Today's recipe for a savory pie, my contribution to a collection of pie recipes at Kitchen Parade, in celebration of Pi Day. Crust made with whole wheat flour and lard. First, the innards: good but not outstanding. I did feel like quite the farm wife, creating supper out of 'air', just cabbage, onion and hard-boiled eggs, especially here on the cusp of winter and spring when farm cellars would be running on empty. Second, the crust. I experimented with two new ingredients, farm-rendered lard and whole wheat flour. (Do these strike anyone else as incongruous, one not as good for you, one very good for you? Do you suppose they cancel themselves out to a neutral?) LARD in PIE CRUST Forever and ever, lard crusts have been coveted for their tenderness. But for the last 20 or so years, lard, as an animal fat, was considered 'bad' for us. These days, the belief is that lard is as good for us as -- butter, say -- so long as it's not hydrogenated. (Want more info about

Say ¡Hola! to the new Weight Watchers zero points soup recipe, the "Mexican" soup. It has a delicious tomato broth with lots of vegetables and some underlying heat. Weight Watchers Friendly, Duh! Low Carb. Gluten Free. Whole 30. Paleo. Not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ".

Today's vegetable recipe: Scalloped potatoes and rutabagas. A 'concept' recipe. Weight Watchers 3 points. What, you're worried that a veggie evangelist bears a grudge against Scandinavians? Not me! It's just a little Leap Year fun, something allowed once every four years on the 29th day of February -- but of course, this really is for scalloped swedes & finns because ugly rutabagas have a pretty second name 'swedes' plus the potatoes were of the yellow Finn variety. Besides, a dish this simple, this reliably delicious, this variable -- well, it deserves a clever name, yes? to receive its just due. Happy February 29th, all! May your day stand out! CONCEPT RECIPE It's easy to 'scallop' root vegetables. Grease the baking dish, then wet the bottom with cream or half & half. Add a layer of thin-slice root vegetables (a Japanese mandoline / benriner helps), another small splash of cream, salt & pepper, a tiny sprinkling of cheese. Repeat

Today's healthy appetizer recipe: Carrots cooked with cardamom and bay leaf, then puréed with orange syrup and yogurt. Weight Watchers zero points. Earlier this month, Lara from the beautiful Seattle food blog Cook & Eat shared recipes for some tasty vegetable dips. I could have dipped a chip into any one of Lara's dips but somehow, the simple carrot dip called to me most plaintively. It was the cooking method: chunks of carrots oven-simmered with cardamom pods and a bay leaf. Oh people, let me tell you, the scent that filled the house was heavenly ... Even with the cardamom and orange syrup and yogurt, the dip remains distinctively 'carrot', just slightly sweeter, slightly lighter, slightly ... may I say, improved? MORE VEGETABLE RECIPES ~ appetizer & snack recipes ~ ~ vegetable dips & spreads ~ ~ more carrot recipes ~ ~ one year ago this week, my recipe for Homemade Mushroom Soup ~ ~ two years ago today, Sun-Dried Tomato & Fennel Salad , the last

Step aside, cabbage slaw, there's a new vegetable for slaw in town! The vegetable called "kohlrabi" makes an unusual and refreshing coleslaw, especially paired with tart apple and fresh mint. And this creamy coleslaw dressing? It's made from scratch, whisked by hand in seconds and tastes n-o-t-h-i-n-g like the stuff from a bottle. Fresh & Seasonal. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Great for Meal Prep. Weight Watchers Friendly. Low Carb. Low Fat. Naturally Gluten Free.

Today's product tips: Jarred peppers from the grocery and fresh mini peppers from Costco. Today's recipe: A 'vegged up' ham sandwich with an easy goat cheese-red pepper spread. Pound for edible pound, fresh peppers are increasingly expensive. Here in St. Louis, the everyday supermarket price ranges from $1.50 to $2.00 a pepper -- per pepper ! Demand is high, so sale prices are rare. For a few weeks in early fall, locally grown peppers are plump and plentiful (and cheap, say $.25 each) at the farmers market -- even while the grocery stores are charging the same $1.50 to $2.00 for peppers imported from somewhere. (Wouldn't you know it? This week my local supermarket has peppers on sale for $1 apiece. I bought several!) So I keep my eyes peeled for pepper products -- and have two to recommend. JARRED PEPPERS - For $2 to $3, I find jars of (slightly pickled) peppers and jars of roasted peppers. Each jar holds six or more whole peppers, so they'll go a long way. But

Today at KitchenParade.com, look for one of my oldest favorite recipes, one for tiapinno, the classic Italian fish stew . It's perfect for meatless Fridays during Lent, also for dieters since a hearty serving has only 3 Weight Watchers points. It's making me hungry, just looking at the photo! Note to Vegetarians Who missed last week's recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Cookies ? If you learn about new Kitchen Parade recipes via an announcement here on A Veggie Venture (which didn't happen last week, by accident), may I suggest a separate subscription? I'm going to phase out making Kitchen Parade announcements on A Veggie Venture since the two sites have increasingly different readers. Just sign up for Kitchen Parade via e-mail or Kitchen Parade via RSS . Many thanks! Don't forget the special event for Pi Day the week of March 10 - 14th at KitchenParade.com. SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my mom started writing for ou