Eat This Now for the Week of 08/30/10

Aug 30
2010
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Best if Used By 09/06/10

Eat This Now for the week of August 30th, 2010 features: Early Apples, Prune Plums, Sweet Red Peppers, Broccoli, and Romaine Hearts.

1. Early Apples

Summer is still rollin’ along, but for those of you that need a preview taste of fall – you’re in luck! Early varieties of new crop apples are now available fresh off the tree from places like California, Washington, Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. So, head to your local orchard, farmer market or supermarket and look for these primary kinds of Early Apples:

  • Ginger Gold: Sweet and spicy, rich flavor for snacks and salads
  • Paula Red: Tart and crisp, great for a fresh snack or baking and applesauce
  • Gala: Familiar sweet and crisp snacking apple, at the supermarket make sure the PLU sticker says “USA” so you know you’re getting firm new crop fruit.
  • Honeycrisp: Hottest variety around has people clamoring for them, sweet and a little tart with a juicy and crunchy texture that will rock your mouth! PA has a some now, as September progresses and the nights cool – Honeycrisps will get better and better!


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2. Prune Plums

Seriously. A late summer treat – no, not dried prunes or prune juice, but juicy-sweet, fresh Prune Plums. Round Red & Black Plum varieties that you find in the produce department from California all summer are mostly of Japanese decent. Oblong Prune Plum varieties, which are peaking now in Washington state and local orchards of the Northeast, are of European heritage. Blue-purple skin color with yellow flesh and small sizing is common in Prune Plums.

Let the fruit set at room temperature until firm-ripe (a tiny bit of give), then enjoy in a compote or baked dessert, fresh as a sweet snack, or dehydrate them to make homemade dried prunes. Or you could do what the guy does who I give about half my tree harvest to – make Slivovitz – oh my…

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3. Sweet Red Peppers

California Sweet Red Peppers (the elongated ones) are outstanding at this time. Watch for ad promotions the next couple weeks. And, yeah, they really are sweet!

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4. Broccoli

Need some green veggies to make it back into your summer-fruit-heavy diet? Organic and Conventional Broccoli (with stalk) and Broccoli Crowns (without the long stem) are very affordable, plentiful and of high quality as we speak. Plus, California is not the only growing region, as eastern Canada, Maine and Pennsylvania are harvesting too for local markets.

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5. Romaine Hearts

Grilled heart of romaine with Balsamic or Vinaigrette? Homemade Caesar salad? Fresh chicken salad in a Romaine Heart fillet? Go for it – because Romaine Hearts from the Salinas Valley of California are really nice right now. Here’s a picture from my visit (a little over a week ago) to the largest grower of Romaine Hearts in the country, D’Arrigo.

Interesting Stuff: Romaine Hearts are simply the center leaves of a normal head of Romaine Lettuce. In growing, the only difference between regular Romaine and Romaine Heart fields is that they plant the Romaine Heart rows with more heads across the width to make the heads grow tighter and less open leafed. At harvest, the outer dark green leaves are trimmed off to leave only the crisp heart.

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Forward this to a friend if you think they’ll like it – Here’s to fresh!

The Produce Geek,

Jonathan K. Steffy

Written by Produce Geek in: Eat This Now | Tags: , , , ,

Eat This Now for the Week of 06/14/10

Jun 14
2010
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Best if Used By 06/21/10

Eat This Now for the week of June 14th, 2010 features: Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Leaf Lettuces, and Sweet Red Peppers.

1. Raspberries

Radar about to be “jammed”… Raspberry. There’s only one man who would dare give me the raspberry: Lone Star! -Spaceballs (1987).

“Did he just quote that ridiculous Star Wars spoof movie?” you say? Why, yes I did! I’m just having some fun with Raspberries because now is the time to do it. Raspberries light up the flavor on cereal, in yogurt, for snacking, with salads and in desserts. Conventional AND Organic Red Raspberries from California are plentiful and scrumptious right now. The good thing about “plentiful” is that it translates to lower prices, so watch for ad specials the next few weeks.

Rapsberries

If you shop at farmer markets keep an eye out for local Raspberries which are available in many parts of the country. I can tell you that my own garden is bursting with dark Red Raspberries right now. So many I can hardly keep up! We’ve already enjoyed my wife’s famous Raspberry Cobbler (similar recipe here) a couple times and tried something new too: Raspberry Compote over Pancakes. M-m-mmm!

Cobbler and Compote

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2. Blueberries

Are you ready? ‘Cause it’s time to put fresh Blueberries in and on e-v-e-r-y-thing – breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh yea! The New Jersey Blueberry season has been kick-started with full pints of big, plump berries and California continues to crank out delicious berries for the Western states. Organic and Conventional Blueberries will be on sale at some great prices now through the 4th of July. So what will you be putting them in and on?

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3. Strawberries

The Berry Bonanza continues this week with a flush of Strawberries coming from Watsonville, CA to a supermarket near you. Prices will be affordable and the fruit will be tasty. Hmmm… Raspberries, Blueberries AND Strawberries – Oh, the possibilities!

Strawberries

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4. Leaf Lettuces

Fresh is extra special when it’s fresh from your neck of the woods. States like NJ, PA, MA, WI and more are supplementing California’s national supply with Red Leaf, Green Leaf and Romaine Lettuces from small and medium sized Organic and Conventional farms. Build your salad this week with fresh lettuces from your favorite farmer market or ask your supermarket if they sell lettuce from regional growers.

Leaf Lettuce

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5. Sweet Red Peppers

Ever eat a pepper like an apple? Southern California is now harvesting high quality La Rouge-style (elongated) Sweet Red Peppers that you could eat like an apple… or more likely saute with onions, throw on the grill, and slice up for salads and snacks. Lower ad pricing is on it’s way.

Sweet Red Peppers

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Forward this to a friend if you think they’ll like it – Here’s to fresh!

The Produce Geek,

Jonathan K. Steffy

Written by Produce Geek in: Eat This Now | Tags: , , , ,

Eat This Now—Tuesday 03/16/10

Mar 15
2010
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Best if Used By 03/22/10

Eat This Now for Tuesday March 16th, 2010 features: Strawberries, Navel Oranges, Sweet Red Peppers, Red Potatoes, and Organic Eggplant.

1. Strawberries

Oh, it’s on! Strawberries are good to go, finally. Rainy weather and freezes dealt one setback after another to the three winter growing areas of Florida, California and Mexico, causing prices to be high and quality to be just fair the past 8 weeks. But that’s behind us and it is time for you to go buy some fresh, delicious Strawberries! Think about all the possibilities that will get you thinking Spring: Strawberries on your cereal, yogurt, cottage cheese and ice cream; Strawberries in your salad and fruit cup; Strawberries in your dessert or smoothie; or simply devour them as a healthy snack! Mmmmm…

Strawberries

Here’s what to expect. Florida is running into a massive flush of Strawberries the next two weeks. These berries will be inconsistent in shape and size, and will have occasional white shoulders (an unripe area near the stem), but they’ll also be priced to sell and will taste fantastic. California Strawberries are increasing in volume too, and their quality, size and appearance is picture perfect.

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2. Navel Oranges

Late season Navel Oranges from California are particularly sweet right now – I’m talkin’ candy! This assessment is based on the samples I’ve tasted from multiple new arrivals this week and last. Try some yourself. There’s more good news for you: California Navel Oranges are likely on sale where you shop this week – be it in 4lb or 8lb bags, or loose. But late season Navels don’t stay this nice forever, so get while the gettin’s still good.

Navel Oranges

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3. Sweet Red Peppers

You can’t go wrong this week with Sweet Red Peppers. Whether you find:

  • Fancy, extra large, elongated-style, field-grown ones;
  • Mis-shapen, but still delicious choice grade ones;
  • or Bell-shaped, greenhouse-grown, premium ones – they’re all good and probably on sale.
Left: field-grown // Right: greenhouse-grown

Left: field-grown // Right: greenhouse-grown

Healthy, crunchy, mild, flavorful freshness at an affordable price – now that is sweet! Curious about an easy way to slice your Sweet Red Peppers? Watch this:

4. Red Potatoes

Red Potatoes for your St. Patty’s Day meal? – sure. Everyone’s favorite leave-the-skin on potato is likely to be advertised this week where you shop and quality is solid. Want to mix it up? Look for Klondike Rose or Butter Red Potatoes which feature thin, tasty red skins with a creamy-rich gold flesh.

Left: Red Potatoes // Right: Klondike Rose

Left: Red Potatoes // Right: Klondike Rose Potatoes

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5. Organic Eggplant

High quality ingredients are the foundation for great meals. Right now the Organic Eggplant I’ve been seeing from Mexico has been outstanding. Pricing and availability are good too, though you may have to go to a natural foods store or coop to find it. Eggplant should have a nice thud when you tap it and should not be flabby. Find the freshest and start your own great meal!

Organic Eggplant

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Forward this to a friend if you think they’ll like it – Here’s to fresh produce!

The Produce Geek,
Jonathan K. Steffy

Written by Produce Geek in: Eat This Now | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Eat This Now—Tuesday 02/02/10

Feb 01
2010
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Best if Used By 02/08/10

Eat This Now for Tuesday February 2, 2010 features: Red and Green Grapes, Sweet Red Peppers, Idaho Russet Potatoes, Roma Tomatoes, and Hass Avocados.

1.  Red and Green Grapes

There’s good news, all ye snackers!  Grapes have been available from Chile for several weeks, but this week starts a two month run of promotable volumes as the summer grape season hits it’s peak in the Southern Hemisphere.  What does that mean for you?  This healthy snack food will be affordable and yummy!  Starting now, Green and Red Seedless Grapes will frequently be on sale at $.99 to $1.99 lb. at stores across the country.  (Those bags weigh about 2lb by the way, so don’t be surprised at the register.)  Look for Grapes with no wetness in the bag, and feel free to ask the produce clerk or manager for a sample.

Red and Green Grapes

Green Seedless, also called White Seedless, are running with decent firmness and fresh-sweet flavor.  Red Seedless are coming in with good sweetness and a crisp-juicy pop.  Think of all of the processed snacks you could replace with Grapes at lunch, for dessert, after school.  Heck, buy one less bag of tortilla chips this week for the Big Game and instead spend that money on some fresh, wholesome Grapes!

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2.  Sweet Red Peppers

Ohhhh yeaah…  So surprisingly sweet, so jam-packed with jaw-drooling tangy flavor – when they’re good, like they are right now out of Mexico, I eat them like apples.  That’s right, I’m talking about a pepper: Sweet Red Peppers.  The current harvest flush is on Extra Large size, field-grown, Sweet Red Peppers that are easily identifiable by their elongated shape.  There will be promotions at $.99 to $1.99lb this week (half the price of Greenhouse Colored Bell Peppers), so buy some and try out some new recipes.

Sweet Red Peppers

Cut out the stem, seed cavity and white membranes – the rest is sweet bliss, loaded with Vitamin A and ridiculous amounts of Vitamin C with only 46 Calories per 1 Cup chopped.  Sweet Red Peppers are perfect for sauteing with onions to top hot sandwiches, add to pastas or serve with chicken, beef or tofu.  For the Big Game, brighten up your veggie tray with Sweet Red Pepper strips.

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3.  Idaho Russet Potatoes

February is Idaho Potato Lovers Month.  You’ll see hot pricing, great quality and maybe even some creative displays on Russet Potatoes from Idaho the next four weeks.

Russet Potatoes

DO: Make gourmet potato recipes for your Valentine. http://www.idahopotato.com/recipes
DO NOT: Give him/her a 5 or 10lb bag of Idaho Potatoes for Valentines Day.  I know it’s a wicked-awesome value, but…
DO: Make homemade Potato Skins for your Bowl party. http://www.idahopotato.com/football
DO NOT: Buy pre-made frozen appetizers.  Go with fresh ingredients – then everybody wins.

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4.  Roma Tomatoes

You may have heard about the freezing temperatures in mid-January that devastated much of the Florida vegetable crops including Round, Grape and Cherry Tomatoes.  The impacts from this crop loss will be felt by all in terms of high price points and shaky quality on Tomatoes all this month.  So what to do about that fresh salsa you were hoping to make for the Big Game this weekend?  INSIDER TIP: Mexico is exporting high quality Roma (Plum) Tomatoes to the US and prices are reasonable.  This week and next, Roma’s are the way to go.

Roma Tomatoes

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5.  Hass Avocados

More Hass Avocados will be consumed this weekend than any other of the year.  Guacamole galore!  Avocado topping everywhere!  High quality Organic and Conventional Avocados are readily available from Mexico, Chile and California.  Shop early this week so you have time to ripen your Hass Avocados for use this weekend.  Big Game Recipes: http://www.avocadocentral.com/

Hass Avocados

No ripe Avocados on display at the last minute?  Try fresh Guacamole in vacuum packs.  They can be found in the convenience refrigerated case in many supermarkets.

Enjoy the game!

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Do you have a recipe for any of ingredients that you’d like to share or a comment about what you’ve read here?  Email us or post a comment at www.producegeek.com.  Thank you for reading.

Forward this to a friend if you think they’ll like it – Here’s to fresh produce!

The Produce Geek,
Jonathan K. Steffy

Written by Produce Geek in: Eat This Now | Tags: , , , , ,