Harvest Box for August 30, 2012

AKA: I Have Too Many Tomatoes!!!  

This week is not going to be so much about what you can do with the veggies in your order, but what I did tonight with the veggies in my order.  Each week I look at the list when it comes on Monday to see if there might be something I want extra of that week but I don't really start thinking about the list seriously until Wednesday or Thursday when I write the blog.  So this week, I'm unpacking my box and look, a lovely 3 orange tomatoes, ummm, they will go well with my 2 that I still have from last week.  Ooohhh and look, another lovely pint of cherry tomatoes to go with my other pint from last week.  And WOW, a clamshell full of Roma tomatoes.  (NB - you can return the empty clamshell in your blue tote box and Ferme aux Pleines Saveurs will recycle it)  And then I look over to the counter where I have 2 large bowls of tomatoes picked from our garden.  The plans for the evening suddenly changed.

What was to be a quiet evening of finding some recipes, writing the blog, maybe reading, and heading to bed early has turned into a marathon of cooking, prepping, canning, and figuring out what to do with the tomato bounty.  As I type, there are still two lovely pints of mixed cherry tomatoes sitting in front of me, but that's the best I could do on short notice.  And photos to document it all.

As I stated last week, the leeks were going to get used in soup, never happened, but now that I had two from last week and two more this week, I couldn't let the other two go bad, so a batch of Leek and Potato Soup onto the stove.

Why can't this wait until another night when I don't have to spend a couple of hours writing?  Because we are headed to the cottage this weekend, and I decided earlier today that I would make a Mediterranean Rice Salad knowing that I was getting some red peppers in the order.  I am not really sure where this recipe came from, but it is one of my favorites.

3 c. cooked long grain rice
1 c. cooked wild rice
1 c. feta, crumbled
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/3. c. each of red, yellow, and green pepper, finely chopped (use the green from last week and the red from this week)
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1/4 c. each chopped black and green olives
2 tbsp capers
1-15oz can of cannellini beans (ordered those a while back as well)

Combine all of that in a large bowl and mix well.

Dressing:
3 tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced

Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl with a whisk.  Pour over the rice mixture and combine well.  Serve chilled, and even better the next day.

The wild rice is still cooling as I type before I can add it to the salad.

 Beets, from last week.  I cooked them last night and since I was on a roll, I decided that they might as well get pickled.  This is the easy recipe from my London Olympics post from a few weeks ago.  Super easy, can't wait to try them.  Make sure to process them as directed.

And the tomatoes - what to do with that many tomatoes?  I looked up a lot of options online.  You could check out the Top Ten Ways to Use Up Tomatoes.  The Tomato Medley recipe from last week is a great option to use up all three types at once.  You could certainly slice the orange tomatoes and have a nice toasted tomato sandwich with some mayo, salt and pepper.  Or as I saw on one "what to do with too many tomatoes" post - upgrade the simple toasted tomato sandwich with a thicker bread, some gouda, and fresh basil.  Layer the tomatoes first onto the bread, top with the gouda, place under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly then top with some shredded basil and cracked pepper.

Most sites suggest roasting the tomatoes or baking them on low heat to dry them for future use.  A lot of recipes also suggest making tomato sauce or paste and then freezing it.  You can also just dry pack the tomatoes (put them in a Ziploc and take out as much air as possible) and freeze them.  When you want to use the tomatoes, bring them out of the freezer, run them under warm water to remove the skins and use in sauces or soups.  If we weren't going to be a the cottage this weekend, I would probably take the time to make a nice pasta sauce with the Romas, the garlic, and some fresh herbs from my pot.

However, I had a soup on the stove, 2 jars of beets waiting to be processed, and a some wild rice about to be drained for a salad - I opted for the least time consuming option.  This title Grab the Blender caught my eye.  So, a bit of sacrilege to some fine tomatoes, but not even a minute in the food processor and I had first some lovely orange tomato juice and secondly some red tomato juice.  I have put it in small storage bags and into the freezer.  Not even 20 minutes of my time, and I will use that juice for sauces and soups over the next few months.  I won't feel bad about any tomatoes going bad, and I won't resent my garden from overdosing on caprese salad, tomato sandwiches, and pasta with tomatoes!

The soup is done, the beets are in the canner, and I am just about done typing.  I want to leave you with one last recipe that I will be making tomorrow night with the Savoy Cabbage and Red Pepper.  It's a Napa Cabbage Salad (sub the Savoy for the Napa) and is similar to a Japanese Coleslaw recipe that I may have given you in the past.  I apologize if it's a repeat, but it's a good one.

1 large cabbage, chopped
2 bunches green onions, chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
Place chopped cabbage, onion, and red pepper in a large salad bowl

1/4 c. butter
1 c. slivered almonds
2 pkgs chicken flavored ichiban noodles with the seasoning mix
Melt the butter in the frying pan, then add the almonds, broken noodles, and seasonings.  Saute until almonds are golden.  Add to cabbage mixture and toss.

1c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp. soya sauce
1/3 c. sugar
Shake the dressing ingredients in a jar or resealable container.  Consider only making half the dressing or pour about 1/2 the dressing over the salad and toss at least 30 min before serving.  If you made a full batch of dressing, you will have leftovers, refrigerate and use again.

Organic Harvest Box for April 12, 2012

I have a confession to make - do you remember the last time we got a cabbage in our box?  I don't remember when it was, but I just cooked it last night.  The outer leaves were dry and I discarded them but the rest was fine so I made a Bacon Braised Cabbage recipe from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution Cookbook that was fantastic.  Finely slice the cabbage and 6 slices of bacon.  Saute the bacon in a large saucepan with some olive oil until mostly crispy.  Add 2 pats of butter, some garlic, 2 tsp. Worchestershire sauce and cook a little more, then add your cabbage and 1 1/4 c. of broth.  Cover and cook that for 5-10 minutes until the cabbage is soft, remove the lid and cook for a few more minutes until the juice is mostly cooked off.  Season with salt and pepper.  I ate more of this at supper than main dish of Maple Hoisin Glazed Salmon - it is in the Spring Food and Drink magazine and is a great way to use up any extra green onions from last week.  Very easy, very delicious, I will post the link once it gets on the LCBO website.

Another confession, I still haven't made anything with my Roma's, I just keep having them sliced on toast with mayo and salt and pepper or with leftover ham from Easter.  Toasted tomato sandwiches are my staple in the late summer when we have an overabundance of fresh tomatoes in our garden so they feel like a bit a treat right now before my garden is even in.  However, I am trying to convince myself that I will use my tomatoes to greater effect this week.  In the back of my head I keep thinking that I am going to make a lovely pasta with a fresh tomato sauce, I have all sorts of recipes, and the spinach, red pepper and broccoli would really round out a nice pasta sauce.  This simple Penne with Tomato, Basil and Olives would be a great way to use the tomatoes, and you could add part of the red pepper and some broccoli to roast along with the tomatoes to make the pasta sauce.  Or maybe I'll use the tomato, lemon and some leftover green onions for this Best Tuna Burger (also by Jamie Oliver) that I've been wanting to try as it was highly recommended to me by a friend who makes it regularly for his wife and daughter who both love it.  Serve the burgers with some fresh cut up cucumber, the corn on the cob and you have a great backyard BBQ meal.

Last confession, I didn't make any strawberry shortcake at all last weekend, those strawberries were so delicious on their own that we ate the whole container one night for dessert, just plain.

This week's box really makes me feel like summer is coming, lots of fresh veggies, many that can be eaten raw, and Corn on the Cob!  My favorite way to have corn on the cob is on the BBQ.  We have found two ways that get that nice roasted flavor on the cobs.  When you have extra time, use this method where you soak the cobs first and then grill them in the husks.  An easy way to do them when you are more pressed for time is to remove the husks and silk from the cobs, make as many tin foil squares as you have cobs, rub some butter onto the tin foil, sprinkle with a bit of seasoning (right onto the tin foil), place the cob in the middle of the tin foil and roll it up.  Place on a medium to medium high grill for approximately 10-15 minutes.  We mostly eat the corn right off the cob but if you want to do something a little more with it, you could make this Roasted Corn and Red Pepper Salad (make about a quarter of this recipe).

I think that we all have our favorite recipes for cucumbers, broccoli, spinach, red peppers, even just put together like that in a salad makes a great side dish for any meal or cut up as veggies to munch alongside soup and a sandwich so I was trying to find "10 things I didn't know" about: whatever vegetable.  The most interesting that I found were these 10 things that I didn't know about cucumber (adapted from anneorshine.blogspot.com) :

• Cucumbers contain more vitamins than I knew; Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6,Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc,
• Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and carbohydrates that help give that pick me up instead of a sugary snack or drink,
• Tired of your  bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower?  Try rubbing a Cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance,
• Place a few cucumber slices in an aluminum pie tin in your garden to help keep garden pests out.  The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to keep off a scent undetectable to humans but that makes pests flee.  I will try this out this summer,
• I'm a little skeptical about this one but -  looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes (I think that my problem areas might take more than 1 or 2 slices), the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!
• Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache,
• Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water,
• Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams,
• Looking for a "green" way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel?  Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface that you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine but it won't leave streaks or harm your fingers while you clean,
• Lastly, you may know this one, but if you slice up some cucumbers, sprinkle them with just a bit of salt, it's a great snack replacement for chips or crackers when you get the munchies (that one I did know).

The last item from this week's box that I will touch on is kale.  If you don't already know, kale is a superfood with so many health benefits as outlined in these 9 Reasons You Should Eat More Kale.  I usually don't have a problem finding something to do with it, but do admit (veiled confession!) that I have passed a handful off to a friend every now and then who really loves it.  But, the last time we got kale, I made a Kale, Potato and Chickpea soup that was fantastic.  I froze some of it and had it reheated in lunches over the weeks and it was still good.  Tasha sent me a recipe that she tried last night for Lemony Kale Salad.  She noted that she used the whole lemon and was generous with the olive oil and that it was very yummy.  I would love to hear if anyone has made their own kale chips as they are quite popular and visually appealing.  It doesn't look difficult but I would be interested to know if they get crispy?  Are tasty?  Most importantly, will my kids eat them?

I am off to indulge in some seafood this weekend at a curling bonspiel in Cumberland so won't even get to my veggies until Sunday but at least it won't be the two months that it took me to use my cabbage.

Weekly recipe ideas for Thursday, June 9th, 2011

by Brie

When I opened my box this week I was the most excited to see a bunch of cilantro. That's right, cilantro. Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs because of its zingy flavour and its versatility. You can use it in a tomato salsa or curried carrots or kale and mushroom enchiladas. Cilantro is actually the leaves and stems of the Coriander plant. While I also like to cook with powdered coriander and dried coriander seeds, nothing beats fresh cilantro.

Kale is from the cabbage family. High in vitamins and minerals, kale is full of antioxidants. Kale is a common vegetable in Europe, historically and in the present day, and you will find many regional dishes make use of kale. Like Ireland's colcannon, Portugal's caldo verde and Germany's gruenkohl. A great way to cook kale is to steam it, letting you preserve the vegetable's nutrients.

Mini peppers are a small hybrid of sweet peppers.Their size makes them great as a stuffed appetizer, like in this shrimp and artichoke recipe or this turkey sausage recipe. They are also great oven roasted and served over lettuce in a salad.

Carrots are root vegetables that come in a variety of colours, most commonly orange. Carrots are a perfect addition to salads, a favorite meal in our house during the warm weather. From the classic carrot salad to a Korean-Russian carrot salad to spicy Moroccan carrot salad, the possibilities with carrots are endless! For those that prefer soups over salads, try this cashew and carrot soup.

As for the avocado in this week's box. Sure you could throw it in a carrot salad or make some bruschetta with celery, but even better is this recipe for oatmeal chocolate chips cookies (with avocado). Yum.

This week's box had some great summer fruit.The peaches and raspberries will make great lunch or afternoon snacks on this hot days.

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 May 21, 2010

Let's have a look inside our tasty Organic Harvest Box this week:


I found this recipe for a Fruity Spinach Salad in my inbox this week and am really excited to try it. It looks easy and delicious, and is something I can eat on the South Beach diet. I'm truly addicted to my lunch time salads now, and my goal is to branch out over the summer months to try new combinations of vegetables and fruits together. I don't want to get bored, so the key is mixing it up and keeping it a little exciting!

I recommend this Spicy Curried Spinach Open Omelet if you're in the mood for something new for breakfast or brunch. This omelet has some zing and is full of healthy goodness. Serve it this holiday long weekend and impress your friends and family!

If you have an ice cream machine at home (I, unfortunately, do not) then I most definitely suggest you try whipping a batch of Strawberry Ice Cream for some Victoria Day weekend fun. You'll need to freeze your strawberries first, or else use frozen strawberries from your freezer. Another fun and easy berry dessert is this Charred Eggy Bread with Strawberries and Honey - something fun to grill up on the barbecue and enjoy with your strawberries. I also like the look of this Strawberry Orange Salad - another I'm adding to my "must try" list for the next week or two. And if you're not trying to lose weight this week, why not get that baker's apron dirty and throw together this Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (with lattice crust) or this one (with one crust). Be sure to report back and let us know how it turns out - strawberry rhubarb pie was something I enjoyed as as a child, and it really takes a special cook to be able to make it just right!

Do you like to use your red or green peppers for stuffed pepper recipes? Stuffed peppers are delicious and often healthy, and are a simple way to really impress your dinner guests (or your kids . . . or your mother, you know what I mean). If you're new to this type of cooking, try out this recipe for Stuffed Peppers or these Stuffed Bell Peppers. I came across this recipe for Green Pepper Relish and think it looks worth every bit of effort it likely takes. But if you like to keep it simple, nothing beats a summer Red and Green Pepper Salad - easy, healthy, and too tasty for words.

Ready to try something a little out of the ordinary with this week's tomatoes? Why not ditch your regular jarred salsa from the store and make this Grilled Tomato Salsa - it's simple and adds a kick to any salsa-deserving meal or appetizer. I guarantee you'll never go back to store bought after making your own. Also new this week is this Tomato and Fennel Salad with Barbecued Fish and Fried Eggs with Tomato, Watercress, and Breadcrumbs. And for those looking to enjoy a tomato's flavour all on its own, add this Tomato and Basil Salad to your long weekend fare.

I absolutely love this Broccoli Salad from Jamie Oliver - it gets raved about every time I serve it. I love adding broccoli to salads in the warmer months. But since my family seems to adore broccoli served with pasta, I hope to try this Quick Vegetable Pasta and maybe even this Penne with Broccoli to share with them.

Enjoy your long weekend and be sure to gobble up your harvest box treasures!

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!!