Whether you are rooting for someone on a high school, collegiate or professional team, football is where the action is this fall! Dress in your favorite team colors, gather the fans together and celebrate in style with a Tailgate Party.

The Tailgate tradition began as a way to have football fans cook up their own private parties in the parking lot of the athletic field, enjoying prepared foods and grilled foods gathered around their cars, while listening to the game on the radio.

Chili is always a winning menu offering for any Tailgate gathering and you can ask each fan to bring a different chili variety to share. Try a hearty Beef & Black BEAN chili, seasoned with SAGE, ONION, GREEN and RED BELL PEPPERS, JALAPENO PEPPERS, TOMATOES and spices. Vary your chili recipe by substituting ground buffalo or ground turkey meat for beef. Offer a vegetarian chili that has no meat but a variety of BEANS, seasoned with GARLIC, cocoa and BELL PEPPERS. Top with chopped ONIONS or AVOCADO slices.

To offset the spiciness of the chili, be sure to have chilled bottles of beer, freshly squeezed LEMONADE or cool BANANA-DATE smoothies.

Soup & Sandwich combos are always welcome Tailgate fare. Serve POTATO-clam chowder, VEGETABLE minestrone, beef barley with plenty of POTATOES, CARROTS and CELERY, or French ONION soup in individual sourdough bread rounds as serving bowls. Let the fans create their own sandwiches from a variety of bread and stuffing offerings: tuna salad on rye; egg salad on whole wheat; bacon, LETTUCE and TOMATO on white; or corned beef with CABBAGE slaw on sourdough.

Cheering on your favorite team’s victory really works up an appetite for desserts that are easy to transport and prepared ahead of time. These include APPLE tarts; CARROT cake with cream-cheese icing; chocolate chip cookies with WALNUTS; rice pudding with RAISINS; and brownies topped with PECANS or MACADEMIA NUTS.

Excellent values continue on HASS AVOCADOS, with large sizes in abundant supply.

TOMATOES are also plentiful at very reasonable prices, great for using in pasta sauces, salads, salsas and bruschetta toppings.

MANGOS are among the most affordable TROPICAL FRUIT offering this week. Try adding diced pieces to tapioca or rice pudding.

Quality and volume continues to be very good on PEACHES, PLUMS and NECTARINES. Buy extra and freeze to enjoy later this fall. Peel, cut into pieces, sprinkle with LEMON juice to prevent browning, and then sprinkle with sugar and let sit for about 15 minutes to release the juices. Then place into a sealed container and freeze.

Fresh GINGER is a great way to add zip to freshly squeezed LEMONADE.

BANANAS continue steady in supply. Blend a ripe one with MANGO, ORANGE juice, cinnamon and a few KALE leaves and serve over crushed ice.

BLACKBERRIES are in steady supply at reasonable prices, great for cobblers or enjoying plain with a bit of ice cream or whipped cream.

There is plenty of variety in the GRAPE arbor, with good values now on GREEN SEEDLESS, RED SEEDLESS, BLACK SEEDLESS, BLACK RIBIER and RED GLOBE GRAPES.

LIMES are among the most plentiful CITRUS FRUIT offerings this week. Use freshly squeezed juice in salad dressings.

CANTALOUPE and HONEYDEW MELON are both excellent values. Scoop with a MELON baller, toss with chopped MINT and chill. Serve in parfait glasses garnished with a fresh MINT sprig and a dash of LIME juice.

Prices are gradually decreasing on new crop BARTLETT PEARS and GALA APPLES, both delicious as out-of-hand snacks.

Excellent values continue on SWEET WHITE CORN, making it one of the best VEGETABLE values this week.

Very reasonable prices continue on GREEN BELL PEPPERS, perfect timing for whipping up a batch of cold Gazpacho soup seasoned with GARLIC, CUCUMBER, LEMON juice, BASIL, CILANTRO, PARSLEY, ONION and TOMATOES.

BROCCOLI and CAULIFLOWER are holding steady at moderate prices. Steam florets with CARROTS and serve with melted butter and MINT as a side dish.

CUCUMBERS are plentiful. Created a chilled CUCUMBER soup by pureeing chopped CUCUMBERS with GARLIC, SHALLOTS and DILL, then add plain yogurt and buttermilk, salt and pepper. Chill overnight and serve in cold mugs garnished with sliced ALMONDS.

WHITE and RED ROSE POTATOES are an excellent value this week. Boil skin-on, then cut into quarters and sauté in butter with chopped PARSLEY and BASIL as a side dish.

BUTTER LETTUCE, SPINACH, GREEN CABBAGE and ROMAINE LETTUCE are among the best salad offerings this week. Salad toppings in plentiful supply include GREEN ONIONS, RADISHES, MUSHROOMS, CELERY, CARROTS, JICAMA and SPROUTS.

GREEN BEANS continue to be very moderately priced.

SWEET BROWN ONIONS are an economical value.

GARLIC is plentiful. Quality is excellent and eating it daily boosts your immune system for the coming winter cold and flu season.

KALANCHOE, MINIATURE VIOLETS and GERANIUMS are among the best blooming potted plant offerings. To decorate late summer picnic tables, arrangements using ROSES, POMPONS, CARNATIONS, SUNFLOWERS and DAISIES are the best values.

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