The California Cook: Getting creative with citrus

Now that trees are raining down bushels, it's time to peel, slice, squeeze and experiment. I'm writing this column having just spent an hour with our local fruit gleaner picking tangelos from my tree. We must have pulled at least 40 pounds. Earlier in the day, I'd picked an additional three dozen pieces of fruit for recipe testing. And the danged tree still looks like it hasn't been touched.

Avocados offer a world of options

Avocados are not just for guacamole. Although the yummy dip is probably one of their most popular uses, there are other reasons to love avocados. (Andre J. Jackson/Detroit Free Press/MCT) / ANDRE J. JACKSON/MCT

Matt Preston cooks with stone fruit

Eat in, eat out, eat well. Look for the new taste liftout on Tuesdays in the Herald Sun , Courier Mail and Daily Telegraph , on Wednesdays in the Adelaide Advertiser , and in Perth’s Sunday Times .

Awesome, amazing avocado

It's a fruit, not a vegetable, a native of South and Central America. More than 90 percent of the nation's avocados come from California. Avocados can hang on the tree for months before being picked. They ripen off the tree.

NORTH COAST GARDENING: February garden preparations

Pleasant February days whet the appetite for spring planting. Bright sun makes the grass glow brilliant green while yellow daffodils bloom and a chorus of tree frogs soars above all.