Produces a succession of tender shoots. Different varieties are avaialble from December until late April in the United Kingdom. It is really at its best if the stalks are peeled, rewarding you by taking on an asparagus-like texture and flavour.
A tiny variety of round chilli ripening through red to purple.
The purple yam is a species of yam, a tuberous root vegetable, that is bright lavender in color. It is sometimes confused with taro and the Okinawa sweet potato. Purple yam is used in many desserts, as well as in pastries. In the Philippines, it is eaten as a sweetened dessert or jam called ube halaya and added as an ingredient in the ice dessert called halo-halo.
Summer purslane. Unlike winter purslane, which is hardy, summer purslane is half hardy. It is a low growing plant which produces slightly succulent leaves that are used in salads. The green-leaved variety has better flavour while the yellow-leaved variety is more decorative.
Roxbury Russet. An old variety of sweet eating apple which probably arose in the early 1600s in Roxbury, near Boston. It is a late-season variety, picked from mid-October in South-East England, is stored and is at its best between January and March. When we lived in Boston we worked in the Hospital district not far from Roxbury, which was a dangerous place. The annual murder rate in 1990 for the greater Boston area was the same as for the whole of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (and the Troubles in Northern Ireland still persisted). About 90% of these murders occurred in Roxbury. Children were caught in the cross-fire of drugs wars and innocent people died in large numbers. Many African-Americans coming to Boston to work found themselves with no option but to live in Roxbury however respectable and hard-working they were. I have no idea what the predicament of Roxbury is now, but it is somehow comforting to think of a pleasant apple being raised there.
Pygmy Goats are believed to be some of the earliest domesticated animals and are highly sociable, enjoying being around people. They are compact animals, as their name would imply, with well-muscled bodies and pronounced beards, though these two youngsters have yet to produce much growth. The head and legs of the Pygmy Goat are short in comparison with their body size. They may be any colour, but the standard animal should have muzzle, forehead, eyes and ears lighter than the dark part of the body. Hoof are also normally darker than the main body coat colour, though the goats may be black. Female Pygmy Goats are called does, and males are called bucks.
