Today at the Hollywood Farmers Market I found my new sweetheart!

Well, she's not exactly new. She and I renew our vows about this time every year. But before your raise you eyebrows and get all Jerry Fallwell on me, let me just say that my sweetheart is corn.

Sweet, sweeter, sweetest corn. We all love her. She's sweet and sexy. But you gotta know a girl that sweet is bound to get around. Still, you don't see me getting all jealous do you? I'm a big boy. I know what's going on. In fact if I were as sweet as corn I'd expect to be slated onto quite a few dance cards myself. Besides, when it comes to sweet summer corn I don't mind sharing– hell I don't even mind sloppy seconds. Corn is plentiful this time of year, and I know she'll be back to woo me again and again.

When a girl is this sweet, I think she's far more interesting if she's a little spicy too. So I am using sweet summer corn– off the cob and in a pudding. Not the kind of pudding you might think. This is a side dish, that would work as a main course too. The sweet corn gets a bright kick in the pants from cilantro, sweet peppers and bold jalapeno. The classic Mexican cheese, queso fresco makes an appearance. It is easily found in Southern California and adds an authentic flair. But Monterey Jack could be substituted.

Some of us are great cooks. Some of us express ourselves eloquently in words. Still others among us find our muses behind the camera. Then there are those like Jean Pope who step outside these boundries. These are the artists. My summer series continues with heartfelt adventures lived close to home. It comes from Lemons and Anchovies and reminds us that "A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind- Eugene Ionesco". GREG

Even before the last bell of the school year rings, plans will have been set in motion for a summer full of adventure.  Rock climb in Telluride. Check.  Build sand castles on the beaches of Phuket. Check.  Frolic in Paris.  Check.  Sail in the Caribbean? Why not?  Weeks would fly by, home being just a stopping place to regroup, recharge, refresh the suitcase.  Memories would be made, new ones to be added to them the following year.  But these memories are not mine; these were not my childhood summers.

Our friends' children are the fortunate keepers of these memories.  In contrast, my childhood summers were decidedly more simple.  I spent my first decade in the Philippines.  Partly because I was so young and also because there are no photo albums to prove otherwise, I don't remember very many vacations.  Those long ago, hot, humid days were instead spent free from a Catholic school uniform and chasing damselflies around my grandparents' garden.  The weekends (when my cousins came around) were designated for family time at the pool.  One of my great aunts would glide underwater, hands held over her head.  The goal was to get one of the older kids to spot those hands masquerading as dorsal fins so they could yell "Shark! Shark!" Of course, they would scream in mock fear and the little ones would squeal with delight.

So you wanna eat more veggies? You keep saying you do. But I am starting to doubt your strength of commitment in this area.

Take my personal favorite veggie. The beet. Both beetroot and beet greens are very powerful cleansers and builders of the blood. Beets are loaded with vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C. The greens have a higher content of iron compared to spinach. They are also an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, sodium and iron. So they are very very good for you. Yet you resist eating them.

I am not your mother however, and this is not a nutrition blog. It’s an “I am crazy in love with food and you should be too blog” But who says love can’t be good for you?

And because I have a healthy love/love relationship with beets I come here and push them on you whenever I can.

I have used them in a salad, an interesting, spicy salad that even included the beet greens. You looked the other way.

I tried to cajole you with the prettiest pasta you’ve ever seen. I even steeped beets in rum hoping to get you to enjoy them at cocktail hour. But still you beat back my beets!

Harrumph… is all I have to say.