Lifestyle

If you consider yourself a garlic enthusiast, you probably insist on using it fresh, rather than chopped in a jar. That’s kind of a low bar, honestly. Especially when there’s one kind of garlic that’s superior to all others, and your time is running out to get it.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and I am the father of two young necessities. That is why, in the foggy hours of a recent morning, I invented pancake French toast.

This time of year, I like to ask my vegetable-farmer friends what they are making for dinner. They generally have a lot of people to feed, many vegetables on hand, and not much time to prepare.

“I’m not the type of kid to give up on something,” responds Nate Lopes, a senior at Roxbury Latin. When asked to consider what personal trait he is proud to have developed over time at the school, he quickly focuses on determination. “Whether in sports or in class — whatever the hard challenge is that I am facing — I’m just not going to give up on it. I will keep working and, at the very least, will try my hardest because otherwise there is nothing to gain.”

“When I think about Winsor girls, I think bold,” exclaims Anshi. “Every Winsor girl that I know just pushes the boundaries.”

When I told my wife I was off to find some lovage, she was supportive. Levisticum officinale, after all, is a close relative of celery, parsley and dill, three of her favorite plants to eat.

If I were stranded on a desert island with one type of chile pepper, it would definitely be the jalapeño. No single pepper wears as many sombreros as the pride of Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.

Labor Day is unique among holidays in that nobody really celebrates it. It lacks the excitement of New Year’s, the virtues of MLK Day, the mystery of Easter, the love of Mother’s Day, the sorrow of Memorial Day, the unity of the Fourth, the excesses of Thanksgiving and the baggage of Christmas.