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Table talk, January 28

Rocky Mountain News

Published January 27, 2009 at 3 p.m.

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The skinny on Kate

"I still don't believe this craziness for being skinny, but I eat sensibly and I don't stuff down chocolate biscuits."

-Kate Winslet in Elle

The greatest cooks

If you lived through World War II on the home front, the National World War II Museum in New Orleans invites you to share your memories of shopping, rationing, growing, cooking, serving and eating during the war. The children and grandchildren of those Greatest Generation cooks are urged to help gather the stories for the Kitchen Memories history project while they are still available. For details, visit support.nationalww2museum.org/kitchenmemories.

Produce pick

Frost-kissed artichokes. When the temperature dropped below 32 degrees in California, that was good news for artichoke lovers. So-called frost-kissed artichokes aren't as pretty, with a brownish outer layer, but the inside leaves have more concentrated flavor. Following a freeze, artichoke plants take two to three weeks to start producing frost-free artichokes again.

Pickled pink

After 65 years of wearing a pickle on its label, Heinz ketchup is retiring its iconic symbol in favor of the tomato. The pickle became part of the Heinz family of products in 1893, when Henry Heinz offered pickle pins to attract people to his booth at the World's Fair. In the years that followed, Heinz gave away more than 50 million pins.

Card shark

If you're intimidated by trying an exotic cuisine, fear not. Castle Rock-based World Cuisine has introduced Spice Recipe Cards, $6. Spices are premeasured and colorfully displayed on attractive cards, inviting you to try dishes such as Indian Chicken Curry, Moroccan Lamb Tagine or Ethiopian Doro Wat. You supply the fresh stuff, but no more buying a bottle of cardamom for one-time use. Find them at Cook's Fresh Market, Chez Cheese Gourmet Food Shop, Oliver's Meats, Compleat Gourmet, Fromage to Yours, Summerhill Market, Urban Pantry, 5 Green Boxes Gift Shop, Breckenridge Cabin Fever, Evergreen Blue Spruce or through the Web at worldcuisineinstitute.com.

Lemons go wild

Buddha's Hand Citron looks like it starred in Aliens or Pirates of the Caribbean, but it's really a centuries-old fruit from India. Despite its scary looks, it has the aroma of a very perfumey lemon. The pebbly yellow peel is used the same way you would use a lemon peel and often is candied or used to flavor alcoholic beverages. Unlike a lemon, beauty is only skin deep - there isn't much on the inside. Available at specialty markets. Often used to scent a room, it certainly will get everyone talking, but conversation doesn't come cheap, at $4.99 a pound.

Yummm, bacon

Chocolate cupcakes are just so ho-hum. Tee & Cakes, 1932 14th St. in Boulder, has found a way to add sizzle to the mix: Top them with bacon. The cupcakes are $2.65, with a maple syrup-flavored batter and a shiny chocolate ganache frosting thickly sprinkled with bacon.