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