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GUEST SPEAKER AT THE COMPREHENSIVE BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE'S CULINARY ADVENTURE  ON JUNE 4TH, 2018. TRULY A NIGHT TO REMEMBER FOR A GREAT CAUSE

CBHCare Foundations   CULINARY ADVENTURE    MONDAY JUNE 4,2018

             THE VENETIAN, GARFIELD N.J.

     JOIN NBC NEW YORK'S "PRODUCE PETE" IN SUPPORTING MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS AND SERVICES!!!

Once known as the fruit of kings, for many years, pineapples were available only to natives of the tropics and to wealthy Europeans. Despite the fact that the pineapples were available only to natives of the tropics and to wealthy Europeans. Despite the fact that the pineapple has become a familiar item in U.S. markets, it's still a true exotic. For one thing, it is a member of the bromeliad family, in which edible fruits are rare. A pineapple starts out as a stalk of a hundred or more flowers that shoots up from a plant about three feet tall. Each flower develops a fruit that forms one of the scales on the outside of the pineapple. The more scales or marks on a pineapple, the stronger the tropical taste will be. A pineapple with fewer and larger scales will have a milder but sweeter flavor and more juice.

It was probably the Guarani Indians who took pineapples on sea voyages as provisions and to prevent scurvy, thus spreading the plants from their native Paraguay throughout South and Central  America. Columbus called the fruit piña when he found it in 1493--piña because he thought it looked like a pinecone--and from that we got the name. 

The hybrid we know today first appeared around 1700, when the Dutch improved the fruit by crossbreeding. They sold cuttings of the plant to the English, who raised them as hothouse plants. It wasn't until the nineteenth century that canned pineapple began to come out of Hawaii. If you wanted a fresh Hawaiian pineapple, you had to go there to get one. Picked ripe, as the Hawaiian variety has to be, a fresh pineapple simply could not survive the long journey by ship. It was only when air transport became available that fresh Hawaiian pineapple began to arrive in mainland markets. 

There are two main varieties of pineapples: Red Spanish and Cayenne. The Red Spanish is the most commonly available. It is a deep orange color, with white to yellow meat and a crown of hard, spiky leaves on top. A recently developed "thornless" variety has a softer, smoother leaf crown that makes the pineapple easier to handle. Red Spanish pineapples are grown in Honduras, Costa Rica, Puerto  Rico, Mexico, and elsewhere in Central America. 

The Cayenne pineapple is the Hawaiian variety. The scales on a ripe Cayenne tend to be a lighter yellow, the leaves have a smoother edge, and the pineapple itself is much larger and more elongated than the Red Spanish. The flesh is deep yellow. 

There are three other less- common varieties. One, called Sugarloaf, is a heavy, round variety with a pointed top that's cultivated in Mexico and Venezuela. Sugarloaf is another big pineapple that can reach ten pounds. Finally, the sweetest pineapples I have ever eaten come from Africa's Ivory Coast. They show up here only rarely--I've had them only two or three times in all the years I've been in the business. If you ever come across them--most likely n June, July, or August--Buy some. 

Of the pineapples readily available here, to my taste the Cayenne is by far the best, although it can be two or three times as expensive as the Red Spanish. It is sweeter and juicier than the Red Spanish, which is picked greener because it's shipped by boat instead of by air. If you're in the islands where they're grown, by all means buy and eat Red Spanish pineapples--they'll have been picked ripe and they'll be excellent. If you see a Red Spanish in the States that looks and smells good, it's going to be pretty good too. For consistent quality and sweetness, however, Cayennes are your best bet. The tag "Jet Fresh" tells you the pineapple is a Hawaiian Cayenne picked ripe and flown in. The Dole and Del Monte labels also indicate a Cayenne pineapple, although they may not be Hawaiian. Cayennes are now being cultivated in Honduras and Costa Rica by both companies. They're a little more expensive than the Red Spanish but cheaper than those from Hawaii. 

For Hawaiian pineapples, the peak season generally comes in April and May, but they're available year round. Caribbean pineapples have two seasons: December through February and August through September. 

Many people think that if you can easily pull a leaf out of the crown, the pineapple is ripe, but this test doesn't tell you anything useful. Like tomatoes, pineapples are considered mature when they develop a little color break. If a pineapple at the market looks green, take a look at the base. If it has begun to turn a little orange or red there, you'll be able to ripen it at home. If there is no break, the pineapple was picked too green. It will have a woody texture and will never be very sweet. 

The pineapple should be very firm, never soft or spongy, with no bruises or soft spots. If you find a good-looking pineapple

 at your market and you're going to use it right away, ask your produce manager to cut it in half to make sure it's not discolored inside. Reject it if it is. 

Finally, use your nose. If the pineapple has a good aroma, it's ripe. If you can't smell much of anything, it needs to be ripened. If it has a fermented smell, don't buy it! 

To ripen a pineapple, stand it upside down on the counter. That's right, stand it on the leaf end. This makes the sugar flow toward the top and keeps the pineapple from fermenting at the bottom. Let it ripen for a few days. When it develops a golden color and smells good, it's ripe. 

Peeled pineapple should be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated. If it's not wrapped well, a pineapple will absorb other food odors in you refrigerator. 

A lot of supermarkets have a machine that will cut and core your pineapple for you, but it wastes up to 35 percent of the fruit. Pineapples are not that difficult to cut. Just twist off the leaves, lay the pineapple on its side, and slice it like a loaf of bread. Then peel and core each slice. I just cut off the peel and eat the slices with my fingers--around the core, like an apple. That's my favorite recipe for ripe pineapple! If you want to serve the pineapple chilled, I suggest that you chill it whole, then slice and peel after it is cold. 

A LITTLE MORE FUN INFORMATION ON PINEAPPLES

  It takes almost 3 years for a single pineapple to reach maturation.
Which makes the price tag a bit more understandable.  

 Pineapple plants have really pretty flowers.
The pineapple plant’s flowers — which can vary from lavender to bright red — produce berries that actually coalesce together around the fruit’s core. So the pineapple fruit itself is actually a bunch of “fruitlets” fused together.  

  Once harvested, pineapples don’t continue to ripen.
That means that every single pineapple in the grocery store is as ripe as it will ever be so don’t buy one and save it for a week, thinking it will ripen. The difference in colors is mostly based on where the pineapples were grown so a green pineapple can be just as sweet and delicious as a golden brown one. 

 Although the fruit originated in South America, the majority of the world’s pineapples now come from Southeast Asia.
Namely the Philippines and Thailand. For the freshest pineapples in the U.S., look for Costa Rica- or Hawaii-grown pineapples. 

Pineapple Nutrition

Pineapples contain bromelain, an enzyme that may help arthritis pain by easing inflammation. They are also a good source of vitamin C, which helps your immune system.

Spring Tomatoes That Taste Good

A fruit--oh yes, it's a fruit--but in the United States we treat the tomato like a vegetable. Thomas Jefferson grew tomatoes at Monticello back in 1781, but they didn't really start to become popular here until after the Civil War. Now the tomato is the third most popular vegetable in the United States--after potatoes and lettuce.

Once called the Peruvian apple, the tomato is a member of the nightshade family. It originated in South America, and our name for it comes from the ancient Nahuatl name tomatl. The French called it the love apple, and the Italians named it the golden apple because the first tomatoes were small yellow fruits. After the early Spanish explorers sent seeds to Naples, the Italians went crazy for tomatoes, and the rest--all the way down to pasta and pizza sauce--is history.

A really good tomato is sweet, tender, juicy, and except for the yellow varieties, a deep rich red color. When you get one of those hard tomatoes that tastes like cardboard, you've got one of the hybrids that started coming onto the market in the 1950's, when the businessmen and scientists got together and produced a tomato that could be shipped from one coasts to the other without bruising. Unfortunately, at the same time they also bred out all the flavor.

A great tomato is worth looking for. And the way you handle it at home is almost as important as what you choose in the first place. The three most important rules to remember about tomatoes are:

1. Never refrigerate!
2. Never refrigerate!
3. Never refrigerate!

Refrigerating kills the flavor, the nutrients, the texture. It just kills the tomato--period.

Unless you live in a really cold climate, the best tomatoes you can buy will be at your local farm stand, when tomatoes are in season in your area. That's true for most produce, but it's doubly true for tomatoes. About half the tomatoes shipped and sold in the United States come from Florida. They are the ones you find in the store in the winter. They're hard, they're thick, they never turn red, and they have no taste. A few winter tomatoes come out of Mexico and California, as well as from Holland, Belgium, and Israel. There are also more and more hydroponic tomatoes on the market.

I may be biased, but I think that in season the Jersey tomato is the best around--maybe because of the soil. The truth is, any local tomato, picked ripe, is going to be good. In the summertime, in season, buy local tomatoes.

In the winter I think Canada beats out the rest, with hydroponics a close second. Canada tomatoes are grown in greenhouses, picked ripe, and then shipped by truck. For that reason they're a little more expensive. If you have to have a good tomato in the dead of winter, choose one from Canada, Hydroponics grown in the U.S. are also excellent.

Mexican tomatoes are a little better than most of the other winter varieties here because they're usually picked by hand and are a little riper when they come off the vine. Most tomatoes in the U.S. are shipped green because ripe tomatoes are just too fragile for machine picking.

California tomatoes, which usually arrive in the late spring, have a thick wall and are very solid inside. A lot of people like them because they're easy to slice, but I don't think they're any better than Florida tomatoes. They look better and ripen more easily, but they're very dry.

Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with a Florida tomato in Florida. Or a California tomato in California. The problem isn't the source--it's that the tomatoes are picked green, gassed with ethylene to make them turn more or less red, then refrigerated and shipped. Even if the tomatoes are picked ripe, they're refrigerated before they're shipped, and that's the final insult.

STEM GRAPE , TOMATOES ON THE VINE, CHERRY TOMATOES

The grape and cherry tomatoes with the stems still attached are your best bet.  With the stems still attached, this will let the cherry or grape tomato still receive the nutrients from the stem and make the tomato sweeter.  They are always about 50 per cent sweeter than your regular tomato.  This also makes it possible to pick the tomatoes when they are deep red in color and fully matured.  When picked fully matured, the taste is always much better. 

Like all tomatoes you never want to refrigerate these because they will lose their flavor and texture. 

In the winter and early spring, it is very hard to find a good tasting tomato.  This is probably the best tasting of all the tomatoes this time of year.  These stem tomatoes are tomatoes you can pick by just smelling them.  They have a fresh, sweet smell that tomatoes from years ago had. 

Stem tomatoes, like all tomatoes, are a fruit.  You should not wash or remove the stem until you are ready to use.  Also, never ripen on the window sill or sun.  Just leave out on the counter and never, never, never, refrigerate!

When selecting, look for a good red color.  Avoid those that look orange in color.  Check to see if the stems are still attached, if the stem are missing or tomatoes are off the stems, chances are those tomatoes have been sitting around too long.

A great tomato is worth looking for, and the way you handle them at home is almost as important as the way you choose them.  The sweetness from the grape, cherry stem tomato is due to the high sugar to acid ratio. 

Like other tomatoes, local cherry tomatoes, picked ripe, are going to be the best. Look for small ones. One local variety, called Tiny Tim, is not much bigger than your fingernail, and it's as sweet as sugar.

In the winter cherry tomatoes from Israel again are your best bet. Picked ripe, they're very small and very sweet. The Canadians have also produced a "baby tomato" that's a little smaller than a golf ball. It has excellent flavor too. Your next best bet is Mexican cherry tomatoes, which again are picked a little later and a little riper. I don't recommend cherry tomatoes from California. They tend to be too watery and mushy.

When choosing cherry tomatoes, look for a good red color--avoid those that look orange. Also check to see if the stems are still on. If the stems are missing, chances are those tomatoes have been sitting around too long.

 CAMPARI TOMATOES

Campari is a variety of tomato noted for its juiciness, high sugar level, low acidity, and lack of mealiness. Camparis are deep red and larger than a cherry tomato but smaller and rounder than a plum tomato

They are originally from Europe; the European seed variety has been used to introduce them to North America beginning in 1996.

OTHER VARIETIES

Tomatoes come in scores of different varieties, colors, and markings--striped, purple, even white--but these are found almost exclusively in season, from local sources like farm markets or markets that carry specialty produce. Again, if you want to see a wider variety where you shop, ask for what you want and help create a customer demand.

SEASON

Local Tomatoes: Depending on the local climate, from July through September, with the peak in late July and August

Florida Tomatoes: October to July, with the peak from December through May

California Tomatoes: May to December, with the peak from June through October

Imports: Usually year round, with the peak usually from January through April

RIPENING AND STORING

Tomatoes are considered "vine ripe" by the industry if they have developed a little color "break"--that is, a small yellow or reddish patch of color on the skin or a starburst of yellow at the blossom end. If the tomato has a color break or the starburst, you'll be able to ripen it at home.

Don't ripen tomatoes on the windowsill. Never put them in the sun to ripen. Just put them out on the counter, stem end up, in a relatively cool place--not right next to the stove or the dishwasher. Put on a little Frank Sinatra music if you want them to ripen fast. If you want them to ripen faster--well, you can always put on the Stones. Never, ever refrigerate--not even after the tomato is ripe. If you've got too many ripe tomatoes, make a salad or a raw tomato sauce for pasta. Or make a cooked sauce, freeze it, and you'll have something nice for the winter.

SIMPLE PLEASURES

We have all kinds of upscale restaurants, and there is a lot of interest in complicated cuisines, but sometimes it's the really simple things that give you the most pleasure. When I was a kid, I had to help my father sell produce out of the back of his truck. At lunchtime he'd stop at some little store and buy a loaf of Italian bread. Then we'd find a place where we could pull off to the side of the road. He'd put down a piece of cardboard for a cutting board, slice the bread, cut up a tomato and an onion, and make tomato sandwiches.

Sometimes when I come home from the store and I'm too bushed to prepare or even eat a full meal, I'll make myself a tomato sandwich. Food brings back memories. You can sit down with the most ordinary things on your mind and eat something good and it will bring back memories - things you haven't thought about in years. Even memories that might not start out being so good seem to improve as time goes by. At the time I hated peddling fruits and vegetables out of that truck with Pop, but now I wish I had the time to pull off to the side of the road they way we did then. We don't have the luxury of slowing down - everything is geared to working and being productive. Produce, produce, produce. Wouldn't I love to be able to take my son and go sit by the side of the road and have a tomato sandwich? With the perfect ripe red tomato and good bread, there's nothing' better.
 

Click link below for Spring Tomatoes that taste good

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Produce-Pete_-Spring-Tomatoes_New-York-479767323.html

In late summer, we’d sell plum tomatoes to people who would make and jar sauce for the winter. Some households would take 100 bushels at a time, and the same went for wine grapes, which usually came into season at the end of September.

I remember going up and down the cellar stairs of family homes carrying hundreds of cases of wine grapes, which they would use to make their homemade wine. Of all the different varieties of these grapes, my favorite was always the muscatel grapes – they came in 40-45 pound boxes and always had bees circling around the boxes because the grapes were so ripe and sweet.

I sure hated all those bees buzzing around my head all the time, but the reward of being able to eat those grapes was well worth it.

Sadly, those days are long gone, but thanks to production in Chile, I can get that great taste back. Beginning in the first week of March and lasting through the second week of May, seedless pink Muscatel grapes are available and they taste just like they look, very sweet and delicate – and look Ma, no bees!

 I love to cover what I think is the very best in produce and  you’re in for a real treat because these grapes are my favorite. So enjoy and buy plenty (or ask for them if you don’t see them in the store), because the season is short!

WHAT TO KNOW

The characteristic trait of the Muscat grape is its sweet, musky, floral flavor. In addition to being eaten fresh out of hand and dried to make Muscatel raisins, true Muscat grapes are used to make a popular variety of fragrant wines.

The Muscat family of grapes is among the oldest known and evidence of Muscat wine has been found in a tomb in Turkey dated back to the seventh century B.C.

While their colors can vary from golden to black, all of the varieties share a distinctive floral aroma and Muscat wine is claimed to be the only type that shares the aroma of the grape from which it was made.

Today’s seedless Muscat grapes – all 200 varieties of them! -- have the same distinctive Muscat flavor without those pesky seeds, and they’re best served at or close to room temperature for maximum enjoyment. The varying color of these grapes (which ranges from greenish to bronze, pink, and light red) has nothing to do with their very sweet and gentle perfumed taste – that’s derived from their high Brix content, or the natural sugar level of this specialty variety.

One obstacle to consumer adoption of these grapes has been visual -- when they’re presented in plastic packaging, Muscats look brownish, and consumers may prefer the more traditional brighter green, red, and purple-colored grapes. In fact, their packaged color is something of an illusion; on a white plate, Muscats present an appealing golden color.

Muscat raisins are praised as larger and more flavorful than raisins made from conventional seedless grapes and are available over the internet from providers like Sunmaid and Bella Viva Orchards.

SELECTION, STORAGE AND PREPARATION

Look for plump, smooth grapes with good color that are firmly attached to a fresh-looking green stem, with no evidence of wrinkling or withering. There should be a dusty bloom on the skin of the grape itself; much like that found on blueberries, this dusty bloom is a naturally-occurring substance that helps protect the grapes and is a good indication of freshness.

Green or white grapes will have a golden glow when they’re ripe, while red grapes will be a soft, rich red, and black grapes will have a deep, blue-black color.

As for storage, grapes don’t ripen off the vine, so what you buy is what you get. They’re very delicate and need to be handled carefully, so it’s best to refrigerate them dry in a plastic bag. And like many other fruits, never wash them until you’re ready to eat them, as moisture will make them deteriorate very quickly. Grapes will last up to a week when properly stored in the refrigerator, but it’s best (and most enjoyable) to eat them as soon as possible.

Muscatel grapes are delicious tossed in green or fruit salads, paired with cheese, frozen for a twist on ice cubes and added to lemonade or sparkling wine, made into sorbet, or simply enjoyed raw as a juicy snack.

 A LITTLE MORE ABOUT GRANDMA'S PINK SEEDLESS MUSCATEL GRAPES

The weather in Chile has provided ideal growing conditions, especially when compared to 2017's less-than-perfect weather, creating an optimal environment for Muscatel Grapes

It has been a normal spring and a very good summer - hot days and cool nights, which promotes quality, coloring and edibility.

This years harvest looks like higher Brixx ( sugar levels) which will produce richer flavor and aroma.

Unlike other varieties that depend on spray additives to produce red color, Pink Muscatel Grapes get there color from natural weather. The real uniqueness of this grape is the exotic perfumed sweet flavor that comes from an exact type color, when the grape hits it's full Brixx and is ready to be harvested. Maturity is the key and the Pink Muscatel grape, is picked at full maturity for a great tasting flavor.

 WHERE TO FIND THEM!!

  Sickles Market, Little Silver, N J

   Citarella's, NY and Long Island

    All Shoprite Supermarkets

     Eataly  NYC

     Kings Supermarkets

      Caputo's  Markets

      2 Guys from Brooklyn

      The Orchard

      Berry Fresh Farms

      Ave Z

      North Shore Market Place

     Just ask your local market to bring them in, remember you are the boss, and ENJOY

Click link below for Pink Muscatel Show

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Produce-Pete-151185725.html

COCONUT

Along with the date, the coconut is an indispensable member of the Palmaceae family, plants of utmost importance to hundreds of millions of people throughout the tropical areas of the world. The coconut palm has provided food, drink, oil, sugar, fuel, housing, and even clothing materials for thousands of years. It probably originated in Southeast Asia, but because coconuts (which are actually huge seeds) can stay afloat for weeks at sea, the plant spread to the islands of the Indian Ocean, throughout the Pacific, and finally to the West Coast of the Americas. Coconuts were introduced to the Caribbean and to tropical areas of the Atlantic coast in the sixteenth century.

Coconuts are very large fruits encased in elongated green husks. Inside is the fibrous brown nut familiar to most Americans. A coconut takes about a year to mature, but it can be enjoyed at several stages of development. In the tropics, coconuts are consumed at early stages. At six months they contain milky liquid and a thin interior coating of meat that is extremely nutritious and so tender it can be eaten with a spoon. As the coconut matures, the milk is gradually absorbed by the meat.

The mature coconut is what is exported. The green husk is usually removed to expose the hard, dark brown, fibrous shell. Inside, the nutty-tasting white flesh is covered by a paper-thin brown peel.

SEASON

Available year round but most plentiful from October to January.

SELECTING

When buying a coconut, look for a heavy one. Shake it and listen for a sloshing sound--the coconut should still contain some milk. There are three "eyes" or indentations fairly close together on the shell, this is where it's softest and thinnest. There should be no sign of moisture near the eyes nor any smell of fermentation--check the coconut eyes with your nose.

STORING

Coconuts keep at room temperature for three or four weeks or more. They'll last for weeks in the refrigerator, but the milk will eventually dry up. Once opened, a coconut must be wrapped and refrigerated, and it will only keep two or three days. To store longer, you can grate it, then either freeze it or dehydrate it and store tightly covered.

PREPARING

Here is an easy way to open a coconut, drive a screwdriver or nail into the eyes 

and drain the liquid, which can be chilled and added to fruit juice, then place the whole coconut in the oven at 250ᵒ to 325ᵒF and roast about fifteen minutes. This will make the shell easier to crack and cause the flesh to shrink away from the shell slightly. Remove from the oven and tap the shell with a hammer, it will break easily and the flesh should be easy to remove. If the flesh clings to the shell, return the pieces to the oven for five to ten more minutes.

You can eat the flesh with the thin brown skin on--I think it's good that way--or you can peel it. Grated coconut can sprinkled over fruit salad or ice cream, added to granola, or made into macaroons, coconut cake, or cream pie. Use it in curries or tropical drinks. I love to add it to my cereal in the morning.

Coconut milk is used in a number of cuisines, including Thai and Indian. You can make coconut milk by grating the flesh by hand or using a food processor. Combine the grated meat with three or four cups of water, bring to a boil, and let it simmer a few minutes, stirring constantly. Allow to cool and strain it through a cheesecloth, squeezing the cloth to wring out all the milk. Discard the solids and store the milk in the refrigerator or freezer. Coconut milk makes a terrific rice pudding, and it can be added to the filling for coconut pie. It's a key ingredient in tropical drinks like the coconut (coconut milk and rum) and pina colada (pineapple juice, coconut milk, and rum).

FIVE HEALTHY FACTS ABOUT COCONUTS

1.Coconuts grow from sandy beaches with lots of rain and sun. Often they are found near the ocean and can handle a lot of salt in the air.

2. Coconuts are considered a type of nut but actually are the seeds of the coconut palm tree.

3. The “meat” of one coconut has 13g of protein; whereas the milk is light and low in sugar with only .5g per tablespoon. The two compliment each other very well.

4. Coconut oil is an effective moisturizer for skin and hair of all ages. It has a valuable amount of the antioxidant vitamin E, which can protect your skin and hair from the elements.

5. Coconuts support the development of strong, hearty bones and teeth by improving the body’s ability to absorb calcium and magnesium.

 COCONUTS VARY IN FLAVOR AND USE DEPENDING ON THEIR AGE

They can be eaten from seven months old to twelve months

 The Ripening Process

At just 6 months old, coconuts are usable for drinking.

Young coconuts like this contain only water (no meat).

At 7 months old, thin "jellymeat" begins to build on the inside shell.

(as this happens the water gets sweeter)

As the coconut ripen, the water will continue to sweeten & the meat will keep thickening.

At 8 months delicate "spoonmeat" is forms.

At 9 months the meat begins to firm up into "rubbermeat"

Each month the fat content of the meat increases.

At 10 months the meat conatins enough fat to make milk.

The sweet water is transforming into fat.

For that reason the coconut is no longer full of water and when you shake it, you hear water sloshing around inside

Thats why these coconuts are called "shakers"

A few months later the nuts will turn brown & fall naturally from the tree.

These are the fully mature seeds of the coconut!

Brown coconuts are the richest in fat and are used to make creme and oils.

Scroll up to Produce Pete Shows. Past and Present for Coconut Show or click link below!!

   ://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Produce-Pete-Tropical-Coconuts_New-York-478453693.html

      PLANTAIN

In the Southern Hemisphere, a good part of the dinner is this cooking banana, which is served not for dessert but as a main dish. In the tropics and subtropics, it’s treated like a staple – fried, baked, boiled, grilled, or combined with other fruits and vegetables.

Imported from Central America, the plantain is often ignored here because people judge it as if it were a banana and decide it’s either too-green, too black, or too large. Don’t let its looks deceive you. Unless a plantain is rock hard, moldy, or practically liquid, chances are it is good. For each stage of ripeness, the plantain has a different taste and different cooking requirements.

When the peel is green to yellow, plantains are bland and starchy and can be cooked like potatoes. As the peel changes from yellow to black, the plantain gradually changes its character from vegetable to fruit, developing greater sweetness and a banana aroma but holding its firm shape, even after cooking. Unlike a banana, a black plantain is merely ripe. Take the greener ones home and let them ripen. At room temperature, they’ll ripen slowly to the stage you want.

SEASON

Like bananas, plantains are imported year-round.

SELECTING

You can usually find plantains at all stages of ripeness. Because they’re firmer, a ripe plantain is less likely to be bruised than a banana, but you don’t want it mushy. A black plantain should still feel firm. Avoid plantains that are cracked or moldy.

STORING

Plantains last a long time at room temperature, gradually ripening and changing color. When a plantain is black, it should still feel as firm as a firm banana. If it’s still very hard, throw it out. Even when it’s ripe, a plantain keeps well. It can be refrigerated if you wish, and unlike a banana it can also be frozen. To freeze, peel the plantain first and wrap tightly in plastic.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT PLANTAINS

Plantains contain more starch and less sugar than dessert bananas, therefore they are usually cooked or otherwise processed before being eaten. They are always cooked or fried when eaten green. At this stage, the pulp is hard and the peel often so stiff that it has to be cut with a knife to be removed.

Mature, yellow plantains can be peeled like typical dessert bananas; the pulp is softer than in immature, green fruit and some of the starch has been converted to sugar. They can be eaten raw, but are not as flavourful as dessert bananas, so are usually cooked. When mature, yellow plantains are fried, they tend to caramelize, turning a golden-brown color. They can also be boiled, baked, microwaved or grilled over charcoal, either peeled or unpeeled.

Plantains are a staple food in the tropical regions of the world, ranking as the tenth most important staple food in the world. As a staple, plantains are treated in much the same way as potatoes and with a similar neutral flavour and texture when the unripe fruit is cooked by steaming, boiling or frying.

Since they fruit all year round, plantains are a reliable all-season staple food, particularly in developing countries with inadequate food storage, preservation and transportation technologies. In Africa, plantains and bananas provide more than 25 percent of the carbohydrate requirements for over 70 million people.

STEAMED, BROILED, GRILLED, BAKED OR FRIED

In countries in Central America and the Caribbean, such as Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and Jamaica, the plantain is either simply fried, boiled or made into plantain soup. In Kerala, an Indian state, ripe plantain is steamed, a popular breakfast dish.

In Ghana of West Africa, boiled plantain is eaten with kontomire stew, cabbage stew or fante-fante (fish) stew. The boiled plantain can be mixed with groundnut paste, pepper, onion and palm oil to make eto, which is eaten with avocado. Ripe plantains can also be fried and eaten with black eyed beans cooked in palm oil – a popular breakfast dish. Kelewele, a Ghanaian snack, is spiced ripe plantain deep fried in palm oil or vegetable oil.

In Nigeria, plantain is eaten boiled, fried or roasted; boli – roasted plantain – is usually eaten with palm oil or groundnut. In Guatemala, ripe plantains are eaten boiled, fried, or in a special combination where they are boiled, mashed and then stuffed with sweetened black beans. Afterwards, they are deep fried in sunflower or corn oil. The dish is called rellenitos de plátano and is served as a dessert. In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, it can also be mashed after it has been fried and be made a mofongo, or fried and made into tostones, tajadas, or platanutres, or it can be boiled or stuffed. Tostones, also known as patacones are a popular staple in many South American countries, including Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

PREPARING

The greener the plantain, the harder it is to peel. A black plantain will peel like a banana, other stages are unpredictable. For greener plantains, cut off both ends, then score the skin lengthwise in several places to make peeling easier.

Experience will teach you what degree of ripeness is best for your purposes, but generally, a green or greenish plantain will be very hard and starchy, with little banana flavor and no sweetness. They require a fairly long cooking time and, like potatoes, can be boiled or mashed. They are excellent sliced thin and fried like potato chips, or cut into chunks, boiled, and added to salty or spicy soups and stews.

Yellow-ripe plantains can be prepared in the same ways, but they will have a lovely creamy texture and a light banana scent when they’re cooked. They are much more-tender than green plantains but much firmer than bananas. You can rinse them, cut into fairly thick cross sections, boil until tender, then peel the chunks and serve them as a side dish. If you plan to add them to soups, stews, or vegetable mixtures, peel them first.

Half-ripe plantains are also excellent grilled. Cuban cooks peel the plantains, cut them on the diagonal, and grill them slowly over a low fire with a little oil or melted butter. Turn and brush them with additional oil or butter until they are tender and creamy inside.

Black-ripe plantains are superb cooked any way you would cook a ripe banana. They’re delicious sautéed and will cook for a longer time than bananas without falling apart, permitting full development of their flavor and aroma. They’ll also absorb the flavors of whatever seasonings you use.

  Click on link below for Plantain Show

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Produce-Pete-Plantains_New-York-477818353.html

According to the Dictionary the word artisan means , a worker who practices a trade or handicraft , a person that makes a high-quality or distinctive product usually by hand or using traditional methods, which is what the term must mean in relationship to lettuce, the leaves are not plucked from it's root and the lettuce stays in it's natural cluster like form, non-processed, hence the name Artisan lettuce.

 In 2006, one of T&A growers was handed a handful of seeds that Bob Antle had received from a friend in Europe.  Curious as to what they would be, the seeds were planted.  Unlike other lettuces available at the grocery store, what grew wasn’t a spring mix or a baby lettuce.  What grew were full grown, petite red and green varieties of specialty lettuces:  Gem, Tango, and Oak.  And so the story of Artisan Lettuce began.  They began to develop the seeds in the United States.  Through trial and error, we learned and mastered the art of growing six unique seed varieties side by side.  Today, this program is called Artisan Lettuce and is still grown side by side, cut, packed, and shipped at the same time from the field. The three varieties they came up with are gem, tango,and oak. There are red and green versions of each. The gem is sweet, the tango is bitter, and the oak is on the bland side. Mix them all together and you have a wonderful, flavorful salad. It takes about 60-85 days, on average to grow. They plant the red and green Artisian Lettuce varieties side by side in the same field.

Each package of Artisan Lettuces contains four heads from the six varieties of Artisan Lettuce that they grow. Green or red, ruffled or scalloped, each variety has a distinct, complementary flavor. Mix them together or try them individually.

A fresher alternative to processed lettuce blends, Artisan Lettuces last longer in your fridge. Leave the heads whole in the stay-fresh package until ready to use. You’ll be amazed at how many days of freshness you’ll enjoy!

The longtime problem with pre-mixed salads is the high spoilage rate. The mixture of lettuce varieties always means that some leaves decay before others, forcing us to either pick out the slimy ones from the remaining crisp leaves. With the Artisian pack because they are tightly packed whole heads of red and green lettuces they have a much longer shelf life.

• Artisan Lettuces are field-packed for freshness and are not washed. Please wash and dry before serving.
• Store in your refrigerator’s vegetable crisper drawer
• One package makes 8 side salads or 4 main meal salads.
• Great for salads, wraps, sandwiches, & dipping.
• Stands up to all kinds of dressing
• Fully mature, yet petite in size, they offer a more flavorful alternative to processed salad
• Available Year round

 Like must salads the health lies in the nutritional facts, and Artisan Lettuce is loaded with Vitamin A, numerous B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium,manganese, iron,potassium, copper, phosphorous, just a few of the nutritional treasures found in lettuce.

SELECTING

   Because they come in a clear container, check top and bottom of container for dark red or green slime on lettuces. a sign that they will deteriorate quickly. The red variety usually goes bad faster then the green but like i said because these lettuces are mature and are whole heads they should be fine. 

There also should be no pink color on the ribs, which indicates the lettuce has had too much rain and will rot quickly in  your refrigerator.

 Most beneficial to consumers, when properly stored, the clear containers contribute to the lettuces' refrigerated shelf life of more than two weeks.  

  I LOVE THIS PRODUCT, IT'S GREAT TO SEE FARMERS THAT GROW SOME COLORFUL, FLAVORFUL LETTUCES AND PICK THEM SMALL AND AT THEIR PEAK FRESHNESS IN THE FIELD !!!

Click on link for Artisan Lettuces Show

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Produce-Pete-151185725.html

The wearing of the green is nearly upon us, and so the season of green beer, bagels and milkshakes has begun. While there’s nothing particularly Irish about shamrock-shaped cookies or green-frosted cupcakes, you might be surprised to learn that the traditional St. Paddy’s meal—corned beef and cabbage—is no more authentic. Like many aspects of St. Patrick’s Day, the dish came about when Irish-Americans transformed and reinterpreted a tradition imported from the Emerald Isle.

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Dublin but in New York City, in 1762. Over the next 100 years, Irish immigration to the United States exploded. The new wave of immigrants brought their own food traditions, including soda bread and Irish stew. Pork was the preferred meat, since it was cheap in Ireland and ubiquitous on the dinner table. The favored cut was Irish bacon, a lean, smoked pork loin similar to Canadian bacon. But in the United States, pork was prohibitively expensive for most newly arrived Irish families, so they began cooking beef—the staple meat in the American diet—instead.

So how did pork and potatoes become corned beef and cabbage? Irish immigrants to America lived alongside other “undesirable” European ethnic groups that often faced discrimination in their new home, including Jews and Italians. Members of the Irish working class in New York City frequented Jewish delis and lunch carts, and it was there that they first tasted corned beef. Cured and cooked much like Irish bacon, it was seen as a tasty and cheaper alternative to pork. And while potatoes were certainly available in the United States, cabbage offered a more cost-effective alternative to cash-strapped Irish families. Cooked in the same pot, the spiced, salty beef flavored the plain cabbage, creating a simple, hearty dish that couldn’t be easier to prepare.

After taking off among New York City’s Irish community, corned beef and cabbage found fans across the country. It was the perfect dish for everyone from harried housewives to busy cooks on trains and in cafeterias—cheap, easy to cook and hard to overcook. It was even served alongside mock turtle coup at President Lincoln’s inauguration dinner in 1862.

Far from being as Irish as a shamrock field, this St. Patrick’s Day classic is as American as apple pie.  Growing up in an Italian household with an Irish mother, Corned beef and cabbage was a must on St Patty's day even though my pop wanted to put tomato sauce on it. Actually my pop got to like it and in later years when he retired he would dress up in green and take his motorcycle, pickup the nuns's at my sister Lu Anne school and ride them in the St Patrick's Day Parade. I guess the old saying everyone is Irish on St Patty's day is true.

 The Cabbage Story

One of the least expensive and most available of all vegetables, cabbage is a food staple in Europe and northern Africa and has been around for more than four thousand years. Long associated with boarding-house cooking and lingering smells, cabbage has been reinstated as one of the members of the important crucifer family--vegetables that contain important anticancer nutrients.

The problem with cabbage is the usual one most people overcook it. When it's cooked quickly and evenly, cabbage s a mild, sweet flavor and a pleasing texture, eaten raw, it has a spicier flavor and crunchy texture.

The difference between green and white cabbage is that the green comes straight in from the field, while the white has been blanched. In upper New York State, for example, growers cut the heads and then bury them in trenches to blanch the leaves and protect the heads from freezing. This method gives us cabbage all winter long. Many people think cabbage with a touch of frost on it is sweeter too.

Savoy cabbage has puckered, wrinkly leaves and forms a looser head. Red cabbage is a different variety altogether. Both are good simmered in vinegar and allowed to cool overnight, then served as a side dish with veal or pork.

SEASON

Available year round at reasonable prices.

SELECTING

Select hard, round heads with crisp outer leaves that are free of rust or yellowing. Red cabbage and Savoy cabbage should be crisp and brightly colored. None of them should show black edges or other signs of rot.

STORING

Refrigerate in a plastic bag or in the crisper drawer. Cabbage will keep well for weeks. If the outer leaves turn yellow or dry out, just peel them off. The cabbage underneath will still be good.

PREPARING

Pull off and rinse the green outer leaves for stuffing. The head may be cut into wedges for steaming, sliced thin for sautéing, shredded raw and mixed with salad greens, or made into coleslaw. For a tasty winter salad, shred cabbage together with apples and carrots, then add raisins and nuts and toss with a dressing. Cabbage is excellent added to stir-fries, pickled, made into sauerkraut, or cooked and served with corned beef, smoked pork, or German sausage.

Click on the link for St Paddy's Day Cabbage Show

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Produce-Pete-St-Patrick_s-Day-Cabbage_New-York-476451703.html

Escarole and Chicory

Escarole and chicory are two varieties of basically the same plant, but they have different shapes and uses. Although they are not true lettuces, they are in the same broad family--Asteraceae--and their leafy heads are usually found alongside lettuces at the market. Chicory, sometimes called curly endive, is simply called endive in Europe, and although it's related, it's not the same thing as Belgian endive. Chicory is a wild-looking, spreading head, with long, slender, very curly notched leaves. Escarole leaves are a bit broader and flatter than chicory leaves and have a smoother edge. The outer leaves are a fairly dark green but get paler toward the inside of the head. The heart is nearly white and has a semisweet flavor.

Both escarole and chicory are zesty, bitter greens. Chicory is almost always used raw, while escarole can be used cooked or raw. Escarole is very popular among Italians. One of my all-time favorite dishes is a simple combination of escarole, beans, and seasonings. When I was a kid, we got to choose whatever we wanted for our birthday dinners. My brother David would choose steak or leg of lamb, but no matter what, I always chose escarole and beans. Mom said she loved to feed me because I was the cheap date in the family. Escarole is less bitter than other chicories and the level of bitterness varies throughout the head, with the inner, lighter-colored leaves being less bitter then the outer, darker leaves

SEASON

Available year round from Florida and California during the winter and spring months, in May and June buy locally.

SELECTING

Escarole: Look for green outer leaves with a white to yellow center. The butt end should be white to light brown. The leaves should be free of wilt and decay. For a salad, the inner , lighter-colored leaves are a good choice, the outer green leaves are good for cooked dishes.

Chicory: Exactly the same as escarole, but the outer leaves should be very crispy and sharp. Chicory is mostly eaten raw, never cooked.

STORING

Store escarole and chicory as you would lettuce. Both keep reasonably well--up to a week--when properly refrigerated.

Escarole provides more vitamins and minerals by weight than common iceberg lettuce. Escarole is low in calories and high in vitamin A, fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamin C. A serving of 1/6 of a medium head (about 86 grams) has 15 calories, 3 g carbohydrates (all fiber), 1 g protein, and provides 35 percent of the RDA of Vitamin A, 10 percent vitamin C, 4 percent calcium and iron.

Compared to iceberg lettuce, escarole has two to three times more of each of those nutrients for the same weight and provides much more vitamin A and fiber than radicchio.

Adding escarole to soup will add fiber as well as the other nutrients, in addition to providing some color when using the dark green leaves.

Curly endive contains significant amounts of Vitamin A and Vitamin K as well as some Vitamin C. Additionally, it contains phosphorus, potassium and dietary fiber with the darker green leaves offering more nutrients than the white leaves.  

PREPARING

Both escarole and chicory can be sandy, so wash the leaves well before using. 

The outer leaves of escarole, which are relatively bitter, are the ones to use for cooking. They're excellent in my favorite dish and delicious added to soups, cooked with noodles, or mixed with lettuce to top Mexican dishes like tacos and burritos. The sweeter inner leaves are very good in salads.

Chicory is a zesty, attractive addition to other greens, including bitter greens, for salad. 

CHICORY COFFEE

If you've ever had the experience of drinking chicory coffee ( and chances are, you were in New Orleans when you drank it ), you might've had to wonder just exactly what chicory even is. For the record, chicory is a pretty flowering plant , sometimes called Curly Endive, and great for salads. The secret is underneath the plant, it's root, and that's what gets roasted and ground to be coffee.

Click link for show !!!

ps://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Produce-Pete-Escarole-and-Chicory_New-York-475735213.html