May 2013

 

Vidalia Sweet Onions

BEST FLAVOR | PEAK SEASON

Yes! Grilling season can officially begin now that Vidalia Sweet Onions are in! There’s something about grilling and Sweet Onions that just fits. Grilled on kabobs with other veggies, grilled for topping your burger, even grilled as a thick slab that is topped with cheese for a vegetarian sandwich – the Grilled-Onion Cheese “burger.” Raw Vidalias are great even if they don’t make it to the grill. Vidalia Sweet Onions are awesome on salads and in sandwiches. There’s lots of flavor without burning your nose.

Vidalia Sweet Onions are from the rich soils of Georgia in and around Vidalia County where conditions are superb for growing mild, saucer-shaped Sweet Onions. Fresh Vidalia Sweet Onions will remain in peak season for the next several months.

Hass Avocados

PEAK SEASON | BEST FLAVOR

Creamy and smooth, doesn’t some fresh guacamole sound good? Top off your burger, dog or taco… or maybe just you, the guac and some tortilla chips. Perhaps some slices of ripe Hass Avocados on your salad or sandwich is what you crave. Hass Avocados from Mexico continue in peak season right now and the California crop is just ramping up. Flavor and eating quality has been excellent.

TIPS: Hass Avocados are ripe and ready to cut when they begin give to gentle thumb pressure. If the Hass Avocados you purchase are hard, then store them at room temperature until they ripen. Once an uncut Hass Avocado reaches its ripe stage and you’re not ready to eat it, put it in the fridge to keep it at that ripeness stage for another day or two.

RECIPE: Guac Shells

• Halve 3 fully ripe Hass Avocados
• Remove the pit and scoop out the flesh into a bowl
• Smash Avocado flesh with a fork
• Dice 1 Roma Tomato
• Season to taste with Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
• Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 Lime
• Stir in Roma, seasonings and juice
• Serve in the empty Hass Avocado skin shells

Sweet Corn

PEAK SEASON | BEST FLAVOR

Sunshine Sweet Corn (spring Corn grown in Florida) is now in peak season and the taste can't be beat. White, Yellow and Bi-Color varieties are all eating good – nice flavor, good sweetness and a juicy and tender texture. Select Sweet Corn that feels full up and down the cob and has green husks. It will last in your fridge for over a week, but will dehydrate and lose flavor every day it sits – so try to use it right away.

COOKING TIPS:

GRILL: Enjoy Sweet Corn cooked on the grill with the husk still on. This has been for the simple reason that the pesky strings of silk are so much easier to remove when it’s been steamed in the husk. Remove loose outer leaves, rinse the husks with water to add some moisture, grill for 8-10 minutes, flipping 1-2 times. The husk will look burnt, but when you let the Corn cool for a couple minutes so it is able to be handled – you’ll find husking it is a breeze. Plus, your Sweet Corn will be perfectly steamed and have a hint of smoky flavor.

BOIL: Over-cooking Sweet Corn can lead to toughness and less flavor. 3-5 minutes in boiling water is really all it takes for perfect Sweet Corn on the Cob.

MICROWAVE: Microwave on high in the husk for 4-6 minutes. If fresh corn is already husked, wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave on high for about 5 minutes.

Fresh Salsa recipe:

• 5 fresh ripe Roma Tomatoes, diced
• 3 ears of boiled Sweet Corn knife-scraped from the cob
• 1/2 Jumbo Vidalia Sweet Onion, chopped
• 1 clove fresh Garlic, minced
• Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and red pepper flake to taste
• For more flavor add 1 handful of finely chopped fresh Cilantro and the juice from 1 Lime

Romaine Lettuce

PEAK SEASON

One of the ultimate salad starters for nutritional content, flavor-texture combinations and ease of use in a broad range of recipes – Romaine Lettuce is now in a peak season time of large harvests from new fields in California growing areas. Romaine Lettuce’s dark green leaves and crisp ribs are packed with Vitamin A, K and C, plus folate.  Romaine Hearts are grown in row sets planted close together to help the Lettuce head grow tall and tight – less dark green leaf but more crisp light green center.

Romaine Leaves can be torn or chopped into pieces for Caesar-style salads. Or chiffon-cut Romaine into thin ribbons by stacking the leaves in a pile to make thin cross slices. Make crunchy salads or blend Romaine and Romaine Hearts in with more tender bitter baby greens to add texture.

Cluster Tomatoes

PEAK SEASON

Fresh is a beautiful and healthy thing! And right now fresh, new crop On-the-Vine Tomatoes, also called Cluster Tomatoes, are peak season from the greenhouses of Ontario, Michigan and New York. The fruit (yes, Tomatoes are scientifically a fruit) is firm and plump – gorgeous. The vines are stout and healthy, and if you can see the little yellow hairs on the stems – you know it is fresh! Expect mild flavor and juicy flesh that remains firm while slicing.

On-the-Vine Tomatoes keep well when you bring them home since the fruit can still draw on water and nutrients left in the vine – the healthier the vines, the better. Their size makes Cluster Tomatoes ideal for salad use. Always store Tomatoes at room temperature since they lose flavor and become mushy in texture when held below 55 F. As in… DON’T refrigerate!

Red Grapefruit

BEST FLAVOR | PEAK SEASON

Some of the sweetest of the year? Fresh Red Grapefruit from Florida remains in season.Grapefruit makes for a refreshing snack, is fantastic for juicing and can be used in salads, cooking and desserts… or simply as a healthy snack.

Fresh Grapefruit can be kept for about a month in the fridge or a week or so on the counter at room temperature.

Green Onions

PEAK SEASON | BEST FLAVOR

Your chili tastes brighter, your salad tastes fresher, your soup is more colorful, your potatoes taste livelier… when they’re topped with Green Onions. Green Onions have a mild onion flavor with hints of garlic and chive.

The base of the Green Onion– the white part – has the most intense flavor and is often used in cooking, while the tops – the green part – are typically chopped and used as a raw topping.

RECIPE – Hasselback Idaho Potatoes with Scallions

• Pre-heat oven to 450F
• Wash 4-6 medium to large Idaho Russet Baking Potatoes, allow skin to dry
• Cut bottoms of Idahos to make a flat spot so they can stand upright
• Slice Potatoes into ¼” slabs almost to bottom, like an accordion
• Thinly slice 3 Green Onions
• Stuff the white portions of Green Onions between the fan-slices of Potatoes
• Place fanned-potatoes on a baking tray
• Melt 2-4 tbsp Butter, Brush melted butter on entire Potato, allowing fall between slices
• Season with ½ tsp coarse salt and cracked black pepper
• Bake for approximately 30 min. at 450F or until easily pierced with fork
• Serve top with sliced green portions of uncooked Green Onions

Iceberg Lettuce

Plain old Iceberg Lettuce, aka Head Lettuce (or Cello Lettuce when it is wrapped), can be a polarizing topic for some. One camp is entrenched in the belief that Iceberg Lettuce is boring, lacks flavor and doesn’t offer the nutritional impact that other Lettuce varieties like Romaine have. Another set of folks feel that Iceberg Lettuce is crisp, crunchy, juicy and the best (or cheapest) way to start a salad or top a sandwich. This is America – you decide.

Iceberg Lettuce from Arizona and California is a good value here in mid-April if:

• You think a solid wedge of Iceberg Lettuce topped with blue cheese or onion vinaigrette dressing be delightful right about now.
• Or maybe a fresh BLT sandwich piled extra high with crunchy Iceberg Lettuce would hit the spot.
• Or I know – how ’bout a zesty taco salad with all of your favorite trimmings perched on top of a glistening bed of chopped Iceberg Lettuce?
• Or maybe you could build a crunchy, homemade garden salad.

But hey, if not – Romaine is likely to be a value this month too.

Spinach

PEAK SEASON | BEST FLAVOR

Fresh mature-leaf Spinach is in peak season right now! The NJ Spinach is more of a “savoy” variety with dark-green leaves that are curlier than what is typically grown in California. Curly-leaf Spinach is crisp and flavorful – ideal torn for hearty salads, piled on sandwiches and wraps, and of course for cooking – quiche, lasagna, sautéed and more! Loaded with vitamins and nutrients, it’s a healthy choice too.

Select Bunched Spinach that is free from slimy or yellow leaves. Store it in the crisper of your fridge wrapped in a damp paper towel or in a plastic bag. Be sure to thoroughly wash bunched Spinach to remove sand and dirt.