How to Pick a Pineapple

Sunday morning I found myself in the produce section of my Stop N Shop staring at some plums when I heard another distressed shopper over my shoulder.

"Excuse me! Sir?" she was talking to the kid who was restocking the berries, "How do you pick out a pineapple?" He stopped, walked over to her and mumbled something which led to her responding, "You don't know? Where is your produce man?"


I wondered to myself, Is there a "Produce Man" here? and finally settled on the plums I was taking home with me.

The woman continued to wonder aloud about her pineapple problem - about the color, the skin, about how she wanted to serve it that day. I looked over to her one more time as I was going, forgetting that with my eyesight, I was probably staring, squinting or focusing way too hard to be considered a casual glancer. "Do you know how to pick out a pineapple?"

Pineapple Pressure = Information Overload

Even without my 20/20 vision I was pretty certain she was talking to me. The pressure was now on: Do I know how to pick out a pineapple??

I was flustered, but I started rattling off whatever knowledge I had, " I feel like I heard something once about pulling out the leaves. If the leaves come out easily, then it's good. It sounds ridiculous, but that rings a bell for me-" [I just found two conflicting sources today - one that claims this is a myth, and another that uses this as its sole technique for picking pineapples!]


"But this green is no good, right?"

"No, I don't think so. It should look a little more yellow. You know, more pineapple-y," yep. I said that. "I also think you should be able to smell when it is ready to go. You said you want it for today? Then you need one that smells just right."

We proceeded to smell pineapples and noted that the green ones smelled like nothing and settled on one that smelled really delicious. She said, "Oh yeah, I can smell the difference! I think this is the one. Thank you so much!"

"No problem. I hope it is delicious!" I wanted to share more pineapple information with her. It seemed as though I had unleashed my internal pineapple database and had more to give, like

• store it upside down until you are ready to cut into it, that will help the sweetness flow to the whole fruit, or
• go through a step-by-step of what I consider the safe way to cut a pineapple.

But she didn't need any more of my help, so I was just left wondering: Where THE HECK did I learn all of this pineapple stuff??

My 21st Century Produce Man
 
There are some fruits and vegetables I know all about and others where I am still flustered. Of course, for any long-time readers of mine, it should come as no surprise that Jack Bishop has taught me quite a bit about picking out fresh produce in my favorite cookbook Vegetables Every Day. However, I did have some knowledge before that from my mother (that's where I got the upside down pineapple trick), my grandparents and other family members.

I have never encountered a produce man in any of the supermarkets I have shopped, but I also haven't looked for one either. There is a pretty simple reason for that, too. I tend to carry a produce man around in my pocket all day long! I have an iPhone and I can not tell you how often I refer to it when doing my shopping! I will use it to quickly check out whether or not a certain veggie is actually in season yet, how to pick out the perfect produce and to quickly scan any cool recipes to see if I need to pick up any additional ingredients.

I think it would be great to have an actual human being to talk to about these things, but in the meantime, I am happy I have found something to help me in my times of need!

Do you have a Produce Man that you confer with?

How do you pick out the perfect pineapple?

Where/How did you learn to pick out your produce?

How often do you use the Internet as your kitchen/food reference guide?

I've Got The Produce... Now WHAT?!

If you read my last post on Urban Organic, you know I just got a box of goodies - fruits and veggies! So, of course, now I have some questions...

What SUPER COOL THINGS should I be doing with my new fruits and veggies?

Kiwis. I can count on my hands the number of times I have had them. I pretty much have just eaten them straight out. Am I missing out on some very cool thing to do with kiwis??

Same with pears - I LOVE THEM, but I eat them the way they are. I have seen lots of recipes where people cook them. Should I be doing this??

I have lots of things to do with broccoli, but what is your favorite?

 Kale. I don't know what to do with it. in fact, one of my first tasks after writing today was to investigate the wonderful world of Kale. I'm not even sure I have ever had it. I think I must have, but not knowingly so, and, therefore, I am unfamiliar with it's taste.

I am looking for all types of Kale suggestions. Of course, you know I will be referring to my Jack Bishop cookbook in minutes, but if you have a favorite, I am all ears!!

My husband loves spinach. I wish I had my camera in hand when he recognized it last night. Actually, a video would have been more appropriate. Anyway, we typically do the wilted spinach with garlic, oil and red pepper flakes (oh... dear... mouth watering...), or a salad, or as a garlic-spinach-chicken dish, but that's where our experiments end. Do you have anything new for us to try?

Anything else in there you see and have a great idea about? Zucchini? Yellow onions? Russet potatoes? Red delicious apples? Grapefruit? Carrots? Lemons? Hamlon oranges? Bananas? Green leaf lettuce?


Any advice is welcome!

From Pod to Plate

It began with a simple request - "Let's stop at Gerardi's on the way home..."

Gerardi's is a farmer's market that I have driven by for nearly all twelve years of my teaching. I don't know why, when I first set out on this quest for sustenance, I didn't think of Gerardi's right away, but I imagine that it has something to do with the fact that Gerardi's has become nothing more than scenery on my daily commute. A couple of weeks ago, when I was talking to my mother-in-law about my one trip to the St. George farmer's market, she thought I was talking about about Gerardi's. When I finally realized what she was talking about I thought, "Why not? I should check out Gerardi's!"

Today, my husband and I finally checked it out and cashed in. Due to a long stint of my sickness, a death in the family that caused my husband to leave town, followed by my husband suddenly suffering from some pretty severe back issues; our fridge and our pantries were barren - we were in desperate need of all types of sustenance! I thought, for sure, I was going to break the bank when it was time to ring up, but everything came to less than $40 - woo hoo!

There is one purchase that I planned on blogging about today: peas. As we walked around the market we grabbed some plums, a pineapple, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, cherries, strawberries, bananas, lemons, grapes and I looked longingly at bok choy, brussell sprouts and beets (ie. things I am a fan of, but still haven't convinced the husband of their true splendor), and then, at one point a large pie of pods caught my eye...


Whoa - look at that! The sign says "PEAS", but they are still in the PODS. Oh my... that is just so cool! That looks like fun!

I poked my husband and, as I smiled from ear to ear, said, "You want to try some fresh peas?" I was so excited by this prospect. Then came his response, "No, I don't want to do all of that work. That's just too much work."

Now let me pause for a moment. There are two reasons that this was NOT an appropriate response.

#1. It is the last week of school. Why is that relevant, you ask? Well, that's a really good question if you don't live in my world. In my world this is the week where students who didn't want to do the work all semester or all term come a callin' to beg for dispensation just in time for graduation. It is frustrating. It is unfair to those who worked SO hard all year to earn the right to graduate and... I will end this explanation there, before I continue ranting on about things that are not relevant to my sustenance.

#2. What is wrong with a little work to get some good food on the table? Am I the only one that has a desire to touch my food in its natural state? I appreciate where my food comes from even more when I can feel its skin versus its insides, when I can see its stem, its seeds, et cetera! In addition, this can all be safely said tonight because I have no lessons to write tonight, my year is coming to a close, my at-home work is winding down.

So, my response to my husband, "I don't think it's that big of a deal. I want to try them." A funny thing then happened - he started suggesting all types of things we could make with peas!

When we arrived home, I put our purchases in their appropriate places. For some, that meant the fridge, for some others, that meant our fruit bowl:

And then I realized it was high time that I got to work. I decided to check out my reference materials first to see exactly how much work I actually had in store (if you heard the tone of my husband's voice you would have thought that we would not be able to actually consume the peas after about a week of drudgery!).  I grabbed my copy of Vegetables Everyday by Jack Bishop feeling absolutely confident that Jack Bishop's sound advice would be soothing, rewarding and fodder for a later "I told you so," stance with my husband! I was, regrettably, wrong. I could not believe what I was reading, but even Jack Bishop - my veggie vishnu - wrote (And I QUOTE!!), "Part of the problem is the labor. It takes a long time to shell the peas and most people would rather not bother" (Bishop, 241). I read with mouth agape. How difficult was this going to be??? Of course, I read further, and Bishop's main point was that it was so difficult to find the right place to purchase fresh peas at just the right time, that, gathered all together, all of these variables made it seemingly not worth the effort especially since frozen peas weren't so terrible and snow peas make a suitable substitute.

However, there I was, in my kitchen with a pile of plain-old shelling peas and a point to make with my husband. I took a deep breath, grabbed my first pod and slightly squeezed it between my thumb and fore finger, when it split, straight down the middle and revealed and entire family of the cutest little peas I have ever seen! I took a picture of my first-ever shelling:

 (impressive, I know)

Not all of the pods split so simply, or were so full, but it was still so much fun. The peas were attached to the pod so I would slide my finger down the pod to pop - pop - pop - pop each pea out of the pod into my strainer waiting below. I guess it took a little while, I didn't time myself or anything, but it was fun (maybe I am a food-nerd or something). Here's how it turned out:

Only one, very important step remained: preparation. What should I do with these peas? Will their taste be worth the effort? Will my husband and Jack Bishop be right about it simply not being worth my efforts?? 

I selected a simple recipe from Bishop's book Buttered Peas with Fresh Herbs (Bishop, 247) and used chives as my "herb" since that is what I had. My husband wanted to have his peas with saffron rice and chicken and I thought this recipe would be mesh the best with this. (Side note: This was also a ridiculously easy recipe and I had already worked sooo hard, right?)

The results? 

They were super-delicious and worth the effort. 

However, if I want to believe what I read today, I should count myself as lucky that the stars aligned - the peas must have been picked today (yesterday the earliest), I bought them and, not knowing this, prepared them right away (peas, evidently, can NOT wait) and they were a relatively good batch of peas in the first place! Do I recommend that you try to make fresh peas yourself? Well, let me recount a bit of a conversation that happened tonight over dinner:

My Husband, out of nowhere says, "I feel lucky."

I, having no idea what he is talking about, because our previous conversation does not seem to connect to this, simply ask, "And why would that be?" (I was half-laughing, because I really never know what to expect from him!)

"I just had real peas. I don't think a lot of people - anyway, people I know - have eaten peas like this before. These are really good."

Whoa. He was serious, he was talking about the peas, and the experience of eating them made him feel "lucky." I understood what he meant, though... both of us could have easily traveled through this life without ever eating fresh peas, it is not something that is ever on anyone's life "to do" list, and it is really easy to avoid since frozen peas are not that bad, but the fresh peas were different - they were fresh and that's a flavor all its own!

It is something to consider when making your next meal. It doesn't have to be fresh peas, but is there something fresh you could be making that you would be lucky to have? Something that your senses and your sensibilities will thank you for?

On that note, it is time for dessert and I believe I have some berries waiting for me in the fridge!

Green Peas

I Stopped and I Shopped and then... I Ate

Since my husband and I ate out most of our week off due to the deluge in our basement, this previous week was eventful in ways I thought my Easter/Passover break would have been. First, we finished the chicken breasts we had in the house, then we finished the Ahi Tuna steaks and we ran out of eggs and milk. I felt as though a weight was lifted. When I attempted to find something to eat Friday night, I was delighted by my struggle, but Saturday morning, though, I was frustrated. I feared I would not be able to find the replacement foods I needed due to my husband's recent infection from allergies gone wild - I was going to have to shop local and alone... was I just going to end up with the same stuff?

Well, before I even blogged yesterday, I decided we needed something to make it through these days of sparse food, in case I was less than successful, so I made a HUGE batch of marinara sauce (for my family's recipe, click here). I was inspired to do so when I saw what my husband had noshed on all day when I was at work on Friday: there was evidence of cereal, chips and salsa, yogurt and then he confessed to getting a Bacon egg and cheese sandwich in the morning. I was able to trace his eating pattern by the plates strewn all over the kitchen counter, in the sink and some, woefully, in the living room. However, this was all before his allergy medicine and he was therefore miserable and delirious, so all infractions are forgiven!

I then dilly-dallied for most of the day before buckling down to get to the store. Truth be told, I feared a repeat of my last shopping attempt... Finally, at around 6:15pm, my husband dropped me off at my local Stop n' Shop, a store I am not all too familiar with, but have always liked the organic foods aisle in. My goal for the trip: buy FRESH produce, organic when possible, check out the egg situation, see if this store carries Gardein and, finally, reacquaint myself with what is available in the organic foods aisle.

One day later and, after I have eaten, I can say that I feel satisfied with my first truly conscious food shopping (EVERY SINGLE ITEM was scrutinized before I placed it in my cart), but the process itself was quite a difficult one for me to take on alone. Perhaps I bit off more than I could chew (pun intended!) for a first go . Here were my major stumbling points:

1. Stop N' Shop is not "My" Grocery Store. I know "my" grocery store (a Waldbaums, recently turned King Kullen), like the back of my hand. I know their layout, I understand the flow of the store an intention of placement of items. I have been going there for so many years, I pretty much know where, in general to find all things, even if they are not things I normally buy because I know which aisle it would be in.

2. I still have pretty bad vision. Even though potassium has been helping me out in the energy department , it did not, miraculously return my vision to normal (unfortunately). For this reason, my extra careful scrutiny of items was an agonizing process of glasses on, glasses off, reading labels, reading ingredients, looking at prices, leaning over the mountains of potatoes, lemons, nectarines, bananas, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc. and deciphering: are these Organic? Some of this issues would have been solved if Stop N' Shop were "my" store - after 45 minutes in the produce section I finally discovered that organic produce has a large orange, curve sign above it (I almost wanted to cry when I saw that - there should be a grocery store KEY somewhere that tells you these things! I would have been through that section in 15 minutes!). Some of the issues would have been solved with another set of eyes!

The result of these two minor issues: the shopping trip took me a little over two hours and my organic aisle did not get the attention I had plan to give it due to (of course) a pretty damning headache that lasted until I finally fell asleep.

And yet, I still feel as though this trip was a great success. Here's why:

• I did it! If you have been following my blog, the fact that I actually made it out to the store, is a success in and of itself. In addition, the fact that I did it on my own is also pretty damn cool (even if it did suck me dry for the night!)
• I bought fresh (and mostly Organic). I always buy my fruit fresh, but I noticed over the years that I have been buying more and more of my vegetables frozen or canned. I don't know and/or remember what led to this transition, but so it goes. We actually have a second freezer in the basement and a full pantry. I was struck, at the end of this trip, when putting all of the items away, how I did not need to go downstairs with ONE item. The majority of my purchases went right in the refrigerator. I can't remember the last time that happened and it feels right. My freezer will still be used, of course, like tonight, when I put in all of the extra marinara sauce to be consumed at a later date.
• I found Gardein. I thought this would be a difficult item to find, but there, at the end of the produce section, is the refrigerated case, was the product Tal Ronnen wrote about in his cookbook The Conscious Cook, that I was so curious about. It is protein, made of soy (no GMOs), but not tofu and, he claimed had a texture so similar to meat that many people he had served it to did not even know the difference. I have toyed with tofu before, so I know how arduous it can be to get the texture "right." This Gardein piqued my curiosity (Gardein's website). There were three varieties in the store, I bought one of each!
• I learned my way around... a bit. If you spend two hours in a place, you get to know a little bit about it. I was no a complete stranger to Stop N' Shop before this trip, but I definitely feel a bit more comfortable about going back there again (and maybe next time STARTING off with the organics aisle, instead of ending off with it!).

Only time will tell if this was truly a success - can we eat the fresh food while it is still fresh? Did I buy too much for the week, or too little? What meals will come from these choices (although I had some in mind, I definitely have not planned them all out!)? Is this supermarket a viable option for healthy eating, or will I find something even better at the farmer's markets? And... the big question: Can we find the sustenance we need from these purchases considering I did not buy any meat?

Well, today was day 1, and while we did eat the chicken and the tuna steaks, there are still meat remnants in the house. Here's how our food day played out:

• Breakfast: We both ate our respective cereals. My husband also had a yogurt which he has been taking with his antibiotic.
• Lunch: My husband made a tuna fish sandwich and a salad. I could not resist - I had to try the Gardein (Sante Fe) with a salad. The Gardein was really, surprisingly good! I am still not completely sold on this product, as it is packaged and microwaved, but, it was delicious. I can absolutely understand how Tal Ronnen's dinner guests were fooled into thinking they were eating meat.
• Snack: We cracked open a box of organic, no wheat, gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate chunk cookies that were extra yummy!
• Dinner: Pasta with home-made marinara sauce and ricotta.

I don;t know if this is the healthiest day of food ever, but I can, at least say that some of yesterday's purchases have already gone to work!