Last week’s YOUR PRODUCE MAN’S PRODUCE PUZZZZLE still dealt with melons: Which melon is not really a melon, but actually is a berry? Of course, we know what berries are. Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries. Here is our very simply definition of a berry: "A multi-celled fruit with many seeds." With that definition, here are a few other berries you might not have considered to be berries: Tomatoes, Grapes, Kiwifruit, and Pomegranate. So, which melon is not really a melon, but a berry? When you cut a Cantaloupe or Honeydew in half, where are all the seeds? That's right. Right in the middle in the seed cavity. What about a…Watermelon? The seeds are everywhere. A Watermelon is indeed a berry, a multi-celled fruit with many seeds. It is not a melon. The Watermelon is the largest berry in the world. This week's YOUR PRODUCE MAN’S PRODUCE PUZZZZLE still deals with melons: Which melon was named after a farmer's daughter? See next week’s Fresh Tips for the answer.

The “iceberg” lettuce that we know today, didn’t get it’s name until the 1920s.

Salad processors triple wash the lettuce salads.

Second, I would also spend a few minutes in tearing the leaves up a littler further. This is a great way to get your kids or grandkids in the kitchen. Have them wash their hands, and then let them tear up the leaves into smaller bite-size pieces. Sure, the processing companies like Dole, Fresh Express or Ready Pac could chop the salad smaller, but then the bags would end up costing $9.99 a bag. They’ve done most of the work. Nothing wrong with you putting in a little effort. Nothing worse than getting a plate full of lettuce leaves, and then you need a knife and a fork to cut it up. A knife and a fork are supposed to be for your steak…not your salad.

A Salad needs to “look” as good as it tastes.

SALAD - INGREDIENTS (Tuesday, June 29): A salad, as defined by The Dictionary of American Food and Drink, is "A dish of leafy green vegetables dressed with various seasonings, sauces, and other vegetables or fruits." The salad has been around since ancient times, named for the Latin for salt (sal), with which the greens were seasoned before Good Seasons. The signature salad of the 1950s was the ubiquitous iceberg lettuce wedge with Thousand Island or French dressing. Many families made their own version of Thousand Island by mixing mayonnaise and ketchup and, on lucky days, a spoonful of pickle relish. The first big American salad craze came in 1930 with the debut of the “Lime Jell-O Salad.” Raise your hands. How many have made one of those molded salads? Lots of you. In the 1960s, there was a fad of getting back to nature, so by the 1970s, our salads began to reflect this natural attitude. That’s when salad bars with dozens of ingredients began popping up everywhere. Today, some restaurants feature a huge buffet of salad and salad ingredients. One main rule about salads…or any food for that matter…is that it should “look” good. We eat with our eyes first. If something looks beautiful, we’ll eat it. If something looks awful, we most likely won’t eat it. So in making salads, one thing I suggest is to make all of the ingredients of similar shape and size. If you coin-cut your Carrots, then coin-cut your Zucchini or Cucumbers, and use small, round Tomatoes like a Grape Tomato or a small Cherry Tomato. I like using a julienne cut on my ingredients. I will cut thin match stick size Carrots, Cucumbers, Squash, Red Onions and Jicama. I will then cut the Tomatoes in a longer fashion. If I use a regular slicing tomato, I’ll slice it in half, then in long crescents. If I use a Grape Tomato or Cherry Tomato, I’ll quarter them, again, giving a long cut look.

Here is Caesar Cardini, the inventor of the Caesar Salad.

SALAD - CAESAR (Wednesday, June 30): In the 1990s Caesar ruled. You could find Caesar Salad in virtually every restaurant, including most of the fast food chains in America. Caesar was hot. Caesar Salad, by the way, has nothing to do with the Roman Emperor Caesar. It has to do with Caesar Cardini who owned a resort hotel in Mexico. Back in 1924, over a July 4th weekend, Cardini had quite a weekend. Business was booming and he ran out of food. But at the end of the weekend, four actors from Hollywood decided to head to Cardini’s resort for dinner. Not wanting to disappoint his famous friends, Cardini checked his stock and found some Romaine Lettuce, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, Parmesan Cheese, Dry Mustard, Lemon juice and French Bread. No. No anchovies. Anchovies didn’t hit the recipe until 1929. That’s when Cardini’s brother moved from New York and joined the business. Today, the Caesar salad is so popular, that it has changed the lettuce landscape in Salinas. In 1985, about 85% of all lettuce grown was the Iceberg Lettuce. Today, Iceberg accounts for only about 60% of the lettuce crop. About 1/3 now is the Romaine Lettuce, the main actor in Caesar Salad. You can turn your Caesar Salad into your main meal by simply adding some Chicken.

Turn your Pita into a…

…Caesar Sandwich. Just add slices of Apples.

SALAD – CAESAR SANDWICHES (Thursday, July 1): We always end up with leftover Caesar Salad. By the time you look at it the next day in the refrigerator, it looks like a limp mess in a bowl. You’d hate to throw away that great salad, but what to do. Make a Caesar Salad Sandwich. Get some Pita Bread and cut them in half. Tuck some leftover Caesar Salad into the Pita Bread, then add some chicken. Then get out your favorite apple. Thinly slice some apples and slide them into the sandwich. You get the “crunch” from the apple, and the great flavor from the Caesar Salad. Now you’ll never have to throw away your leftover Caesar Salad again.

Get out your ingredients. It’s time for Zero to Salad in 5 minutes or less.

SALAD IN 5 MINUTES OR LESS (Friday, July 2): Your husband calls you and says he’ll be home in 5 minutes…and he’s bringing 5 of his co-workers home. “We’d like a light dinner, honey,” he asks. What will you do? Well, this situation is a good reminder that we should always have a packaged salad or two on hand at all times…just for emergencies like this. I like to always have Butter Leaf Lettuce and Romaine Hearts Salads on hand. If you have some baguette bread, cut some thin slices. Lay them on a cookie sheet and drizzle some olive oil on them. Spread a little chopped garlic and Parmesan Cheese on top. Put them under the broiler for about 2 minutes, or until golden crispy brown. Get a long platter and mix the two salads on the platter. Go to your cupboard and grab these items: Garbanzo Beans, Red Kidney Beans, White Corn, Mandarin Sections, Calamata Olives (pitted of course), and some marinated Artichoke Hearts. Open the cans and jars and begin draining the juices. Grab some raisins and some slivered almonds. Oh, and grab some of your left over chicken. Once drained, pour the ingredients, one at a time, from side to side. Make a line of Garbanzo, a line of Kidney, a line of Corn, a line of Mandarin Sections, etc. Surround the salad with the Calamata Olives and marinated Artichoke Hearts. Sprinkle the chicken around, along with the raisins and nuts. Right on top, freshly grate some Parmesan Cheese and then arrange your crispy croutons. By the time your husband walks through the door with his friends, you’ve prepared an entree salad. Now, just get the drinks.

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