There's something very soothing about finding fruits and vegetables that grow in your own backyard when you're halfway around the world. This happened to me recently on a trip to Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey. As we were walking around the Old Town of Istanbul -- viewing the centuries of history still alive at the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Underground Cistern and the Museum of Topkapi Palace -- there, suddenly, were a number of vendors serving freshly sliced watermelon. And not just any watermelons but huge green watermelons that looked very similar to the watermelon that was the first thing I grew in my garden and in a way launched this site (story here). The watermelon I grew was an Ali Baba heirloom watermelon, which originated nearby in Iraq, but these were very similar looking -- especially in size. I later learned that Turkey is the second biggest producer (after China) of watermelon. As you can see, the ones they were serving look absolutely wonderful.

Also available (in abundance) were artichokes (which have a very short season), oranges (which they fresh squeezed at stands in Ephesus), almonds, asparagus, olives, cucumbers and tomatoes. To the right is just one display at the Kemeralti Bazaar in Izmir. Later, as we drove from Izmir to Ephesus, the rows and rows of almond trees reminded me quite a bit of driving down through Central California on a summer day.

One of the new trends we discovered in Istanbul is the bringing back of historic Turkish and Ottoman cuisine using fresh seasonal produce. We found this at both the Tugra Restaurant at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski (a former Ottoman palace) and at Nar Lokanta restaurant, which also runs a culinary institute and has a gorgeous vertical botanical garden running through it. I'm hoping to have a recipe to share soon and then we can all enjoy historic Ottoman cuisine using the fresh seasonal produce from our own backyards.

The opening of a new restaurant in the Napa Valley always brings about bit of a ripple in the foodie community. In this case, it's the new Goose & Gander, which opened last week on the same spot in St. Helena where the former Martini House once stood. With a focus on locally sourced ingredients in both the dining room, overseen by Partner/Executive Chef Kelly McCown, and in the artisan cocktails concocted by Bar Manager Scott Beattie, those seeking a quintessential farm-to-table experience in Napa should be pleased. If you're interested in toasting the opening at home, Beattie was kind enough to share his recipe for the Cucumber Collins. Even better -- wait until Memorial Day, when you can enjoy a summer cocktail in the restaurant's newly renovated garden.

Cucumber Collins
1 1/2 oz. Square One Cucumber Vodka
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz. yuzu juice (with no sodium added)
1/2 oz. 1:1 simple syrup
1-2 oz. seltzer
4 to 6 slices of cucumber, pickled and non-pickled (recipe below)

Add the vodka, lemon juice, yuzu juice and simple syrup to an empty 16 oz. mixing glass. Add enough ice to fill the mixing glass completely with ice, seal it up, shake hard a few times to mix, unseal, leaving all the contents in the metal half of the shaker. Add the seltzer to the metal half of the shaker, and then dump the contents into a 12 oz. Collins glass. It should fit in nicely with ice filling the glass from the bottom to the top. Using a straw of the back end of a stirring spoon, carefully slide several slices each of the pickled and non-pickled cucumbers down the sides of the glass, so that the ice pushes the cucumber slices attractively up against the glass.

Pickled Cucumbers Stained with Blueberries
12 oz. unseasoned rice vinegar
4 oz. mirin
4 oz. unfiltered cooking sake
6 oz. white granulated sugar
1 cup frozen wild Maine blueberries
1 large English cucumber

Add the vinegar, mirin and sake to a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Next add the blueberries, bring back up to a boil, and summer for 2 minutes to bleed out the color. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Using a mandolin, slice the entire cucumber up to about the width of a quarter, not paper thin, not too thick. Reserve half of the cucumbers for pickling; the other half will stay non-pickled. Stain the blueberries out of the pickling liquid, and then pour the liquid over half of the cucumbers and let them rest for about 2 hours or long enough to stain them purple. They will last about two weeks in the fridge.

It somehow doesn't feel right using the word "tucked" when describing the location of the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The fact that the Huntington spans 207 acres would seem to make it difficult to tuck it anywhere. But that is exactly the feeling one gets after leaving the Los Angeles freeways that take you into Pasadena, past CalTech and then into the residential community where the Huntington is located. Originally a ranch, Henry Huntington bought the land in 1903. His superintendent William Hertrich then helped develop the plant collections for the botanical gardens, which now feature more than 14,000 different varieties of plants in more than a dozen garden areas.

The Huntington's Japanese Garden (above), originally built in 1912 and a favorite since the Huntington opened to the public in 1928, recently reopened after a year-long $6.8 million renovation. New elements include an authentic ceremonial tea house, a restoration of the original Japanese House, repairs to the water infrastructure and pathways, and the addition of a waterfall. Additional gardens on the expansive grounds include the Australian Garden, Camellia Garden, Children's Garden, Chinese Garden, Desert Garden, Herb Garden, Jungle Garden and the Rose Garden (right). Upcoming events of interest to gardeners include the Huntington's annual plant sale, going on Sunday, April 29 (with a members' preview on April 28). For those who can't make the bigger event, there's a free garden tour and plant sale on the second Thursday of every month. Or there's the popular Tea & Tour, which includes a morning docent-led tour of the gardens followed by English tea in the Rose Garden Tea Room.

For those that want to further their "Huntington" experience, nearby The Langham Huntington, Pasadena, also offers beautifully landscaped gardens (including a Japanese garden) as part of its 23 acres. The hotel is featuring a "Gastronomy in the Garden" dinner on August 23, where Royce Chef David Feau will create a tasting menu featuring seasonal produce from the hotel's organic garden. For more information, call 626-585-6218 or visit pasadena.langhamhotels.com.