Spring can sneak up on one in New York City; the moment sunny, warm weather arrives everyone magically appears on the street in shorts, summer dresses, and sandals. Don't they need to switch out their clothing from under the bed (where, due to space constraints, my summer clothing resides in cooler months)? With the same urgency, suddenly it feels imperative to drink lemonade. As in now. That's why you'll want to know this shortcut to a glass of lemonade. 

So.... Kohlrabi. Yeah. It's a little out there as far as the pantheon of commonly known vegetables goes. It's somewhat reminiscent of broccoli stems. It looks a bit like a space alien. And I can count on one hand the number of times I've cooked with it. Do you find kohlrabi a little weird, too? Let's discuss.

If you're one of our UK readers, then Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall will likely need no introduction.  And to a certain extent, American readers may be familiar with many of his cookbooks published here from 10 Speed Press (River Cottage Meat, River Cottage Fish and River Cottage Veg have been reviewed by The Kitchn.)  It is my hope that many more Americans discover this passionate cook, writer, and activist and become inspired, as I have, to cook with fresh ingredients sourced as locally as possible.  

For just a hint of the enthusiastic and delicious ideas that come from this very creative and exuberant cook, read on for Hugh's 5 essential things for the home cook.

Planning meals for an entire week is a tedious task. It's difficult to plan one that gives you variety yet simplicity in your weekly labors of love. Cooking for a week is even harder — it's tough to stay motivated and energetic through all the outside stresses we encounter in the work week. On that note, I present a full menu for a household of two that gets you through the week. This is a work week menu plan you can do!

I've been making a lot of caramel popcorn recently — talk about the perfect treat for everything from Teacher Appreciation Day to a birthday potluck! But the unpopped kernels always bug me. Nothing worse than munching a handful of caramel popcorn clusters and suddenly biting into a hard kernel. I finally figured out an easy way to eliminate nearly all those unpopped kernels before they ruin the batch.

This is a very exciting spring for books here at The Kitchn! A couple weeks ago we told you about my new book, Bakeless Sweets, and this week we're turning the spotlight to another book from our team: True Brews, by Emma Christensen, our very own recipe editor. Emma has written about beer for The Kitchn for many years, and she has become a knowledgeable expert in brewing it as well — and her new book shows you how you can make it for yourself. But she doesn't stop at beer —  wine, kefir, kombucha, and fizzy sodas show up in True Brews too! 

Today we have an interview with Emma, talking about her new book. Come read all about brewing in small apartments with minimum equipment, the most surprising things she learned while writing the book, and the most refreshing drink for summer!

Want to make pasta, but lack the motivation to do all that mixing and kneading by hand? No problem. If you have a food processor, you can have a batch of pasta dough ready in about two minutes flat. 

I'm sure I am not the first cook to drop her head in her hands and groan, "Why can't we just go metric!" while trying to scale a recipe up or down, or trying to divide by 32 in her head. Unfortunately, you can't force the country to measure in easily-converted units of ten just because it would make baking brownies for the school bake sale less of a headache. But you can make life easier for yourself by memorizing this short list of essential cooking conversions.

How do you pack your lunch? Do you always pack leftovers, or make up something fresh in the morning? Do you have a system to help you remember to take your lunch? Or has the lunch-packing-habit always escaped you? 

We have a few favorite recipes and tips to help you pack a great lunch, from lunches you can make the night before, to quick and delicious lunches under 400 calories, even one-handed lunch ideas for busy people! It's all here.

Glamorous kitchens are fun to look at and aspire to, but what about the little things everyone can do to make their kitchens prettier and more functional? That's what one Kitchn reader wanted to know, so I've rounded up 15 cheap yet effective ways you can spruce up a small kitchen: