Whimsical Pumpkins With a Twist

For fall, Simon Pearce, the Vermont company known for tableware and decorative accessories, has become pumpkin central. The company has introduced a new line of beautiful art-glass pumpkins, crystal clear with intricate twisted stems, for your elegant harvest or Thanksgiving table. They’re a more elaborate version of the plain large glass pumpkin the company has…

The Banana as Muse

Homage to the banana plays out at a display at Fort Makers, a design studio and gallery run by artists in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It was inspired by news of a deadly pathogen infecting banana farms. The show is meant to celebrate the threatened fruit. Historical pieces and newly commissioned works share…

New Condiments to Add Kick to Dinner

Maya Kaimal, whose company produces myriad sauces, condiments and other ingredients for Indian cooking, has just introduced hot sauces. Not that her marinades, simmer sauces and ketchup lacked that kick, but these newcomers, inspired by her family’s recipes from Kerala, are designed to deliver compelling heat when drizzled on vegetables, eggs, cheese and seafood. The…

A Book for Your Johnny Appleseed

How apples grow and reproduce, and the history, evolution and symbolism of the fruit are discussed in a compelling introduction in “Odd Apples,” a new book of apple photographs. The sometimes surprising photos display the colorful varieties, many with red or pink flesh. You’ll discover the fancifully striped Red St. Lawrence from Maine, the sleek…

Back in the Kitchen

Good morning. I was on the road for a few days, and not cooking at all. The food was fine while traveling — wings and tots, a pepperoni and Parmesan croissant, a decent cheese steak, a better-than-decent Italian sub and a remarkable beet smoothie from a juice bar in Lorain, Ohio, that I drank in…