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Produce News for October 5, 2009

HONEYDEW (October 5):  Wow, this time of year you start walking down the melon section, you see that melon section in the produce department just get smaller and smaller.  Still a lot of cantaloupe, still some watermelon, still some honeydew, but this time of year I want you to do something with your honeydew that I normally don’t tell you to do.  When it’s middle of the season, it’s summertime – whether it’s local honeydew or honeydew grown in the Midwest or certainly grown in California - you don’t have to worry about it so much, but this time of year the honeydew has been on the vine for a long, long time, and sometimes the inside starts to deteriorate.  Now, how do you know inside there it’s starting to decay and it’s starting to deteriorate?  How do you know that?  It’s not like you can look in there and see.  Well, you can hear it.  So here’s what you do.  I want you to pick up that honeydew melon.   I want you to hold it right up to your ear and just give it a little roll just like that.  If you hear a lot of slushing going on in there, find another honeydew.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   
 
 
TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, hey – take your honeydew melon on a spin.
 
 
CHILI PEPPERS (Tuesday, October 6):  Hold on just a second.  I’ve got to get my…get a little bit of milk here.  Okay, put the lid on so I don’t spill it.  Boy, I’m always accusing the Marks brothers of spilling their milk.  Don’t cry over it.  So, I’ve got my milk.  I’ve got my chili peppers.  Uh oh.  I forgot my gloves.  That’s all right.  Don’t worry about it.  I’ll still be okay.  It is Fire Prevention Week.  Right?   What does that have to do with chili peppers.  Oh, come on!  Yeah, those chili peppers can really set your mouth on fire, so we’re going to tell you how to prevent the fire.  Let me cut one of these in half and show you something.  Right in here. See all the seeds in there?  And see the white pith in there?  There.  Right there.  That is 60% of all the heat in your chili pepper.  So if you simply cut it out, you remove 60% of the heat.  You still have the great chili pepper flavor.  So whether it’s a jalapeno, a habanera, whatever variety it is.  Also, if it gets a bit too hot, how about some milk?  See, those little lactose cells in there - they have a little hook on them.  They take the heat out of your tongue.   I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. (Drinks milk) 
 
TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report…Grab your chili pepper.  Grab your milk.  It’s Fire Prevention Week.  (Drinks Milk) 
 
 
5-9 A DAY (Wednesday, October 7): Hey did you happen to know that this week, yes, this very week, it is Kids’ Goal-Setting Week.  Now, we have the Marks brothers.  We have Claire.  And we do set goals for them.  You know, skill goals and certainly when it comes to nutrition we set some food goals for them.  Now if your kids are only eating like, I don’t know, two or three servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day, maybe we can get with our kids, sit down and say, you know, “What is a reasonable goal by the end of this year?” Maybe, can we get up to five servings of fruits and vegetables every single day? So with your kids start setting some goals for them and then you start being a role model.  Now, everybody’s been talking about the Health Care plan, right?  Well, here – right here – I’m presenting Your Produce Man’s Health Care Plan.  Are you ready for this?  Five to nine servings of fruits nd vegetables every single day – guaranteed we will cut a third of our health care costs right out.  Just eat more fruits and vegetables and our costs go down.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.
 
TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report, I am unveiling Your Produce Man’s Health Care Plan.
 
 
CASABA MELONS (Thursday, October 8):    Oh, man, I love this time of year because my favorite melon on the face of the planet - oh, you know, this time of year you start losing most of the melons and you end up with just honeydew, and you end up with cantelope, and still some watermelons, but here you still will find in the produce departments my favorite melon.  I know, it’s all wrinkly.  It looks ugly.  In fact, it’s probably one of the ugliest melons you will find on the face of the planet, but this time of year, this is a casaba melon and it is so super sweet.  I can just look at the color.  See the colors right here?  See the color, that beautiful orange color – it almost looks like the yellow line down the center of the highway.  That’s when you know that is a ripe melon.  And just pick it up.  Holy Toledo!  That feels like two bowling balls.  That means there is a lot of juice content, a lot of sugar. This right here…if you’ve never tried a casaba, it is like a water balloon filled with sugar and flavor.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.
 
TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, it’s ugly, yes, but it’s my favorite melon.
 
  
RED BELL PEPPERS (Friday, October 9):  You know this time of year trying to get your kids to eat a little bit healthier, especially school lunches if you make school lunches for your kids and have them take them to school, one of the things…I trick my kids.  You know, little Landon, he’s fallen for this.  He loves them now.  I call this candy.  Yeah, that’s’ right.  Red bell peppers – I call it candy of the vegetable world.  You do know that a red bell pepper is simply a ripe green bell pepper?  That’s right  If you allow a green bell pepper to stay on the line, it ripens in either a gold or a red.  Most of them are a red variety.  So now that you know that, now that you know it is a ripe bell pepper, this red bell pepper is like sugar. It is so sweet.  I just julienne cut them just like this for little Landon.  And this goes into his lunch, just a few of these.  And man, they are so juicy and so sweet and man, they are loaded with vitamin C, loaded with vitamin A.  So Landon is not only getting something healthy, it’s like eating candy.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  (Take bite)  Mmm.