The Chef's Garden is a company that has mastered the drama of vegetables. On my recent visit to this utterly unique Ohio farm, spectacles of vegetables and herbs paraded by. Some of these were tableaux constructed for our benefit, as our hosts led us to tables bristling with parsnips' tails and striped beets and placed sheafs of brilliant miniature herbs in our hands.

Others were simply part of the landscape: I saw petite fields of tiny greens, bare days old and vibrant as golf course grass, sheared in handfuls by careful workers. I saw popcorn shoots smaller than my pinkie, growing pale banana yellow in a pitch-black greenhouse.

As you can see, The Chef's Garden is no ordinary farm. Come and see how they transformed their story from the tragic yet commonplace tale of a failing family farm into an endeavor so creative and unique that its influence has pervaded the way American chefs put food on our plates. More

Last week we spent part of the afternoon exploring a new, improved community garden in Harlem. It was a rundown plot of land, but now, thanks to a Herculean renovation by the Food Network, Share Our Strength, and Teich Garden Systems, it's a thriving vegetable and fruit garden where kids from the Children's Aid Society (which has a center across the street) learn about planting, harvesting, and cooking. It's an amazing place to hang out. More