Forget everything I've ever said about growers and wholesalers devising ways to pick and ship produce while it is still green and how this works to the advantage of everyone but the consumer. The pear is the exception.

You've probably been eating local cucumbers for weeks. They have been with us since July and the season isn't over yet. There was a time, in early August, when you would have had trouble finding a cucumber that wasn't local. You could easily identify the outsiders by their excessively dark and shiny skins.

Real tomatoes, grown out of doors and in the sunshine, tasting juicy and fresh, are everywhere. Buy them; you have no excuses.

Now is the best time to make gazpacho. It is incredibly refreshing and all the ingredients are available locally grown, reasonably priced and fresh.

In New Orleans, this delectation was called “La Mediatriece,” a peace offering to an enraged wife when her husband trundled in after an evening in the French Quarter. I have served this for a first course, but it is really more suitable to Sunday lunch or a late supper. Serves four.

Jam-making is incredibly simple; in my grandmother’s circle, ladies who were not deft enough to piece a complicated quilt, could deflect scorn by creating delicious jams and jellies in unusual combinations of fruits and berries, wines and whiskeys. My favorite of all: Brandied Peach Butter.

I like maca­roni and cheese; it is a hearty, fill­ing dish and I like the flavor com­bination of this formula. I hope you will try it and see what you think.

I was reading a magazine article, the other day about colors and how they affect the appetite. Seems a man with a flair for experimenting got together a group of guests and seated them at a table with tempting foods. The guests were hungry and looking ahead to good meal. Then this experimenter turned on some special lights.

Georgia Lou says, "Add the right amount of water slowly and carefully, so the dough is just moist enough to roll out. Too much water and too much handling makes a tough crust.”

The Pennsylvania Dutch were and still are noted for their culinary achievements and gracious hospitality. It became a tradition to put exactly seven sweets and seven sours on the table whenever guests ate with the family.

This combination of pudding and sauce is uncommonly good eating.

I wonder how many of us to stop to think when we are preparing tasty satisfying dish such as this how good a friend the onion is to cook. Some happy day a perceptive food writer will do a definitive monograph on the onion that will rank with Lamb’s essay on roast pork.

This isn’t a complicated cornbread formula, but the secret of its appeal, judging by the way our friends and neighbors eat at our Saturday and Sunday suppers — is the touch of allspice. Offhand, I don’t recall seeing any cornbread recipe calling for allspice. 

This recipe from the Star's archives is for a classic, country-style chicken fricassee, a stew that's only limited by the ingredients in the pantry.

Today's recipe is a super delicious, nutritious, and flavorful combination. It is also a good hearty dish, either for dinner or supper, and it is easy to make. I like mine with plenty of crackers crumbled into it.

A lady asked me the other day to define "old fashioned" chicken pie as contrasted with a "modern." I can tell you the chief distinction without any difficulty. The "old fashioned" had plenty of chicken meat in it.

This good apple dessert comes from Mrs. Charles L. Keene of West Poland, Maine. Try heavy cream on this crumble, and mix just a whiffle of cinnamon and nutmeg into the cream.

I don't know whether you can correctly label a brownie a member of the cookie family or not. Webster's Collegiate says, "A kind of small chocolate cake containing nuts."

Here is a dish that is excellent — and hearty. It is from neighbor Florence Adams, who is a superb cook.

Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of a tree that grows in Java, the West Indies, Brazil, Egypt, and Ceylon. The last area produces the best-quality cinnamon with a tangy, pleasant, and distinctive flavor due to the tree's aromatic oil. Since ancient days, cooks have used this spice for its unique flavoring power.