Snap Peas

Get 'em while you can! It's peak season for plump crisp-tender snap peas.Snap Peas with Walnuts8 ounces snap peas, cleaned2 tablespoons water1/4 cup apple juice2 teaspoons walnut oil or cooking oil1 teaspoon cornstarch1/4 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons broken walnutsRed leaf lettuce (optional)Apple wedges (optional)Edible marigold petals (optional)In a one-quart microwave-safe casserole combine snap peas and water. Cook, covered, on 100 percent power (high) for 3 1/2 to five minutes (low-wattage ovens: five to six minutes)

The American Institute for Cancer Research has been trying for years to get Americans to change their eating habits. Now, with its new cookbook, the institute proves that one doesn't have to sacrifice flavor to eat healthfully. The chefs, scientists and nutrition experts who developed the New American Plate Cookbook (University of California Press, 2005, $24.95) dismiss recent fad diets and focus on changing the typical American's approach to eating. Instead of planning meals around a substantial serving of meat, the authors create an American plate that is two-thirds vegetables, fruit and whole grains.

1997 Joseph Phelps Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley ($11).Has there ever been a poor vintage of Phelps sauvignon blanc? I sure can't remember one. But the 1997 vintage of this dry white wine seems even more on target than usual, with its crisp smokiness and flavors of snap peas, juniper and pear. There's a wonderful bite to the finish of the sauvignon, which would be superb with grilled seafood or Cajun dishes.Pub Date: 01/13/99

Salads aren't the only showcase for spring's bounty of sweet, young vegetables. Another classic way to celebrate first-of-the-season delicacies, from pencil-slim asparagus to petits pois and baby zucchini, is to highlight them in a soup or stew. The youngest, most tender members of the vegetable kingdom are fragile, quickly turning limp when carelessly handled or stored. And because they cook much more quickly than their mature counterparts, leaving these sweet, young things even a minute too long over heat can destroy their nutrients and their firm texture and fresh color.

1998 Kendall-Jackson Sauvignon Blanc, California ($10).Kendall-Jackson absorbs a lot of well-deserved abuse from critics for its oversweet but wildly popular chardonnay. But discriminating palates should not hold those sins against the winery's well-made and well-priced sauvignon blanc. The 1998 is a fresh, spicy, herbal product with flavors of snap peas, juniper, peach and apple. While it's not quite bone-dry, neither is it exceedingly sweet. This versatile wine can be served with many spicy cuisines, ranging from Thai to Cajun, but will also match well with most seafood, however it's prepared.

The American Institute for Cancer Research has been trying for years to get Americans to change their eating habits. Now, with its new cookbook, the institute proves that one doesn't have to sacrifice flavor to eat healthfully. The chefs, scientists and nutrition experts who developed the New American Plate Cookbook (University of California Press, 2005, $24.95) dismiss recent fad diets and focus on changing the typical American's approach to eating. Instead of planning meals around a substantial serving of meat, the authors create an American plate that is two-thirds vegetables, fruit and whole grains.

When time is at a minimum, one of the most flavorful ways to prepare a well-rounded meal is Oriental style. One normally thinks of stir-frying for an entire meal in one pan, but this version is a contemporary feat in efficiency. It makes use of the microwave, combined with stovetop sauteing (or searing) for browning.Bean threads, or cellophane noodles as they are often called, are a favorite pasta substitute in Oriental and Asian cuisines. The base of this noodle is the mung bean, rather than grain flour, and when plumped, they become translucent, with a very interesting texture.

The drought has caused my lawn and flower borders to turn brown and my trees to wilt. There's just too much to water. How should I prioritize my watering during times like these?Cool-season grasses like fescue and bluegrass will naturally become dormant during hot, dry summers. Don't bother watering your lawn unless you have newly seeded or sodded areas. Foot traffic, lawn furniture and outdoor equipment can damage the brittle crowns of drought-stressed lawns, so keep everyone and everything off the grass as much as possible.

Salads aren't the only showcase for spring's bounty of sweet, young vegetables. Another classic way to celebrate first-of-the-season delicacies, from pencil-slim asparagus to petits pois and baby zucchini, is to highlight them in a soup or stew. The youngest, most tender members of the vegetable kingdom are fragile, quickly turning limp when carelessly handled or stored. And because they cook much more quickly than their mature counterparts, leaving these sweet, young things even a minute too long over heat can destroy their nutrients and their firm texture and fresh color.

Saguaro's Southwestern Grill should be a sure-fire hit (no pun intended) with its spicy Tex-Mex menu, decent prices, location in the heart of Towson and good-looking dining rooms. First, though, the owners have to work out some bugs.What possessed them, for instance, to wrap the filling of the vegetable enchiladas in bright green tortillas? Are they going for the eco-enchilada look? And then there's the odd choice of vegetables inside -- including cauliflower and sugar snap peas. Of course, you could ask who would be crazed enough to order veggie enchiladas in the first place, but that's not really the point.

1998 Kendall-Jackson Sauvignon Blanc, California ($10).Kendall-Jackson absorbs a lot of well-deserved abuse from critics for its oversweet but wildly popular chardonnay. But discriminating palates should not hold those sins against the winery's well-made and well-priced sauvignon blanc. The 1998 is a fresh, spicy, herbal product with flavors of snap peas, juniper, peach and apple. While it's not quite bone-dry, neither is it exceedingly sweet. This versatile wine can be served with many spicy cuisines, ranging from Thai to Cajun, but will also match well with most seafood, however it's prepared.

1997 Joseph Phelps Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley ($11).Has there ever been a poor vintage of Phelps sauvignon blanc? I sure can't remember one. But the 1997 vintage of this dry white wine seems even more on target than usual, with its crisp smokiness and flavors of snap peas, juniper and pear. There's a wonderful bite to the finish of the sauvignon, which would be superb with grilled seafood or Cajun dishes.Pub Date: 01/13/99

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Sunday/FamilyPrepare your own roast turkey breast today.

The drought has caused my lawn and flower borders to turn brown and my trees to wilt. There's just too much to water. How should I prioritize my watering during times like these?Cool-season grasses like fescue and bluegrass will naturally become dormant during hot, dry summers. Don't bother watering your lawn unless you have newly seeded or sodded areas. Foot traffic, lawn furniture and outdoor equipment can damage the brittle crowns of drought-stressed lawns, so keep everyone and everything off the grass as much as possible.

Saguaro's Southwestern Grill should be a sure-fire hit (no pun intended) with its spicy Tex-Mex menu, decent prices, location in the heart of Towson and good-looking dining rooms. First, though, the owners have to work out some bugs.What possessed them, for instance, to wrap the filling of the vegetable enchiladas in bright green tortillas? Are they going for the eco-enchilada look? And then there's the odd choice of vegetables inside -- including cauliflower and sugar snap peas. Of course, you could ask who would be crazed enough to order veggie enchiladas in the first place, but that's not really the point.

While shelling English peas is a good project for a lazy afternoon, sugar peas -- the kind with the edible pods -- are more suited to those of us who are just getting home from the office. The British and French appropriately call them mange-tout, meaning eat-it-all. We know them as two distinct types called snow peas and sugar snap peas.Ribbon-flat, pliable snow peas are also dubbed Chinese snow peas. Curiously, they have nothing to do with snow, and $H originated not in China but in the Near East.

While shelling English peas is a good project for a lazy afternoon, sugar peas -- the kind with the edible pods -- are more suited to those of us who are just getting home from the office. The British and French appropriately call them mange-tout, meaning eat-it-all. We know them as two distinct types called snow peas and sugar snap peas.Ribbon-flat, pliable snow peas are also dubbed Chinese snow peas. Curiously, they have nothing to do with snow, and $H originated not in China but in the Near East.

AROUND this time every year, I start to think about spring planting. What triggers my thoughts is the arrival in the mail of the first seed catalogs. Reading the thick, colorful guides and looking at the pictures of vegetables ripening on the vine always makes me feel ould soddish, and for weeks after the catalogs arrive I clump around the house in my oversized rubber boots and bib overalls and talk about farmy things -- rows of this, stands of that.The...

"First boil the water, then pick the corn." That's the gardeners' mantra, the ideal of freshness that drives them from seed-catalog season to harvest season, planning, digging, planting, weeding, watering, pruning, thinning . . . It's all for the glorious tasting at the end.Not everyone has room to plant corn -- "You shouldn't plant it in less than four rows," says gardener Virginia-Brown Melvin, whose "tiny little" plots are in Roland Park -- but everyone who plants anything, it seems, loves that fresh flavor of produce right out of the garden.

In every household, there are moments of complete chaos just before dinner. Picture this: Everyone in the family is cranky and has a different agenda. Someone forgot to walk the dog. The day's mail litters the kitchen table, which no one has yet set with dishes. The phone rings every 10 minutes. The doorbell sounds throughout the house and momentarily stops everyone. Standing in the doorway is a delivery man holding a large cheese pizza. The family supper has arrived. What's wrong with this picture?