Harvest Box for October 23

This week's Harvest Box from Life Organic is full of fresh fall fruits and veggies!

I love grape tomatoes and especially enjoy cooking with them. Their flavour gives a burst of taste to many dishes, particularly pasta. I stumbled upon this recipe for Chicken with Grape Tomatoes and Fried Basil and think it looks like a great match - basil+chicken+grape tomatoes must be totally divine. When I'm rushed and looking for a quick and easy side dish, I often slice my grape tomatoes in half, throw them in a bowl and toss them with olive oil and salt and pepper. Ridiculously simple and very flavourful.

Why not try this week's cabbage in a pungent Hot and Sour Cabbage Soup? It promises to be a tasty treat on a cool Fall evening. This Poached Salmon with Sauteed Cabbage looks like another rewarding way to get some mileage out of your cabbage.

I always get excited when I see avocados in the Harvest box. My husband's absolute favourite meal of all time is Cayenne-rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa. It is so fast and so easy and so darn healthy, I try to serve it a couple times a month.

In the mood for something lighter? Why not use your grape tomatoes and avocado in one zestful salad? Try this:

Avocado Tomato Salad

2 Hass Avocados from Mexico, diced small
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 tablespoons sweet onion, diced small
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt to taste
1 head baby red romaine lettuce, trimmed and left as whole leaves
1 medium head frisee, washed and chopped
1 bunch watercress, washed and chopped

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, gently mix, and season with salt to taste. If preferred, add more cilantro and fresh lime juice to taste.
2. Refrigerate for thirty minutes prior to serving.
3. Just before serving, toss salad with romaine, frisee and watercress. Season to taste with salt and fresh black pepper. Serve immediately.

You won't be disappointed - it's a crowd pleaser.

Although I'm not a huge fan of shiitake mushrooms, I found this great resource full of Shiitake Mushroom Recipes - I'm especially excited about the Shiitake and Brie Pizza! I think I'll definitely be trying that this week.

This is definitely the season for acorn squash, so check out the low down on Basic Acorn Squash or serve up a bowl of this Roasted Apple and Acorn Squash Soup, which is absolutely divine served with a loaf of crusty bread or rolls.

In a pickle over how to use your beets? Check out Foodland Ontario's best Beet Recipes and you'll be searching no further.

I often use baby bok choy in some sort of stir fry, and this Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry is simple and fast. (Oh, and yummy too!)

My family loves red peppers, and I came across a few new recipes that we haven't tried. This Grilled Sweet Peppers and Corn looks equally tasty as it does easy, although corn is harder to come by this late in October. This is a new variation of Sweet Red Pepper Soup that I haven't tried before, but my *recipe of the week* is most definitely this Slow Cooker Yam and Red Pepper Soup . My taste buds were tingling just reading the ingredient list and I am sure it promises to deliver a hearty and satisfying meal.

Until next week . . . enjoy your harvest box!!