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ROMA TOMATO (Monday, May 9): Last week, we had
so much fun with BJ’s Brewhouse Restaurant Executive Chef
Ray Martin, that we decided to bring him back for just one more
show. Today, he is showing off the classic Italian favorite appetizer,
the Bruschetta. At BJ’s, it’s served with a medley of
fresh Roma Tomatoes, fresh Basil, Garlic, Onions, Olive Oil, Balsamic
Vinegarette and of course, Parmesan Cheese, served with seasoned
toasted bread. Roma Tomatoes are the best choice for this appetizer
because it’s a very meaty tomato, with very little juice.
Cherry Tomatoes, Grape Tomatoes, and even regular slicing tomatoes
have too much gel inside, which would make the Bruschetta too watery
and runny. The meaty Roma is perfect. Watch how Chef Ray assembles
this classic appetizer.
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| This time of year,
your Navel Orange can get
dry cell. |
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| Citrus is made up
of hundreds of tiny water balloons. |
NAVEL ORANGES (Tuesday, May 10): This time of
year, you can find some pretty dry Navel Oranges. In the produce
industry, we call it “dry cell.” You see, citrus is
made up of hundreds of tiny water balloons. As the citrus stays
on the tree throughout the season, more juice is going into the
citrus. Well, what if the balloons are full? Adding more juice simply
causes those “water balloons” to burst. When you get
enough of them bursting, you end up with dry cell. As soon as you
cut the Orange in half, you can see the dry cell. It looks like
the inside is very pithy. To avoid Navel Oranges with dry cell,
feel the orange in your hand. If it feels heavy for its size, that
means there is a lot of juice inside. But if the orange feels very
light for its size, then there is less juice, and most likely dry
cell. You can’t tell by just looking at the orange. You’ve
got to feel the orange. Some years, we can find dry cell not only
at the end of the season, but around December or January. That’s
when the San Joaquin Valley in California can get freezing temperatures.
When water freezes, it expands. So, those little water balloons
can burst, once again causing dry cell.
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| Get out the Vanilla
Ice Cream. It’s time to enjoy Cantaloupes again. |
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| Use a brush to scrub and
wash your Cantaloupe…before you cut into it. |
CANTALOUPE (Wednesday, May 11): Finally, we’re
getting some better quality melons, and prices are starting to get
back to more normal levels for this time of year. For most of the
winter, prices have been very high, and quality was aweful. In fact,
many retail stores around the country just stopped carrying Cantaloupe.
That’s how bad it got. Well, we are finally coming into new
crop acreage in northern Mexico, in the state of Sonora, around
the town of Hermosillo. Up until now, most of our melons have been
coming from “off-shore” growing regions of Central and
South America and the Caribbean, mostly Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Cantaloupes, like most other melons, originated in the Middle East.
They love the hot, dry conditions. So if they don’t get hot,
dry growing conditions, the yields and quality are way off. Cooler
weather and rains throughout the growing regions not only slowed
growth, cut yields, but also spread viruses and plant diseases throughout
the region. In northern Mexico, near the town of Hermosillo, most
of the nation’s spring cantaloupe crop is just about ready
for peak harvest. This region of Mexico used to be a vast desert,
until farmers drilled deep water wells, tapping into vast underground
rivers flowing with crystal clean water which had filtered through
the Sierra Madre mountain range. Farmers put in drip irrigation
and turned this desert into a sprawling melon oasis. We are finally
starting to see better quality, with better sugar, better color,
flavor, and a thinner rind. Within a month, Texas, Arizona and California
fields should also start their spring harvest, which will certainly
increase quality, but also bring better prices. Cantaloupes do not
gain any more sugar content once they have been picked. But, you
can increase the flavor and even make it “taste” sweeter.
If you leave your unripe Cantaloupe out at room temperature, you
will cause some of the acids in the fruit to dissipate, and the
other volatile compounds in the fruit will mix, causing the flavor
to improve, and because some of the acids have dissipated, it gives
the impression that it is sweeter. There are fewer acids to counter
the sugar content in the melon. Remember to always scrub the outside
of your Cantaloupe with a brush. All of those nooks and crannies
in the rind is a perfect hiding place for bad bacteria. Get out
the Vanilla Ice Cream! It’s time to once again enjoy sweet
Cantaloupe.
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| Turn
your produce purchasing into an adventure as we celebrate
the anniversary of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. |
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| The path of Lewis &
Clark took them to some pretty foreign land. Your produce adventure
could help you explore new culinary lands. |
PRODUCE ADVENTURE (Thursday, May 12): This weekend
marks the anniversary when Lewis
and Clark set out on their expedition, leaving St. Louis in
1804. On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson won approval
from Congress for a visionary project, an endeavor that would become
one of America’s greatest stories of adventure. Twenty-five
hundred dollars were appropriated to fund a small expeditionary
group, whose mission was to explore the uncharted West. Jefferson
called the group the Corps of Discovery. It would be led by Jefferson’s
secretary, Meriwether Lewis, and Lewis’ friend, William Clark.
Over the next four years, the Corps of Discovery would travel thousands
of miles, experiencing lands, rivers and peoples that no Americans
ever had before. It was the adventure of a lifetime. Today is the
perfect day to dedicate yourself to an adventure, a produce adventure.
There are over 350 items in the normal produce department these
days. I remember when I first started working in a grocery store,
we sold about 150 items. Today, you can find 10 different varieties
of potatoes, 10 types of tomatoes, 15 different kinds of apples.
There is a lot more in the pepper section, too, a lot more than
just Green Bells. And mushrooms. When I started, we had the white
mushrooms. Now, you can usually find 5 different varieties of mushrooms
from the cute Enoki to the huge Portabellas. Look at all the pears,
squash, melons, and berries. Treat the produce department like a
Lewis
and Clark adventure. Don’t be afraid to try new items. And
help teach your kids and grandkids to go on a fruit and vegetable
adventure. Have the kids pick out the variety of apple of the week,
then, like Lewis & Clark, have your child draw the apple and
write about it, describing it’s appearance and flavor. Have
your kids pick out new produce items that you’ve never tried
before. If you get your kids excited about fruits and vegetables,
they will grow up healthy enough to have their own adventures in
life. Remember that we should eat 5 –9 servings of fruits
and vegetables every day, and be sure to choose produce from the
different colors, like red, blue, yellow, brown, white and don’t
forget the greens. Give your kids a special “Lewis & Clark
Adventure Award” for trying new items. Maybe take them miniature
golfing or roller skating. Try to tie in their produce adventure
with exercise. Maybe even have a grand prize for your child. If
they try 10 new items, and actually begin eating their fruits and
vegetables, then reward them with a new bike or a new pair of skates,
or maybe a camping or fishing trip. Make it fun. Make it an adventure.
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| The Mother of All
Onions: The Texas 1015Y. |
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| The Father of the
Mother of all Onions, Dr. Leonard Pike. |
SPRING
SWEET ONIONS (Friday, May 13): The United States defense
department has in their arsenal the MOAB bomb, the Mother Of All
Bombs. Well, Dr.
Leonard Pike of Texas
A&M’s Vegetable Improvement Center, has created the
MOAO, the Mother Of All Onions. This onion is not explosive with
strong flavor, but is the sweetest of all onions. With very high
onion prices right now, the new crop of onions from Mexico and the
Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas is a very welcome sight. Especially
the harvest of the Texas 1015Y, the onion that put Texas back in
the onion saddle again. Remember that Spring Sweet Onions are built
differently than winter storage onions. Storage onions have a very
dense cell structure, which is why they store so well. Spring sweet
onions, however, have a very large cell structure, and filled with
more water. This makes the sweet onion sweet and mild, but also
makes the sweet onion more susceptible to damage. Please, don’t
throw your 1015Y around. Treat them like fine china, gentle and
easy. Dr. Leonard Pike of Texas A&M developed the Texas 1015Y
onion. When Your Produce Man asked him why he developed such a sweet
onion, one with thick rings, onions with a “single center.”
Dr. Pike quickly answered, “Because I love onion rings, and
this onion makes the best onion rings found anywhere.” When
you peel your onions, make sure your knife does not score completely
through the outer rings. Also, make sure when you slice your onion,
you slice them thick, about ½” thick, or more if you
like. My Ultimate Onion Ring recipe is a must. Onions are one of
the oldest known cultivated vegetables known to man, and is one
of the most widely grown vegetables around the world and domestically.
Julia Childs says that she doesn't know how any civilization could
survive without onions. In fact, she often says, "There are
two things you must always have in your kitchen. Celery and Onions."
Julia's not alone. In Onion history and trivia, even General Ulysses
S. Grant refused to move the Union army during the Civil War, unless
they had some onions. The next day, three trainloads of onions were
sent to the Union front line. Onions are one of the most versatile
vegetables, used in recipes for appetizers to main dishes to desserts.
There are two main crops for onions, storage onions and sweet onions,
or Spring Sweet Onions. The main sweet onion crops include the Vidalia,
the Texas 1015Y, the Maui, the Imperial Sweet, Walla Walla, and
the Oso Sweet from Chile.
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