If they must play with their food, let it be real food. Could he do this with a pop tart?

Did you know that raspberries have two seasons June and right now. Late July/August is the second and last raspberry season until next summer. Whole Foods offers a small package of organic for $2.99 which is a bargain compared to off-season prices when they peak at somewhere around eighty dollars a pint.

I don’t know about your family, but when my family eats raspberries they make perverted moans and lip smacking sounds every time, as though it’s the first and last time they’ll have the fruit.

And if the succulent taste wasn’t enough, raspberries offer more nutritional value than most foods: high in vitamin C, iron, folate, ellagic acid (anti-carcinogenic compound); they’ve shown to lower high blood cholesterol and slow release of carbs into the stream of diabetics; they have no fat, they’re high fiber and only 64 calories/cup and they’re pretty. Raspberries are like the Angelina Jolie of real food.

What’s more, they are ready to eat in an instant; no peeling, coring, stemming or chopping – just wash and eat.

So buy them up and eat them, freeze them or jam them. Hurry before summer ends and we’ll all be eating root vegetables.

poached egg with gingered rice and shrimp

scrambled eggs with young burrata cheese in a spicy tomato broth

poached eggs over white beans, shaved parmesan cheese and chili spice

“My Saturday morning trip to the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market is one of my most beloved rituals–I stop by Boulettes to get my English muffins and eggs for breakfast…,” Alice Waters from Chez Panisse said about the Bay area cafe and larder where we had our own egg experience, recently. We were only in San Francisco for two days with thousands of the finest restaurants imaginable and we ate both mornings at Boulettes Larder. After our first engagement with her eggs, we felt we couldn’t improve on our breakfast anywhere else, so we returned.

At Crunch Time, we’re not saying we’ll go to the lengths Amaryll Schwertner from Boulettesgoes to dress her delectable scrambled and poached eggs, but it’s a lesson in seasoning and finesse that can inspire our own cooking. Chef Schwertner writes a chapter in Waters’ most recent book In the Green Kitchen about seasoning, which leads off with an emphasis on salt and salt varieties.

Her egg preparation is perfection. Chef Schwertner prepares the eggs herself while us eat-in kitchen diners try to get a glimpse of her technique. She glanced my a way for a moment and with no restraint I mouthed “I love your eggs” to which she might have turned up a smile or was that a grimace and then looked away; maybe she thought I said “I love your ass.” I shamelessly tried to track down her secrets but didn’t get a reply likely because they, at Boulette’s Larder are too busy with creating food while I’m too busy creating posts about their food. So, in the words of Jefferson Airplane,goask Alice, I’ll think she’ll know.

In my favorite Alice Waters book, The Art of Simple Food, she offers suggestions for poached and scrambled eggs. I believe that carving out just five minutes devoted to a well-prepared egg is very little to ask of our day.

Poached and Scrambled Eggs (Techniques from Alice Waters):

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Last year in the middle of the economic plight, when I cut my grocery bill in half and made my daughter buy her clothes at Melrose Trading Post, I traveled to Tuscany. I had the mozzarella balls to accept an offer of travelling with my cousins that I couldn’t refuse, but had to do the trip on the cheap. Fortunately, outside of our Tuscan farmhouse, close by the howling dogs and grunting pigs, there was a fig tree. We ate figs in some way for every meal. Figs are high in fiber and potassium – an essential dietary balance to pasta or Italian bread or just the binding issue of travel. Ciao down!

This is my favorite way to eat figs with crumbled goat cheese, drizzled honey, cracked pepper and then warmed in the microwave for thirty seconds max. Serve a platter for appetizers or have it for a light meal. The protein/carb combo will give you all the energy you need to start the day. Some people call it this season pre-football or back-to-school – for me it’s fig season. How about you? – please share your fig prep ideas.

• Fresh Berries
• Yogurt
• Granola crunch

Serve it in fancy glasswear to give your work its just display. Then, sip your coffee while the family goggles. Now, a few things about brands. I’ve searched the minefields of the grocer’s yogurt and cereal sections, reading nutritional labels and comparing prices, and because I’d rather go low sugar than anything else, I recommend Ralph’s Carbmaster yogurt with only 3g of sugar and Bear Naked Fit Granola at 4g for 1/4 c.

Is there a more perfect food than salmon? Easy to cook, good hot, cold, plain or dressed up AND super good for your heart. All those omega-3’s smooth your french fry ruffled arteries and calm your palpitations. Summer time is salmon time in Seattle but even here we are conscious of cost and environmental consequences. We stick to wild salmon and buy it whole to get the best deals and freshest fillets. Any fish counter will fillet or steak it for free. Cooking it is a breeze on the grill as long as you resist treating it like a hamburger. In other words DO NOT flip your fish. We lay it skin side toward the heat to prevent sticking. We season the top with what ever is on hand. Our standby is a variation on Tom Douglas’s “rub with love” Paprika, brown sugar, salt pepper and thyme mixed together and sprinkled on top. Be generous on the sugar on the kids end and show me one that can resist that sweet fatty (in a good way!) glazed fish.