Fact about The Wachters' Blend of Sea Vegetation:

More than 70% of the oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere comes from sea vegetation.

Sure, peas and carrots are nutritious and all, but according to cookbook author Jill Gusman, they're merely " land vegetables." In Vegetables from the Sea, she offers recipes for such exotica as kombu, wakame and bullwhip kelp. These veggies, which many people might call, well, seaweed, are a mainstay of Japanese cuisine and packed with minerals and disease-fighting antioxidant vitamins. Dulse, which Gusman uses to make Irish soda muffins, has a deep burgundy hue and a smoky flavor, and hijiki, which she puts on crostini, is jet black and sweet. Home cooks can find edible seaweeds in dehydrated form in health- and specialty-food shops. But don't scour the beach for your dinner. The seaweed that washes ashore is probably decayed or contaminated.

By Janice M. Horowitz

Time Magazine, Jun. 23, 2003