California Walnuts - www.walnuts.org

Central Valley walnut growers are shaking the second-largest crop ever from their trees, undeterred by the recent windy storm.

"The weather is beautiful since we had that rain," grower John Kidd said Friday from his farm west of Modesto.

Throughout my childhood, I knew that fall brought two things year after year: heat and walnuts.

The heat? It wasn't the gentle warmth that keeps you snug in a snowstorm, but stifling Van Nuys heat, brain-melting and asphalt-softening. Air-conditioning was yet to become commonplace in homes, cars and schools. Life was an inferno.

Noodle are more nutritious then you think. For plain pasta, check the label for 100% semolina, a high-protein wheat. One cooked cup has about as much fiber as a slice of whole-wheat bread, and more protein than an egg. Multigrain noodles offer an even stronger nutritional package, and they're good with hearty, rustic sauces.

Know a recipe that includes salmon or walnuts? Your heart hopes so. Research shows these two omega-3-rich foods pack a one-two punch when it comes to keeping cholesterol in check.

SUMMER may not be the best time to cook, but it’s certainly among the best times to eat. Toss watermelon and peaches with some ingredients you have lying around already, and you can produce a salad that’s delicious, unusual, fast and perfectly seasonal.