched raspberries unless the blackbirds get to 'em first ... ... ... FOR THE RECORD ... The wild rice salad is my contribution to From My Rasoi, this month themed " For the Love of Rice " and hosted by The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz. (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

Just check out this gorgeous salmon, glazed with maple syrup and soy sauce, spiked with pepper and featured in this week's Kitchen Parade column . It's a family recipe from my Canadian cousin Lynda who's one terrific cook. I've made it sooo many times ... with wild salmon from my favorite St Louis fishmonger Bob's Seafood , with salmon steaks from Trader Joe's, and then as shown here for a small crowd, with a big slab of salmon from Sam's or Costco. All are delicious! And if you like the looks of the lemony zucchini , they're roasted at the same oven temperature (500F!) and pair beautifully with salmon ... so do feta-stuffed zucchini boats and summer lentils . (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

What is it that's just so fun about stuffing vegetables? This is a long-time favorite recipe, partly because while it may look impressive, it takes just 20 minutes to get it into the oven. Thanks to the tang of good feta, it tastes much richer than it is, perfect light summer fare. ~recipe & photo updated & reposted 2012~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ 2006 ORIGINAL POST Don't those zucchini boats look impressive? Think I must've slaved? But no, no, no! These are a snap to make, just 20 minutes into the oven. (And perfect to make ahead.) And once they're in the oven? The house smells oh-so-good! And a little bit to my surprise, they're not just good, they're delicious — my first really-favorite new vegetable of the summer! I will definitely make these again for a weekend supper or a special gathering. I'd even cut them into one-inch lengths as an appetizer! (Oh my. These must really be good to rate four exclamation points in one paragraphs! Uh

I'm sooo fascinated by the ways food bloggers reign in their cooking possibilities. For example, the classy Cream Puffs in Venice works from a different cookbook every month. Her choice for June, she announced, is the savory'n' sweet tart-muffin-soup-salad all-around inspiring cookbook Once Upon a Tart . I knew it well, as it was a gift from a dear friend awhile back. But it was in pristine condition: no spills yet! Hmm ... maybe Cream Puffs would like to cook together? She did! and so much she suggested inviting others with the same cookbook to join our little party! So say 'hello' to Egg Hunt and 'bonjour' to French Toast ! We're all cooking the same tart today! (Just look at Cream Puff's magnificent tart ! Buff up your French right ici, I mean here ! The others may not be up yet, I'll add them as they come online.) Well ... sort of. For party reasons, I converted the designated nine-inch tart into two dozen mini tarts. The results were good

Summer salads with crunch and spark: there's no getting enough of them this time of year here in the northern hemisphere! Holy Slaw! is a personal favorite and friends who've made it for church potlucks report not a bite left over to haul home! Holy Slaw! is featured in this week's Kitchen Parade column and is perfect for Father's Day gatherings inside and out. Already fixed for salads? Kitchen Parade has other ideas for Father's Day celebrations, both breakfasts and family gatherings. If I were lucky enough to be cooking for my father, I'd make baby-back ribs with a salad or two on the side, then, depending on the berries to be found at the farmers market tomorrow, finish with strawberry shortcake or a beautiful berry tart . Happy Father's Day, Dad! This is a "pie in the sky" (but good news, the no-carb) Father's Day feast! (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

Today's vegetable recipe: A quick, colorful throw-together salad. Crunch and sweetness from fennel. Crunch and a little heat from radishes. Lovely little lengths of asparagus and creamy edamame. Love this salad! ~recipe & photo updated & republished 2012~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ 2006 Original Post: This recipe from She Spills the Beans caught my eye during May's Asparagus Aspirations at Seriously Good. But it just didn't get made. But here it is, June. But it was worth the wait. Low cal. Low carb. High in fiber and protein. Filling. Pretty! What more could you want? 2012 Update: What a fun salad to just throw together using whatever vegetables are on hand. But if you're inclined to follow the ingredient list pretty much as is? You'll be treated to a bowlful of color and texture and flavor contrast.

Another new-to-me vegetable -- parsley root! These knobby roots (see the picture below) are full of parsley fragrance. A recipe scan showed that root parsley (both names are used) is most often used in soups and stews with parsnips, turnips and other root vegetables. Twasn't the season for such, so I paired a sweet potato and the parsley root in a simple mash alongside grilled chicken. These parsley roots, however, were very fibrous. So even though a knife slipped easily into both the sweet potato and the parsley root after 15 minutes of cooking, the parsley root just wouldn't mash, even with an electric hand mixer. Maybe if it cooked longer? I don't know, it was pretty woody. The good news is that the combination has so much flavor that no fat is needed -- it's rich and flavorful even without butter. FOR THE RECORD ... This is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn's Kitchen . MASHED PARSLEY ROOT & SWEET POTATO Bookmark or print Mas

If you've ever wondered how to bake brown rice in the oven, or how to cook brown rice so that it always – always – turns out nutty and fluffy and perfect, this is your recipe. I like the technique so much, I asked Cook's Illustrated for permission to publish their recipe and lo and behold, they said, "Yes!" So here's their recipe, followed by my own tips and the ways I've adapted the recipe for my own kitchen over the years. Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Budget Friendly. Low Fat. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Naturally Gluten Free.

Ah, quixotic adventures ... yes this is the latest in my quest to find the perfect savory tomato bread pudding. (I'm not without companionship: StephenCooks' is back to bread puddings too, with exotic combinations like papaya, ginger and lime .) Along the journey, the creations are delicious. And yet ... so far ... none yet matches the pudding-desination-in-my-mind with its pockets of creamy custard barely sweetened with tomato. Version V is heavy on eggs and so more quiche-like than bread pudding-like. It's time to switch gears with a whole new approach. Will Tomato Bread Pudding VI be the one ... or just one more windmill? KITCHEN NOTES ... The primary differences between IV and V are: Less bread More eggs, extra egg whites vs egg yolks Mustard flavoring vs basil (both good, basil especially fresh, mustard creates a nice tang) "Just baked" vs using hot water bath N EXT TIME ... Bread cubes vs lining pan to create a crust Just custard and t

Last week's Tropical Pork Tenderloin in Kitchen Parade was sooo good that it called out for something special underneath. Voila! it's the accompanying Tropical Supper Salad . The combination of meat and a creamy salad makes for an easy summer supper, a bit of heat, a bit of sweet and bright with citrus and tropical fruit. Enjoy! (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

A classic potato recipe, so easy and yet so indulgent. It calls for new potatoes -- real out-of-the-groun potatoes, not just the ones called new in the grocery store -- drizzled in butter that's been browned to the point of nuttiness. Just don't burn the butter! ~recipe & photo updated 2011~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ 2006: If memory serves, my mother made potatoes in exactly three ways. Mashed. (Plus leftover mashed fried in patties.) Boiled. (Plus leftover boiled, fried in bacon grease with onion.) And new potatoes tossed in browned butter. So when my walking-distance farmers market returned with oh-so-tiny new potatoes (imported from who-knows-where since it's at least a couple of months before local potatoes will emerge) I couldn't wait to try this simple but luxuriant dish, served alongside the delicious Roasted Salmon & Asparagus .

My very first soufflé, a broccoli soufflé , turned out heavy, like a feather-flattened pillow. Tonight's soufflés -- yippee! -- were the airy pillows that should be soufflés. And I suspect that with soufflé success under my belt, I'm hooked. With a simple salad and a simple dessert, it made for an extraordinarily satisfying meal. This recipe is especially simple because no hot water bath is called for -- just throw it in the oven. NUTRITION NOTES This is great supper option for vegetarians and those following a low-carb diet -- only 7 net carbs! NEXT TIME Soufflé directions always direct, "Serve immediately." But it was about 30 minutes before this was ready to serve. Before then, it was too hot and the only flavor was 'hot'. After 30 minutes, the cheese, the eggs, the peppers were at perfect temperature for really enjoying. I'll use a cheese more subtle, more complex, than the obvious cheddar. I might make a few extra for these reheated beautiful

Such beautiful color, yes?! The bright green of beans plus the pretty pink of radishes makes for a colorful summer salad, one sure to brighten up your palate and your plate. Real Food, Fresh & Inventive. Just Five Ingredients! Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Beautiful Color. Weight Watchers Friendly. Vegetarian & Easily Shifted to Vegan. Naturally Gluten Free.

It's another Quick Supper featured in this week's Kitchen Parade column, a fast and easy oven-baked (or of course ... grilled) pork tenderloin that packs a bit of heat, a bit of sweet. Just delicious! It pairs beautifully with a citrusy summer salad and is perfect for a weeknight supper or a leisurely weekend meal. Or ... ... on the side, think about a low-carb and low-carb eggplant ratatouille (a word worthy of last night's National Spelling Bea, I mean, Bee) or patties of grated beet roesti . (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade