Vegetables

My husband and daughter do not get my emotional attachment to stuffed food, which I find to be as exciting as getting a package in the mail. They like the culinary genre well enough, but roll their eyeballs heavenward when, on occasion, I deify pork chops, grape leaves, squash blossoms, vegetables, or any other type of food that performs as a duffel bag. They take for granted the forethought, imagination, knife skills, and care needed to...

JACK SHOOP has owned several top-rated restaurants and is one of just 61 chefs in the United States who've been certified as master chefs by the American Culinary Federation. When the opportunity for a major career change arose, however, Shoop let his mom be his guide. Less than two years ago, Shoop, a Harley-riding Kensington native, traded in his Florida restaurant gigs to become the executive chef for Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Eastern Regional Medical Center in Northeast Philadelphia.

For tomato-lovers, it doesn't get much better than this: a plant that combines the famous taste of heirlooms like Cherokee Purple and Brandywine with the traditional high yields and disease resistance of hybrids. This dreamy marriage has brought forth the grafted tomato, which tests show has a longer, healthier growing season and tastier fruit, with as much as 50 to 75 percent more tomatoes a season. "It's one of the hot issues, and it makes sense right here and now," said Chelsey E. Fields, vegetable product manager for W. Atlee Burpee & Co., the home gardening giant in Warminster, one of a growing number of companies that are jumping into the grafted-vegetable market.

RICH LANDAU is a magician. What other explanation is there for the amazing tricks he pulls off with vegetables? Fingerling Potatoes with Creamy Worcestershire Sauce? Roasted Cauliflower with Black Vinegar and Kimchi Cream? In every case, the veggies retain their flavor essence while surprising and delighting. It's a culinary feat that seems beyond mere mortals. And it's no fluke: From the "Food of the Future" days of Horizons Cafe in Willow Grove to the last days of "Modern Vegan Cuisine" Horizons off South Street, and now their latest project - the sophisticated "vegetable restaurant" Vedge - Landau and his wife and partner, Kate Jacoby, have consistently wowed even the carnivore crowd with vegan creations that prompt the awestruck "how do they do it?"

Acme Markets intends to build a 1.4-million-square-foot warehouse and distribution complex near Reading, worrying leaders of the union that represents the company's warehouse workers in Philadelphia. Acme, operated by American Stores Inc., has two warehouses in Philadelphia that together employ about 750 in about 1.1 million square feet, according to Jim Brennan, president of the warehouse workers' union, Teamsters Local 169. The local, fearing that Acme plans to move those operations out of the city, will hold an informational meeting this morning at its headquarters.

IT'S NOT EASY to pull the plug on a household appliance. In my childhood, we had a Kelvinator refrigerator that was part of the family for 20 years. At least. Wasn't fancy, ran noisy but was reliable as hell. It's probably still running somewhere. So excuse Gizmo Guy for hesitating when a repair man told me that my 15-year-old, 25-cubic-foot Frigidaire Gallery side-by-side was "overdue for replacement. " The water and ice dispenser was leaking - the most vulnerable element of any refrigerator and good reason to invest in a warranty.

MINNEAPOLIS - Dawn Steward was one of many rookie gardeners who tried growing vegetables for the first time last year. But her yields were underwhelming. "I didn't know what I was doing," Steward said of her attempt to start peppers and shallots from seed in her St. Paul, Minn., home. "They were fine until I watered them. Then they all died. I think it was my lack of experience. " Still, that didn't dampen her enthusiasm. Homegrown produce has too many benefits not to keep trying, she figures.

Here are a few recipes taken from Hope Cohen's new Fast, Fresh + Simple cookbook ($30, amazon.com, fastfreshandsimple.com), but with extra spice inspired by her recent trip to India. CURRIED CAULIFLOWER 1 head cauliflower, washed, trimmed and separated into bite-size pieces 4 teaspoons cumin seeds 2 teaspoon coriander seeds 4 cloves garlic, peeled 4-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons garam masala or curry powder 2 teaspoons sea salt 6 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons tomato paste 2 fresh serrano or jalapeño peppers, or to taste 1 large bunch fresh cilantro 2 tablespoons water Make the curry paste.

Thanks to the microwave, frozen vegetables may stage a comeback. They're fast, versatile and available year-round. Better yet, they often taste fresher than vegetables that have lolled about supermarket bins longer than most greengrocers would dare admit. And why shouldn't frozen vegetables taste just-picked? Most were flash- frozen before the dew had a chance to dry. Frozen vegetables, moreover, rarely require additional liquid when microwaved. They steam in their own savory vapor so that their natural flavors are intensified.

Recent medical studies indicate that Americans don't get enough calcium in their diet. Well, we know that milk, cheese and yogurt will give us calcium, but did you know that some fruits and vegetables will give you calcium, too? It's true. A standard half-cup serving of many of your favorites will provide you with 2 percent to 6 percent of your daily requirement of calcium. That may not sound like a lot, but have some orange juice or fruit for breakfast, a little salad at lunch, some veggies for dinner, and pretty soon it all adds up. In the vegetable department, look for broccoli, green beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, red and green leaf lettuce, onions, summer squash and sweet potatoes.