Organic Harvest Box for March 29, 2012

I was a little intimidated with this week's list when I first saw it on Monday - fennel, chard, lemon.  Chard, I know that I love it but is it versatile?  Fennel is one of those veggies that is just a little strong for my kids so I think that I have only used it a handful of times.  And lemon, there are so many options but it is one of the last fruits to get used up from my harvest box.  However, the more I started looking around and linking from this recipe to that and pulling out favorites, I realized that this week is a snap - so many of these veggies go so well together in so many different food combinations.

It was a nice coincidence to see a lemon on the list as I had just read this great little piece on the Food52 website.  It was talking about the staple items in your fridge or grocery list, and they listed lemon as one of their staple items and how versatile a lemon is for salad dressings, stuffing a chicken with lemon, using the zest on pasta, in pancakes or crostini, squeezing the lemon into water or using the juice to keep apples/avocados from going brown.  I am going to challenge myself that the lemon will not be the last fruit used up this week.  This recipe for Zucchini Frites with Lemon Basil Mayonnaise caught my eye as the lemon mayo could be used for dipping a few different things - zucchini frites made from last week's zucchini if you have any left, sweet potato fries made from the yam, or fresh cut up carrots, celery and fennel.

The fennel was definitely the most challenging veggie for me this week as I have maybe only prepared fennel a couple of times in the past.  As I mentioned this to a co-worker, she said that she had a great Fennel and Orange Salad recipe which sounded perfect as both are in our box this week.  I had to try it out.  I didn't quite stick to the recipe as I added in some carrots and a radish from last week's box but I'm sure the original version is equally as good.  It tasted even better the next day as the flavors intensified.

Fennel and Orange Salad

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup wine or rice vinegar

1 tsp. French mustard

1 clove garlic, crushed

 1 tsp. honey

 salt and pepper

 1 tsp. orange zest

 1 Tbsp. orange juice

 3 Tbsps. raisins

 2 heads fennel, sliced

 3 oranges, segmented

 3 spring onions, sliced

 3 Tbsps. pecan halves (optional)

Segment the orange over a bowl in order to catch the juice for the dressing.  Mix up the dressing using the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, honey, salt, pepper, orange zest and orange juice.  Slice your fennel and green onions and toss together with the raisins, oranges, and pecans.  Toss with the dressing.  

All of the parts of the fennel can be used in cooking, the stalks and greenery can be used to season dishes with the anise type flavor and the milder white bulb can be cooked or eaten raw.  The bulb is a good source of vitamin C and fibre.  Fennel is best stored in the crisper but eaten soon after purchase as it is said to lose it's flavor the longer it is kept, however if you find the fennel flavor too strong, then do leave it a few extra days to be more mild.  Fennel pairs well with so many of the items from this week's box such as lemon, orange, celery, carrot, spinach, and onion.  It can be used in some great recipes such as New Carrot and Fennel Soup with Watercress,  Spinach Salad with Vidalia Dressing or this simple Fennel and Celery Salad  If you have a bit of time, this Lemon and Onion Roasted Chicken will make use of your lemon, fennel, carrots, yam and onions.

I was really impressed to find out how healthy chard is.  Everything I read about it proclaimed its high levels of vitamins A, C, and K, iron, beta-carotene, and the phytonutrient betalain which is good as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detox agent.  Just one cup of chard provides over 700% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin K, over 200% of the recommended intake of Vitamin A, and half the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C.  To store chard, do not wash the leaves until ready to use, place it in a plastic storage bag and wrap the bag around the stems, squeezing out as much air as possible.  One of my favorite ways of preparing chard is quite simple, cut the leaves and stalks, boil in water, drain, toss with a little butter, salt and pepper, a squeeze of fresh lemon or a little bit of vinegar.  However, chard can also be used in almost any way that you enjoy spinach or kale.  I came across this great frittata recipe which will incorporate both your onions and your chard for a great weekend breakfast/brunch meal or a quick weeknight meatless dish.  Or from another of my favorite recipe sources, LCBO's Food and Drink magazine, the Spicy Greens would be a great way to use the chard as side dish.

I wasn't feeling very creative about what to do with the yam in this week's order.  I normally use yams at holiday meal times  but I don't happen to be hosting Easter dinner this year.  Or we often use them for homemade baked fries, but I remembered a recipe from an Ottawa Citizen article that is worth trying if you are still in the mood for a warming stew.  This recipe takes a little bit of prep but can then be put in the crockpot to be ready at then end of a busy day.  

Curried Lentil Stew
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry French lentils, soaked 2 hours or overnight, then drained

One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, with liquid

One 14-ounce can coconut milk

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, or water

2 large carrots, diced

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup raisins

11/2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger (or 1 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot, peeled)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

11/2 teaspoons salt, or less to taste

2 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped

To garnish (any or all):

Chopped fresh basil leaves, cilantro or parsley

Plain yogurt

Diced avocado

Green onion, chopped

Goat cheese, crumbled

1. In a frypan, heat olive oil and sauté onion and garlic. Transfer all ingredients (except spinach and garnishes) to slow cooker and cook on Low setting 7 to 8 hours, or until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender.

2. Before serving, fold in spinach. Garnish with your choice of any or all of the garnishes.

Source: The Red Apron


Lastly, just a few tips for the produce in this week's box - trim the green stalks off the carrots before putting them in the crisper and they will stay fresher longer, pat your lettuce dry and then wrap it in an absorbent paper towel and place it back in the bag, and keep your tomatoes unwashed and at room temperature and if you want them to ripen quicker place them in a paper bag with an apple.  Enjoy!

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!

Weekly recipe ideas for Thursday June 23, 2011

by Brie

Fresh local strawberries are a sign of summer. We like to eat strawberries right from the basket, washing and coring them as we go. For dessert, nothing beats cut up strawberries piled up high on biscuits. Try either this classic or whole wheat version of strawberry shortcake (and when you run out of strawberries top them with any other seasonal fruit).

Grapefruit and oranges are both popular citrus fruit for eating and juicing. Low in calories and high in vitamin C, both are great options for mealtime or snacks. Try juicing the grapefruit and oranges for a yummy breakfast drink or tossing them together for a lunchtime salad.

Rainbow chard gets its name from its colourful stems which can range in colour from white to yellow to red. Easily substituted in recipes for other greens, like spinach or kale, Swiss chard is great served in lasagna or with quinoa and mushrooms. It would also be tasty in this chicken with Swiss chard, lemon and rosemary dish or in a snap pea and beef stir-fry.

Jewel yams are members of the sweet potato family and as such are a high source of beta carotene. Jewel yams make great additions to chili and soups. You could also serve it with mushrooms and quinoa or in a potato salad.

Sugar snap peas are a perfect ingredient to add to a stir fry. They can be tossed with shrimp, chicken or tofu. My favorite way to eat them is roasted!

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.

Weekly recipe ideas for Thursday, June 16th

by Brie

Fruit, like plums and pears, do make great snacks but they make even better additions to dinner. On a hot night try making a plum chicken salad or roasted plum and spinach salad. And as a side dish caramelized carrots and pears sounds delicious!

 



Green beans are a great side dish to serve with dinner. From the simple, serving them either steamed or roasted, to the more creative, honey cashew green beans or sweet and spicy green beans, they make a great accompaniment to most meals. Green beans can also be served in the main meal, like this green bean masala or this green bean mushroom casserole.

Green onions (also known as scallions) are milder then most other onions. They can be cooked or used raw as a garnish. Add them to sesame orzo with charred scallions or stir-fried tofu. For a lovely dinner make honey glazed pork with scallions and carrots or chicken with rice, broccoli and scallions.   

Spinach is a favorite salad ingredient. If you are wanting to try out some new salad recipes consider cranberry spinach salad or honey curry spinach salad. Our spinach will be chopped up and added to some phylo to make a spinach pie.  

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.

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.

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.