We who are lucky enough to live in the Sacramento Valley have access to an exciting adventurous place; it’s the local Farmer’s Market. Each Saturday, in designated areas, we can feast our eyes on the freshest local grown produce at a reasonable price. It’s truly a Disneyland for local chefs, this ride is free! And each week there are new additions for you to experience.

In June, you can acquaint yourself with a dozen varieties of peppers, the bells: Mexicans such as Jalapeno, Pasilla, Anaheim, and many others of whom I am still learning their names. Peppers can add new life to any dull skillet dish. You might say it’s our Mrs. Dash before they petrified and packaged her.

The Oriental varieties are abundant and beautifully displayed without the plastic casing found in supermarkets. One thing that is sheer joy is those baby bok choy usually bundled in packets of four. There are many varieties of eggplants but my favorite is the basic eggplant in miniature. This type is highly preferred to regular eggplants which have far more seeds and the flavor is mild. Veggies are fun to experiment with because you may develop a new taste sensation such as mixing sliced green tomatoes with completely ripe tomatoes along with onions and sliced eggplant, sauté, season and new taste is born.

Then we come to July and August, the fruit selection if incredible. There are a dozen of choices in the peach family. The nectarine is the top choice for most buyers because it is high juice, sugar content and smooth edible skin. It keeps well and also freezes well for future enjoyment. However, we have an interesting newcomer to the field. This new fruit hybrid is half plum and half apricot and has distinct freckles on its smooth skin. They are larger than the average plum. It is extremely juicy and quite sweet if consumed when fully ripened but has a highly unique flavor of its own and unlike the nectarine or peach, plucot has a very small pit.

With so many choices, you can easily bring home a bounty. Place them in Zip-Lock bags (without sugar), just cut them to the desired size. Saving couldn’t be simpler. When fruit is $3.00 a pound next winter, you can be enjoying cobblers, low-sugar jams and fruit topped waffles.

Final note: Bring canvas bags or even old pillows cases to avoid the plastic bag trap. Use small bills, wear waist cash holder and invest in a fold-up cart. This theme park reminds of us of those colorful outdoor markets of Paris and Italy. Why not be European for a day? This means bring a net bag or large basket for all glorious garden bouquets! Bon Appetit!

PERFECT SUMMERTIME BEVERAGE: Not only do sodas contain a lot of sugar, they do little to actually quench your thirst. Sports drink may offer a few electrolytes but they are very expensive. Pure fruit juices likewise have too much sugar for genuine quenching on a truly hot summer day, I am here with the perfect beverage! We start with basic black or decaffeinated tea such Earl Gray . Brew it. The fastest way to brew tea by placing about 2 - 3 cups cold cups of water into a thick mason jar. Heat in microwave 2-3 minutes.

Drop tea bag in the jar. Steep about 3 minutes. Next add 1/3 cup your favorite fruit juice this will gently sweeten the tea. Serve in a glass with a few ice cubes The juice will both flavor and sweeten your tea. A way to make a refreshing summertime for mere pennies. Sort of a low-sugar homemade Snapple.

FRUIT CUPS: It summer and fruit is cheap available and at its peak of perfection. However with a family on the run they may grab with cereal bar or a banana. Often they over look the items like melon, cantaloupe and those luscious nectarines. So when the fruit is totally ripe, cut it up and make fruit cup( in paper cups) and point to them when family is looking for snacks. The ones sold at big markets in produce section just aren’t that appetizing with large chunks and often they are still green.

FRUIT POPSICLES: Unfortunately most fruit juice ( like sodas) are too sweet however you add a little lemon juice and water. Pour into a popsicle molds. If molds are unavailable plastic glasses may be substituted. Place a sheet of wax paper through the center. Fruit blends placed into blender make ideal slushes. They can placed in paper cups along with a plastic spoons. A great cool treat on those hot day when anything cold on the tongue feels good. So why not make lots of fruit slushes on hand instead of handing out a chemical version of popsicle? Orange and bananas make a great combo. Fresh peaches with raspberry juice and a scoop of vanilla make an incredible frozen treat. So delicious even the Good Humor man will be jealous.

There are predators in our kitchen and they’re not leaving. The insects have just declared your kitchen as their personal Motel 6 for the next four months. Insects are everywhere, and the best way to guard against them is with a persistent pantry patrol.

First, we notice the fly, that black loathsome creature; he loves the window and loves to aviate around it, asserting his presence. When he is through bobbing back and forth on your window, he’s going to stop on that nice sandwich you just made for yourself. He’s landing on the mayo knife and trying out your dill pickle as you wonder how many germs he’s leaving behind. Flies buzz around your kitchen counter like guys checking out the automotive accessories on a new car. It is going to be a long summer and they want to investigate their options. With careless humans and sticky sweet drinks it looks like their fast food choices will be abundant and easy to find.

Keeping all doors closed is a good start, keeping a room cool is also helpful, as a cool room is not as inviting. Insect populations explode when the weather gets hot. Flies seem to come out of nowhere, but actually have just been in hibernation, waiting for a warm day.

As long we have had flies, man is forever reinventing his version of a fly swatter. I prefer a folded newspaper or non-slick, soft magazine. On the counter combat can be achieved by simply dropping a damp cloth on the fly distracted by his afternoon snack. One should only strike when they are out in the open.

Then there are cupboard pilots (moths or millers) who seem to think the inside of your cupboard is their local Raley’s. I recommend placing cream of wheat, ready-to-use biscuit mix, and other grain goods into tall glass jars or inexpensive plastic cereal dispensers and refrigerating them. Curly white worms can come to life even inside sealed containers within weeks of really hot weather. I’ve tossed more jars of rice and cereal than I care to recall.

This may sound a bit insane, but get yourself an old fridge at a thrift store and put it inside your garage. Set the fridge at the lowest setting and use just for dry goods (and some produce, if you care to). You can maintain a super low energy usage by placing gallon blocks of ice made in the freezer using used plastic milk cartons. I am a household of one but I have 2 refrigerators. Unprotected, I can assure you, insects will feast upon your grain train.

The inside of cupboards can be filled with herbs which will curtail our moths and millers from their flying field. Out in the garden, most herbs – after they recover from the shock of transplant – grow faster than crabgrass and are just as indestructible. Besides the obvious benefits fresh herbs provide for cooking, they are a marvelous insect repellent.

Lastly, it’s worthwhile to remember that ants favorite foods seem to be sugar and animal grease. That BLT you had last evening may have left just a few savory drippings on your kitchen counter or near your microwave; well, good morning ant city! You won’t believe this many ants can come out of nowhere when the night before there were none.

I thought I had successfully rid myself of ants after wiping down every inch of kitchen, putting the sugar in the refrigerator and removing any fresh fruit, but I was still losing the war. The only item left unmolested was Splenda that they simply snubbed.

My ant problem was most persistent in winter and early spring. Even my garbage can had ants marching in like Napoleon’s Army. Despite my misgivings about chemicals, I chose to trust modern ant warfare and placed four “Grant’s Sealed Ant Baits” in strategic positions. WOW! They left, and haven’t returned! Now it’s just me and the flyswatter. My kitchen is at the moment quite insect–free.

There are still lots things bugging me, yet unfortunately there is no way to eradicate those troublesome elements. My means of fighting back is with words and humor. I would love to hear about your method of de-bugging! After all, we managed for many
centuries before the Ace Hardware or the Clark man showed up.

I first heard about the dangers of Teflon in 2003 when Elizabeth Weise of USA Today brought it to my attention with an article entitled “Out of the frying pan and into the fire.” Now again in 2005, another major media outlet, NBC Evening News, makes a very brief mention suggesting there is a serious danger. I checked the EPA website which didn’t explain it to my satisfaction so I went to other websites whose language was quite clear and well defined.

When Teflon is heated to 446 degrees Farenheit, toxic particles are released. When it reaches 680 degrees toxic gases are released. Among the six toxins released, two are carcinogenic, one of which is MFA (lethal to all humans even in low doses). Meanwhile, Dupont has said that in ordinary use Teflon is safe.

When Dupont failed to report the dangers of Teflon to the EPA it was fined $300 million. Next month, Dupont will finalize a settlement upwards of $300 million for a class action lawsuit accusing the company of allowing PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid, used in the manufacture of some Teflon products) to contaminate the drinking water of Ohio and West Virgina. Tests have been conducted and a large number of the population have PFOA in their blood stream. For some it may raise their level of cholesterol and triglycerides leading to a greater possibility of heart attack or stroke.

The EPA has declared that Teflon is a potential health risk especially when used at high temperatures. Once the EPA has informed the public of the risk, it is the discretion of the public to weigh the facts and decide for themselves.

Please visit the following websites for more valid information about the EPA information:

www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/teflon4.htm
http://www.mercola.com/2005/jun/7/teflon_toxicity.htm

Or you can E mail…Dr Arnold of Danville,Ca who provided me the above sites at chirodocpsualm@msn.com

There are practical alternatives to Teflon. I switched back to old Revere copper-bottomed fry pans and I just love them. As far as saucepots go, I can’t possibly have enough praise for the Corning Ware glass cookware called Visions. Most of mine were found in thrift stores.

Aluminum is a good conductor but its surface has many drawbacks and is often why cookware makers put the aluminum in the center of the pot and stainless steel on the outside. Most people find a seasoned iron skillet is pretty close to the perfect way to fry. Certainly you can sear meat with no fear of strange particles adhering to it. All Asian chefs use carbonated steel woks which, of course, are heated to super-high temperatures. A wok coated with Teflon would be potentially dangerous.

Besides the health risks imposed by Teflon coatings, there is another factor that should be considered… short life!! Needing to replace pans every time a few scratches appear can be downright wasteful of your money. As a recent commercial once said, “It’s not how much money you have but how well you know how to stretch it.” So cook cleanly and safely on good steel, copper, or iron pans which won’t need replacing for a few decades. Otherwise, your money may be going up in a PFOA of smoke.