Organic Harvest Box for August 10, 2012

I am not actually getting a box this week but am hopefully getting just some beans and sugar snap peas to snack on as the peas were so good last week, I couldn't resist.  I am single parenting with only one child this week and we are not getting through our veggies fast enough before we leave on Saturday morning for a few days away.  There will be no box photo with this post, and no post at all next week.  I do have photo though of the makings for a fantastic quick fresh pasta that we enjoyed Monday evening after arriving home from the cottage.

Put your pasta on to boil as you start this sauce.  Heat approximately 2-3tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat.  While that is heating, finely chop your garlic, add to the oil.  Chop your tomatoes (they don't have to be perfectly uniform, and you can use large or cherry tomatoes) and add to the oil.  They will splatter, turn the heat down a little bit.  Let the tomatoes cook for about 5 minutes.  Chop some fresh basil and add to the sauce with some salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat when the pasta is ready, add some shredded parmesan cheese and stir into the pasta.  I don't know if it was specifically the tomatoes that we had last week in our box, but it was so sweet and tasty that my 2 year old ate 2 full bowls - I didn't have any seconds or leftovers for myself!

I came across this great post today on a quick way to chop cherry tomatoes at Food52.com.  I will be using it when I make this pasta again later this week with my garden tomatoes.

I can't believe all the good fruit coming this week, and then the huge amount of veggies.  These days, I am not the best person to ask about how to cook any of these veggies because as usual, they are mostly getting eaten raw.  But I have been cooking the zucchini.  Zucchini is apparently a great source of antioxidants and Vitamin C but research shows that the antioxidant benefits can decrease depending on how it is prepared.  The best way to keep as many nutritional properties as possible with zucchini is to eat it raw or just briefly steamed, and eat the skin, and seeds if possible.  Summer squashes such as zucchini can have fragile skin that can get bad spots if nicked.  To store your zucchini it is best to not wash it and place it in an airtight container in the fridge.  It should last up to 7 days that way.  If you are getting over run by zucchini from the garden then freezing it is a great option and it does maintain its antioxidants when frozen.  Some websites suggest blanching it before freezing, but my experience is to grate it so it can be thawed later to be used in sauces, baking, or casseroles.  My dad has a huge garden and is constantly picking zucchinis at this time of year.  He reminded me of a stuffed zucchini recipe that he does, and this is the closest I could find online - Stuffed Zucchini with Tomatoes and Mozzarella.  Zucchini goes really well with tomatoes and could be done roasted, sautéed, or raw in a salad such Zucchini Carpaccio (Raw Zucchini Salad).

As I said, my yellow beans are going to get eaten raw as a snack on our road trip.  But there are so many options with yellow or green beans to make a nice side dish.  You can easily sauté or steam them and add your favorite oil/butter/lemon juice and then herbs or seasonings.  This recipe for Garlic Yellow Beans is a great starting point and you can add or adjust with your preference or what's in your pantry.  If beans are still available after my holidays, I am going to get a few pounds and try these Spicy Dilled Beans from Canadian Living.  Their intro caught my eye stating that the dilled beans would be a great cocktail garnish, and I might tone down a jar or two given that the kiddies are into everything pickled (don't judge, but they love a pickle at breakfast).

I often feel that I should be writing more recipes for the fruit that's in the box, however, I would be surprised how many people are actually cooking with their fruit as opposed to just eating it.  But I am going to challenge myself to include 1 fruit recipe each week.  Last week's Plum Strudel recipe was the inadvertent start, and as I was reviewing the list this week, I thought to myself that I better include that easy tart recipe from the Food and Drink, and good thing I looked at last week's blog - already done!  So this week, I want to share some ideas for Mango Salad.  Mango Salad with shrimp is one of my favorite dishes at Vietnamese or Thai restaurants.  Here are two easy recipes with no shrimp in either but it could be added easily.  One recipe for Thai Mango Salad from the Toronto Sun and another recipe from Canadian Living.

Wish me luck on a 6 hour road trip with a 2 year old, some snacks of yellow beans and snap peas, multiple kids CDs, and likely a barrage of stickers in the backseat.  I'll return, somehow rested hopefully, in 2 weeks.

Organic Harvest Box for August 2, 2012

This is going to be a quick one tonight, it's late, I have to get up early and the long weekend is upon us.  It was so nice to see so much local produce in the regular box this week.  If I can brag, I think the cherry tomatoes from my back yard are equally as good as the ones in this week's box, however, they are not as plentiful as I have little hands who get them every time they are outside!  Also to brag, sort of, the week we were on holidays in July I forgot to ask anyone to water my plants.  Most everything did fine except the herb pot, it didn't look like anything survived the week of crazy hot weather.  But after just a couple weeks of watering, there is one plant that is back to life and doing better than before - that little basil plant that we got in our box almost a month ago.  Phew.

Also, last week I made the Chard and Tomato pie from the Bristish website, and it was delicious, a great lunch meal with some fresh veggies.  This week you could do the same recipe and use the beet greens and tomatoes.  Here is a photo of everything getting cooked up.

Last week I meant to give you this recipe for the plums for a lovely dessert out of the Summer 2012 edition of the Food and Drink magazine.

Plum Strudel
Filling
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. fresh bread crumbs (challah bread if you can)
1 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
3 c. firm ripe plums, cut in 3/4" dice


Pastry
6 sheets of phyllo
1/3 c. melted butter
1/3 c. sugar


Preheat oven to 400F.  Combine 1/2 c. sugar, bread crumbs, flour and cardamom.  Toss all but 2 tbsp bread crumb mixture with plums.  Set aside.  Lay phyllo sheets on counter and cover with a tea towel.  Working with the long edge of the phyllo in front of you, place first sheet on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush with butter and sprinkle with about 1 tbsp. of sugar.  Repeat until all of phyllo and most of sugar have been used.  Sprinkle reserved 2 tbsp of bread crumb mixture on lower third of top layer leaving about 2 inches from the long edge and 1 inch from the short edge.  Place plums over bread crumb mixture.  Fold in short edges and roll pastry lengthwise into a strudel shape, sealing edges with butter and making sure the seam is underneath.  Brush with butter and cut 3 slits on top.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp sugar.  Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the top is browned and plum mixture is cooked. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

I got a sneak peek of the Fuji apples last week when I popped in to pick up my box and I can tell you, they are fantastic, crisp, and so delicious.  One of those ones that I should have remembered to order extra of.

Unfortunately, my little beets did not get pickled last week - these big ones may as we are just two in my house this week and that's a lot of beets to go through.  What I forgot to mention last week was how to store beets.  It is important with these beets to trim the greens off near the top of the beet.  Try to use the beet greens fairly quickly as you would chard (steamed, boiled, sauteed).  Put the beets in a plastic bag, push out as much air as possible and tie up the bag.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks that way.  The beet page at WH Foods outlines all the good properties of beets, and some simple ways to cook them.

I came across a neat summer recipe for Creamy Corn and Zucchini that at first glance I thought it was a salad but as I read the ingredients and directions - it is a cooked dish that's pretty simple.  If you are familiar with the Kraft.ca recipes you know how the recipes are part advertising but still appealing enough to want to make them so you can easily substitute any of the brand name items they recommend for your own choice, and even substitute their dressing recommendations with homemade.  Kraft also had this simple Farmer's Market Corn Toss that would be easy to make with the zucchini this week and maybe pick up some nice local corn.  A few years back a lady I play ball with made a delicious potato salad recipe that is so simple to make, the new potatoes we got this week are the ideal size for this salad:

Potato Salad (courtesy of Dominique)
Red potatoes - cook and cool
Finely chop red onion and shallots
Stir together equal parts of canola oil and plum vinegar.  Add some pepper and cilantro.  Toss with the vegetables and chill.


One last thing, I usually don't say too much about the easy vegetables (that's how I think of them) such as carrots.  When I opened my box and took out the carrots, the variety of colors was fantastic so I thought I should look something up to see if there was any good recipes to showcase the color variety and I came across the carrot museum website - www.carrotmuseum.co.uk  I had a bit of a laugh and then clicked on it, and actually found some really interesting information about all the different colors of carrots (incidentally, the purple carrots have more beta carotene than the orange carrots).  If you scroll down to the bottom of this article, The Many Colours of Carrots, it outlines the nutritional benefits and differences of each of the different colors.  And there is a recipe for Coloured Carrots and Couscous at www.coloredcarrots.com that also looks really good.

Enjoy the local produce, make a caprese salad with the tomatoes and basil, and snack on the sugar snap peas - that's what I'll be doing.

Organic Harvest Box for July 26, 2012

It feels like a very long time since I have posted.  I have been without my veggie box for 2 weeks now, but luckily instead of having to negotiate the grocery store this past weekend, we went to the Ottawa Farmers Market to purchase our weekly supply.  It's such a great time of year for produce, the fruit that is coming into season, and all the fresh vegetable harvest.  And you probably don't need to hear again how much the harvest will be affected throughout the summer by this drought.  My girls have been eating peaches, plums, and apricots endlessly right now so I know that the plums from this week's box will be well enjoyed.

I received an interesting Savvy Mom article this week about party ideas around an Olympic theme and so I'm a little hooked on it this week.  It started with Torch Cupcakes (cupcakes baked in to mini ice cream cones with icing flames), and that led into the Fruity Olympic Rings (pictured above) which led into me wondering if there is enough of the food in this week's box to make the Olympic rings - blue (hmm - not quite), black (the plums), red (cherry tomatoes), yellow (beans), and green (zucchini or broccoli).  I don't think you'll see a creative Olympic ring photo from me tomorrow when I get my box, but I have chosen to fill this week's post with British recipes or recipes from British food sites to make use of this week's selection and to pay homage to and celebrate the opening of the Summer Olympics in London on Friday, July 27, 2012.

I started with beets - my great aunt, whose background was British, had beets, pickled or otherwise, at many Sunday dinners alongside whichever roast was cooking.  We generally enjoy our beets roasted with just a bit of butter and salt and pepper served alongside any dish (try this recipe for Roasted Beets).  However, I may get ambitious this week and actually try to preserve my beets by pickling them.  My kids are all about pickles right now so some homemade pickled beets should be a hit.  I found a Pickled Beets recipe on the TLC website or this English Style Pickled Beets recipe which can do as little as one jar of beets.  Don't forget to cut the greens off the beets (if they are there), and use them as you would the chard, or add them to any of the chard recipes that you decide to make.

Chard is another vegetable that appears to also feature somewhat regularily in Bristish cooking - or I seemed to find a variety of chard recipes on British food sites.  This Chard and Chickpea Ribolitta soup, from the British publication The Guardian, is enticing because I love soup and I think that with the fresh vegetables in it, is light enough for our hot summer weather.  Use the onion and garlic from this week's box as well.  Or search through this collection of chard recipes from British organic veggie box distributor Abel and Cole.  I especially like the looks of the Tomato and Chard Pie as a lunch meal this weekend at the cottage, of course I will be cheating and buying either a puff pastry package or premade pie crust for ease of use!

I lived with my dad's cousin in university, it was her mother who was the great aunt with the British background.  My dad's cousin grew zucchini (and still does) every year, and every year, there were so many zucchinis.  She would shred zucchini after zucchini and freeze it all.  And mostly, she would make zucchini loaf, muffins, zucchini chocolate chip muffins or some variation therein.  I think it's a great way to use up overabundant zucchini and went searching and found this recipe from a UK food network for Zucchini Cake.  I doubt that zucchini cake is at all specific to the UK but is more likely a creation by necessity to make use of the vast amounts of zucchini throughout the winter!  I do joke a bit, because I no longer live in the same time zone or end of the country as my cousin, so I am not offered any extra bounty from the zucchini crop and I don't get so overwhelmed by zucchini in the summer.  We get less zucchini throughout the summer than I was used to growing up so I think that I really enjoy it more.  This time of year, consider slicing the zucchini into rounds, brushing with some olive and seasoning and grilling on the barbecue, or add some large chunks of onion and broccoli to a grill proof skillet or tray and roast all of them together.

Lastly, to stick with the British theme, I was thinking about making some small batch marmalade with the oranges (and shame - I have a lemon still in my fruit crisper - where is my post about using the lemon first?).  I am a big fan of preserving - more so B.C. (before children) when the kitchen could be hijacked for 12 hours straight, and I have a beautiful book,  The Complete Book Of Small Batch Preserving, that has recipes that are perfect for making just a few jars of something really good.  I was just going to type up a good marmalade recipe out of there, but low and behold, I've lent it to someone - this has spawned a plea email to friends to find out where my cookbook is.  In the meantime, I opened up my Bernardin Guide (basic resource for all things preserving) and found their recipes for the Easiest Ever Marmalade  and Orange Marmalade.  There is also this apparently no fail Orange Marmalade recipe from the Iowa Housewife website, and somehow I ended up at my new favorite foodie site - Food 52 (have I mentioned it before???) where they have a Valencia Orange Marmalade that is made over 3 days which is typical of marmalade.  I would half their recipe. Looking at all this marmalade recipes made me think that marmalade or jam of any sort really, would go well on some scones - truly Bristish.  Maybe sometime throughout the next couple of weeks while you are doing some Olympic sport viewing, sit yourself down for a nice cup of tea, a traditional English scone, with some clotted cream or butter, and some homemade marmalade.  Cheers.

Organic Harvest Box for June 28, 2012

Do you know what an RFP is?  Request for Proposal or what's been going through my head - Request for Pain.  It is due on Tuesday after the long weekend and has caused me enough overtime in 1 week to ensure my summer holidays are covered!  Hence the lateness of this post.  Because of my schedule, I can't even get my box until Friday midday so I don't have any hot tips from Tasha to share with you.  However, after painfully typing away at repetitive technical documents, I am just happy to sip the last of my decaf and write some ideas for this week's box.  I want to share some ideas about kiwi, the results of my scapes recipes, and  highlight a selection of "Canada Day" recipes.   And how smart of Tasha to start a Local Only Box on the week leading up to Canada Day when our national pride is bubbling up. I love the idea of a Local Only Box because for me one of the biggest appeals of buying through Life Organics is the opportunity to get as much local produce as possible.

So here goes - should we start with garlic scapes?  I hope that I'm not the only one who is still oddly excited about them.  I brought both my scape pesto and the white bean scape dip into work last week, although both went over well, I do think people think I'm a bit odd for being so excited about them.  The dip was really nice with crackers, chips, and the beans from last week's box.  I made a whole batch of pesto (so easy in a food processor) and have frozen it in ice cube sizes for use on pasta soon.  I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do with this week's scapes - hopefully get to that great Pork recipe from the New York Times from 2 weeks ago.  Maybe use up my pesto in this Warm Pasta and Chick Pea Salad with Garlic Scapes or for a great weekend entertaining recipe Garlic Scape and Potato Salad.

Kiwis are delicious when they are nice and ripe, and not too tart.  They should be left to ripen at room temperature.  If they are already ripe then they can be stored in the refrigerator.  Kiwis have a very high amount of Vitamin C, more than the an orange of the same size.  They also contain a lot of fibre and are great for the digestive system.  You can eat the skin of a kiwi but just make sure to wash it to remove any dirt or dust, and rub some of the fuzz off prior to eating as well.  I learned that the antioxidants in kiwis actually increase the riper the kiwi gets.  We mostly eat our kiwis just cut up, but they would be equally delicious in a salad, fruit salad or with some yogurt.  Or for something different, try these Kiwifruit Muffins.  Try making a unique salad with this week's romaine, spinach, and tomatoes, tossed with some cut up kiwi and some Kiwi Dressing from the California Kiwi Commission's website.  

We will be spending Canada Day weekend at the cottage with friends and plan to use the grill most of the weekend.  We've picked up the beer and Caesar's but I may have to grab a bottle of some Canadian Whisky and try out this Peach and Whisky Cocktail with the peaches from our box.  You could also use the peaches and/or nectarines in this recipe for Grilled Plums with Yogurt and Spiced Maple Syrup.  And although we don't have a lot of red and white veggies in our box this week, you can certainly still have a lovely Canadian menu with some great recipes taken from freshjuice.ca:

• Green Salad with Toasted Mustard Seed Dressing - use the romaine, spinach, and even scapes in this salad that is inspired by the mustard and seed crops from the Prairies,
• Wild Turkey Burgers - I suppose you could try to catch your own in a local field or on the side of the road!!  Serve these burgers topped with some spinach or romaine, sauteed mushrooms, and sliced tomato (or garlic scape pesto - just had to get that in there),
• Cool Wild Rice and Mushrooms - use the Criminis in this dish that highlights the great wild rice that is harvested from our northern lakes and marshes.

I am fading quickly - one last recipe - a Mushroom Stuffed Zucchini (with good Canadian cheddar).  Have a great long weekend.

Organic Harvest Box for April 19, 2012

I am sitting watching the hockey playoffs as I am writing this blog.  The weather for this weekend is again not sounding very promising with rainy cool days and the potential for flurries on Monday.  I still haven't transferred over all my cold weather clothes to summer clothes.  I'm feeling a bit wintry and so my veggies this week are most likely going to be roasted or put in soups.

Some tips about this week's box - Tasha had to substitute out the spinach with Bok Choy, which we haven't had in our box in a while and will be great sauteed or in a stir fry.  Some of the grapefruits may need a bit of time to fully ripen as will the Bartlett Pears.  The carrots will keep best if the greenery is chopped off and then store them in the fridge tied up in a plastic bag.  If the cucumbers are as good as last week, they were great just sliced up and eaten fresh.

An interesting tip about this week's parsnips - they are Spring Parsnips which means that they have been in the ground all winter as opposed to being stored indoors.  Being in the ground all winter apparently makes them much sweeter and quite a treat as the last parsnips of the harvest.  Store them in a plastic bag (the one they came in will work) in the vegetable crisper and they should keep for a couple of weeks.  It's a toss up whether to use the parsnips in a simple Roasted Vegetable dish to get the full effect of their spring sweetness, or to make something completely different, such as this Seared Scallops with Spring Parsnip Butter recipe.  Cajun Parsnip Fries make a nice side dish to any casual meal.  I am a big fan of savoury muffins so might even try these Savoury Parsnip Parmesan Mini Muffins and serve them alongside a Parsnip Soup.

Romaine lettuce has a surprising amount of nutrients, is extremely low in calories, and has a high water content.  A serving of Romaine contains well over 100% of the daily Vitamin K and Vitamin A, and a third of the daily requirement of Vitamin C and Folate.  It is so easy to slice up a tomato or cucumber, shred some carrot or put the zucchini through the mandolin to dress up a lettuce salad.  Chopping some apple or pear, sectioning an orange, or slicing some strawberry on top often will entice my children to have a bit of salad.  A nice fresh citrus dressing made with a lemon or orange, some fresh parmesan, and some nuts and you have a decadent salad at any meal.  But how often do you get any more creative with lettuce?  An interesting alternative to salad is to do a plain Grilled Romaine dish or dress it up with a Bacon and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette.

Bok Choy is extremely versatile and can be substituted for many greens that you would steam, saute or boil.  A simple Bok Choy Stir Fry could be made, add some sauteed chicken and rice for a great meal.  Put a couple of carrots and the zucchini through a mandolin to add to the stir fry and it will add color and variety.  This vegetarian Spicy Bok Choy Soup is exactly the type of dish that I love, easy ingredients with a comforting result.  Or try this Spicy Shrimp and Bok Choy Soup with a few more extras in it.  You can use your leftover veggies from last week's box to create a homemade vegetable stock for either soup.  I have used the tip in the veggie stock recipe that suggests using your vegetable trimmings for your stock.  I keep a large Ziploc in the freezer and add clean vegetable trimmings such as celery greens, carrot peelings, potato peelings, zucchini ends, and fresh herbs that are at the end of their shelf life.  It's an inexpensive way to get some great flavor into a stock.

I wasn't able to get any good fresh tuna this past week to try the tuna burgers from last week's post, but I am hoping to get some this week so that we can barbeque those up.   I plan to use the cucumbers and tomatoes on the burgers.  The potatoes will get sliced up with some onion, butter, seasonings, garlic cloves and wrapped in tin foil.  We cook them on the grill for about 20 minutes, and then set them on the top rack as we cook the burgers.  It doesn't quite feel like BBQ season just yet, but it's coming.

Organic Harvest Box for April 5, 2012

Are you cooking Easter dinner or a family dinner of some sort this weekend? I am not cooking our Easter meal, but I do have family in from out of town and will probably make use of all the veggies before the weekend is even over.  The strawberries in this week's box will be great for making desserts.  I do think that so many of the veggies that are coming in this box are great for side dishes for a large family meal so that's where I am going to focus this week's recipes.

Sugar Snap Peas are a great source of vitamins and fibre.  Because they are eaten whole, the snap peas actually have more vitamins and fibre then shelled peas and less calories. Fresh pods can be eaten whole or used in cooking. It is best to use them while the pods are fresh, and crispy. The pods have a string that needs to be removed before eating them raw or when cooking. To prepare, wash the pods in cold water, and pat dry. Trim the stem end and remove the stringy fiber on either side of the pod. My whole family loves to eat snap peas fresh as a snack so they rarely make it into any cooking. They would of course be great added to any stir-fry but to stick with the side dish idea, I would recommend sauteing them with a bit of oil, ginger and garlic. It's best to heat the oil in a pan, add the garlic and ginger until a bit fragrant and then saute the peas for a few minutes until just starting to get tender. Another lovely side dish would be Sauteed Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas or use them in this Quinoa Salad with Sugar Snap Peas for a nice fresh spring salad.

I have only used up one of my Roma's from last week's box for a lunchtime toasted tomato sandwich so with the addition of the Roma's that are coming this week I think that there will be enough for a nice fresh Tomato Bruschetta to serve as an appetizer or snack.  You could also chop the tomatoes up with the green onion and zucchini for a Parmesan Zucchini Omelet or a frittata for breakfast.  I don't often use a recipe for my omelets or frittata but I follow these general steps: dice the vegetables that you want to use, saute them in an oven proof frying pan with a bit of butter or oil on medium high heat.  While the veggies are cooking, mix 4-8 eggs (approx. 1 egg per person) with a bit of milk or cream or water, and some seasonings or fresh herbs if you have them.  Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and continue to cook on medium high lifting the edges to let some of the egg mixture flow underneath.  While the frittata continues to cook, slice or grate your favorite cheese and sprinkle it over top.  Place the pan under the broiler in the oven for a few minutes, or bake until set in a 325F oven for about 10 min.  This would make a nice brunch dish served with a light Romaine salad sprinkled with sliced strawberries or apple.  Don't forget to leave your tomatoes out on the counter in a bowl to help them ripen and keep them as good as possible.

Back on track to side dishes - there are so many things you can do with broccoli.  You can steam it, stir fry it or,  I would not hear the end of it from my husband if I didn't recommend roasting your broccoli.  It is his favorite.   Cut the broccoli into small to medium florets, toss with a bit of olive oil, diced onions and/or mushrooms, sprinkle with some sea salt and pepper and roast in a 400F oven for 25-35 minutes.  The broccoli comes out with tasty crispy tips and makes a great accompaniment to any meal.  I also found some enticing recipes for Roasted Broccoli with Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette and Marcona Almonds or a Broccoli Gratin with Mustard Cheese Streusel.

I couldn't do side dishes justice without including some recipes for the potatoes.  This article from the University of Idaho (of course) recommends storing potatoes in a well ventilated, humid, dark and cool place to keep them at their best.  They are more likely to grow sprouts if the temperature is too warm.  My kitchen cabinet is probably just a little too warm, so I am going to try them in the storage room in the basement.   When I get small red potatoes, I love them cut in halves or quarters, boiled until just tender, and tossed with a little bit of butter, salt or seasoning or fresh herbs, especially dill or fresh chives.  Potatoes are also great roasted in a similar manner to the broccoli but depending on the size, may take a bit longer.   This Jamie Oliver recipe for Evolution Potato Salad is great as an easy recipe that even a beginner cook can tackle and you can "evolve" the salad through each step to make it as complex as you want it to be.  But I think the hit of the family meal would be this Pommes Dauphinoise, a simpler version of scalloped potatoes but equally as flavorful and rich.  Just a look at the photo makes me hungry!

What better way to end a lovely spring meal then with a Strawberry Shortcake.  That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw strawberries on the list and I've been perusing recipes ever since. Both of the following recipes caught my eye and at least one will grace our table this weekend.  It's probably even worth making both at some point as a good excuse to be prepared for when the Ontario strawberries are in season in a couple of months.  The first recipe comes from the website Joy of Baking.  A co-worker of mine highly recommends this website for consistently good baking recipes.  I was drawn to their Strawberry Shortcake recipe as it uses a scone as opposed to a cake for the base of the shortcake.  But I also couldn't pass up highlighting this recipe for Ricardo's Strawberry Shortcake for the homemade white cake and strawberries macerated with Grand Marnier.    

I hope that the blog is inspiring some new cooking opportunities and ways to use the produce.  There are so many side dish options for the items this week, but if you aren't having a large Sunday dinner, you couldn't go wrong using the lettuce, tomatoes, and green onions on some BBQed burgers with some fresh cut up zucchini, carrots, and snap peas on the side.  Enjoy the long weekend, and Happy Easter.

Organic Harvest Box for March 22, 2012

Welcome back to the Life Organic Blog!!  I am really excited to be writing the blog for Life Organics.  My family has been receiving the Basic Harvest Box for more than year and have enjoyed the variety of produce and the opportunities to try vegetables that I may never have picked up before.  So, I'm not new to Life Organics, but I am new to blogging, so would be happy to have any feedback about style, recipes, and content that you want to give.

Before I get into the ideas for this weeks produce, I wanted to mention that I bought a case of the Camino Fair Trade Organic Mango Juice (did you know they were featured on Episode 2 of The Big Decision on CBC) that Life Organics was offering the last couple of weeks, and my two kids have loved it.  I do recommend to cut the mango juice with water for little kids as it is almost like nectar and very tasty and rich.  This week I ordered a case of Tropical Juice and Limeade and can't wait to try both.  I'm thinking that the Limeade with a bit of tonic, club soda, or sparkling water would've been a great patio drink this week.

When I originally looked at the list for this week's selection all I could think about was grilling, BBQ-ing, and fresh summer salads given our fantastic weather.  Looking at the forecast for the weekend and next week I think that I might still be in the mood for some soups and casseroles.  Tasha and I have had radish discussions over the last couple of weeks, how best to keep them  (trim the leaves, wrap in plastic and refrigerate), what to do when they get soft (immerse them in ice water for an hour before serving), and how to eat them.  I use the Joy of Cooking (Rombauer, Rombauer Becker, and Becker) to look up all sorts of cooking information and was interested to read that radishes were considered an appetite stimulant and that the French had a custom of starting the day with a handful of radishes, eaten with sweet butter.  In our house, we mostly eat our radishes raw, a bright addition to a vegetable tray, or sliced thinly into a salad, but I was interested to find a variety of cooked radish recipes such as, Sauteed Radishes with Watercress or Roasted Radishes. Certainly with the baby lettuce or spinach in this week's box, I think the radishes would be a great addition to your favorite salad recipe.

The other items in the box all inspire a variety of meal ideas.  Our fruit always gets eaten as it is and we've been ordering extra navel oranges because we are finding them so juicy and tasty right now.  The apples could be used for a Baked Apple dessert.  The potatoes could be roasted on the BBQ, boiled, or mashed but for us will probably get used in Leek and Potato Soup, with our leeks from last week.   To take advantage of the early BBQ season I think that we will roast the green beans on the grill (you could add the zucchini with them) in some tin foil with some olive oil, garlic and seasoning.  Or you could do a French Bean Salad with Tarragon and Green Peppercorn from one of my new favorite food websites, Food52.

Lastly, I was happy to see both peppers and zucchini on the list so that I could use it in one of our favorite, kid friendly, regular supper recipes, Chickpea Curry, served over rice or thin egg noodles.

Chickpea Curry 
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, finely chopped or minced
1/2 c. chopped onion
oil
1/2 c. each red or yellow or green pepper, chopped
1/2 c. zucchini, chopped
1 tbsp. each of cumin, ground coriander, and curry powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. canned diced tomatoes, drained
3 c. chickpeas
1 can coconut milk


Saute on med-high heat, onion, garlic and ginger in oil until onions are soft.  Add peppers and zucchini and cook until soft (5-7 min).  Add spices and salt and cook for 2-3 min stirring frequently.  Add coconut milk, diced tomatoes, and chickpeas.  Bring to a boil, turn down heat to medium and simmer for 10-15 min.  


I hope you enjoy my recipes and meal ideas, and I would love to see you comment with your ideas.  Enjoy!

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.

Thursday, April 14th: Cooking with collard greens and rutabaga

by Brie

This week's box offered some great fruit for snacking, like a bag of Pink Lady apples, navel oranges and Bartlett pears. The fruit would also be lovely tossed with the lettuce, cucumber and avocado we got. Maybe in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing for a fabulous spring salad.

Avocados and mangoes also make for a great salad combination. You could also serve them together with pork chops or salmon. Add a tomato and some black beans and you have a southwestern tasty meal-sized salad! Avocados are a great fruit for snacking or in dishes due to their high potassium content (they have more than bananas!) and are also rich in vitamin B, E and K.

I have come to love all forms of greens, like kale, spinach and Swiss chard but I'm not as familiar with collard greens. Considered a staple vegetable in the Southern United States, where it is often served with ham, it can also be substituted for other greens in your favorite recipe. Spanakopita with collard greens maybe? Collard greens would be great served with the potatoes that came in the box this week or in a lentil soup.

Rutabagas are a turnip cousin. Low in calories, they are also a good source of Vitamin C , folacin and fibre. Often served as a side dish, they can easily be prepared as a mash similar to mashed potatoes. Rutabagas can also be roasted and boiled. You could even try them in smashed potato and parsnips or stew.

Potatoes are such a versatile, and tasty, vegetable. Full of vitamins and minerals, the potatoes in our box this week would taste great baked with zucchini and peppers or in a cold potato and cucumber 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.

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, February 10th: soup and other food

by Brie

It is the middle of February and that seems like the perfect time for soup. Lots of soup. When I opened my food box this week all I could see was soup. Beets are perfect for borscht. Cabbage mixed with garlic is a great soup for a cold day. I love the bright green of cream of broccoli soup. Curried carrot soup would go perfect with the lettuce wraps I am going to make with the romaine lettuce in the box. And cream of mushroom soup is one of my favorites. 

(If you are planning a week of soup like I am, try making my favorite homemade whole wheat bread recipe. I have yet to make a bad loaf!) 

For anyone who wants to make some food that doesn't get pureed, how about using the shredded cabbage for some fresh coleslaw, fried cabbage or cabbage noodles (I think I will try the last one and see if I can get my kids to eat it!). The beets would be great roasted with ginger or in a marinated salad. Mushrooms are always good in risotto (this recipe uses a slow cooker), gravy or dressed up in a mushroom tart.

I'll also be making a few non-soup dishes this week. Like our now favorite zucchini phyllo pie (did I mention my four year old ate three servings last time) and my favorite chili recipe with some yams thrown in.

A big bag of beautiful looking apples arrived in our box. The kids have already started eating their way through the apples, but I am tempted to set some aside for an apple pie or apple tart. If you have some time try making a batch of apple butter. We cooked some up in the fall and it was great served on toast, yogurt or pancakes.

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, February 3rd box: Baking with fruit and roasting vegetables

I have been looking forward to our food box all week! And knowing what was coming just made me more excited.

There was a lot of fruit in this week's box, which is great because we love to eat fruit, but after making an amazing Anjou pear bread recipe last week I am tempted to hide the fruit away and not let anyone eat it. I may just save it all for baking! The navel oranges would be great for this orange yogurt phyllo pastry dessert, bananas foster are my idea of a treat, I could eat this grapefruit pudding cake with a spoon and if the pear bread doesn't interest you how about some pear cake. If you want to get more creative with the fruit you could try orange, lemon and grapefruit marmalade (perfect for using both the oranges and grapefruits), fennel and orange salad (don't you love it when a recipe lets you use two items from your box) or even, wait for it, creamy banana lettuce salad.

Maybe it is the cold and snow, but all I want to do is roast some vegetables. I will be making my favorite roasted cauliflower soup (which doesn't have to be vegan if you use cream or milk), but I was also tempted by roasted cauliflower with cumin and coriander or even the spicy cauliflower recipe. The snap peas from this weeks box are going to tossed into this sesame maple roasted tofu recipe, although they would also be good cooked with ginger or lemon. I am also going to make the campfire potatoes (in the oven not the BBQ), but the potatoes would also be lovely in a scalloped potato and fennel recipe or a kale potato puree.

I have decided to try some different recipes with the zucchini and Swiss chard. I am hoping the kids will like either the cheddar zucchini fritters or cheesy broiled zucchini. I am going to make a rainbow chard pie for dinner with friends this weekend, but I am sure it would be just as good cooked up with garlic and lemon or with roasted beets.

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 October 29, 2010

Another Organic Harvest Box arrived on our doorstep this week!  Check out the goodies:

Arugula may look like most other greens out there, but it has a very distinguished and different taste than most.  The leafy green has a rich, peppery taste, and has an exceptionally strong flavour. It can be easily used like most other greens, although it is exceptionally tasty tossed on top of pizza.

For example, this Arugula Pizza is easy and delicious. Or how about White Pizzas with Arugula?  And feel free to use your imagination as arugula is wonderful on many pizzas, especially those using strong-tasting cheeses.  You can also throw some arugula leaves in an Arugula Grilled Cheese and enjoy it with a piping hot bowl of soup. And an Arugula and Orange Salad or Arugula Salad with Honey-Drizzled Peaches make a delightful lunch or light supper.  Want to add an extra bit of tang to your weeknight pasta?  Make this Arugula Pesto and pour it over your favourite pasta noodles.

I've mentioned numerous times before that my favourite way to incorporate zucchini into our meal plan is to bake Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins  - they are easy and fairly healthy, and my kids absolutely adore them. Other "fun" ways to add a little zucchini to your life include making Zucchini Fries, Zucchini Chips, or these yummy Zucchini Cakes. These are not the healthiest choices, but are nice treats in moderation.  Zucchini fits well into regular meals as well, like this Zucchini Ricotta Frittata, and this Zucchini and Onion Teriyaki.
An interesting way to offer a zucchini-inspired meal would be to serve a bowl of  Zucchini Soup with these mouth watering Zucchini Bruschettas.  Your guests would not be disappointed!


I find I cook a lot of yams during the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I am always on the look out for new recipes this time of year.  And while I'm not a fan of traditional "candied yams", there are many of you who are.  In my searches I did come up with three fabulous recipes: Orange Candied Sweet Potatoes, Candied Yams with Apples, and good old Candied Yams with Marshmallows.  Yams are always a popular side dish, so why not try Baked Yams or Mango and Almond Yams with one of your main meals?  I also like the look of this Molasses Roasted Yams and Sweet Potatoes Medley, or for something with a little Indian flair, add Curried Yams in Coconut Milk to your next weekend meal!

Enjoy your week and Happy Halloween!

Organic Harvest Box for April 23, 2010

Here is a look at this week's Harvest Box from Life Organic in Ottawa:

Are you looking to ripen green bananas? A fast and easy way to do this is to put them in a brown bag with some apples - ethylene (a plant hormone that causes growth) causes the bananas to ripen more quickly and lose their green-ness!


Last week I used my cucumber to make this Tzatziki Sauce recipe I found. I really enjoyed it and used it all week as a dip for raw veggies, although I have to admit that my kids were not fans of it. I think it would taste lovely on chicken souvlaki or pork.

Tasha pointed me in the direction of these yummy Tangerine Muffins - it is great to use the peel in these muffins (extra healthy!) and especially good when your tangerines are organic! No fear of chemicals and pesticides ending up in your mid-afternoon snack.

I also found a number of this week's recipes on a new site that Tasha sent me - Dani Spies. Pop over and browse around - there are healthy and delicious recipes of all types, as well as a terrific section of baby and pureed foods for your wee ones. I think this California Scramble looks delicious and would be an energizing and healthy start to your morning. I'm hoping to try this Turkey and Avocado Super Sandwich one week day for lunch. I came across a couple new and funky alternatives for avocado - what do you think about this Grilled Avocado Recipe? Even stranger? Avocado Fries ?!! Not sure I could get excited about avocado fries, so if you do try this recipe, PLEASE let me know how it turns out!

Start slicing those mushrooms and get ready to toss them into this Sesame Kale with Mushrooms - a light and healthy side dish which would complement most meals. Or try this
Rachada Mushroom Salad for lunch. I also think these Marinated Mushrooms would be a perfect spring dinner accompaniment.

Looking for a healthy meal to add your zucchini to? I think you would enjoy this 5 Ingredient Snapper and Zucchini Dinner, or maybe these Squash and Zucchini Cakes? For simple and easy side dishes, try a fast Baked Zucchini or use your barbecue for this Roasted Zucchini. Looking for something to sink your teeth into at your afternoon tea time? Whip up a loaf of Zucchini Bread and wow your family and friends.

I found this fantastic recipe for your chard this week - Swiss Chard with Peppers and Garbanzos. This is not hard to make and is packed with healthy goodness.

Slice up this week's pineapple and make this spectacular Pineapple Flan. Or chop it up and serve this Sweet and Crispy Chicken Salad. My kids still love pineapple the old fashion way - sliced in rings and slurped up from their fingers!

I'll leave you with one last recipe to peruse for the week:

Curried Black Bean and Yam Skillet - Recipe adapted from danispies.com.

4 cups of yams, peeled and cubed
1 red onion, diced
1 zucchini, cubed
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bell pepper (any colour), diced
1 cup of cooked quinoa*
1-15 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup veggie broth
1 Tbsp of curry powder
1 bunch of chard, stemmed and chopped
2 tsp of olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

*Quinoa is an ancient seed that was a staple of the Incas. Easy and quick to cook with a mild flavour it has a slightly crunchy texture. It's got a lot of the amino acid lysine providing a complete protein unlike many other cereal grains. Substitutes for this recipe include: couscous, rice or bulgur.

Heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron pan or fry pan. Stir in the onions and cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the yams, garlic, curry powder, a good pinch of salt and half of the veggie broth, stir well to combined, cover and cook for about ten minutes or until your sweet potatoes are just about fork tender. You’ll need to stir it occasionally. Add the beans, quinoa, chard, zucchini and pepper and season with salt and pepper. Pour the remaining broth into the pan, cover and allow it to cook for another five minutes - until the greens are wilted and the beans are heated through.

Harvest Box for January 22, 2010

Take a peek inside this week's Harvest Box from Life Organic! Looks delicious.


This recipe for Beef and Mango Wraps arrived in my inbox this week and I was delighted when a mango arrived in my harvest box this week. It's like it was meant to be, so I'll definitely be trying out these healthy, tasty wraps this week. Like incorporating your mangos into a main meal like I do? Try this Chipotle-Mango BBQ Chicken dish - better if you can do it outside on the barbecue (which I won't, because I am too much of a wimp in the cold Ottawa winter) but still tastes lovely cooked inside. And the mango citrus salsa in this BBQ Pork Tenderloin with Mango Citrus Salsa adds a perfectly sweet flavour to the pork tenderloin.

My kids are big fans of peanut butter or cream cheese stuffed in the "ravine" of celery, but if you're keen to add celery as a side dish to one of your main meals, why not make Braised Celery,
Celery and Portabello Salad, or Romaine, Celery and Parmesan Salad? And for those cold winter nights, try serving up a steaming bowl of Creamy Celery Soup with some fresh bread.

I was thrilled when I saw a big giant bag of parsnips this week, because that means I can make more Cajun Parsnip Fries for everyone! I love serving it as side dish to fish or chicken, and it makes a healthy alternative to potato fries. And although I haven't personally tried these recipes, I think Mashed Parsnips and Potatoes and Caramelized Roasted Parsnips look promising. And even though I can't wrap my head around the idea of Parsnip Muffins - please give me some feedback if you decide to try them!! Although I suspect they would taste a bit like carrot muffins . . .

That broccolette in your harvest box is a member of the cruciferous family that looks sort of like miniature broccoli. It is a cross between broccoli and kale. The stalks are sweet and can be eaten without peeling. Broccolette is stored in the crisper in your fridge just like broccoli. It can be combined in many dishes where you normally use broccoli, and I came across this recipe for
Broccolette with Olives and Capers which looks fantastic. And why not try a Salmon and Broccolette Superfood Salad or Sweet Chili Chicken with Broccolette and Noodles as main dishes?

I am thinking about trying these Squash and Zucchini Cakes this week - I may be able to pass these off as "fun" and have my kids actually eat them. As I've mentioned here before, they are huge fans of my Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins and I may give this Zucchini Bread recipe a spin this week. And if you're adventurous, throw your zucchini into a Zucchini Ribbon Pasta and really wow your guests.

Have a great week, and be sure to check in next time!!