Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables: A Commonsense Guide

In this delightfully chatty, alphabetical guide to the many exotic fruits and vegetables now appearing in the local market, magazine food writer Schneider likens cherimoya to a ""pre-Columbian jade pine cone''; suggests you meet broccoli raab ``head on''; rhapsodizes over the ``delicious, promiscuous'' chili-pepper; and defends ``slippery, slimy'' okra. She tells how to select pomegranates and loquats, describes such oddities as malangas and feijoas, and offers brief biographies of the newcomers. Her recipes, collected from across the world, are as unusual as her subject: she includes five different ways to serve nopales (cactus pads) and six taro dishes. Even the relatively ordinary spaghetti squash can be much more than a substitute for pastaSchneider suggests baking it in an herbed cheese sauce. Most recipes are simple to prepare and, aside from their uncommon main ingredient, use items found in any well-stocked kitchen. Now there's no need to quiver in fear when faced with a calabaza: lug it home and enjoy! Illustrations. (June 3)