It was growing in shade in sandy/poor soil on the west side of our garage. So probably not ideal conditions for rhubarb (I live in the Hudson Valley of NY).

As for getting rid of it - I find the most effective way is to wait for a very wet day and very carefully pull it up by the roots, trying to get as many of the rhizomes as you can. It won’t get rid of it entirely, but it does seem to drastically reduce its spread and proliferation. Especially since Round-Up (which I hate, but we have a lot of climbing poison ivy) seems to have no effect on it.

Any that comes up this spring I am going to try to pay attention to so I can get it in the edible “rhubarb”/"asparagus” stage before it leafs out and eat it!

My mom also had a meal on the table just about every night, although it often included at least one processed ingredient (like Hamburger Helper or frozen tater tots or cream of whatever soup), but she always tried to get lots of veggies in there, even when we wouldn’t eat them. She did not work full-time, but my sister and I were picky eaters, so I’m sure we were a challenge to cook for.

I cook in our little family (just me and the fiance) because I love to cook and he’s not great at it, but he does the dishes.

I think one of the biggest revolutions of our future will be the move to equal sharing of household tasks, including cooking, between the genders. It’s already fairly equal in my household, but I can’t wait until that spreads to the rest of the country.

I put molasses IN my pancakes when I’m making gingerbread pancakes. SO GOOD.

I’ll have to try it in seltzer... Could be good with lemon lime seltzer and a twist of lime...

The only way (and tastiest, in my mind) I have ever had sumac was dusted all over a pile of hot, crispy french fries at my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant back home. SO GOOD. They sold it bulk, but I never purchased any and have now moved halfway across the country, where the only Middle Eastern restaurant I can find in my area is Israeli, and they don’t use sumac. :( They do use wonderful sour pickles, though. And hummus on their pita sandwiches. Yum!

I’m curious to know what the flavor is. I find the smell of carrot tops a bit abrasive. Does blanching them reduce that?

I happily give away recipes. Of course, often the “recipe” is more of a loose set of parameters, rather than detailed instructions. Especially since many of my dinner dishes (as opposed to baking) are done on the fly with things I have on hand. I think this is why I may never get a cookbook done - recipe testing is not something I enjoy doing!

People who leave things out intentionally are just being jerks. If you don’t want someone to “steal” your precious recipe, don’t give it out! Claim it is an old family secret or something if you want to be polite about it. Otherwise, share freely. After all, I’m sure your “secret” dish started out as someone else’s recipe!

Amen to this! Simplicity is what I crave year-round, be it a simple vegetable salad (for which I chop the vegetables at a leisurely pace, not caring how long it takes) for the summer or a hot, thick stew in midwinter or a lighter, brothy soup in the chill of early spring.

Beans are the best. The more I cook, the more I love them, and the simpler I like them (a favorite is pureed pinto beans with plenty of salt, garlic, smoked paprika, and monterey jack cheese melted on top). I think I need to share this article with others.

I, too, am concerned about the future of ramps, given the “ramp"ant use of them by foodies.

That being said, they are not only native to the Appalachian mountains. My boyfriend’s parents live in the foothills of the Adirondack mountains of NY and his father grew up eating wild leeks (as they call them up there). They had to be boiled with a little baking soda to tame the taste, according to my boyfriend’s dad.

I love them roasted on high heat with a little olive oil and sea salt so the leaves get crispy. In fact, the mild, soft leaves are my favorite parts of the ramps. They’re delicious in spring soups, too. I live further south in the Hudson Valley of NY and I’ve seen them at farmer’s markets. But never in grocery stores. Of course, we don’t have a Whole Foods anywhere nearby.

I think it must be a dairy farmer thing. I didn’t grow up on a farm, but both sets of my great-grandparents on my mom’s side were dairy farmers. It must be in my blood. Everyone I know (except my boyfriend) looks at me funny when I put my cake in a bowl, but I don’t care. It’s too delicious!