LONG PROMO:   Does your eggplant have chill damage?  Oh boy, we better check that out.  Plus come right down here – the “Holy Trinity” of starting soups and stews are right here.  Plus, getting back to your roots.  That’s right, parsnips!  ...Next week, with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.

SHORT PROMO:  We are getting back to our roots with parsnips…next week with me, Michael Marks, Your Produce Man.
                                                                                                         
EGGPLANT (Monday, January 28):  Hey, the star of “The Color Purple”, Oprah Winfrey, turns 54 this week so I thought about talking about the color purple.  Purple eggplant!  What else do you talk about?  Eggplant this time of year is coming from two main places - of course Florida and then Mexico.  Now there’s a couple things you want to look for on your eggplant.  First of all, take a look at this.  This is what I call chill damage.  Look at all of that.  That is because eggplant comes from the Mediterranean.   It loves the heat.  It hates the cold of a refrigerator.  So when you’re walking in a grocery store and you see this in a cold refrigerator section, you’ve got to ask the produce manager, “Is this fresh?” because if its been around for a week or so you’re going to find chill damage.  Also, when you’re picking out your eggplant, a couple things to do.  First of all, first thing I do is just take a look at those green stems right there.  Yeah, look at that – it’s like a little hat on it, nice and green and shiny and healthy.  Next thing I do, I grab two of them [rubs them together to make a squeak].  You hear that squeak?  A squeaking eggplant means its very fresh.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, it’s the color purple – eggplant!  I don’t mean Barney!

NATIONAL EYE CARE MONTH (Tuesday, January 29): Did you happen to know that this month is National Eye Care month?  So, let’s take care of our eyes by eating our fruits and vegetables.  So many people go blind because of macular degeneration, and it’s just a deficiency of vitamin A.  Well, where can we get that? Oh my goodness!  Right here!  Carrots are loaded with vitamin A, beta carotene.  Ah, I wonder if that is where we get the word “carrot” from.  Anyway, loaded with vitamin A…excellent in carrots.  So eat lots of carrots especially this time of year having soups and stews.  There is a very powerful antioxidant called lutein, and that is found in avocados.  That’s right, and lutein is a very, very powerful antioxidant…again very, very important for your eyes.  So let’s make some guacamole.  Let’s have some soup and guacamole.  Let’s have tortilla soup with guacamole.  There you go - great for your eyes.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.
TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report…for your eyes, how about a little avocado and some carrots?

“HOLY TRINITY” (Wednesday, January 30):   Hey, did you happen to know that this is National Soup Month?  You know, January.  Of course soups are very good for you.  But one of the things about soups and stews, it start with the same three things.  It’s called the “Holy Trinity”.  Here they are:  you’ve got celery, you’ve got onions, and you’ve got carrots.  It’s called Mirepoux.  And one of the things about Mirepoux, you have to chop them up very, very fine – just like this.  And one of the ways you do that, especially with celery.  You take the stalk and you’re going to cut it in threes.  Then what you’re going to do, nice fine chops right down here.  Not big chunks – nice, small, fine chunks.  And you’re going to do that with your carrots and you’re also going to do that to your onions.  It’s called Mirepoux, and that’s what goes into the soup pot first – a little bit of olive oil down there.  Oh man, once you start to smell it, then you can add your chicken, your beef, whatever you’re making.  Maybe you’re making a stew, but it all starts with this, so you better grab the “Holy Trinity” of soups and stews - celery, onions, and carrots.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man. (Takes Bite) 
TEASE: Hey, in my next Produce Man report, soups and stews – it begins with the “Holy Trinity” of soups and stews – maripua. 

PARSNIPS PART I (Thursday, January 31):  Before there was a potato, a spud, in Europe, if you roasted beef, you had parsnips.  That’s right.  This was the potato many, many years ago instead of potatoes.  It’s called a parsnip.  Most people look at parsnips and say, “Whoa!  What in the world is that?  It kins of looks like an albino carrot.”  It’s kind of shaped like a carrot, but it’s a little bit white instead of orange like a carrot.  So what in the world do you do with a parsnip?  Well, the first thing, when you smell a parsnip, they are just so sweet.  Add them to your mashed potatoes.  One of the things you have to know about a parsnip though, is it has to be…let me cut this in half.  I’ll show you.  It has a core in it that you have to cut out.  Let me show you this.  See that right in there?  See that core?  See that?  Yeah, see that core right in there?  You’ve got to cut that out.  So you’ll just take your knife and you do a little V here and that will cut it right out.  Then you can peel it and you can use it in mashed potatoes.  Tomorrow, I’ve got a great dish for you using parsnips.  Don’t go away.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.  

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, we’re talking about…parsnips.
  
   
PARSNIPS PART II (Friday, February 1):  All right, we’re getting back to our roots.  These are called parsnips.  What in the world do you do?  Well, you can tell your kids you can make antennas with them.  Oh, you can tell them it makes a great nose on Halloween.  Oh, they make great earplugs too!  No…no, here’s something you can really do with this.  Check this out.  Basically, you’re going to peel this.  You’re going to take your vegetable peeler, and watch this.  You’re going to make these cool curls.  See that?  See these curls?  You’re going to get some nice olive oil or vegetable oil.  You’re going to heat it up and you’re going to put these curls down into the heated oil.  Oh my goodness!   It’s got to be like 425°.  And these curls are going to come out really nice and crinkly.  As soon as you get them out put a little sea salt on them.  Oh my goodness!  Talk about curls!  This is not the curls where you have to go to the exercise room and do curls, okay?  These are curls with parsnips.  So if you’ve never tried a parsnip, this is a really fun way to try it.  And the best way I know to eat these, get a nice steak and put those right on top.  I’m Michael Marks…Your Produce Man.   

TEASE:  Hey, in my next Produce Man report, we’re going to do some curls…with parsnips.

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