I had a tough time with the letter A ‘coz the choices were so great. I was really keen to make the inaugural episode all about the artichoke—my favorite thistle! Then there’s almonds, avocados, asparagus…all things I love, love, love. But the APPLE won out for a few easy reasons. One issue was the toxic nature of “conventionally” grown apples. APPLES are part of the evil 12—the fruits and veggies the Environmental Working Group urges consumers to ONLY EAT organic. I had no idea apple farms were so dependant on pesticides and shit…I’m glad to know to only go organic ‘coz this really is a fruit I eat nearly every day! The difference in price between non-organic and organic apples is minimal so really, no excuse. Get thee organics! IT’S A SEASONAL THING TOO you dig? Artichokes are a summer flower and on their way out. Apples are hitting prime time. I want to encourage people to eat SEASONALLY! If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s nearly time to say good bye to the fruits of summer…tomatoes, stone fruit…the party’s nearly over for ’06. +++ We shot the first episode in late September and there were no apples at my local farmer’s market in Atwater Village (the super killer barrio of East LA). But Cali-grown organic Galas were all over the area Whole Foods so we rocked out with the easy-to-find, versatile apple. Galas are pretty mild though…simple, sweet, not very tart or acidic… I recently hit the farmer’s market in Santa Monica and was just BLOWN AWAY with the various varieties and flavors of apples available! The empire wins my vote for tastiest apple ever! Funny thing about apples…I rarely cook with them. This proved to be a great episode to prepare and test for. I found heaps of wonderful things to do with apples, but time won’t allow me to put ‘em all on the podcast. I’ll be posting more APPLE recipes on the blog throughout the week, so check back soon. Oh, dig that DYNAMO graphic! That is a label from an antique apple crate. We found it framed in a thrift store. The bottom of the label was cropped but it says WENATCHEE, WASH--I guess that's where the dynamic apples are from. GREAT to be here, vlogging to you all! Send me some feedback and please, please, please get out to your local FARMER’S MARKET, dive into organics, jump in the kitchen and get your apple on! G