Summer Fruits and Vegetables

It's still kind of cool for a summer in the Valley, but the summer fruits and vegetables are here!

Peaches, plumbs, nectarines, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions squash- that's just the farmers market at one of the elementary schools in Kerman. Watermelons and cantaloupes are coming on. It's fabulous.

The health guys all want us to eat more fruits and vegetables and if you can't find something this time of year, you are being way too fussy. And here in the Valley, we have over 300 different crops being grown all around us. Yes- I said 300.
With all due respect, you can drive through the Midwest fro hours and all you see corn, wheat and soybeans, or soybeans, wheat and corn. Here we are surrounded by dozens and dozens of different crops. I have a neighbor growing three types of onions on one side of our ranch and a field with dozens of different lettuce plants on the other side.

I'll leave you with my favorite fruit salad recipe. A friend named Albert shared this with us.

Albert's Fruit Salad

1/2 of a watermelon [ I use the round seedless kind, less muss and fuss ]
1/2 of a cantaloupe
1/4 of a jicama
1 mango
1 pear
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 TBS lime juice
1 TBS Mexican chili powder. Yes- I said chili powder. No, not the kind you make chili with. I use
Tajin chili powder. You can find it in the grocery store where they
Pico de Gallo spices.

I use a melon baller and scoop out the water melon and cantaloupe and put the melon balls in a large bowl. Peel and cut the mango and jicama in to quarter inch cubes, add to the bowl with the melons. Core and slice the pear, add to the bowl. Add cilantro, lime juice and chili powder. Stir it all together and you are good to go.

This makes a very different fruit salad. Frankly it is not everyone's cup of tea. Sheryl doesn't like it that much. I can eat it by the bucket on a hot summer day. If you are tired of everyday fruit salad then you might want to give this a try.

Buon apetito.