Green, it's not just for St Patrick's Day

As the citrus buyer at Peddler's Son, I'm often asked why fully ripe Valencia oranges sometimes appear green.

Sunkist Valencia oranges go through a natural process of 're-greening' as they ripen on the tree. This is due to chlorophyll returning to the peel. These oranges may actually be sweeter because they are extra-ripe.

Oranges will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, but keep almost as well at room temperature with no wrapping. They yield more juice when at room temperature.

One more tip, if you put oranges in a hot oven before peeling them, no white fibers will be left on them.

So, go green! Enjoy the sweetest Valencia oranges now!

Bing!

Whether you like the golden-skinned sweet Rainier cherries or the dark Bing cherries, we have a big supply with great pricing. I've always been partial to the Rainier cherries. Mark, our buyer, tells me California cherries are the first fruit of the season so take advantage of this as their season is short. Cherries may also be frozen. Remember to remove the stems, wash and dry before placing in a freezer bag. They may be kept up to 3 months.

Now, all I need are some recipes for the Bing cherries. Anyone?!

How are we doing?

It's almost June?!! It seems like I just took down my Christmas lights and now I'm getting ready for my summer vacation. Well, we'd like to slow things down a bit and take some time to enjoy the things that are important to us, like you. Customers are what makes things tick around here and we want to make sure that we're listening. Would you take a couple of minutes and let us know how we're doing? I promise it will only take a minute or two and some lucky person will even win a couple of stylish, everyone-is-wearing, summer-staple Peddler's Son Produce shirts!

So, 'Lettuce Talk' and tell us how we're doing!

The People Behind the Produce

Matt Henning!

Background: Born and raised in Baltimore, Matt chose to go to school at the University of North Carolina (UNC). He later graduated on the deans list with a degree in Culinary and Hotel Management at the International Culinary College in Dublin, Ireland. Matt studied under Master Chef Peter Timmons, who lead the Irish Culinary Olympic Team. As you can see, Matt is a big fan of cooking. One of his favorite things to do is to cook meals for lots of friends and family for the holidays.

Movie: The Quite Man - John Wayne Movie


Music: I prefer jazz, but I also enjoy night club dance music.


TV Show: Currently, I like to watch "Lie to Me".

Food: Anything Italian!


Quote: "I can always lose weight, but I will always have my good looks, charm and personality."


1st Job: I flipped hamburgers at McDonald's when I was 14.


People/Person I'd most like to have dinner with: My wife. I don't see her very often.

What I like to do in my leisure time: I like spending time with my wife, Joanne, and finding local restaurants.

Something you may not know about me: I was the Beverage Director for a night club in Baltimore and was interested in DJing. A friend of mine introduced me to John 'Jellybean' Benitez. He was a popular DJ at several night clubs in NYC. He was also the boyfriend/producer for Madonna on some of her early albums. He taught me how to DJ professionally.


So, Matt likes to cook for large groups of people and DJ. Sounds like a one man party to me! Oh, and we'd like to now refer to him as Matt 'Magic Hands' Henning since every good DJ needs a nickname. :)

With the on-going investigation of salmonella associated with alfalfa sprouts I thought my followers might like some updated information. Check out these sites...

www.fda.gov

salmonella questions and answers

Happy Birthday Bridge!

Bridge is enjoying some cheesecake brought to him by one of his fans, Sheri at Demsearch.

We're wishing the 'Produce Guru' a great day!

He'd love to hear from you so, give him a shout.

People Behind the Produce...

Ladies and gentlemen, Curt House!

Background: Peddler's Son Produce welcomes a new salesman to the Scottsdale territory, Curt House. Scottsdale will have a true native working to serve our customers. Curt was born and raised here and graduated from Coronado High School. He also opened and worked as the Executive Chef at the Double Tree Gateway. Bellingham, WA was his home for a while where he owned and ran Our House Deli and Catering.

And here's some more info 'on the House'........

Movie: Predator - I love action packed movies!

Music: Anything from REM

TV Show: Watching Dale Jr and Tony Stewart

Food: Pad Thai

Quote: "Every day is a holiday!"

1st Job: At 15, I was a dishwasher at Poncho's Mexican Buffet at Los Arcos Mall.

People/Person I'd most like to have dinner with: Eva Mendes. :)

What I like to do in my leisure time: Go boating. I have a 23' cuddy cabin called the 'Dog House' and that's where you'll find me whenever I get a chance.

Something you may not know about me: I tried out for the Pro Bowler's Tournament tour in 1979.


I'm sure Curt will have some fast friends now that we know he has a boat! By the way.....my summer weekends are free and did I mention I love the water?