Amaize yourself (+recipe) (The New Zealand Herald)

This month, you can say au revoir to delicious asparagus, blackcurrants, gooseberries, tamarillos, broad beans and fennel and wait patiently and longingly for the season to return.

Lunch 101 (BellaOnline)

Whether you are home preparing your own meal or at the office ordering in from one of your local spots, here are some healthy lunch ideas.

Carrots' flavor and nutrition is foundation of a tasty soup (Ventura County Star)

I've always been a Mary Ann, never a Ginger.

Cruise lines offer a great culinary adventure (Burlington Times-News)

My wife and I in past years followed the tradition of home entertaining during the holiday season, and we have many fond memories of these gatherings.

The common asparagus beetle (Crioceris asparagi) is an important pest of asparagus crops both in Europe and in North America. Asparagus is its only food plant. The beetle is about half a centimeter long, metallic blue-black in color with cream or yellow spots on its red-bordered elytra. The larvae are fat gray grubs with dark heads.The adult beetles and the larvae strip the needle-like leaves off the asparagus fronds, depriving the plants of the ability to photosynthesize and store energy for future years. They also chew the spears and lay generous amounts of eggs on them, making the crop unmarketable. The larvae feed on the plants for a few weeks, then drop to the ground to pupate. One year may see two or three generations of the beetle. The adults overwinter in a dormant state underground or in nearby leaf litter.Various insecticides are licensed for control, and the parasitic wasp Tetrastichus asparagi Crawford has been successfully used for biological control.The similar spotted asparagus beetle (Crioceris duodecimpunctata) is also a pest as an adult, feeding on tender shoots and leaves, but since the larvae feed only on the asparagus berries it is not considered to be as important.