All Ingredients

Pumpkin seeds are terrific snacks. Unlike sunflower seeds, they're usually eaten whole, though hulled pumpkin seeds, called pepitas, are commonly used in Mexican dishes. To roast fresh pumpkin seeds, wash them and blot them dry, then toss them with salt and melted butter or margarine and bake on a cookie sheet in a 325° oven for about 15 minutes. To dry fresh seeds, wash and blot them dry as before, but bake them in a warm (150°) oven for 1 to 2 hours.

This is a bitter form of red vermouth. It's often mixed with soda.

A specialty of El Salvador, these are tortillas stuffed with cheese and other flavorings.

Peruvians use this to make beautiful purple drinks and puddings

These purple-fleshed potatoes have a medium starch content, so they're good all-purpose potatoes. They lend an interesting color to mashed potatoes or potato salads, but they're not as flavorful as other varieties. They tend to get mushy if they're over-cooked.

Hispanic cooks especially like these crunchy, mild tasting greens. You can use purslane raw in salads, or cook them as a side dish. Look for purslane in Hispanic markets.

This is similar to the guajillo chile, only smaller and more potent. It has a fruity flavor that's good in salsas and stews. They are fairly hot.

These small, flat pasta rectangles are normally served in broths.

Quails have dark meat that's quite tasty. They're very lean, so bard them before roasting or marinate them before grilling. Allow two quail per person.

Quail grass stems, leaves and young flowers can be cooked and eaten.

This versatile fresh cow's milk cheese resembles soft cream cheese. Germans (who call is quark) and Austrians (who call it topfen) use it to make everything from cheesecake to gravy.

This popular Hispanic fresh cheese is often added to casserole or bean dishes, since it holds its shape well when when heated. It is usually made with cow’s milk or a combination of cow and goat’s milk. It's a good cheese for frying or grilling, though queso para freir is a better choice if you can find it.

This is a soft mild white cow's milk cheese.

This is a hard Mexican grating cheese that's coated with red chile paste. It is usually made with cow’s milk or a combination of cow and goat’s milk.

Mexican cooks like to crumble this mild grainy cheese onto soups, salads, casseroles, and bean dishes. It is usually made with cow’s milk or a combination of cow and goat’s milk. It softens but doesn't melt when heated.

This popular Mexican cow's milk cheese is mild and crumbly, and it doesn't lose its shape when heated. It's often mixed into bean dishes or casserole fillings or crumbled over salads and tacos. It can be fried, though queso para freir or queso blanco hold their shapes better. Queso panela is sometimes served with tropical fruit as a snack or appetizer.

This fresh Hispanic cow's milk cheese is salty and crumbly. It's terrific for making the Caribbean specialty queso frito (fried cheese) since it holds its shape when when heated.

These are thin flakes of oatmeal that cook up in about three or four minutes. They're a good choice for oatmeal cookies.

This is similar to pearl barley in taste and nutrients, but it only takes about 10 minutes to cook since it's been pre-steamed. It's often served either hot as a side dish or cold in a salad.

This pleasantly tart fruit needs to be cooked before eating. Quinces are high in pectin, so they're commonly used to make jams and jellies. Some cooks simply bake them like apples. They come into season from August to December.

This is a Spanish and South American delicacy that's similar to quince jam, only thick enough to cut into slices. It's terrific which cheese or nuts.

This ancient seed was a staple of the Incas. It cooks quickly and has a mild flavor and a delightful, slightly crunchy, texture. It's got a lot of the amino acid lysine, so it provides a more complete protein than many other cereal grains. It comes in different colors, ranging from a pale yellow to red to black. Rinse quinoa before using to remove its bitter natural coating.

This is steamed, rolled, and flaked quinoa. It's used like oatmeal to make a hot cereal.

This is a high-protein pasta alternative for people with wheat allergies. It may contain corn flour as well.

Reconstituted dry qurut is an acceptable substitute for fresh. Where to find it: Middle Eastern markets.

Rabbit is low in fat and similar in taste and texture to chicken.

This elegant roast includes eight ribs, and it's big enough to serve three. If the meat at the tips is cut away to expose the bones, it's called a French rack = Frenched rack. Make sure the butcher cracks the chine (backbone) between the ribs, so that the roast is easy to carve when you take it out of the oven. You can make a double French rack by leaning two French racks against each other, bone tips interlaced. You can also tie two or three French racks together, bone tips up, to form a crown roast of lamb for an elegant meal

People often melt this Swiss cow's milk cheese and dip new potatoes into it.

A type of Italian pasta, these resemble small radiators. The "grills" do a good job of scooping up chunky sauces.

With its beautiful coloring and slightly bitter flavor, radicchio is wonderful when combined with other salad greens. You can also use the leaves as a base for hors d'oeuvres, or sauté them for a side dish. The most common variety, radicchio rosso (left), is round, while the treviso radicchio is elongated.

With their crisp texture and peppery flavor, raw radishes are great in salads and on crudité platters. They can also be cut into attractive garnishes. Select firm, fresh-looking radishes and store them in your refrigerator for no more than a week.

These have a peppery flavor, and they're great raw in salads and sandwiches, or you can cook them as you would other leafy greens. The leaves are fairly pungent, though, so a little goes a long way. The greens from young plants are best.

This bread is studded with raisins and often flavored with cinnamon. It's usually served as toast for breakfast.

The common raisins we see on supermarket shelves are usually dried Thompson seedless grapes. Golden raisins are amber in color and somewhat tart--many cooks prefer them over ordinary raisins for baking and cooking. Muscat raisins are dark and very sweet, and they work well in fruitcakes. Currants are about one-quarter the size of ordinary raisins, and are typically used in baked goods. Store raisins in the refrigerator after you open the package.

These are similar to litchees and longans, but they're covered with soft spines. Peel before using.

Ramekins are small round straight sided bowls used for baking or serving sauces. Crème brûlée, soufflés, French onion soup and dipping sauces are often served in ramekins.

A staple of Japanese salarymen and American college students, these Japanese noodles can be used in soups or salads. You can find bricks of instant ramen in many supermarkets, packaged in cellophane along with seasoning packets which you can use or discard. These noodles are usually fried in oil before they're dried, so they tend to be high in fat. They cook in about 2 to 3 minutes. Asian stores also carry fresh or frozen ramen noodles.

These have a strong onion-garlic flavor which tends to linger on the breath. Despite their humble Appalachian origins, ramps tend to be pricey and are usually found in gourmet produce markets. They're available from March to June.

This is similar to a mandarin orange, only more acidic.

A traditional Moroccan spice mix, the name means "head of the shop," suggesting that it was the master of the spice shop who prepared this complex blend. It's often cooked with rice and couscous dishes. Look for it in Middle Eastern markets or African markets.

It's a real challenge to get these hollow, fragile berries to consumers before they spoil, so you'll have to pay a high price for those that make it. Many don't, so check them carefully for mildew before you buy them. A good alternative is to buy them frozen.

This is great in champagne or on ice cream.Chambord is a popular brand. Don't confuse this with framboise, a raspberry brandy.