DMG: I was talking to Brenda this week about her book, which I really love because it's simple ways to eat vegetables, grains, and legumes, and we got to talking about that European tradition of lettuce pots.

Tom Crann: Lettuce pots?

DMG: Yes, just lettuce, the kind with the roots that you get in the garden center, not the kind that's already cut in the grocery store, tucked into a pot and set in a sunny place — on a patio, on a picnic table, wherever you have a bit of room that's sunny. You don't have to tear up your lawn, or worry about what's in your soil.

A lot of garden centers actually sell the whole pot, or window box, or whatever it is, already planted. Or you can plant your own. There are so many varieties today: butterleaf, romaine, deep red varieties. You can interplant spinach with them if you want. And when your lettuce gets growing you can snip a lot for a salad, or just a few leaves for a little add-in to whatever you're making.

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