Celery

For a festive side dish that your microwave oven cooks in a flash, accent a frozen vegetable mix with anise-flavored wedges of fresh fennel and toasted sesame seed. Fresh fennel looks a lot like stalks of celery and is most available in the fall. Look for fennel bulbs with fresh, bright-green tops, then use the feathery sprigs to line your serving platter. If you can't find fennel with tops, pick up some fresh dill or parsley to decorate your platter.Sesame Vegetables2 small fennel bulbs (about 6 ounces each)

Try out your slow cooker with this recipes.Crock-Pot Chinese Turkey Soup8 fresh turkey breast slices, cut in 1-inch cubes (about 1 pound)1/2 cup celery, sliced on the diagonal8 large fresh mushrooms, sliced2 (14 1/2 -ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth1 tablespoon soy sauce2 tablespoons lemon juice2 tablespoons cornstarch.Place turkey cubes, celery, mushrooms, chicken broth and soy sauce in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for eight to 10 hours or on high heat for four to six hours.

Every once in a while our family goes through one of thos convulsions of togetherness that becomes the stuff of legends by the fire at subsequent reunions. Once in a summer, we all pack up a meal and go to see the Orioles.This annual ritual, enacted with no solemnity but great joy, see us all descend on Memorial Stadium bearing enough provisions to support the Greek army in its attack on Troy. We, like the Greeks, attack the high seats and purge ourselves of the accumulated enervations of winter by yelling for the Birds.

People from all over the world enjoy vacationing in Florida, and one reason is the great seafood they can get here. Florida is bordered on one side by the Atlantic Ocean and on the other by the Gulf of Mexico, offering a wealth of marine life.Also, during the winter, when farmers in cooler parts of the globe are just planting crops, farmers in subtropical Florida are already harvesting fresh tomatoes, crisp celery and sweet carrots. These products from the sea and land combine in a silky-textured and virtually fat-free soup called Florida red chowder.