Last Chance Foods

Yesterday, pickle-maker Bob McClure faced an enviable task: perfecting a Bloody Mary mixed using the brine from his great-grandmother’s spicy garlic dill pickle recipe. It’s tough job, but McClure felt up to the challenge—particularly by the afternoon, when testing could commence with the active ingredient, vodka.

At Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Tarrytown, next week is the last week for harvesting carrots, just when their taste is at its peak.

Taiwan grows the most expensive cabbages in the world in middle of downtown Taipei on a small plot of land estimated to be worth $150 million. In India, cabbages are an indicator of the rising cost of produce -- caused by profiteering middlemen and retailers. In New York, cabbage is at the end of its harvest this year. And it makes for good 'slaw in B-burg.

As anyone who frequents I Can Haz Cheezburger? will tell you, adorable animals such as hamsters and kittens love broccoli.

Think being a golf star with various mistresses is hard? Try the life of a farmer growing cauliflower. While the latter may not get as much press, cauliflower can really play havoc on the emotions, since it's notoriously difficult to grow.

With regards to wacky food news, turnips took the cake this week when an elderly man in Clovis, N.M, tried to fight off muggers with a bag of the root vegetable. With early December signaling the last turnip harvest of the year, the cold-weather staple might well be worth fighting for — at least at the local farmers' market.

Radishes, which get sweeter as the weather grows colder, are a great winter crop. Morse Pitts of Windfall Farms has tips for growing, storing, and eating watermelon radishes--and tells you why they go great with salsa.

For those who grew up with Nickelodeon in the early '90s, beets might bring to mind cartoon character Doug Funnie's favorite British rock band The Beets and their anthem "Killer Tofu." With lines like "Fast food feels fuzzy/Cause it's made from stuff that's skuzzy," the song was ahead of its time in encouraging kids to eat healty.

November's the time for squirreling away winter squash. Varieties like butternut, acorn and Hubbard practically store themselves—the tough outer skin serves as an effective natural plastic wrap, keeping the squash fresh.

Last Chance Foods spotlights celery root, traditional celery’s favored cousin. Amy Eddings talks to Ron Binaghi III of Stokes Farm about growing celery root and the growing demand for it.