CELERY PART I (Monday, July 21):  (Takes bite)  Mmm.  That is really good.  That is really, really good.  My mom, bless her heart, she would put celery…Mmm…hold on just a second.  That is yummy.  She would put celery like in everything.  You know, soup, stews, chicken salad, tuna salad.  Celery would go in it.  Now we know this is a stalk of celery.  You go into the produce department, farmer’s market, you look for a stalk of celery.  So if this is a stalk, what is one of these?  What do you call this?  Is it also called a stalk or is it called a leaf?  Are you ready for this?  A little bit trivia for you.  Each one of these is called a peteal – kind of like petal only put an “e” there in the middle.  Peteal.  There’s one peteal.  Actually, the perfect stalk of celery will have about eight to ten peteals per stalk.  When I’m in the produce department, I’m counting peteals. 

CELERY PART II (Tuesday, July 22)  You know yesterday we were talking about celery and we were talking about what each one of these things are called, and they’re called peteals.   But you know, one of the things I do when I walk into the produce department and I’m looking at all the celery, one of the things I’m looking for…do they have some leaves on them?  I know some celery you get, there’s like no leaves on the top, but one of the things I love to look for is these leaves on the top.  I use these leaves in all my recipes.  Whatever I’m putting celery in, I also use the leaves.  I know a lot of people probably take the leaves off.  Any place you use parsley, Italian parsley, you can use the tops of the celery.  Man, they add such great flavor.  Chop them up.  Dice them up.  They are so good.  By the way, when you get your celery home, here’s what I want you to do.  I want you to take a knife, and the first thing I want you to do is cut off just a little bit of the bottom.  Just a little tiny bit.  Then you’re going to put this into some ice water.  I mean ice cold water.  That’s going to make these peteals, this whole stalk, really really crisp. 

POTATOES (Wednesday, July 23):  Have you ever heard of the Pied Piper of Hamlen?  That’s right.  Hamlen, Germany.  We are definitely paying the piper now for potatoes.   Man, potatoes now are really expensive, probably one of the highest I’ve seen them in the 30 years that I’ve been in the produce industry, and this month and probably next month is when it’s going to be like the total worst.  So, why are we paying the piper now?  Well, it all started last August.  You know, the final month of growth of a potato tuber is the final month where they grow like 50% of all their weight and size.  Well, last August we got hit around the country with a heat wave that was just a killer.  It was terrible, and so the tubers did not grow, and then when they did grow, they got misshapen.  So we are really paying some high prices for potatoes.  Don’t worry about it though.  Even at the high prices, potatoes – still one of the most cost efficient vegetables that you can possibly eat. 

GARLIC PART I (Thursday, July 24):  Man, I am very excited.  I get excited a lot.  I walk down the produce aisle and I see things and whoa!  Some things really excite me.  I walk down the produce aisle and whoa, I saw the garlic – pure white garlic.  And that really excited me!  You know why?  It is new crop garlic.  That’s right.  We’re finally into the new crop garlic which means, of course,  some of the best flavor you’re going to have in garlic.  You know, we’re just coming out of the old crop - less oil content, less flavor.  You had to add more to your recipes but not now.  Oh man!  Now, how in the world…you get that home and what do you do with it?  Well, I take the biggest knife I have and I also take the ugliest knife I have because it doesn’t matter whether it gets all smelly with garlic on it.  You’re just going to put that on top.  See that?  The biggest part goes right on top.   Now you’re going to take your hand, the palm of your hand.  You with me so far?  One.  Two.  And you’re going to smash it just like so.  Now all the cloves fall apart.  You can easily peel each one by whacking it with a knife again. 

GARLIC PART II (Friday, July 25):  Hey, the 30th annual Gilroy garlic festival – you didn’t know they had a festival just for garlic?  Yep, it’s in Gilroy, California – the 30th annual going on this weekend.  If you happen to be flying to California, go ahead and check it out.  Anyway, we’ve got beautiful new crop garlic.  One of the things I love to do, get your oldest knife that you have.  You don’t want to wreck one of your new knives.  You’re going to take the clove of garlic.  What you’re going to do, you’re just going to smash it a little bit.  It helps the sheath come off very easily.  Now what you’re going to do, you’re just going to chop this up.  I just do a rough chop.  It’s called a rough chop, and then you know, you’re going to make some garlic bread with your spaghetti tonight and you want to mash up this garlic.  Well, what you’re going to do, you’re going to add just a little bit of coarse salt to that mixture right there.  You with me so far?  Now what you’re going to do, that salt kind of acts like sandpaper and you’re going to just do this to it.  Yeah, just take your knife, the blade of the knife, and you’re just going to drag it on there and because of that salt on there, acts like sandpaper, it’s going to mince up really nicely and that you’re going to smother all over your garlic bread for garlic bread. 

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