This is the time of year when the Hollywood Farmers Market is literally pumped up with colorful produce. It seems all the brightest vegetal hues make themselves prominent in August. Purple plums, crimson heirloom tomatoes, and golden squash embellish the stalls with all the flair of a Hello Kitty Lunch Box!

But there is another vegetable hitting it's peak with the heat of summer. One that can pack its own heat and yet wears all these colors, and more. I am talking about peppers. Peppers in all sizes and all colors. Hot peppers, sweet peppers, or plain ole pretty peppers. They are really an inspiration to cooks like me who find creative kicks through colorful cues.

In fact one look at these peppers and Peter Piper popped in my pate! Hey it would happen to you too. Nursery Ryhmes carry potent cultural baggage.

Which got me thinking. Did you know  the phrase "Sippity Sup" started out as the title of a Nursery Rhyme?

Sippity sup, sippity sup,
Bread and milk from a china cup.
Bread and milk from a bright silver spoon
Made of a piece of the bright silver moon.
Sippity sup, sippity sup,
Sippity, sippity sup.

I feel kinda bad that I sorta usurped that poor old Nursery Rhyme. I mean it was a lesser-known Nursery Rhyme to be sure. I don't think it held much favor with Mother Goose. So it wasn't really that hard to beat the Google pants off it.

Still, there was a time when you could Google "Sippity Sup" and you'd find references to that less than popular children's poem of the same name. Then "along comes a spider" in the form of a food blogger. And guess what? Now that poor little Nursery Rhyme does not even come up on the first page when you Google that phrase. That's my fault– but it wasn't intentional. I never even knew what HTML was before I started this blog. Let alone understand how to optimize it!

I hope you've been following along with my Visit Norway series. Up until now I have been presenting mostly broad information about the cuisine of Norway, as well as fun things to do (and eat) in Oslo. I even did a post about the nightlife in Oslo.

But today I want to get very specific. There's a new restaurant in Oslo. It's called Maaemo. Though it's been open since December 2010, I say "new" because Norway has seen nothing like it before. Maaemo (Finnish for Mother Earth) is one of just a very few (only?) Norwegian restaurants that uses 100% organic, biodynamic or wild produce, coming almost exclusively from Norway. Their philosophy is groundbreaking, and the story is fascinating. Worthy of a post all its own– so I asked Nordic Nibbler to come with me to Maaemo. Tomorrow, he'll have a very in-depth interview in a guest post.

The time I spent with Maaemo's chef Esben Holmboe Bang and co-owner and sommelier Pontus Dahlström was probably the most exciting 2 hours of my entire stay in Norway. They took me into the kitchen. The chef taught me to make my own vinegar powder. Previously I bought vinegar powder to use as a super-charged sour element in some of my cooking. It adds so much flavor (especially as a garnish) without adding any liquid. So it's possible to use it in ways traditional vinegar could never be used. So I was already a fan of the ingredient– but the commercial stuff doesn't even come close to the intense flavor of what can easily (I learned) be made at home. I promise to share the technique soon.

People are so funny about anchovies. And whether you love anchovies or hate them, it might come as a surprise that they weren’t born in that oily little tin can wrapped around a caper! Don’t get me wrong– I love their big salty flavor, so reminiscent of the ocean. Whether strewn on pizza, laid across toast or used as an ingredient in other dishes, I'm a huge fan of this little tinned fish.

There are other options. I think anchovy fishaphobes would be surprised by the mild flavor of fresh anchovies.

But getting them to taste anchovies, even fresh and marinated (also called white) anchovies, is a bit of a struggle. Not just because they think they hate 'em, but also because even die-hard anchovy lovers like me can’t get marinated anchovies as easily as we’d like. It’s just plain hard to find the fresh fish in any form in the United States. Other commonly canned fish are much easier to find in their fresh form here. Fresh tuna? Sure. Even fresh sardines can be found in my market sometimes. Anchovies are the next tinned fish ready for its fresh faced close-up (I hope).