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White peaches seem to fall in the love it or leave it category. I know people who love them and others who wouldn’t touch any peach that wasn’t yellow on the inside. White fleshed peaches have been appearing more frequently over the last decade. I don’t even remember seeing any white peaches growing up. But did you know that the yellow color that we typically associate with a peach was developed in the 19th century in the United States? The white peach has actually been around a lot longer than the yellow varieties.

This past week, I got to sink my teeth into my first white peach of the season – the Snow Angel variety. It was grown in California in the San Joaquin Valley by Family Tree Farms. There is a cool map on their website, you should check out. Snow Angel is a really early peach variety, usually picked around the end of April to the start of May. If you are looking to grow this variety it only needs about 200 chill hours.

As comes with being an early peach it is a clingstone variety, so that pit isn’t coming out without a fight! The one I had contained a split pit, which means the pit was broken in half inside, which isn’t a big deal to me. The interior of this peach is absolutely stunning. It is white with red around the outside.

My Experience with this Peach (Rating Scale 1-10)
Acidity: 7
Peach Flavor: 5
Sweetness: 8
Juiciness: 9

Overall Feeling: Typically people don’t like white peaches because they lack acidity. Not the case with Snow Angel. It has a nice balance of acidity and sweetness. Talk about juicy. I was making a mess with this peach and that is a great thing! I hope I have the chance to try more peaches from Family Tree Farms as so far I am happy with what they have produced!

As a side note I want to encourage people to start to memorize the stickers they find on fruit at the grocery store. If you find something you like save the sticker from the fruit. Stick on a piece of paper on the fridge, so that you when you see it again in the store you will recognize it and might be more willing to try it out since you already liked something they grew before. I have learned by just looking at stickers and packaging what I want to buy and what I want to avoid. Just a little tidbit to munch on!

Where is the best place to buy a good peach? Click here to read my article on shopping for peaches.

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We are about smack dab in the middle of May. This is the time of year the peaches from the south (mainly Georgia and South Carolina) begin to make their apperance in grocery stores. One of the earliest ripening varieties is called Flavor Rich. It is typically the first commerical variety shipped from the south. A lot of people can’t believe that this is a peach. It is almost all red, has a pointy end, and the fuzz factor is pretty low for a peach. But don’t let this fool you, Flavor Rich is indeed a peach.

The particular peaches I got were grown by J.W. Yonce & Sons under their Big Smile label. They have been growing peaches for over 70 years in Edgefield County, South Carolina, also known as the “Ridge”.

These peaches are clingstone peaches so the flesh sticks to the pit. I found that most of them also had split pits, this means that the pit has split in half like in the picture above.

My Experience with this Peach (Rating Scale 1-10)
Acidity: 7
Peach Flavor: 6
Sweetness: 7
Juiciness: 9

Overall Feeling: This is probably the most sweet and juicy of early peaches I have had to date. My wife enjoyed hers without the need for additional sweeteners. Not the most flavorful, but not bad at all. When I bought the peaches they were pretty hard still but after softening up in a paper bag for a few days they developed that mouth watering peach smell.

Where is the best place to buy a good peach? Click here to read my article on shopping for peaches.

Continue reading »]]> In this episode, Robert came to rescue a former military man whose soul food dreams have turned into a nightmare. The biggest nightmare however would be the filth that was discovered in this place.

I think I have heard this story before on the show. A man returns from serving this country and wants to open up a resturant. It’s a nice story, except that it doesn’t go as planned. The owner needed a serious kick in the pants. The place was a mess. Investations, dirt, grease, was all over the place. They negelected to clean their kitchen. It seems like they were just going through the motions in a defeated way. With the owner being a military man, he responded well to Robert’s military style manner. I think both the owner and the cooks were really affected. Sometimes we just need that motivation.

This episode featured a couple unique things for a RI show. Robert brought in some HGTV kitchen designers “Kitchen Cousins” to help make over the kitchen, which had to be re-worked from scratch. Another surpising thing was the lack of equipment they had. Robert tried to do a cooking demo with them, but didn’t even have enough tools to do a demo with just three people. They had to head off to a kitchen supply store.

The Recipes

Greens Stuffed Roasted Chicken | Click here for the recipe

Robert found a way to bring a soul food twist to roasted chicken. He inserted mustard greens and peaches into the cavaity of the bird. A nice healthy alternative to doing soul food (ok he smearead the skin with butter, so maybe it’s not as healthy as it seems.)

Follow-Up
I try to guess now if a resturant is still in business or not after the episode. This place because of the owner’s genuiness and humility I figured this was one that would still be around. And I was correct. Mama Lee’s is still in business. Sales are up 15% since the makeover. I read a lot of positive reviews about the joint on Yelp. People are enjoying the food. The only thing they seem not to be enjoying is the chairs and the bathrooms. Apparently the bathrooms were never even touched during the show, so they are as dirty as ever. Seems like the owner is still missing that detail. The problem I have read about the chairs is that they are too small for some constumers.

If you want more Robert Irvine recipes, here are some of his available cookbooks:
Impossible to Easy: 111 Delicious Recipes to Help You Put Great Meals on the Table Every Day
Mission: Cook!: My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy

Continue reading »]]> We interchange the names “mandarin” and “tangerine” depending on our mood. Even the stone fruit world has it’s own names that can leave you confused. I have seen the rise in recent years of pluots – a plum/apricot hybrid. But have you ever had an aprium? Isn’t that just another way to combine the names “plum” and “apricot”? Well actually there is a difference. An aprium is genetically 75% apricot and 25% plum. I had my first ever aprium this week. The variety was called Tasty Rich.

Unlike plutos, apriums are available early on in the season. I got mine at Produce Station in Ann Arbor, MI on Monday, May 7th. They were grown in California.

My Experience with this Aprium (Rating Scale 1-10)
Acidity:7
Flavor:9
Sweetness:8
Juiciness:9

Overall Feeling: I rather enjoyed this piece of stone fruit. It was sweet, but as the skin breaks down in your mouth, a tartness hits (there is the plum’s contribution) the taste buds that gives it a nice balance. It was pretty juicy as well, so be careful not to launch juice across the room as you bit into it. The pit was very easy to remove. Overall a great experience, look forward to trying other aprium varieties.

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It’s time! The beginning of the stone fruit season in the United States. Peaches are starting it off. I had my first California grown peach of the season, the Amber Crest variety this past week. The season has come early this year as normally the Amber Crest variety is ready around May 17th and we haven’t even turned the calendar to May yet.

Amber Crest is one of the earliest peaches out there. As is the case for all early peaches it is a clingstone, which means the flesh clings to the pit. But to me that inconvenience is easily overcame if the peach tastes good. Sun World International, LLC, of Bakersfield, California are the ones to develop this variety, so you will see their sticker adorning the peach.

My Experience with this Peach (Rating Scale 1-10)
Acidity: 8
Peach Flavor: 7
Sweetness: 3
Juiciness: 6

Overall Feeling: I have to say I was surprised how good this super early peach was. It was definitely on the tart side. I had to add a bit of wildflower honey to counteract some of the tartness. However that tartness would make Amber Crest an excellent candidate for baking (you can be the first on your block to bake a peach pie this year!). Although the small size of the peach and the fact that it’s a clingstone would make for more work. The flavor was good, especially the skin itself. So if you can stand eating the skin I definitely would with this peach.

Where is the best place to buy a good peach? Click here to read my article on shopping for peaches.

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I am excited to announce that I am hosting my first ever giveaway! And it’s a sweet one too. You can enter to win a jar of Buckwheat Honey from the Mohawk Valley Trading Company. Here is a little info about them:

The Mohawk Valley Trading Company (MVTC) offers the highest quality organic and unprocessed natural products they can produce. Their raw honey and maple syrup is used and endorsed by two of by the world’s most recognized chefs: Bobby Flay recommends their maple syrup and Tom Colicchio recommends their honey. Not only does Tom say their honey is one of his “Personal Pantry Essentials” and “Favorite Gifts” but he also keeps “a jar of the stuff on my desk at all times.”
Raw honey contains all of the pollen, live enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, and aromatics in the same condition as they were in the hive.

There are multiple ways for you to gain entries into this contest. One entry for each of the following – just leave a comment on this post for each thing you do (this is what I will use to contact the winner.)

1. Like my facebook page
You need to leave a comment when you do saying “I want honey!”

2. Refer a friend to my facebook page
You get one entry for every friend that you refer that likes my facebook page. They need to say “so and so referred me” to get the credit. Your friend will receive an entry at that time as well.

3. Leave a comment on any Mohawk Valley Trading Company post on Honey Like No One Else
Comment must refer to something in the post and you must say “I want honey” at the end.

4. Pin something on Pinterest
Pin any post from anything on Eat Like No One Else or (Eat) Honey Like No One Else. Leave a comment in that pin that says “I want honey”. You can do this once for Eat Like No One Else and once for Honey Like No One Else

Terms & Conditions:
You must be 18 years or older to win.
Contest ends midnight (Eastern Standard Time) 05/05/12.
Winner will be chosen randomly and contacted by email.
Winner will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
MVTC will ship the prize to the winner within 30 days of contest end.
Physical address required for shipping; no PO boxes, US recipients only residing in one of the 48 contiguous states.

Continue reading »]]> In this episode Robert tries to help a car salesman turned restaurant owner who hasn’t turned a profit in 4 years.

Pelican Grill | Click here for restaurant’s website

It amazes me how many times on this show you see someone buy a restaurant that has no experience in the business. Robert starts the show off illustrating that he may know the features of his car, but that doesn’t mean he could sell it. You have to know what you are doing. The owner doesn’t know his food cost, other bills, and that can food is the way to go. People have this crazy idea that can food is quicker and cheaper. This is just not the case. But the most surprising thing to me is that the owner goes to the store multiple times a day, which is a huge waste of time and money. Robert promises to help him establish food deliveries at this restaurant. Much easier and more cost effective.

The Recipes

Griddled Texas Toast | Click here for the recipe

They were having a problem with soggy bread. So Robert shows them how to toast the bread right with clarified butter. They were using butter flavored oil (no thanks!).

Salsa | Click here for the recipe

Salsa out of can was replaced with Robert’s recipe for salsa.

Follow-Up
Good news, the restaurant was having a celebration during the airing of this episode, so the place is still in business, unlike some of the other restaurants that Robert tried to help. The bad news is that shortly after the remodel, a truck did it’s own redesign by smashing into the front of the restaurant. The driver apparently didn’t feel like sticking around to admire their work. Talk about going from a high to a low. Luickly they were able to get things fixed enough to get back in business about 5 days later. It was originally feared to be a month.

As far as people’s experiences at the Pelican Grill since the remodel the reviews I read were mostly positive. The only real consistent complaint was with the service. This restaurant needed so much help with just doing business right that it’s going to take time to improve things like service. The owner had to basically had to take a course in restaurant ownership 101.

If you want more Robert Irvine recipes, here are some of his available cookbooks:
Impossible to Easy: 111 Delicious Recipes to Help You Put Great Meals on the Table Every Day
Mission: Cook!: My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy

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I like sirloin. It’s a good steak with a good flavor. When you find it on sale you can find for a reasonable price. I cooked up one last night. I choose to try the Alton Brown method. This involves using one of the most neglected things in your kitchen – the broiler. Most people probably never set their ovens to broil except on accident. But the broiler can be a powerful tool. It’s great for cooking a steak when you don’t have a grill or you don’t fell like grilling. Below you will find my notes from this recipe. For the full recipe, visit Food Network’s website.

1. This steak is directly cooked on your oven rack. You just place your two racks at the two lowest positions. The steak goes on the first rack, and you can make an aluminum foil pan to catch the drippings.

2. Your goal is to slowly cook the steak and then hit it with higher heat at the end. So it’s 5 minutes and flip and another 5 minutes. Then you raise both racks up one level and cook another 3 minutes, then flip and another 3 minutes.

3. I found that the cook time made a steak that was starting to pass medium. Next time I am going to reduce the times. I think it’s a manner of trial and error, each oven is different. You also have to look at the size of the steak. Alton’s recipe calls for a 1 1/2 pound steak that is 1 to 1 1/4 inch thick. Mine was pretty close to that.

4. All a good steak needs is salt and pepper. But I might try using the pan drippings sometime to make a sauce.

This is an easy to make steak using something you might have been neglecting – your broiler. While the steak was bit overdone for my taste, I will try adjusting the times next time for a better result.

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The most frustrating thing for a gardener is when you got through all the hard work of planting something and then you wake up the next morning to find that a critter decided to turn your hard work into a midnight snack. One of the biggest problems can be rabbits. Oh they may be cute but when it comes to your garden they are pure evil. So what is a person to do? The last two years I have been planting my tomatoes in the same place in our yard. The first year I decided to plant marigolds with them, just for that pop of color. It was all about making the area nice. Now what I noticed is that nothing ever touched my tomato plants. Not once did I find a leaf that was chewed on even in the slightest. And it’s not that the bunnies just went away, trust me they aren’t hard to find around my house.

When last year began I decided that I better plant marigolds again. I didn’t want to risk not planting them and having the rabbits attack what I just planted. And you can bet that I won’t take my chances this year either.

Now there is some debate on whether this actually works. I have read people saying that marigolds won’t kept animal pests away from your plants. Could there be another reason, maybe? I know a thing or two about gardening but I am far from being considered a master gardener. But in my experience they have never touched any plants I planted next to the marigolds and this is why I will continue to practice this. It’s worth a try if you have are having trouble with rabbits. At the least you will have some pretty flowers.

Continue reading »]]> In this episode of Restaurant Impossible, Robert tries to help out two owners who happened to be married and who have been owners for less than a year.

The trouble with this place is you have owners that really don’t know what they are doing, from service to cooking. They are kind of learning as they go and that’s hard to do especially when business is lousy. Speaking of lousy the food in this place came from the freezer, a mix packet, and cans. I don’t want to go to a restaurant to eat cafeteria quality food.

If you are going to call your restaurant Sweet Tea, then your sweet tea better be outstanding. Unfortunately, particularly for Robert’s taste buds, the tea was not outstanding. So he had them do a test in which they had to make up their own sweet teas with some ingredients Robert prepared for them. None of them passed the test. Robert gave then some guidance on how to make great tasting sweet teas that the customers will love.

I think creating the sweet teas is unique for a restaurant. They are a simple, non-fancy joint. They need something to call themselves special, so I think the different flavored sweet teas is a great idea.

The Recipes

Pomegranate Iced Tea | Click here for the recipe
Pomegranate juice combined with sweet sounds like a winning combination to me.

Brined Pork Chops with Apple Hash | Click here for the recipe
Brining pork chops is a great way to add flavor and keep them moist. I pretty much brine any pork chop I make with a dry heat method. Apples and pork classic combo that Robert gives an update to with making an apple hash.

Follow-Up
I think this restaurant was impossible to fix. It closed it’s doors last fall. I read a lot of negative reviews (Urban Spoon) about the service and food even after Robert made his attempt to save the place. The only real positives I read seem to always be about the tea. I think the owners were just in over their heads. They didn’t seem to have the knowledge and the food passion to make this place work. They needed a lot more than just 2 days of help. I think Robert’s visits only helps places run by people with experience and passion that just have lost their way. No offense to the owners themselves they might be successful in other areas, but they needed a lot more help than Robert gave them.

I think this is a good show to watch for those looking to buy or start a restaurant. It’s very difficult. I have a lot of food knowledge but I am by no means wanting to open a restaurant.

If you want more Robert Irvine recipes, here are some of his available cookbooks:
Impossible to Easy: 111 Delicious Recipes to Help You Put Great Meals on the Table Every Day
Mission: Cook!: My Life, My Recipes, and Making the Impossible Easy