There may be snow on the ground, but I've got tomatillos, peppers and fava beans on the brain.

That's right the 2009 seed catalogues have arrived and it's got me thinking about vegetables and herbs for the new raised garden bed in our backyard. There are thousands of possibilities, but here are a few new offerings that sound interesting:

In the Cook’s Garden catalog cooksgarden.com:

'Pineapple' Tomatillo — a golden-yellow fruit (pictured here) that tastes like pineapple.

'Fried Green' Tomato — even when ripe, it stays green for classic fried green tomatoes anytime.

'Zavory' Hot Pepper — the first habanero pepper to register a mild 100 units of heat on the ‘Scoville’ scale instead of the typical 30,000 units.

From Burpee.com:

"Sweet seedless" tomato — billed as the "world's first" seedless tomato.

"Twice as nice" melon — the rind turns a distinct dark yellow when ripe, so no more guessing when to pick it.

"Pinot Noir" sweet pepper — just like the grape (and wine) its named for, this pepper is sweet with a crisp aftertaste.

Baker Creek Heirloom seeds rareseeds.com:

"Iant's" fava bean — a Guatemalan variety that reaches 6 feet tall and is reputed to contain an elevated level of dopamine, which can benefit those at risk for Alzheimer's.

"Wild Zaatar" oregano— A common herb in Bible times, these seeds come from Israel, Jordan and surrounding areas.

"Strawberry cabbage" lettuce — a 19th Century French heirloom variety with green leaves splashed with red "as if red rain fell on them."