Thursday, June 2nd

by Brie

This week's box had some great fruit, including a pineapple, bananas and seedless grapes. Pineapples, named for their similar appearance to pine cones, are a great source of manganese and vitamin C. Two great ways to tell if a pineapple is ripe is to smell it (you want a sweet not fermented smell) and to press down on it (you want it to be firm but still give a little).

Fruit, while great for snacking, is also a great addition to any recipe. Try pineapple in a spicy salad, asparagus chicken or even  quinoa broccoli salad. Grapes can be added to roasted carrots or broccoli salad. And for the baker, try caramelized fresh pineapple tiramisu or a creamy grape dessert.  

Sweet corn is a sure sign to me that summer is on the way. A great source of fibre and Vitamin C and low in calories, corn is perfect steamed or BBQed. For a tasty dinner side dish you could try creamy sweet corn.

The box this week also had a container of cherry tomatoes on the vine. Cherry tomatoes are small tomatoes perfect for salads but can just as easily be substituted for tomatoes in any dish. Cherry tomatoes are also great roasted with asparagus. Or try making creamy carrot soup with cherry tomato and corn salsa. For a recipe sure to impress dinner guests, I loved this vodka-spiked cherry tomato recipe.
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 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.

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.

Organic Harvest box for April 10, 2011

by Brie

Our box this week had four lovely small yams. I love yams for how versatile they are. You can throw them in chili or soup for added colour and flavour. My four year old's favorite way to eat them is baked with a little butter and brown sugar. She will happily eat them with a spoon! I have no problem with her eating two or three for dinner, as she has been known to do, because they are a good source of vitamins C and B, potassium, manganese and are low in saturated fat and sodium. Plus they taste good!

I was pleased to see some garlic in our box. I love garlic. I would be happy to just fry it up in some olive oil and eat it over pasta. But as a great cold cure, and we have a cold sneaking into the house right now, it will be the perfect base for roasted garlic and onion soup and mushroom soup with parsley and garlic. Those two soups are also a great way to use the bag of yellow onions and box of mushrooms we received this week.

Parsley is a herb that forms the basis of many popular dishes, like tabbouleh, lamb with persillade and gremolata. It can also be used, along with garlic, celery and onion in the Italian dish ossobuco alla milanese. Parsley is also widely recognised for its medicinal purposes in teas or when cooked in dishes. I am tempted to try crushing it and seeing if it is really an effective treatment for mosquito bites this summer!

Peppers and zucchinis make a great dinner combination. You could make a quick and easy zucchini and pepper pasta or, if you have more time, try stuffing zucchinis and peppers with turkey, parsley and onion.

I usually think of serving broccoli and cauliflower separately, like in broccoli risotto or cauliflower curry but they are also good combined together. Broccoli is a power food full of vitamins, minerals and protein and cauliflower isn't too far behind..They can be combined in dishes as simple as broccoli-cauliflower salad and broccoli and cauliflower pasta or served together in tandoori grilled broccoli and cauliflower kebabs.

The fruit we received this week, a grapefruit, a kiwi, pears and oranges are all a great source of Vitamin C. A bunch of yellow bananas were perfectly ripe and are great for snacking or trying flambed. The mango is a wonderful treat, and once you know how to cut it properly, easy to eat.  Fabulous to eat on their own, these fruit would make an excellent fruit salad tossed together or a sweet addition to a lettuce salad.

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, March 17th box: Meals from around the world

by Brie

I love opening up our box and imagining all of the meals we could make with the produce inside. It's like looking at an empty canvas. The hard part comes when I have to narrow down all the choices.

The bag of beets and crimini mushrooms are going to be part of a Ukrainian meal we are making for a weekend dinner party. I tried making homemade pierogies once before and they turned out great. This time I am going to make them with a potato and mushroom filling. The beets are going to be turned into borscht, with a little help from the big bag of celery from our box.

(I am trying to find new recipe ideas for beets. I thought this beet cake with cream cheese icing looked good. Do you have any yummy beet recipes to share?)

The broccoli and leaf lettuce are going to form the basis of two Thai meals. I am thinking of a broccoli and tofu stirfry served with noodles, although I still haven't decided on a sweet ginger sauce or peanut sauce. I love lettuce wraps because there are so many filling options. I love these soba noodles and vegetable lettuce wraps with hosin and chili sauce and curried chickpeas an quinoa recipes.

Finally, the spinach and basil are going to be used to make an Italian meal. I am still deciding between a spinach-walnut pesto and a warm spinach-basil sauce.

This week's box had bananas, blueberries and navel oranges. All great fruit to be eaten for snacks or as dessert!

This is what's 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, March 3rd: What do you do with a rutabaga?

by Brie

I knew as soon as I opened the box this week that I would be turning the butternut squash into my favorite soup. It is so simple and so good.

What I had no idea how to use was the rutabaga. I discovered there are actually a lot of different ways to cook it. Like mashed peppered rutabaga, soup or caramelized with onions. I am intrigued by this rutabaga souffle and plan to make it for Sunday dinner.

Whenever I see an avocado I always want to make guacamole. If I can stop myself from just cutting it up and eating it on its own first. So the avocado, along with cherry tomatoes on the vine and two yellow peppers that will be turned into salsa, will be saved for a Mexican feast. Maybe with a taco salad or black bean, spinach and mushroom burritos.

Spinach and broccoli are very versatile vegetables. Both are great in salads or pies. I want to try something different this week so I am going to make spinach and artichoke dip for a party and lemon broccoli risotto for dinner one night.

The box had some great fruit this week. The strawberries were eaten immediately. And the oranges and bananas will disappear soon too.

This is what's 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.

Organic Harvest Box for Easter Weekend, 2010

I love to see sunshine shining in my organic harvest box!! The weather has been so glorious this weekend that I am late with this week's post. I suspect those in Ottawa haven't noticed because you are very likely outside enjoying the beautiful weather with your families anyway.

With this gorgeous, summer-like weather hitting the nation's capital this long Easter weekend, I set out on a mission to find the perfect grilled sweet potato. The first thing I did was compile what I thought was a pretty decent list of recipes:

Grilled Sweet Potato Packets with Pecan Butter
Grilled Sweet Potato Fries
Grilled Sweet Potato with Apples
Grilled Sweet Potato Salad

I'll be posting my favourite recipe after I get a chance to try some of them out! If you have a favourite grilled sweet potato recipe that you're willing to share, be sure to let me know.

I came across some interesting recipes for cucumbers this week and I'm particularly liking the look of this Lentil and Cucumber Salad - sounds perfect for an unexpectedly warm, summery weekend. I think this Falafel and Cucumber Sauce also looks great and is a wonderful vegetarian alternative for a weeknight meal. Hot weather also brings people together for barbecues and backyard munching - why not serve up a giant tray of fresh veggies with this tangy Cucumber Ranch Dressing? Also on my radar is this Cool Cucumber and Dill Soup - I'm a gazpacho lover so I suspect a cool cucumber soup would be right up my alley.

Looking to make some small, healthy changes in your life? Me too! I came across two easy ways to incorporate healthier snacks into your day. Make a batch of this nutrient-packed Vegetable Salsa and snack on it when you're hungry throughout the day. It's fantastic served with whole grain tortilla chips or crackers. And one of my favourite healthy choices is smoothies - they are so easy to make, fill you up, and are a fantastic way to pack healthy goodness into your day. Martha Stewart's Whole Living offers up this Banana Yogurt Smoothie, but there are a dozens of varieties you can try. I often add a protein mix to mine (Vega Smoothie is my favourite), a cup or two of frozen berries, a tablespoon of almond butter, and a cup of soy milk. It's delicious and full of protein, offering up loads of energy to get you through your day.

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful April long weekend!

A Few New Year Recipes!

Here are a few recipes to get everyone's New Year started on the right foot! These were included in the Life Organic e-mail message this week. Check back later in the week for some recipes for this week's Harvest Box . . .

Carrots with Sticky Orange Ginger Butter

This yummy side dish is great for this winter's cold season as carrots are packed with vitamin C and fresh ginger root boasts curing powers.

2 cm piece of fresh ginger root, peeled, then grated
100 g unsalted butter
Juice and zest from 1 clementine
4 medium-sized carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise

Add ginger, butter, and clementine zest and juice to food processor. Process until combined and refrigerate until needed.

Steam or boil the carrots until tender. Dress with the butter and serve. Makes a lovely side for roast lamb.

(from Cole and Abel)

Kefir and Banana Muffins

Put in blender:

180ml (3/4 C) Pinehedge Kefir (New! Available on Weekly Specials List)
240ml (1 C) Bananas in purée (2 bananas)
120ml (1/2 C) Sunflower or other type of oil
5ml (1 tsp) Vanilla extract
2 Eggs

Mix together:

360ml (1 1/2 C) Whole wheat flour
20ml (4 tsp) Baking powder
120ml (1/2 C) Sunflower seeds or walnuts (optional)

Incorporate the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir slightly and let sit ten minutes.
Bake at 375 F for 17- 20 minutes.

Chioggia Beet Salad with Feta and Olives

Chioggia Beets are an Italian heirloom variety that has alternating rings of white and rose pink. Show off their unique beauty by slicing them horizontally or cutting into wedges and then using them in a salad.

1.5 to 2 pounds beets, steamed and peeled
1 small garlic clove
Salt
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 oz goat feta
8 Kalamata olives
2 handfuls of salad greens

Cut the beets into wedges or slice them horizontally, then cut into half moon shaped slices. Pound the garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a mortar until smooth, then whisk in the lemon juice and olive oil. The dressing should be a little on the tart side. Toss the beets in enough dressing to coat lightly. Arrange them on individual plates with some salad greens and just before serving, sprinkle with the cheese and olives.

(Adapted by Front Door Organics from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)