Photo by Salome VanWoerden

Sunchokes growing at Animal Farm.

Cooler temperatures mean that the City Hall Farmers Market is open once again and that more Houstonians will be heading out to enjoy the many other excellent farmers' markets across the city. Each week, we'll be spotlighting a produce pick from the Urban Harvest network of farmers' markets by showing you how to select it, what makes it special and what to do with it.

You may have seen sunchokes on the menu at Houston restaurants such as Backstreet Cafe and Brasserie 19. But do you know what they are? I didn't until a few years ago -- and I wasn't alone in my ignorance.

"I would venture to say that 90 percent of customers do not know what they are or how to prepare them," says Urban Harvest market manager Tyler Horne. "Thankfully, I see the farmers spending a lot of time telling their customers how to prepare them."

Sunchokes -- also known as Jerusalem artichokes -- are now in season and Animal Farm will have its very own, locally grown sunchokes at the Eastside Farmers Market this coming Saturday.

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Photo by Hafeez Issadeen

Cooler temperatures mean that the City Hall Farmers Market is open once again and that more Houstonians will be heading out to enjoy the many other excellent farmers' markets across the city. Each week, we'll be spotlighting a produce pick from the Urban Harvest network of farmers' markets by showing you how to select it, what makes it special and what to do with it.

People often talk about eating nose-to-tail when dealing with meat, not wanting to waste any part of an animal -- almost all of which is edible. (Yes, even the eyeballs. They taste like aspic.) But what about eating flower-to-root? That's where the pretty, frilly winged beans -- a.k.a. Goa beans -- come in.

"The whole plant is edible, but you mostly only see the beans for sale," says market manager Tyler Horne. Way back in 1982, a New York Times article called winged beans "a supermarket on a stalk." Why?

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Photos by Tyler Horne

Cooler temperatures mean that the City Hall Farmers Market is open once again and that more Houstonians will be heading out to enjoy the many other excellent farmers' markets across the city. Each week, we'll be spotlighting a produce pick from the Urban Harvest network of farmers' markets by showing you how to select it, what makes it special and what to do with it.

Even if you've never heard of a daikon radish before, chances are you've had one. It's usually found julienned and pickled alongside carrots atop most banh mi sandwiches -- but the thick, white radish can be used for so much more than just sandwich topping.

And this week at the HCC Southwest Farmers Market, you can stock up on the radishes while supporting a terrific cause: Plant It Forward Farms, which works with Congolese refugees and -- according to its mission statement -- provides them with "an opportunity to become self-sufficient through growing, harvesting and selling produce from a sustainable urban micro-farm within the city of Houston."

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Photos by Katharine Shilcutt

I almost got escorted out of Marshalls for taking these photos, SO ENJOY THEM.

I love Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table as much as the next person, but I don't always love their prices. Wandering around the two stores and gawking at the beautiful displays can easily occupy my entire afternoon. But as soon as I'm through, I head to T.J. Maxx or Marshalls to get my actual kitchen shopping done.

The two discount stores often carry many of the same items as Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table and department stores like Macy's, but for far less money. And, sure, there are kitchen items at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls I'm not going to buy -- much of the packaged food is leftover merchandise from trade shows, for example -- but the two stores are great for stocking up on items like holiday tchotchkes, party goods and more.

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Photos by David Leftwich

Cooler temperatures mean that the City Hall Farmers Market is open once again and that more Houstonians will be heading out to enjoy the many other excellent farmers' markets across the city. Each week, we'll be spotlighting a produce pick from the Urban Harvest network of farmers' markets by showing you how to select it, what makes it special and what to do with it.

The gorgeous variegated corn you see above has an equally pretty name: Ruby Queen Corn. It's a rare variety of corn that's been hybridized over the years to produce its unusual color and natural sweetness, and is only available in Houston through the efforts of Animal Farm, a family-run certified organic farm in Cat Spring, about 15 minutes northwest of Sealy.

"No one is planting Ruby Queen on a commercial level, so the only place to find it as the [Eastside] market," says Urban Harvest market director Tyler Horne. "Their Ruby Queen is harvested early when it's a lighter red color in order to maximize its sweetness. If harvested later, it becomes almost purple in color and has a more intense corn flavor with less sweetness."

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Ever come up with an innovative, couldn't be more perfect, fan-freaking-tastic idea, only to discover someone's already come up with it? Well, this is the complete opposite...

You see, in these cases, we can't seem to wrap our heads around the fact that these items exist...like, in real life. It truly hurts to think that while our Sprinklee-Doo (patent pending) Multi-flavored Sprinkle Dispenser has yet to hit the market, someone out there is making bank off of a foie gras-flavored gum. Oh, the agony!

Check out these 6 Food-Related Products We Can't Believe Actually Exist:

See Also:
- Top 5 Cheap Bottles of Booze
- Top 5 Ramen Hacks
- Top 5 Coffee Hacks

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Photo by David Leftwich

Cooler temperatures mean that the City Hall Farmers Market is open once again and that more Houstonians will be heading out to enjoy the many other excellent farmers' markets across the city. Each week, we'll be spotlighting a produce pick from the Urban Harvest network of farmers' markets by showing you how to select it, what makes it special and what to do with it.

This week, Urban Harvest market manager Tyler Horne was excited to tell us about the sweet potato greens found at markets like the Saturday morning Eastside Farmers Market, greens which are currently being grown and sold by two local farms.

"You can find them at the market at Utility Research Garden and Gundermann Acres Farm," says Horne, who admits to being "in love" with the dark, leafy greens.

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Photo by Kaberi Kar Gupta

Ripe persimmons.

Cooler temperatures mean that the City Hall Farmers Market is open once again and that more Houstonians will be heading out to enjoy the many other excellent farmers' markets across the city. Each week, we'll be spotlighting a produce pick from the Urban Harvest network of farmers' markets by showing you how to select it, what makes it special and what to do with it.

This week, we're spotlighting persimmons -- a fruit that's native to the United States as well as China, where it's inspired such poetry as Li-Young Lee's lovely ode to the fruit called, simply, "Persimmons."

"I'm a big fan of the astringent variety current at our market from Lightsey Farms out of Mexia, Texas," says Urban Harvest market manager Tyler Horne. "Did you know that most golf clubs used to be made of persimmon wood because it was so dense?"

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Photo by Katharine Shilcutt

Vegetables like these carrots from Atkinson Farm will be for sale today at the City Hall Farmers Market.

After a much-needed break during the hottest part of the year, the City Hall Farmers Market is returning to its regular weekly schedule starting today. The fall season of the City Hall Farmers Market starts today at 11 a.m. and will run every Wednesday throughout the season. The market closes each Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Along with favorites such as Atkinson Farm (whose carrots you can see above), there will be plenty of returning vendors this fall: Swede Family Farm, Warfel Farms, Angela's Oven, Sinfull Bakery and Nisha's Quick N Ezee, just to name a few. But there will also be a few new vendors for you to visit.

Making their debut at the City Hall Farmers Market today are:

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Phaedra Cook

I returned a week ago from San Diego Comic-Con, but when I walked into the Landry's Showcase event at Inn at the Ballpark, I thought for a minute I'd been magically transported back. The first thing my eyes landed on were three big, colorful mascots. There were dozens of people milling about. There was even someone cosplaying as a showgirl.

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