Meet the kabu, aka the "Japanese turnip" and the "salad turnip" and "turnip hakurei", my new favorite vegetable! (Where is the kabu in the photo? It's the clean white batons atop the salad, along with a lovely heirloom apple called a gold rush, worth seeking out from Centennial Farms in Augusta or elsewhere, and candied almonds.) The Japanese turnip is gorgeous! The gleaming white flesh is eaten raw. It is dense but not woody or tough, fresh-tasting with no earthiness or bitterness, not sweet, not tart, a tad fruity ... well, like daikon or jicama but not wet, less fibrous. I'm so glad there were several in a bundle, they'll star in salads like this all this week. COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE ... a Good Idea in St. Louis? I found the gorgeous turnips at the new-this-year farmers market in St. Louis' historic Tower Grove Park at the farmstand for Biver Farms (pronounced bee-ver, like the animal) which is the only CSA farm in the

The furnace kicked on last week but food-wise, I'm still squeezing out the last tiny bits of summer. Or maybe this is 'bridge' food spanning the seasons: Summer radishes, a French salad radish called Radish D'avigon ... sweet and wonderful ... from Biver Farms Fresh bread, the first of three loaves made over the weekend (are you reading, Paula? that's your onion bread, thanks so much for sending the recipe! I soooo love to hear from fans of A Veggie Venture!) It was stunning in simplicity, simply stunning. FROM THE ARCHIVES ... Do vegetable sandwiches inspire you? Check the archives for sandwich recipes here in the Recipe Box . RADISH D'AVIGNON SANDWICH Good bread, preferably with a kick like this onion bread Spread with unsalted butter Topped with thin slices of fresh radishes Sprinkled with good salt such as fleur de sel or Moulton (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

Okay, fellow bread bakers, I think you'll love this easy loaf of bread, especially its European-style crust and texture. Since 2016, I've made a simplified, flexible adaptation of this recipe several times a month but there's no question, the inspiration started here. ~recipe updated, first published way back in 2006~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ Back in 2006, First Whole Grain Bread with Beets: World Bread Day is today and I had such high hopes for a beet-stained, crimson-colored bread that would have us all ooo-ing and aah-ing over gorgeous whole-grain goodness. Instead, the loaf turned out a disappointing pink-ish crust with small stains of pink inside. On the plus side, it was dense (which I happen to like) and moist and delicious and yes, packed with whole-grain goodness, not a bad result, mind you! It was a nibble-me bread: a thin slice with butter paired with a salad made for a light but filling supper. Back in 2006, Then Whole Grain Bread With No Beets:

If you're new to Indian pudding, are you ever in for a treat! If you're familiar with Indian pudding, are YOU even in for a treat! This week's Kitchen Parade column features an Indian pudding sweetened not with molasses ... but apple cider. It's a perfect dessert for chilly fall and winter evenings. (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

So did you hear that Kalyn from Kalyn's Kitchen came to visit ? She did! And being Kalyn, she brought presents! First up was Jack Bishop's Vegetables Every Day . I wondered if there could many new vegetable recipes: there are! I've already made three recipes and there are dozens bookmarked for later. It has potential ... truly ... to become my favorite go-to source for reliable vegetable recipes. Kalyn says there's a little patl bird to thank for the tip on the book. Then she brought salt specially harvested from her hometown of Salt Lake. Cool! The simple cauliflower dish is a great example of the Jack Bishop style, one central star, a few accent incredients, simple prep, simple steps. Note that in honor of Kalyn, it includes the Weekend Herb Blogging favorite herb, cilantro . (And the recipe instructions include a quick Do You Really Know Kalyn? test ... do you get an A+ or an F! It's easier than you think, try it!) I'm also hoping it turns out to be South-B

[are you the photographer of this favorite shot? please let me know, I'd love to give you complete credit] "And when we meet for the first time, we're already friends." And so it's been, meeting food bloggers I've 'come to know' online but only recently met for the first time in person in the real world. It's an amazing experience! Online, food bloggers share a common curiosity about food. But in the real world, food bloggers share a more important dimension: call it "nice". LAST WEEKEND Genie from The Inadvertent Gardener , who's finding her 'Iowa Eyes' between the rows of an urban garden Laura from My Sister's Kitchen and my home state of Minnesota, who's lucky-lucky to blog with her sister Barb from North Carolina Kate from Kate in the Kitchen and Minnesota, who's a culinary grad still exploring and learning THIS WEEKEND, THIS AMAZING WEEKEND The St. Louis food bloggers and some nearby food blog

These are the prettiest globes of life you can imagine, ranging from clear red to a warm orange to a yellow-striped green to solid green. But what are they? I have no idea. They came from the wonderful St Paul Farmers Market where my new pals Kate from Kate in the Kitchen and Laura from My Sister's Kitchen and I bought so many Minnesota-grown fresh vegetables and apples, I lost track!