Onions are an essential ingredient of many different global cuisines. Onions can be delicious not only raw, but also, for example, caramelized, oven roasted, sauteed, or sweated.

Caramelizing onions is a process that is all about recognizing onion’s natural sugar content, natural moisture content, and understanding cooking principles of both time and also temperature.

The time needed for “caramelizing” onions or another “aromatic” vegetable exceeds the time it would take for “sweating” the same vegetable. Both are classic techniques for cooking onions and other aromats and used for flavor profile building when cooking in cultures around the world.

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As apple harvesting season continues in “Upstate” NY, the fragrant and enticing smell of apples seems to be everywhere, including at area Farmers Markets.

Years ago, having found a recipe for an “apple chutney” in the then local print newspaper, we modified it ever so slightly and it turned out to be an easy to prepare and delightful accompaniment to many a dinner meal on cooler evenings.

The original of the Harvest Apple Chutney recipe turns out to be found on the Kikkoman website and makes closer to 4 & 1/2 cups of cooked product.

(Apple orchard image courtesy of gabriel77 at rgbstock.com)

This apple chutney recipe can be prepared either via the “hot pack method” as mentioned on the original Kikkoman recipe website; or because it is a higher acidity mixture in terms of having a lower pH, via the traditional boiling water bath “full canning method,” depending upon how long and where you plan to store the resulting product.

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Do you remember hearing or reading about the First Ever White House Kids State Dinner (actually a luncheon) served on August 20, 2012?

A blog post of that date focused on the event since we feel the entire Let’s Move campaign being supported by First Lady, Michelle Obama, is such a great idea!

The entire Healthy Lunchtime Challenge culminating in that White House Kids State Dinner event was a collaborative effort involving a number of partners.

It involved a wide range of staff, including from the Let’s Move campaign, the White House, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education, and Epicurious Magazine.

(Image of organic curly kale courtesy of Ayla87 over at rgbstock.com)

The “appetizer” for the actual White House luncheon event was a super simple Kale Chips recipe originally submitted by one of the 54 winning junior chefs, Samuel Wohabe, age 9, from the state of New York.

Kale Chips could prove to be a great anytime snack, so since this is back-to-school time and cooler weather is either in your area or might be coming to it, we thought this would be a great time to mention about various kale chip recipes that can be found all over the world wide web.

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In the Northeast, August is the month where truly more localized produce variety increases and all sorts of marketplaces will start to feature a wider range of locally sourced product.

We’d like to share some tips below to help make shopping for August Abundance that much more enjoyable for you. We’ll include ideas for before you head out shopping, once you arrive at the market place destination and while you are there, and then after you get back home again.

In PA the weather has often been more temperate in the growing regions and they’ve had enough rain fall to enable farmers to send their harvest to stores that buy directly from them, including ones in NY.

(Photo of corn stalks growing in a farmer’s field courtesy of our webmaster in PA).

As the month progresses, here in the Northeast, we expect to see sweet corn (including the classic “butter and sugar” variety), along with some early apples showing up at farm stands, farmers markets, and in grocery stores that buy “locally” as well. (Usually some produce will come in from both NJ and PA as well as NY).

Do you remember what other fruits and vegetables are typically seasonally available in the Northeast right now?

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Tomatoes qualify as a very popular non-starchy “vegetable” (even if they are botanically a “fruit” per se) based on per capita consumption in the USA, second only to potatoes.

Year 2005 data from USDA noted tomato consumption from various sources, including primarily canned & frozen, as well as some fresh, to be close to 100# of farm weight/per person/per year.

The next closest non-starchy vegetable category item, carrots, was noted to have consumption levels at just above 10# of farm weight/per person/per yr.

(Different Tomatoes 2 graphic courtesy of salsachica at rgbstock.com)

What contributes to the wild popularity of tomato products?

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We’ve discussed the importance of eating food choices from the “rainbow of color” options out there, but some readers wrote in asking for even more specifics than we have previously listed in various blog posts.

Although within the US we have moved from using a model of a food guide pyramid to using a model of a plate to encourage healthful choices in dining, there are still some useful pyramid options out there.

(Fresh Produce on Display in Taormina, Sicily, Italy, graphic courtesy of Betty H)

The “Mediterranean Diet” (general Mediterranean style dietary intake as part of a total lifestyle) visualized as a food guide pyramid is one example; and an anti-inflammatory pyramid popularized by Dr. Andrew Weil is another example.

For infotainment purposes only, we’ll share some anti-inflammatory food item options in the following listing, which is by no means all-inclusive, but should give you the gist of the breadth and depth of wonderful food source options that have been reported to have some anti-inflammatory properties. A dietetic colleague, John S. Pasztor, MPH, RD, CDE, over at the The Regional Diabetes and Endocrine Center, Cape Fear Valley Health System, gladly shares another version of a list from 2009 with his patients and with members of a dietetic practice group one of us belongs to.

We have used for inspiration bits and pieces of various skeleton listings out there and then come up with our own fleshed out infotainment version, subject to change/further updating, which follows. Research is ongoing and some items will show up on one list, but not another, in various reviews of research, so realize the list* is always subject to modification/updating as newer research results are reported and older results further clarified.

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It’s summertime around the USA.

That means a plethora of fresh herbs, vegetables and also some fresh fruits for consumers to enjoy can be found in various Farmer Markets, State & local Fairs, road side stands, community & backyard & sideyard vegetable gardens, grocery stores, convenience stores including bodegas, as well as push carts, food trucks, etc.

In certain instances even area food banks and food pantries are lucky enough to receive some of nature’s abundance to be shared with others.

How can you find out what produce options will be available in your locale during any given month?

(Image source: University of MN Extension Farm to School Toolkit, Vermont Guide to Using Local Food, pg 85 of 116)

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This salad favorite is perfect for late “springtime” or else “summertime” enjoyment. We look forward to eating every year (especially at a “BBQ” type event).

Once mint is again growing in the garden, it is time to make Tabbouleh!

Tabbouleh is a classic chopped vegetable salad of which there are many variations, depending upon where in the Mediterranean or Arab/Middle Eastern world the recipe version originated from.

Photograph ©Stephanie B-H/SensoryNutrition/US12

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Warmer weather usually means more rain storms and thus the potential for more rainbows as well.

Virtually all of us should be aiming to consume a “Rainbow of Color” from nature’s color wheel when it comes to fruits & veggies.

There are many health benefits associated with the colors of the rainbow nature so graciously provides, and particularly for those discussing prostate cancer prevention, incidence & progression, treatment, and survivorship as noted in the 4 part series we started late last month and will be continuing with this month.

Beyond their beneficial vitamin content, consider the rich antioxidant & anti-inflammatory content of some deeply colored fruits & vegetables.

How familiar are you with nature’s rainbow of fruits & veggies when it comes to matters of prostate cancer and actually overall health for anyone?

(Photo of basket of organic vegetables courtesy of Dahlia via rgbstock.com).

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Ah, spring time is in the air in some parts of the country.

Spring time makes us think of existing or upcoming Farmers Markets and their wonderful, fresh, local bounty that is available to any & all consumers willing to make the extra effort to shop there.

(Photo of flowering peach tree courtesy of Berenika at rgbstock.com)

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) though its Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has a website for its USDA AMS Farmers Market awareness program. USDA would like to make it easier for those living in the USA to shop in Farmers Markets.

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