LONG PROMO:   Hey, it’s summertime.  That means bikinis.  I’ve got the bikini in the produce aisle.  Oh, man.  That’s going to be really hot.  Plus Yukon gold potatoes on your grill, I’ll tell you about it.  Plus cherries.  Where in the world are they coming from right now?  Plus the vegetable that was very important during the Gettysburg battle…next week, with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

SHORT PROMO:  Hey, let’s put some gold on the grill this summer, some Yukon gold…next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
                                                                                                         
SWEET CORN (Monday, June 30):  Hey, I took little Lincoln to a Gettysburg battle reenactment.  Oh, man.  He loved it.  It was really cool.  But you know, in Pennsylvania, Gettysburg, in that county during that July 4 battle, oh my goodness, there was a vegetable that they literally fought through.  Now if you know that part of the country, this time of year they’re growing corn.  That’s right.  There were fields and fields of corn out in the Gettysburg battlefields, and literally they were walking, the Union and the Confederate, they were literally walking through the stalks of corn.  This is, of course, peak season for summer sweet corn.  May I suggest one thing for you, and I tell my wife this all the time.  Look, if I bring corn home and you’re not going to eat it either today or tomorrow, give it to the neighbors and let them enjoy it because even if they’re stored properly, it still loses sugar after a couple days.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, you got your July 4th holiday coming up.  You better have some summer sweet corn.

YUKON GOLD POTATOES (Tuesday, July 1)  Hey, let’s put some gold on the grill.  You know we’re going to have some July 4th picnics, and of course you may have some grilling going on.  One of the things I love to do, I love to put some Yukon golds on the grill.  Now you can do a couple things.  You can do them whole.  I like to actually quarter them.  That way it makes it a whole lot easier to cook, a little faster to cook.  So you’re just going to take the Yukon gold.  Now what I do, I try to buy Yukon golds that are generally about the same size, that way when you cut them into quarters, you’re still going to have about the same size of each Yukon gold piece so as it cooks it’s going to cook up all about the same.  Now what I love to do, I love to just get some aluminum foil.  We’re going to put this right in the aluminum foil.  Now, the rosemary also goes in here.  I also drizzle a little bit of olive oil and a little bit of butter.  We’re going to just fold that up.  That goes out on the grill.  Oh, man, when the burgers come off and the gold comes off, it’s going to taste so good.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report…we’re going to literally put some gold on the grill.    

5-9 SERVINGS A DAY (Wednesday, July 2):  Can you possibly believe it?  We are like halfway done with 2008.  That’s right.  Half of it’s gone.  We still have half coming up.  So I thought this week it would be really good to talk about how you are doing with your fruits and vegetables.  I’m not talking about New Year’s resolutions and, you know, dieting and going to the gym.  I’m talking about simple things like increasing your consumption every day, every week, every month and little by little, you know by the end of 2008 even though it’s halfway done, you possibly could be eating five to nine servings every day.  So here’s what I suggest you do.  For this week, for the rest of this week, just determine what you and your family are eating every day.  You know, are you getting your five a day?  Are you only eating one or two?  Tha’ts all right. It’s a place to start.  Okay?  Tomorrow’s a new day.  We’ll start there.  So every week, try to add one more serving of fruit or vegetable to your daily diet.  By the end of this year, man, you’ll be eating really healthy.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.

TEASE:  Hey, you know you’re halfway done with the year.  In my next Produce Man report, I’m going to challenge you.  Come on, you can still eat more.

HABANERO CHILE PEPPERS (Thursday, July 3):  Right underneath here is the bikini of produce.  That’s right.  This week in 1946 in Paris unveiled the very first bikini swimmsuit.  Now it’s swimming time.  We’re at the swimming hole.  It’s hot out there, and here is the bikini of produce – that’s right, the hottest, tiniest little pepper on the face of the planet.  The habanero or the orange bonnet.  There are many different varieties.  Now may I suggest something.  You know, you see this display.   I do not even go up and touch them with my hands because there could be a crack on one of them, and if there’s a crack on one of them and you touch it, you get the oil on your finger and now you go to wipe your eyes or your face, and oh man, it’s going to hurt for a long time.  So here’s what I suggest you do.  You know all the produce departments have the cool little plastic bags.  Just go ahead and put your hand in one of the bags.  Go ahead and reach for the habaneros that you want for your recipe.  There you go.  You don’t even have to touch them that way.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, how to pick out the habaneros at the store, ooh ooh, without even touching them.
  
CHERRIES (Friday, July 4):  All right.  Come right over here, right down here.  I’m going to dump these out.  Whoo!  Oh, take a look at these cherries.  You know, this time of year cherries are coming from the great apple state.   That’s right.  You think Washington state is only for beautiful apples?  No, this time of year it’s cherry season, beautiful Bing cherries. And I want you to come even closer because I want you to take a look at that beautiful mahogany, dark mahogany color on that beautiful Bing cherry.  That’s when you know you’ve got an excellent…and look how big it is.  Man, it’s bigger than my thumb.  That is an export quality Bing cherry from Washington state.  And how do they taste?  You know when you have dark mahogany Bing cherries, oh man, they’re going to be so plump, so juicy, so firm.  They’re not going to last long.  They’re not going to be here forever, so I would suggest we enjoy these beautiful Washington Bing cherries now before they’re gone.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  (Takes bite)  Mmmm.

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, these are from Washington state.  No, they’re not apples – beautiful Bing cherries.  (Takes bite)  Mmmm.