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Produce News For February 15, 2010

HOT HOUSE TOMATOES (Monday, February 15):  Hey, Presidents Day today, so I thought, you know, a lot of kids are home today, so I thought I’d have some, you know, geography lessons.  You know, the winter Olympics going on in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Well, there are some Hot House produce items that made B.C. Hothouse like world famous, and a lot of those Hot Houses are grown….get out your world atlas….just south of Vancouver in a valley called the Valley of Okanogan.  That’s an Indian word that means “hole in the sky” which means it can be storming all around which is why it’s wintertime there, but right there, the “hole in the sky,” the Valley of Okanogan, the sunlight’s coming through which is why all of those beautiful Hot Houses of British Columbia are there.   They’re growing some of the finest vegetables grown on planet Earth.  Now one of the items that people love – oh, my goodness!  Hot House tomatoes, and B.C. Hothouse tomatoes became world famous, especially those cluster tomatoes.  It’s like walking through the Hanging Garden’s of Babylon when you look in those beautiful hot houses.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.    

HOT HOUSE ENGLISH CUCUMBERS (Tuesday, February 16):  Okay, let’s get out our tape measure here.  We’re going to measure one of these things.  Got this?  Okay,  it’s an English cucumber, Hot House grown cucumber. It is what?  13 inches there – 13 inches long.  And Hot House cucumbers grow about an inch every three days so at 13 inches, this took a little over four days to grow this English cucumber.  Now English cucumbers are my mom’s absolute favorite.  Oh, my goodness!  And the Hot Houses in British Columbia just south of Vancouver where the winter Olympics are going on, they are world famous for their English cucumbers.  Absolutely gorgeous.  Now why do they put the plastic on there?  You probably wondered, “What’s the plastic for?”  Well, the skin on an English cucumber is very, very thin and it’s hard to put that wax on it so instead of wax, they put this little plastic on it.  Now, by the way, cucumbers should not be refrigerated because they will get chill damage.  Just leave them out on the countertop.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.

HOT HOUSE BELL PEPPERS (Wednesday, February 17): Hey, the winter Olympics going on in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Just south of Vancouver, British Columbia, you will find a little valley called the Valley of Okenagen.  It’s an Indian word that means “hole in sky” and that’s where all those beautiful British Columbia Hot Houses are – right there in the hole in the sky where the sun can come through.   Now one of the things they made famous – ho ho ho, my goodness!  Beautiful Hot House bell peppers - gorgeous red, gold, orange bell peppers.  Absolutely gorgeous.  One of the things I love about these…follow me down here... is first of all, the nutrition.  These have twice the vitamin C, triple the vitamin A than field grown colored bell peppers.  Plus, let me cut this open.  I want to show you a few things.  First of all, because it’s Hot House, look at the very tiny seed pod in here - extremely small.  So when you’re buying this bell pepper, you’re paying a lot for the bell pepper, not as much for the seed pod.  Also, look at the walls on here. Oh, my goodness!  Those thick walls mean that is giong to be a fantastic…by the way, you want to get your kids to eat produce?  Candy produce right here!   I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. (Takes Bite)  Mmmm.
NECTARINES (Thursday, February 16):    Hey, it’s peak of the season – peaches, plums, nectarines, and grapes coming from the Southern Hemisphere, primarily Chile, and of course on Valentine’s Day I had to give my beautiful and lovely wife, Julie, a dozen nectarines.  That’s right because the nectarine is actually related to the rose.   You can cut a nectarine in half and still smell the faint aroma of a rose so I gave her a dozen nectarines, and she was very, very happy.  It’s a little bit cheaper than roses that way anyway.  You know what she did with all the nectarines?  Look at this.  She went out.  She made some freezer jam.  One of the best things you can do with beautiful ripe nectarines is turn it into some freezer jam.  Now if it doesn’t gel up really well…oh, my goodness…use it as syrup for your pancakes, your waffles.   Or if it does gel up really nice…oh, man…get out the biscuits bescause I’m going to have some freezer jam on my biscuits.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. (Takes Bite)  Mmm.  

ARTICHOKES (Friday, February 17):  You know, last weekend was Valentine’s Day.  Did you give your wife some flowers?  I certainly hope so.  Well, here’s a flower.  In fact, I call it the original edible flower.  That’s right.  The artichoke.  It’s neither a fruit nor a vegetable.  It’s actually the flowering bud of the Mediterranean thistle plant.  Oh, come back again.   Look at that.  Take a look at the brown on there.  Holy Toledo!  What is wrong with these artichokes?  Well, these are the artichokes that I pick to take home to eat because these are going to be fantastic. That little brown on there, it’s…I call it “chapped lips” on artichokes because when it gets cold and windy in Castroville, CA, which is where 99% of the artichokes are grown, it gets “chapped lips”.  It just blisters the outside peel on the artichoke.  It also makes for a much larger heart and a sweeter flavor.   So if you love artichokes, do not bypass these.  These are the ones I look for and go for.  Oh, my goodness!  I can’t wait to get these home.  Get out the mayonnaise tonight, honey!  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man