On My Plate: Avocados
"Most chefs and consumers prefer the Hass avocado to the Florida variety, because the Hass is considered more full-flavored."
James Rubenstein
On My Plate: Pi Day and St. Patrick’s Day
"The transformation of the holiday into a raucous celebration of Irish culture is largely the work of 19th century Irish immigrants in the United States. My favorite St. Patrick’s Day event is the dyeing of the Chicago River to a brilliant, fluorescent, emerald green."
On My Plate: Fish
"Nearly all salmon sold in the United States as 'Alaskan' salmon, is actually sent to China for processing before being returned to the United States."
![[clockwise from top] Tatsoi, Tokyo Bekana and Komatsuma.](/content/images/size/w720/2026/02/01-5.jpg)
On My Plate: Exotic Asian greens
"These Asian greens can be cooked together, but I recommend separating the leaves from the stems and cooking them separately. The stems take a lot longer to cook than the leaves."
On My Plate: Pecans
"Pecans were first cultivated in North America in the 1770s. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had pecan trees on their farms in Virginia."
Valentine’s Day Chocolate
"The consumption of chocolate originated in Latin America as a beverage around 4,000 years ago. The Spanish conquerors took chocolate back to Europe in the sixteenth century, adding sugar to make the drink less bitter."
On My Plate: Oatmeal
"Ohio is the birthplace of oatmeal in the United States. Ferdinand Schumacher founded the German Mills American Oatmeal Company in Akron around 1855."