Last Chance Foods

On a farm, the environment under a semi-circular metal frame covered by a thin sheet of polyurethane can be an oasis on a frosty fall day. For spinach plants, the structure, known as a hoop house or a cold frame, can mean the difference between a season-ending freeze or several more months of growth.

For those who have outgrown the delight of a sugar rush, Halloween weekend may often feel like “candy, candy, everywhere and not a thing to eat.” The holiday’s ubiquitous carved jack o’ lanterns offer no reprieve, since they’re better used as decoration than pie filling.

An irregular, heart-shaped bulb with leaves sprouting off of it, kohlrabi looks like an extraterrestrial turnip. Like cabbage, it comes in green and purple varieties, and is in season now. But kohlrabi won’t last past the first deep freeze, so look for the strange brassica at local farmers markets in the next few weeks.

Remember that quintessential grape flavor found in ultra-soft chunks of bubble gum? Turns out, that taste — which can only accurately be described as “purple” — can be found in nature: it’s called the Concord grape.

They look cute and sweet, but lambs also make for good eating if you're meat inclined. It's only fair that such adorable critters get to lead happy lives grazing on grass, and that’s exactly the case at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.

Okra is fuzzy, slimy...and delicious. In the South, deep-fried okra can be found in cafeterias and buffets across the region. Some people in the Northeast, however, may be less familiar with the odd little vegetable. For many, the prospect of facing its ooze might be, frankly, scary.

Fall is officially here. Though leaves in the city have yet to take on that colorful crunchiness, one walk through the farmers market makes it clear that New York is in harvest season. As peaches and plums give way to apples and pears, now is a great time to begin stocking the pantry with jams and pickles made from end-of-season produce.

Peppers present a world of flavor that can quickly lead to a world of pain. The taste of burning, to paraphrase Ralphie Wigam, that spicy peppers produce is capsaicin going to town on the taste buds.

Biting into a peach can be like jumping off a culinary cliff: The result can be a juicy burst of summer or a sad, mealy mess. Even when in season, locally grown peaches can be a game of fruit roulette.

Start talking about ground cherries, and most people will probably just give you a blank look. No, they’re not cherries that have been pulverized. Ground cherries, or husk tomatoes, look like marble-sized yellow tomatoes dressed in papery tomatillo husks.