Produce Report: Strawberries and more!

Hello all and happy Monday. We are fully into spring and our produce is a reflection of it. We have some awesome favorites. Take a look..

SPRING STRAWBERRIES!

With spring comes more delicious produce. This includes wonderful strawberries! Sweet, vibrant and ready to eat, these berries are just perfect. Eat them for a refreshing snack or throw them in a salad for the perfect treat.

Zucchini

Zucchini are in the bins and so good! They’s so versatile, too! What’s your favorite zucchini recipe? Try this fabulous dishes!

Local radishes are back

One of our favorite items is back again: local radishes. Radishes are somewhat underrated. They have a refreshing natural flavor and can be an addition to may additions. Like spice but not the aftereffects? Try eating a raw radish after to cool your mouth down!

Bock Choy is back!

Another favorite is returning: baby bock choy! So delicious sautéed with garlic, soy sauce and olive oil, baby bok choy has a great natural flavor and is packed with nutrients. They are a bit more versatile than one may presume. Check out all the ways to cook these up!

 What are planning to cook this week? Share your recipes on our Facebook page!

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What to look for: Fruitful!

Hello all and Happy Friday! Next week we will so many more great options, along with all the greats from this past week! Get ready, it’s going to be a good week!

Let’s dig into a few…

Blood oranges are for sale next week and they are just as delicious as they are beautiful! They are nutrient-rich, too! They are much like regular oranges, but with a vibrant maroon color inside and tastes a bit more like a raspberry.

Just looking forward to what’s in your bin? We’ll have strawberries, tangelos, apples, pears, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, and bananas!

According to Wiki Answers, The tangelo is a citrus fruit that is a hybrid of a tangerine and either a pomelo or a grapefruit. It may have originated in Southeast Asia over 3,500 years ago[citation needed]. The fruits are the size of an adult fist and have a tangerine taste, but are very juicy, to the point of not providing much flesh but producing excellent and plentiful juice. Tangelos generally have loose skin and are easier to peel than oranges. They are easily distinguished from oranges by a characteristic nipple at the top of the fruit.

Mangos are here for the second week in a row and they are awesome! They’re so delicious, sweet and juicy; they’re like nature’s candy!

What are you most looking forward to next week? share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

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Produce Report: Spring Goods

Hello all and Happy Monday! We have some fantastic produce for you this week. As a brighter side of Spring, enjoy so many great choices this week: mango to kiwi to baby bok choy and everything in between! This week’s menus are some of our best!

Let’s focus on a few of our favorites…

Local Radish from Willie Green’s Farm

Crisp and delicious, these radishes are such a delight. And these little things are much more than an accessory to your salad. There are so many great ways to eat them! Check out these fantastic recipes by clicking here.

Did you know? Radishes are related to wasabi, a type of horseradish, which in paste form is a staple condiment of Japanese cuisine. Now, that’s versatility!

Asparagus

One of our favorites, this week’s asparagus is looking great! Big bundles of delicious asparagus has arrived. And asparagus is super healthy! Let us count the ways:

1 – can detoxify our system
2 – has anti-aging functions
3 – is considered an aphrodisiac
4 – can protect against cancer
5 – reduces pain and inflammation
6 – can prevent osteoporosis and osteoarthritis
7 – reduces the risk of heart disease
8 – can help prevent birth defects

Are you tired of your typical asparagus meals? Try these NOW!

Sweet Lime

This may not look like a lime, with yellow flesh and citrus, but this is in fact a sweet  lime. What are sweet limes? According to yumsugar.com:

Generally, limes are picked while they’re still green, but they actually turn yellowish in color when completely mature. Likewise, green sweet limes, while unoffensive, have yet to reach their full sweetness. Rather than having a high amount of sugar, the fruit contains less acid than ordinary limes, causing it to taste sweeter. Although the fruit’s pale yellow flesh is praised for its mildness and palatability, some have described the fruit’s taste as insipid due to its complete lack of tartness.

A few ways to use sweet limes:

  • Make sweet limeade, or add some to your ice water for a refreshing aroma.
  • Use the fruit’s juice to make sweet lime-flavored granita.
  • Incorporate the fragrant peel into in a homemade marmalade.
  • Toss into a Winter fruit salad for an unusual bite.
  • Tone down your cocktails by using in place of sour limes.
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Produce Spotlight: Turnip Up!

Hello all and Happy Wednesday! The week is nearing the end. Among all of the awesome produce this week, we wanted to shed a special light on the often underrated turnip.

Turnips may be a little tricky and intimidating to cook with at first. Once you figure out all of the great ways to use turnips, you’ll be hooked!

Wikipedia defines a turnip as ” a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock.” However, the turnip offers so much more than its meaning!

Not often considered a must for diets, the turnip is often being overlooked. Turnips provide a great source of fiber and protein, while being low in calories and fat. They are also packed with vitamins.

So just how do you master the turnip? First, follow these tips if you are not yet comfortable. Turnips are a fantastic substitute for many potato dishes, and also a compliment. Try these quick and easy recipes from Realsimple.com for a test drive.

Sautéed Turnips and Greens
Cook peeled and cut-up turnips and sliced garlic in olive oil in a large skillet until tender. Add the turnip greens and cook until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Roasted Turnips With Ginger
Peel and cut turnips into wedges. Toss with sliced fresh ginger, canola oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with honey and roast at 400° F until tender.

Mashed Turnips With Crispy Bacon
Simmer peeled and cut-up turnips in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and mash with butter, salt, and pepper. Fold in crumbled cooked bacon and chopped chives; top with shaved Parmesan.

Creamy Leek and Turnip Soup
Cook thinly sliced leeks in butter in a large saucepan until soft. Add peeled and cut-up turnips and enough chicken broth to cover. Simmer until very tender. Puree until smooth, adding water or broth as necessary to adjust the consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

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Produce Report: More Goodies!

Hello all and Happy Tuesday! Tomorrow is the first day of Spring, and what better way to celebrate than enjoying delicious organic produce? This week, we are enjoying more NRO favorites. We can’t seem to get enough! See why…

Miles and Ian holding some Raab and Meyer lemons!

Two great items held by two of our very own. On display are our spotlight item of the week, Meyer Lemons, and Raab. Both are fabulous items, that are even better together!

Meyer Lemons are simply the best. With just enough tart to add the lemon kick to all dishes, they have just the right amount of sweetness to rid of the pucker.

local kale Raab from Willie Green’s is awesome

Raab, or Kale Raab, is a great sign that Spring is here. It is incredibly versatile and packed with nutrients. You should definitely try cooking with this if you haven’t yet.

gorgeous Rainbow carrots

“Gorgeous” is an understatement with these carrots. There are perfection. With great colors and a wonderful flavor, these carrots will be delicious alone or thrown into just about any dish! Looking for a new way to use these? Try pickling them!

locally grown Red cut beets

The ever classic NRO red beet is back. We just cannot get enough of these! And if you’ve learned to appreciate beets, you understand why! Beets are packed with nutrients. They have a sweet, but subtly distinct flavor when roasted. Throw them in a salad, snack on them throughout the day, roast them, pickle them, and enjoy them often!

 

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Produce Spotlight: Limited Lemons!

Hello all and Happy Friday! This week we wanted to shed a special light on one of our favorite items: Meyer Lemons. 

This week we have them for sale, but they will not be lasting long. Meyer Lemons are an extra special lemon. Naturally sweeter than regular lemons, they are great additions as fruit rather than just juice and for adding lemon flavor without the mouth-puckering sourness of other lemons.

From About.com:

Meyer lemons have a beautiful floral aroma that can add a wonderful note to traditional lemon dishes – lemonade, cocktails, and salads in particular. While their unique flavor can enhance lemon desserts, such asLemon Bars, they are not as acidic as regular lemons and should not be used one-to-one or blindly substituted in sweet recipes. When in doubt, taste before you bake!

Experiment with Meyer lemons on your own, or try one of these Meyer lemon-specific recipes:

With their peak season in March, these will not be available for much longer! Stock up on them today!

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Produce Spotlight: Eggplant!

Eggplant is back next week and we cannot wait to make all of the delicious meals eggplant is so good for. We wanted to share with you a quick overview on the historical and wonderful veggie…

Eggplant’s subtle and distinctive combination of textures and flavors – smooth, fleshy, creamy, smoky – make it a versatile and beguiling component of many great dishes.

HISTORY

The eggplant is thought to be of Indian origin and records show that it was being cultivated in China in the fifth century. From around the fifteenth century it became increasingly popular in Mediterranean Europe and has long been established in classic dishes such as moussaka (from Greece) and ratatouille (southern France).

BIOLOGY

Eggplant (Solanum melongena) is botanically not a vegetable but a berry.

NUTRITION

Eggplant is a good source of fiber and folic acid. The color of the skin is a result of the presence ofanthocyanins – compounds with antioxidant properties.

TIPS

BUYING

Choose eggplants that feel heavy with smooth, taut, unblemished skin and fresh-looking unwithered green stalks.

STORING

Eggplants are easily damaged; handle with care. They keep in the fridge for a few days.

PREPARING

In the past it was normal to salt eggplants to remove bitterness and moisture. Modern eggplants are rarely too bitter, but salting can help reduce the amount of oil aubergines absorb during cooking. Cut the eggplant into thick slices, salt well and stand in a colander for around half an hour to allow the juices to drain away. Rinse thoroughly and dry with a kitchen towel.

Roasting, griddling and frying (with a good batter to reduce the amount of oil absorbed) are all suitable cooking methods.

 OTHER STUFF

Eggplant is a key ingredient in Imam Bayildi, a dish popular throughout the Arab world. According to legend the dish’s name, which translates as ‘the imam fainted’, arose after an imam passed out due to the deliciousness of the dish.

Try some of these fantastic recipes perfect for any occasion.

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Produce Report: Popping into Spring..Early!

Hello all and Happy Tuesday! We are super pumped for this week’s deliveries. We are especially excited for a good sign spring will be here soon..artichokes! Artichoke origins date back to the time of the Greek philosopher and naturalist, Theophrastus (371-287 B.C.), who wrote of them being grown in Italy and Sicily. And they’ve been delicious ever since!

Baked, fried, sautéed, grilled, stewed, pickled, steamed…you name it, an artichoke is great prepared that way! See all these artichoke recipes. Enjoy these!

We are also very excited to have spinach back! A true powerhouse in the world of produce, spinach is packed with nutrients and tastes great. With the perfect amount of delicacy and heartiness, spinach goes great with just about any meal. Try it in the morning with your eggs or in a shake to get your day off to a right start!

While you are preparing for the day, don’t forget this week’s bunch of Minneola Tangelos! A fan and warehouse favorite, Carolyn says they are “super delicious, and make the best Margaritas.” Take them as a snack, throw them in a salad, or shake up your beverages. This little citrus is fantastic!

And lastly, rounding out our spotlight this week, another favorite is back: baby bok choy. Much more versatile than imagined, baby bok choy allows for fun and experimenting in the kitchen. Try out a new bok choy recipe and post it on our Facebook page!

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Produce Spotlight: Watercress!

Hello all and Happy Friday! What better way to start the weekend off with than a look into a new item for next week? 😉 We are very excited for next week’s addition of Watercress.

What is watercress?

According to Wikipedia, Watercress, is a fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plant native to Europe and Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by humans.

Why is watercress so great?

Besides being known as “Mother Nature’s Multivitamin,” watercress is also delicious! According to Medical News Today, Eating watercress daily can significantly reduce DNA damage to blood cells, which is considered to be an important trigger in the development of cancer.

The research found that in addition to reducing DNA damage, adaily portion of watercress also increased the ability of those cells to resist further DNA damage caused by free radicals.

History of Watercress

Watercress is the most ancient of green vegetables known to man and its use can be traced back to the Persians, Greeks and Romans. In fact, a famous Persian chronicler advised Persians to feed cress to their children to improve bodily growth. He also strongly recommended its use to the Greek and Persians soldiers of that time.

Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician who said “let food be thy medicine,” so believed in the healing powers of watercress that he built his first hospital next to a stream so he could grow it. The Romans and Anglo-Saxons believed watercress averted baldness and Francis Bacon, a 17th-century English philosopher and politician, said it would restore women’s youth. Watercress’s Latin name, Nasturtium officinale, means “nose twister”—an appropriate description considering its pungent, peppery taste. Isothiocyanates—antioxidants that amp up your body’s detoxifying enzymes—give watercress its distinctive bite. Studies suggest these compounds may even help prevent cancer and lower cholesterol.

How to Use Watercress

Watercress is traditionally eaten raw, added to soup, or sautéed until it is slightly wilted in a savory salad with cucumbers and oranges. If you need an entree option to pair with your salad or soup, watercress pairs well with salmon and chicken.

COOK THIS! and these!

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All About Kiwifruit

Hello all and Happy Wednesday! This week we’d like to shed a special light on the kiwifruit. Sweet with a unique texture, kiwifruit are in the peak of their season. While they are delicious snack, they have much more to offer. Let’s explore…

Courtesy of About.com

Kiwifruit may look unpalatable at first glance, but beneath that hairy brown exterior lies emerald green flesh with a flavor reminiscent of strawberries to some and pineapple to others. As tempting as it is in desserts, this sweet, yet slightly tart fruit also works well in savory dishes.

Cooking with Kiwifruit

Most people prefer to either peel kiwi fruit or slice in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. However, there are some varieties that are scarcely hairy at all, and these may be eaten skin and all if you are feeling adventurous. An egg-slicer may be used to slice peeled kiwifruit into uniform slices for recipes or as a colorful garnish.

Kiwifruit does not work well in gelatins, due to an enzyme which breaks down collagen. However, this same enzyme also makes it a great tenderizer for meat. This enzyme will also curdle milk (but not heavy cream), so you may wish to briefly cook the fruit to deactivate the enzyme when using with dairy products.

Kiwifruits are low in fat and calories and have no cholesterol. They are loaded with Vitamin C, potassium and fiber, making it one of nature’s tastiest superfoods.

Looking for ways to cook with kiwifruit? Try these recipes!

Kiwi Fruit History

Kiwifruit, Actinidia chinensis, was formerly known as the Chinese gooseberry. Surprisingly, although it is associated with New Zealand, kiwifruit actually originated in the Chang Kiang Valley of China. The Chinese used it as a tonic for children and women after childbirth due to its high nutritional value, but never truly enjoyed it as a fruit. It was first exported from Asia as an ornamental vine, perfect for arbors, in the early 1900s. The kiwifruit arrived first in 1904 in the United States and later in 1906 found its way to New Zealand. Yet it was the New Zealanders who recognized the potential of this succulent fruit and began cultivating it for commercial profit.

Due to novelle cuisine movement of the 70’s, the kiwifruit gained great popularity in the USA. New hybrids include the baby kiwis, which are green, smooth, about the size of table grapes, and eaten much like them. Today, California provides 95 percent of the US crop. Out of the four main varieties, the most popular is the “Hayward,” a variety developed by New Zealand horticulturist Hayward Wright. Luckily, the opposite growing season of New Zealand makes kiwifruit available year-round in the Northern hemisphere.

Naming the Kiwifruit

New Zealanders do not take kindly to the fruit being referred to as a kiwi, preferring kiwifruit. The kiwi is a small flightless bird native to New Zealand, a term New Zealanders often use in reference to themselves.

The moniker of “kiwifruit” is a fairly recent development, believe it or not. New Zealand growers adopted the name kiwifruit for the Chinese gooseberry in the mid 1960’s, believing it to be more palatable than a reference to the hairy bird which its hairy exterior resembles. There are also some references to the name change being in response to anti-communist sentiments implied by Chinesegooseberry.

In France, kiwifruit translates to souris vegetales, meaning vegetable mouse. It’s an apt description, albeit not very appetizing.


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