What are Cara Cara Oranges?

What are Cara Cara Oranges? They are a cross between 2 different Navels and were first discovered in the mid 70’s in Venezula. They are now largely grown in California. Cara Caras are sweeter, slightly tangy, and less acidic, with a hint of red fruit, like cranberry or blackberry. And if that’s not enough, they’re seedless, too! (sourced from: Kitchn)

This week we are featuring the Emerald City Kraut from Firefly Kitchens: Bright coriander paired with a dash of dill and turmeric — citrus meets pickle! Delicious with tuna, salmon, sandwiches or salads.

Kurtwood Farm’s Dinah Cheese for sale! https://www.kurtwoodfarms.com

Dinah’s is a farmstead cheese made on Vashon Island from the milk produced on their farm. It’s a bloomy-rind cheese, resembling a traditional French Camembert. The fatty, Jersey milk gives it a deep golden color, and when fully ripe will be gooey and full flavored.

If you’ve never tried it, it’s a real treat.


Local list includes: Fuji Apples, Yellow Potatoes, and Beets

Avocados, Kiwi, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Celery, Carrots, all citrus and Garlic are from California

Bananas, Peppers, Asparagus & Strawberries are from Mexico

If you would like to know more specifically where a particular item is grown, just send us an email and we will be happy to provide more regional details.

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Summer Kale Salad with Zucchini, Onions and Apricots

Hey Friday New Rooters!

As promised, your first peak at some of our recommendations for a deliciously local labor day meal. We were inspired by this Red Cabbage Salad with Apricots, by the National Onion Society (yes, that’s a thing). We loved the idea of putting our delicious apricots to good use, but wanted to take advantage of the lovely zucchini we’ve had recently.

Yield: 6 servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 ½ lbs. yellow onions, thinly-sliced
  • 2 med. zucchinis, grated and strained
  • 3 cups Kale, washed and shredded
  • 1 ½ lbs. Granny Smith apples, cored and diced into medium pieces
  • 1 cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
  • ½ cup vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon caraway seeds, toasted
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1 cup citrus
  • 2 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar

Preparation

Heat oil in a large sauté pan, add onions and stir well. Cook 8-10 minutes on medium-high heat. Add zucchini, apples, apricots, salt and pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, place shredded kale in a ceramic or wooden bowl and douse with citrus and balsalmic vineger of choice (we love oranges for this). Let sit, covered, so the kale begins to blanch.

Add vegetable broth and caraway seeds to pan with zucchini mixture. Stir to mix all ingredients. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook an additional 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Before serving, stir in parsley and orange zest and keep warm.

 

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Unique & Delicious Are Just Two of the Words That Describe This Dish

Bored with your everyday oatmeal or eggs and bacon breakfast? We were too, so we popped over to Foodgawker in hopes of something different, ideally using produce we already had in the fridge. Enter Shakshuka, a Moroccan plant-based dish that packs kick-in-the-pants flavor in under 10 minutes to make.

Our Recipe for Organic, Local Shakshuka

shakshuka tomato organic recipe by New Roots OrganicsServings: 2

  • 2 eggs
  • 1tbsp oil (grapeseed, EVOO)
  • 1  1/2 cups tomato sauce (we used Cucina Fresca’s Smoked Tomato)
  • 2-3 garlic scapes (to taste)
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1/2 cup onions
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella cheese

 

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Dice onions and scapes, and add to pan. Slice tomatos and lay out on pan. Pour tomato sauce over and add cumin, chili powder and salt & pepper to taste. Heat 2-3 minutes, add mozarella slices and crack eggs over the top. Cook, stirring sauce regularly until eggs are the desired consistency.  Enjoy your extremely delicious, organic breakfast.

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Meet our Meatless Mexican Lettuce Wrap

Meet our Meatless Mexican Lettuce Wrap

Meatless Monday is a movement that’s gained a lot of popularity over that last few years, and for good reason. By abstaining from meat for just one day out of the week, we lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and many other illnesses, save a few dollars and reduce the harsh impact the meat industry puts on our environment. On larger scales, such as University cafeterias and military bases, this single-day movement can make a huge difference.

While we love a good steak, we’re giving it a try and we want you to join us! We had a full stock of veggies perfect for these meatless mexican lettuce wraps, but if that’s not your thing, Eating Well has a full list of yummy meatless meals.

meatless mexican lettuce wrapsHow to make a delicious Meatless Mexican Lettuce Wrap

1/2 cup corn (cob, can or frozen all work!)
1/2 cup red pepper
1 cup spinach
2 – 4 large lettuce leaves
1/4 cup refried beans, warmed
1-2 garlic scapes
1 small jalepeno
1/4 cup onion
1/2 cup quinoa (we love red quinoa for this recipe but any works)
1/2 a lime
2 tbsp sour cream
1-2 tbsp ghee
1/2 tbsp hot sauce
salt, cilantro + chili powder to taste

  1. Clean and dry lettuce leaves and all other produce. This is particularly crucial with leaf veggies as small critters can be nesting in the head of your lettuce.
  2. In a rice cooker or pot, bring quinoa to boil then let simmer about 15-20 minutes.
  3. In a saucepan, melt ghee over medium heat. Dice onions, peppers, garlic scapes and jalepeno and add to pan, along with corn. When veggies are softened, add in spinach, salt, cilanto and hot sauce. Let simmer for another 2-5 minutes until spinach has blanched.
  4. Scoop spoonfuls of veggies onto lettuce wrap with a dollup of beans and sour cream, and a spritz of lime. Top with quinoa and enjoy! If your lettuce wrap breaks, you can always shred the remaining lettuce and eat as a taco salad as well.
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Plant-based Slaw for the Summer

It’s getting hot Seattlites, and standing over a hot stove is just not an option when it’s pushing 90° outside. One of our go-to summer meals is a quick slaw using organic veggies and fresh lime. The best part about this recipe is that you don’t have to follow it precisely (ha!). While broccoli and carrots are pretty standard in most slaws, feel free to add whatever vegetables you have in the fridge to add flavor and variety to your meal in 10 minutes or less. Kelley wasn’t the first one to snag a bite of this before heading out to deliver your bins this week!

How to make this quick and fresh veggie slaw

Organic veggie slaw using new roots organic  produce, broccoli, snap peas,

  • 2 Broccoli stems
  • 1 Carrot
  • 1 Beet
  • 1 cup Snap peas
  • 1 tbsp. Drew’s Sesame Orange Dressing (or your choice of dressing)
  • 1/2 Lime, juiced
  • Salt to taste

Shred and combine broccoli stems, beets and carrot in a bowl with a mandoline or other slicer, enough to cut thin slices, not unlike zoodles.  Split snap peas down the center, add to bowl. Squeeze a half lime into mixture, your dressing, and sprinkle with salt flakes  (or regular salt if you don’t have flakes on hand).

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The Vegetables and Fruits in Season this June

It’s time! More and more local fruits and vegetables are rolling in this month, and we couldn’t be happier to reconnect with our Washington farms.

What’s in season for May and June:

What’s happening in organic produce and farming:

On another happy note, a recent report by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) found a 13% increase in certified organic operations. With 24,650 organic farms and organizations, the organic farming sector is one of the fastest growing in the country! This is beneficial not only for our own health and diet, but as a next step in creating a more sustainable, environmentally-conscious farming system for the future. The USDA also announced 47 new grants, providing $17.5 million for “research projects to improve sustainable agriculture in rural communities”.

These grants will catalyze new growth and discoveries in organic farming, and we’re so excited to see the growth of organic produce in homes. This year, organic demand is expected to hit 5% of the market share, which sounds small but is a giant stride for the industry. On top of all of this fantastic industry news, professional baseball player Jayson Werth recently made a speech detailing how he turned his traditional family farm into an organic sustainable enterprise.

From our family to yours, we hope you all have a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend. Rather than choose just one delicious recipe to share this week, take a glance (or several) at these amazing healthy recipe ideas for every meal this Memorial Day Weekend!

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11 Ways to Eat Spinach For Better Health

Happy Friday!

We made it through another week, and it looks like we may even see some sun this weekend (knock on wood!).

Next week we are receiving first of the season spring Onions from Alvarez Farm (their farm is in Yakima, where it’s a little warmer). Until then, we’re enjoying the local spinach, spring onions, and asparagus!

fresh food, local food, seattle, ballard, organic produce, organic food delivery, spanich, artichokes, new roots organics

Spinach is full of healthy nutrients and you can put it in a variety of dishes, including almost any pasta dish, casserole or stir-fry. Along with it’s ample stores of vitamins and antioxidants, spinach can assist in better eye health, cancer prevention and lowered blood pressure. The quickest way to cook spinach solo is to saute it in a pan, but keep in mind if you are including spinach in a stir-fry, it takes less time to cook than some thicker vegetables such as carrots. Here are eleven meal ideas you can add spinach to!

  • Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
  • Butter Garlic Risotto
  • Stews & soups
  • Green smoothies
  • Salads & sandwiches
  • As a pizza topping
  • Southern Chicken & Collard Greens
  • Roasted red pepper, pork and mushroom skillet
  • Burritos/fajitas
  • Monkey bread
  • Scrambled eggs

fresh food, local food, seattle, ballard, organic produce, organic food delivery, spanich, artichokes, new roots organicsWe have gorgeous local spinach and artichokes this week, which means making spinach artichoke dip is a must. We really love this recipe, and it’s the self-proclaimed “Best Spinach Artichoke Dip”, so we think you’ll enjoy it as well.

Keep an eye on our blog next week as we’ll have an update on local agriculture and some delicious ideas for Memorial Day.

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Secret Ingredients and Organic Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Happy Monday everyone, and Happy Mother’s Day to all of our New Root’s moms out there!

Have you ever tried a recipe from your mother, following it to the letter, and yet it just wasn’t as perfect as hers? That used to happen to me all the time, and I pestered her about it, certain there was a secret ingredient I was missing. I’ve noticed that lots of people carolyn boyle,new roots organic, farm fresh organic food delivered seattle, consider recipes more as guidelines than instructions, adding in an extra pinch of this or a dollop of that until it taste just right. Understanding the basic chemistry of cooking definitely helps lower the chance of a stovetop disaster, but experimenting and tweaking provides an internal understanding of how flavors can weave together. This intuition, while infuriating for a beginner, is what makes a meal your own.

I love putting together my organic produce in new and creative ways to keep dinners fun, easy and most importantly, delicious.  If you’ve followed us for a while, you probably know that we send recipes in our newsletter. Now we’ll also be including helpful produce news and recipes on our blog using ingredients that are in our bins each week.

If there’s a particular vegetable or fruit that stumps you, comment here, post on our Facebook or email us, and we’ll suggest recipes for you here on the blog.

This week is forcasted for 75 degrees and sunny, so we took it upon ourselves to suggest a yummy dessert you can make for the weekend. This old-fashioned style Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp is scrumptious, organic produce, heart food, heart healthy, food art, new roots organics, eat seattlebut we challenge you to experiment with your own ingredients and flavors to make it your own.  There’s even a paleo option over at Bakerita!

We love seeing how you turn our organic produce into beautiful meals, so please feel free to tag us on Facebook or Instagram. We have major heart eyes for this photo taken by New Root’s customer Joel last week, promoting a heart healthy diet!

What you will need for this Old-Fashioned Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp by Food & Wine

FILLING

  • 2 pounds rhubarb stalks, sliced 1/2 inch thick
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

TOPPING

  • 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

How to make the perfect organic Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

organic strawberries, local seattle produce, farm fresh, strawberry rhubarb crisp

  • Preheat the oven to 375.
  • In a bowl, toss the rhubarb with 3/4 cup of the sugar and let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. In another bowl, toss the strawberries with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and let stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the rhubarb to the strawberries; discard any rhubarb juice. Add the cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla to the fruit and stir well. Transfer the mixture to a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish.
  • Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix the ingredients together until large crumbs form.
  • Sprinkle the topping evenly over the filling and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 and continue baking for about 30 minutes longer, until the fruit filling is bubbling and the topping is nicely browned. Let the crisp rest for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.
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Organic Pineapple Salsa, Blood Orange Margaritas, and Cinco de Mayo Trivia

Hey foodies!

If you still have this week’s jalepenos, tomatoes, peppers and pineapples, you’re in luck. We’re celebrating of Cinco De Mayo the New Roots way, with a quick and easy organic pineapple salsa recipe that happens to taste amazing with a Blood Orange margarita, if we do say so ourselves. Watch Carolyn mix one up in less than 30 seconds:

Margaritas and a quick and easy Pineapple Salsa. Full recipes on our blog! https://newrootsorganics.com/blog/2017/05/organic-pineapple-salsa-blood-orange-margaritas-and-cinco-de-mayo-trivia/

Posted by New Roots Organics on Friday, May 5, 2017

People common misunderstand Cinco de Mayo as the day of Mexican Independence, when it’s actually commemorating the Battle of Puebla, which happened 50 years after Mexico gained independence. Fun fact, while Americans celebrate this holiday (usually with their good friend Jose Cuervo) most of Mexico doesn’t take note of the Fifth of May. While rocking a sombrero is probably a bit much, we think this appetizer and cocktail combo is just right. Let us know how yours taste, comment below or tag us on Instagram @NewRootsOrganic

Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients
organic food, pineapple, salsa, margaritas, cinco de mayo1 cup shallots, julienned
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Instructions

Mix the shallots, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, jalepeno pepper, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and lime juice together in a bowl; refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Blood Orange Margarita

2 blood oranges, juiced (3 oz)
1 fresh lime
2 ounces tequila of your choice (we prefer blanco for this cocktail)
1 oz Simple Syrup or Agave Nectar
2 ice cubes

Instructions:

  1. Optional: Rub the rim of your glass with a blood orange slice.  Dip the rim in sea salt, we recommend Pink Himalayan salt.
  2. Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake ~20 seconds
  3. Pour into salted glass and enjoy.

Strawberry Margarita

2 strawberries, muddled in the bottom of the glass
2 oz of tequila
1 oz house made orange infused simple syrup
1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
Shake with ice and serve!

PS: For an extra twist, try a homemade orange-infused simple syrup:

Equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar is dissolved- add orange peel and let steep until cool. Transfer to easy pour bottle of your choice!

Traditional Margarita:

2 oz Tequila
1 oz Simple syrup
1 oz Fresh Squeezed lime juice (the juice of 1 average lime)

Shake with ice and serve!

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A Picture-Perfect Week at New Roots Organic

Hey New Roots Readers,

Hope you’re having a great Friday so far! We know everyone is excited to get to their weekend, so let’s keep this short and sweet.

First we want to say thank you, because with your help, we raised $850 for fresh fruit that will go in the Food Bank Kids’ Packs. This is a huge help, and we all know how important a healthy diet is to children’s development, so give yourselves a round of applause.

We also wanted to show you our newest addition to the New Roots facility, a beautiful mural created by the very first NRO employee, Jared DelDeo. Jared now resides in Portsmouth, NH, but he came back for a visit and left this new addition behind our assembly line.

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Warm days and warm nights are bringing on the late summer produce early and the quality has been fantastic! Eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, melons are all here. Soon, we’ll have local corn and larger tomatoes too 🙂 If you haven’t tried our medium-bodied New Roots Blend or Back Pedal coffee, they also make for a wonderful iced coffee during the warm weather.

We’ve got some delicious looking eggplant, banana sweet peppers, and more cherry tomatoes to come, so why not try this Eggplant Ratatouille recipe by Serious Eats?

20130303-242939-grilled-ratatouille-thumb-625xauto-309757

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