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.

Coming this week: Thurday, February 3rd, 2011

I just got my email invoice for this week's box. I am very excited by what will be arriving on Thursday and have started to think about what to make. This weeks box has:

• navel oranges
• bananas
• blueberries
• Anjou pears
• grape tomatoes
• grapefruit
• zucchini
• cauliflower
• potatoes
• snap peas
• rainbow chard

Any ideas for recipes?What would you make with this fabulous organic produce?

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, January 27th box: soup, more soup and kale my kid will eat

by Brie

After the great box last week I could not wait for this week's delivery. We ate so well last week! And having the box helped me in coming up with our meal plan for the week. I used what we got and built around it, shopping on Saturday for the extras I needed to supplement my recipes.

This week I am focusing on soups. I am fighting a cold and, well, with the cold weather outside soups are a perfect meal in my mind. The acorn squash and apple soup recipe I made last week was amazing. I took it to dinner with friends and it was a hit. I don't know if it was thanks to the organic apple, the only sweetener, but it was like eating candy! I am tempted to make it again using the butternut squash that came this week. I have also been thinking about trying out some butternut squash soup recipes. I like this one for the combination of orange juice and ginger with the squash.

My all time favorite soup is French onion soup and it was my first thought when I saw the 3 lbs bag of red onions in the box. I have never tried making the soup with red onions, but I found this recipe and I am going to give it a try. If I had more onions I would be adding roasted red onions with butter, honey and balsamic vinegar to my meal plan and making a side of pickled red onions to go with burgers.

I am pretty sure the pint of grape tomatoes we got will be turned into salsa with the fresh cilantro and red pepper that also came this week. My husband loves to made fresh salsa with a vinegar, sugar and garlic vinaigrette. But. But, I may hold off and try these sautéed cherry tomatoes with garlic and basil or baked cherry tomatoes as a side dish one night this week.

The hardest choice this week was deciding how to use the big bunch of kale. I never used to know how to cook kale, but then I discovered a kale pizza recipe and I was hooked. It is really versatile and can use used in place of other greens, like spinach. I have heard good things about baked kale chips, and I will try them one day, but after making a zucchini phyllo pie last week (and my four year old eating three servings) I have decided to try a kale version of spanakopita. If you wanted to you could try making a squash and kale phyllo pie. I am going to see if I can get my girl to eat three servings of these kale phyllo triangles.  

The box this week had some broccoli, a big bag of Gala apples, some Anjou pears and Satsuma mandarins/ tangerines. While we are big fruit eaters in the house, and I expect the kids and I could work our way through it all, I have decided to set aside the pears and try making spiced Anjou pear bread. I love raisin bread and thought this would make a great bread to take to visit friends.  

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.

First box. First blog post.

by Brie

I am very excited to be taking over blogging at the Life Organic Blog. Thanks Shannon for all the great recipe ideas you have shared here. I know I will be looking through the archives for suggestions!

I am even more excited with my first box (or Tupperware container) filled with fabulous organic fruit and vegetables. Its arrival late on Thursday couldn't have been better timed. By the end of the week we are running low on groceries and I am searching the freezer trying to remember what the brown thing in the glass container is. Now I have a fridge stocked full of fresh organic produce and I couldn't be happier.

As soon as I saw what was in the box I started wondering how to use everything. I don't have to think hard about the fruit. I predict that before I could ever get around to baking with the fruit it will be consumed by my two young kids. The pint of blueberries will disappear as soon as my four year old daughter gets home from school and we will eat the Granny Smith Apples, Anjou pears and bag of kiwis as snacks throughout the day. 

My plan for the lovely looking acorn squash is soup. Mmm, soup. It is perfect weather for soup. I am going to make this recipe, which will also let me use one of the crisp green apples, some shallots and a carrot. The rest of the carrots will be grated and made into carrot cake, topped with cream cheese icing of course, to share with friends this weekend. The carrots are so great looking I am sure my kids would eat them whole.

I am a bit of a purist when it comes to green beans. I like them steamed with some butter and salt. Simple but really my favorite.

The only difficult choice with this week's basket is what to do with a box of crimini mushrooms and spinach bunch. I am tempted to make a cheesy rice and spinach casserole or one of these great spinach recipes from around the world. Even a nice spinach salad with mushrooms and red onion would be nice. But I think I will make these mushroom and spinach calazones using our favorite homemade pizza dough recipe. This should make enough for dinner and have leftovers that can be frozen for lunches.

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 December 10 , 2010

 Here is our delicious Harvest Box for this week:

Green Beans!  Green beans are a delightful side dish to serve around the holidays, and are easy to incorporate into your Christmas dinner.  These green bean recipes are fast and easy to cook, delicious, and good for you.  Check out these  Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic or tasty Green Beans with Shallots .  You can also serve up Green Beans with Onion, or for a little extra *zing* try these Green Beans in Spicy Peanut Sauce. Pan-Fried Tofu with Garlic Green Beans is a good choice for vegetarians, and these Spicy Green Beans with Lime and Cilantro are a lovely accompaniment to an ethnic meal.

Garlic is another Harvest Box item that is wonderful to add to almost any dish over the holidays.  Despite what some may say, freshly chopped or diced garlic is far better than the jarred or powder varieties.  Nothing tastes as good as fresh garlic!  If you  have a whole head of garlic, then you haven't really lived until you experience true Roasted Garlic.  It's amazing, and there are so many uses for it.  For example, you can try this Roasted Garlic Hummus , or make a Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette.  Another huge favourite is Sourdough Garlic Bread, which makes a perfect pairing with hot soup or chowder on our cold winter evenings.  I came across this Ginger Garlic Paste which can be used in a variety of ways, and I stumbled upon this recipe for  Eggplant in Garlic Sauce, which is surely to be a big supper-time hit!


If you're looking for some interesting ways to work with your button mushrooms, you should give Michael's Best Button Mushrooms a go.  I promise you will not be disappointed.  Mushrooms are like green beans in that they are fast and easy and can be incorporated into so many types of meals.  Other fabulous ways to cook with mushrooms include these Herbed Butter Mushrooms with Mozzarella or Spaghetti with Mushrooms and Garlic. Looking for a little mushroom flare?  Impress your guests with Tofu and Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce or a Mushroom and Asparagus Risoto!

Organic Harvest Box for December 3, 2010

Ginger is a fragrant, flavourful, and versatile root or spice.  It lends itself well to many different styles of cooking . . . and baking as well.  Fresh ginger can be substituted for ground ginger at a ratio of about 6 to 1, although the flavors of fresh and dried ginger are somewhat different.  Ginger is often thought to be effective in treating nausea of various kinds. 


A popular use for cooking with ginger is to pair it with meat, like in this recipe for Ginger Pork.  While pork is especially tasty with ginger, seafood works too, as in something like this Grilled Shrimp with Lemongrass and Ginger.  And be sure to try out this Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad as well. For those with a sweet tooth, like ME, nothing beats the old tried and true Ginger Cookie, especially during the holidays. Or for something different why not serve a hot slice of  Spiced Apple Ginger Bread to your friends and family on Christmas morning?  Another winner on my radar this week is this Pear Ginger Maple Pie - I think the picture speaks for itself!


I'll be the first to admit that as the mother of three young children, endive are not something that are normally on my shopping list.  But when they arrive in my Harvest Box, I'm more than happy to find some exotic uses for them!  Did you know that an endive is is a leaf vegetable belonging to the daisy family. Endive can be cooked or used raw as appetizers or in many types of salad.  A popular favourite is Endive Stuffed with Walnuts and Goat Cheese, and it's lovely to serve as an appetizer before a dinner. Smoked Trout in Endive is a fantastic treat to serve over the holidays, is easy to make and will most definitely impress your guests.  As for salads, a few tasty uses for endive include this Apple and Endive Salad, a Warm Endive Salad, or this Endive-Radicchio Salad with Pancetta and Gorgonzola. One last unique idea - fire up a pan and try this Sauteed Endive with Avocado.

Looking for some new uses for that bag of beets?  We can help you out.  Ever thought of trying Gnocchi with Roasted Beets?  If not, you should give it a go, as I can guarantee you will be delightfully surprised.  Other delicious meal ideas include Beets with Walnut Garlic Sauce, Beets with Lime Butter, and Beets and Greens Quesadillas. And nothing "beets" a traditional Ukranian Borscht.

Keep it healthy, and enjoy your organic produce this week!