Lime

Is there a vegetable subtler than the cucumber? Well, maybe cauliflower, but when used in a way that maximizes its grassy flavor, the cucumber can prove to be a great buy at your local farmers' market. From May until November, the cuke is used mainly as a topper on salads and as a member of the always bland crudites platter. It dreams of one day becoming a fancy sandwich served with tea. What it might never have imagined is becoming a bright and thirst-quenching drink for hot summer days.

It's not quite warm outside but with the return of spring and summer offerings to our favorite local bar menus, you can certainly try to will (or numb) your body into feeling like it is. So it snowed last week? Inside, I was sipping on a daiquiri, visions of palm trees dancing in the wind, crystal blue waters kissing my feet and … wait, yep, I said a daiquiri. A REAL Daiquiri, in fact (that's the official name for the cocktail, anyway). And it's makers over at Clementine want you to know that it's the right way to drink a daiquiri.

The food industry's flavor wizards are working to anticipate the next big taste trend. The next big trend, however, might be a very common flavor -- something sitting in your fruit bowl right now. Like lime. If you haven't noticed, lime-flavored products are on the rise. A hint of lime is adding a welcome kick to some of our favorite food products, with more on the way. Lime-flavored chips, hot sauces, beers and spirits, and even the new Diet Coke With Lime, are examples of our new citrus fixation.

Well folks, spring is officially upon us and it's time to start wetting our whistles with some light, fun, refreshing drinks that are more conducive to outdoor frolicking than hermiting next to an open hearth or space heater. And what better liquor to inspire such a creation than sweet, beloved rum, everybody's favorite molasses-based distilled booze, which Station North's (and Power Plant Live's) Joe Squared happens to have an enormous selection of. Joe Squared has a number of classic rum cocktails on its list, a few innovations to boot, and one particular take on Brazil's national cocktail - the Caipriña (or Caipirinha, if you prefer)

I just got my soil test results back from the University of Maryland, and it seems I need to apply lime to my lawn. Should I wait until spring?Fall is the season for lime applications, so time is running out. An application now gives the lime time before the growing season to be carried by rainfall and gravity down to the root zone of your turf grass. It usually takes several months for the lime to raise the soil pH, so the sooner you get it down the better.I have a number of rose bushes that I never touch.

From the patrons to the paint job, Lime is one of the city's most colorful corner bars. Fort Avenue's funky new tequila joint combines South Baltimore natives, yuppies and devilish Mexican drinks in an atmosphere all its own. It's a narrow, quirky neighborhood bar worth driving to - especially for tomorrow's free outdoor Cinco de Mayo extravaganza. But, as with most tequila bars, an average evening at Lime can get pretty pricey, which is the main reason why I don't drink there more often.

Teams representing two Howard County schools will compete in The Plains, Va., tomorrow for the national finals of the Team America Rocketry Challenge. Lime Kiln Middle School and Long Reach High School will compete against 98 other teams from across the nation for a chance at $60,000 in prizes. The competition, which is billed as the world's largest, attracted 7,000 students on 690 teams this year. The contest is open to students in seventh through 12th grades. Transport an egg Teams are required to design, build and test a model rocket that can transport a raw egg. The rockets are expected to reach 850 feet, remain airborne for 45 seconds, and return the egg to the ground unbroken.

If you stand in Benjamin Marks' living room, you can hear the high-pitched hum. It's distant but not too far off, as though a next-door neighbor were running a vacuum cleaner or a blender.Actually, the sound comes from a much larger appliance -- the new outdoor incinerator of Baltimore County General Hospital.The $750,000 unit, which began operation in January, stands a few hundred yards from Mr. Marks' home in the west county community of Stevenswood.Even when his doors and windows are closed, the noise is audible in the house from morning to night, said Mr. Marks, 24, a salesman for a local printing firm.

If asked to choose my favorite shellfish, without hesitation I'd pick scallops. These sweet, succulent morsels were a discovery I made as a young adult. My family indulged in shrimp and crab dishes and, for occasions, we ordered lobsters, but scallops never graced our table.I was in my 20s on a visit to France when I tasted these sublime mollusks for the first time. I've been a fan ever since.Today, when entertaining, I love to include scallops in my menus. I offer as appetizers skewered scallops wrapped in prosciutto with seasonings of lemon and rosemary.

An ailing pond received a dose of medicine yesterday when highway workers sprayed it with lime.The state Department of Natural Resources diagnosed a 4-year-old sediment pond in Gambrills as highly acidic last year.The State Highway Administration had wanted to drain the pond, known as Lake Median, into Jabez Branch, a highly sensitive tributary of the Severn River.But SHA officials canceled their plans after DNR biologists said the pond's 3 million gallons, located between the northbound and southbound lanes of Route 3, had the acidity of lemon juice.

They use words most likely to be heard at a Scripps National Spelling Bee: chryseobacterium, aquaticum or trypticase. They envision careers in medicine, they enjoy math and science, and - between juggling schedules that include school, music and sports - they recently collaborated on a project that's headed for the International Space Station. One can only imagine what accomplishments are in store for Greg Nelson, Josh Choi, Sophia Novacic and Ryan Olsen when they reach high school.

When we're all done stuffing ourselves today, many of us will be looking to get back on the healthy track. We can do it while making use of our tasty Thanksgiving leftovers. Here are some recipes from Sparkpeople.com, Shape Magazine and Cooking Light Magazine. Look for more on the blog tomorrow. Turkey Tacos with Cranberry Salsa This recipe comes from Shape Magazine. The mgazine says it provides nearly 50 percent of daily protein needs. SERVES: 4 PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES (PLUS 30 MINUTES RESTING)

Argentine torrontes is one of the great white wine values in the world today, and this is a splendid example at an attractive price. It's the tiniest bit off fully dry, and it offers clean, fresh flavors of citrus peel, lime, pear and minerals. There's just enough sugar to give it a rounded feel, not enough to make it sweet. And the bottle comes with a lesson in Argentine history. Viva la Revolucion! From: Mendoza, Argentine Price: $12 Serve with: Light-fleshed fish, shellfish

Home Slyce isn't a cocktail bar by any stretch of the imagination. It focuses mostly on inexpensive and tasty food, decent beer and a relaxing atmosphere for local residents and visitors alike. (And presumably will do the same at its second location, opening at 336 N. Charles St. in the next few weeks.) But sometimes a bartender, whether through boredom or inspiration, comes up with something interesting to add to the mix in the absence of a cocktail list. Cue Ricardo Vargas and his Slyce Julep, a drop-dead simple idea combining two remarkably similar drinks - the mint julep and the mojito - to create something new. The julep's Maker's Mark bourbon substituting for the mojito's white rum adds the ABV, while the remaining ingredients from both drinks - mint, lime, simple syrup and soda - come together to create a strong, sweet and tasteful beverage.

I'm an unabashed fan of Austria's gruner veltliner grape, which produces some of the most complex and satisying dry white wines on the planet. This organic rendition of this variety is crisp, taut and impecably put together. It offers herbal and mineral flavors with touches of lime, citrus peel, white pepper and honey without the sweetness. I'm already a repeat customer for this gem. From: Niederosterreich, Austria Price: $18/liter Serve with: Seafood, wienerschnitzel, wurst

Say it with me now: Shisoito. That's She. Sew. Eeto. In other words, what you get when Shiso Tavern, the new Asian-fusion restaurant in Canton, takes the typical Latin-American Mojito recipe and moves it further East - Japanese style. So what makes the Shiso Mojito special enough to have its own whimsical nickname (credit Dana Morris, bar manager and the cocktail's creator, with that one)? It's all in the herb. Shiso, a Japanese basil, is a subtle mint-flavored leaf that general manager Tim Ernst says is often used as a green garnish in sushi dishes.

Every summer, I am reminded of the gigantic crush I have on the Crush. You know, the fruit-juice-and-vodka-cocktail that's known as a Baltimore specialty. You can find them all over city, usually in the Orange Crush variety. But Orange can be a little, well, boring. And so, like a lusty teenage girl might, I drop it quickly when a new, more interesting flavor comes along. This year, my fling is with the Blueberry Acai Mojito Crush at Ryleigh's Oyster in Federal Hill. Ryleigh's has become the gold standard of Crushes, though several city spots claim theirs to be its birthplace.

Argentine torrontes is one of the great white wine values in the world today, and this is a splendid example at an attractive price. It's the tiniest bit off fully dry, and it offers clean, fresh flavors of citrus peel, lime, pear and minerals. There's just enough sugar to give it a rounded feel, not enough to make it sweet. And the bottle comes with a lesson in Argentine history. Viva la Revolucion! From: Mendoza, Argentine Price: $12 Serve with: Light-fleshed fish, shellfish

Is there a vegetable subtler than the cucumber? Well, maybe cauliflower, but when used in a way that maximizes its grassy flavor, the cucumber can prove to be a great buy at your local farmers' market. From May until November, the cuke is used mainly as a topper on salads and as a member of the always bland crudites platter. It dreams of one day becoming a fancy sandwich served with tea. What it might never have imagined is becoming a bright and thirst-quenching drink for hot summer days.

The Avenue's newest addition, The Food Market, successfully combines a clean industrial aesthetic with an approachable and affordable menu, and their cocktail menu is no different. A list of all-time favorites and tweaks to classic cocktails populate the list, including everyone's favorite from New Orleans: the Hurricane. Or as The Food Market calls it, the Hampden Hurricane. The recipe for any Hurricane is a straightforward mixture of dark and light rum, loads of passion fruit syrup and lime, which normally results in an almost sickeningly sweet fruit bomb in your mouth.