Thursday May 26th

by Brie

The first thing I wanted to do when I opened my box this week was to eat the blueberries I found inside. Blueberries will keep 10 to 14 days after they are picked, and these blueberries look perfect for eating! Make sure you wash the berries just before using to prevent them from becoming mushy. The berries can also be frozen, without washing them to keep their skins tough, and then rinsed and drained right before serving.

Local Ontario asparagus is in season and I was happy to find some in my box. After growing up eating over-cooked asparagus, I have come to love this vegetable now that I know how to cook it properly. Asparagus really is perfect cooked and served on its own, maybe even with a bit of lemon juice, but it is also a versatile vegetable to add to dishes. You can bake it, add it to a goat cheese quesadia or put it in a vegetable handroll. And don't forget that while asparagus tastes great, it is also high in folic acid and low in calories.

In the box were also some Quebec red potatoes and Lebanese cucumbers. Toss in the local coloured radishes and you have the makings of a perfect summer salad. Add the snow peas from this week's box to the potatoes and try a curried salad. Or if you prefer, make a cold cucumber potato soup on a hot spring night. Potatoes are also excellent served, as always, fried up for breakfast.

We eat broccoli often at our house. I have steamed it, roasted it, added it to salads and eaten it in stir-frys. Looking for something different to do with broccoli I found this savory broccoli cupcake recipe. I am smitten and plan to make it as soon as possible. Do you have any new and different broccoli recipe suggestions?

Ripe peaches make great snacks. Peaches are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium and a great source of Vitamin C. Now that Spring is here and the BBQ season has started you may want to try making balsamic-marinated pork chops and grilled peaches or grilled peaches with blue cheese and walnuts for dinner. For dessert make some maple-grilled peaches.
Our box this week also held bananas, chives and an orange pepper.

These are some of the ideas on my menu plan this week. What are you cooking?

Brie loves eating food and is learning to love cooking food. She also blogs about motherhood at Capital Mom and about Ottawa with kids at Kids in the Capital.

Coming this week: Thursday, May 26th, 2011

by Brie

Here's what I can't wait to find in my box this week:

• Banana
• Blueberries
• Peaches
• English cucumber
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Green beans
• Pepper
• Red potatoes
• Radishes

Do you have any favorite recipes I should try?

Brie loves eating food and is learning to love cooking food. She also blogs about motherhood at Capital Mom and about Ottawa with kids at Kids in the Capital. 

Thursday, May 19th

by Brie

We got a bag of apples and a bag of oranges in this week's box. Oranges and apples get eaten pretty quickly at our house. They are both great and easy on the go snacks. For dinner time try cutting the fruit and adding them to a Greek fruit salad or make a beet, orange and apple salad.

Blueberries are a great source of antioxidants and Vitamin C.They are also full of fibre, iron, potassium, calcium, B vitamins and vitamin E. Blueberries are great to eat on their own, sprinkled over granola or on top of ice cream for dessert. For something different try combining the blueberries and avocado (high in health-promoting fats and potassium) from this week's box in a salsa or smoothie.

If you are a fan of eating raw carrots (whose orange colour comes from beta-carotene) try eating them with a creamy crimini mushroom dip or fiesta broccoli dip. Or, instead, make the carrots into a dip like this roasted carrot dip. I will be grating my carrots and turning them into some delicious carrot fritters.

Broccoli and mushrooms are two great and versatile vegetables for cooking with. From a stirfy to a cheesy broccoli and mushroom fritatta to pizza, broccoli and mushrooms are a great combination.

We also received some lovely baby lettuce mix in our box. This lettuce is perfect to eat in a salad with any of the other vegetables or fruit from this week's box. A large salad, maybe even with a blueberry salad dressing, is a great dinner on a hot spring night.

These are some of the ideas on my menu plan this week. What are you cooking?

Brie loves eating food and is learning to love cooking food. She also blogs about motherhood at Capital Mom and about Ottawa with kids at Kids in the Capital.

Thursday, May 12th box

by Brie

Our box this week was filled with some great looking produce. I can’t wait to get cooking because I know the produce is going to taste as good as it looks!

Cauliflower, which is low in fat and high in dietary fiber and vitamin C, is a versatile vegetable to cook with. From soups to salads to curries, it can be chopped up and tossed into pies or stews. It can even be used as a substitute for rice. Combining cauliflower with the beets that also came in this week’s box results in some great sounding recipes, like spice roasted cauliflower with beet emulsion and beet and cauliflower latkes.

Beets have been recognized to contain nutrients that help protect against heart disease and certain cancers, especially colon cancer. They also contain folic acid, which is great for pregnant women. I think that I love beets best for their colour. They are such a deep and vibrant red. Every time I see them in our box I resolve to make a beet cake! If only for the red colour of the cake. Try adding beets to some of the other produce in your box and serve roasted beet and apple salad or roasted beets, broccoli and spinach quinoa. This beet stew with lamb meatballs would make a great dish for a dinner party!

Broccoli and zucchini, despite their difference, are easy to interchange between dishes. Both are great for stirfrys and fritters and soups. Try using the zucchini in this vegetable chowder and the broccoli in this blue cheese and chargrilled pear soup. The only thing I think zucchini is better at then broccoli is baking. So if you feel like baking make some zucchini bread, or better yet some chocolate chip orange zucchini bread.

Our box this week also contained some tomatoes, arugula and lettuce, perfect for a summer salad. Maybe with a nice Asian ginger salad dressing. And for snacking or light desserts, the box contained a bunch of bananas. Gala apples, Valencia oranges and Bartlett pears.

These are some of the ideas on my menu plan this week. What are you cooking?

Brie loves eating food and is learning to love cooking food. She also blogs about motherhood at Capital Mom and about Ottawa with kids at Kids in the Capital.

Coming this week: May 12th , 2011

by Brie

Here's what I can't wait to find in my box this week:

• Bananas
• Gala apples
• Valencia oranges
• Bartlett pears
• Zucchini
• Cauliflower
• Tomatoes
• Broccoli
• Beets
• Baby bok choi
• Red Oak Leaf lettuce

Do you have any favorite recipes I should try?

Brie loves eating food and is learning to love cooking food. She also blogs about motherhood at Capital Mom and about Ottawa with kids at Kids in the Capital. 

Thursday, May 5th: Salads and more

by Brie

I have never cooked with radishes, although I have eaten them in salads (one of their more common uses).
Radishes are a very low calorie root vegetable that are also a good source of anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber. Seeing them in my box this week, I feel challenged and want to use them in some great tasting recipes. Like this radish and spinach salad or this lettuce and radish salad. They will also be great combined with the garlic and lemon from this week's box in a seared tuna and radish salad with lemon vinaigrette. If you like to eat radishes raw try serving them with flavored salts and butters or make radish butter and serve it on toast.

With the weather getting warmer (hopefully!) salads are a great, easy to prepare meal choice. In this week's box we received both spinach and leaf lettuce. With the spinach try adding some of the fruit from this week's box and make an orange glazed beef and spinach salad or spinach shrimp and cantaloupe salad. The red oak leaf lettuce is perfect for this cheese and red grape salad or pear salad. And if you have any lettuce, cucumber, peppers or tomatoes left try adding them to this falafel burger recipe.

Cantaloupes are a great fat free snack that are also cholesterol free and high in vitamin A and C. Firm cantaloupes should be left on the counter at room temperature for a few days until the fruit feels softer. Once cut the cantaloupe should be wrapped and stored in the fridge. But, really, the best thing to do is to eat it fresh!

A cantaloupe can be cut into slices or cubes and eaten anytime of day. Served with some yogurt and crushed walnuts it would make a tasty breakfast! Great in smoothies and ice cream, it can also take centre stage in a chilled soup.

These are some of the ideas on my menu plan this week. What are you cooking?

Brie loves eating food and is learning to love cooking food. She also blogs about motherhood at Capital Mom and about Ottawa with kids at Kids in the Capital.