This Week's Box in Kansas City!

On Monday, I received:

Bitty Mixed Box
2 ea. Baker Russet Potatoes
1 ea. Cucumber
1 ea. Broccoli bunch
1 ea. Bok Choy bunch
4 ea. Yellow Onions
2 ea. d'Anjou Pears
2 ea. Navel Oranges
2 ea. Fuji Apples
2 ea. Bananas

Since I had extra down-time today, I decided to prepare some food to last me for the week. I sauteed my bok choy with olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, and lemon juice, and put it over brown rice (which I made 3-4 servings of). I've only cooked bok choy a couple of times before, and I REALLY love the flavor and crunchiness. I roasted my baker russet potatoes and onions with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and olive oil for 45 minutes at 400 degrees. I chopped up my broccoli and cucumber for dipping into my favorite asian sesame salad dressing as my late night snacks. I'm looking forward to eating my leftovers all week!

April 19 Delivery

On April 19, Melissa will receive:

Yams
Cilantro bunch
Turnips
Red Chard bunch
Leaf Lettuce
Baby Carrots 1-LB.
Broccoli
Cucumber
Grapefruit
Navel Oranges
Braeburn Apples
Gala Apples
d'Anjou Pears

This week I bought a deal on livingsocial.com for Door to Door Organics. Check out this video to see the contents of my box!

Halibut with Zucchini Salsa

My all time favorite fish is halibut. My usual go to recipe usually involves sauteing the fish in some combination of white wine, chicken broth, lemon and capers. I was excited to switch it up. I found this recipe calling for zucchini, perfect! I didn't have coriander so used celery salt instead, which actually worked. Next time I plan to make halibut, I'm going to see what other "fish salsas" I can find, because this was a great change of pace.

Ingredients

• 10 ounces zucchini (about 2 medium), trimmed, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus leaves for garnish
• 1/3 cup chopped white onion
• 5 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeño chiles
• 1 1/4 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
• 2 1/4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, divided
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander
• 6 6-ounce skinless halibut fillets or cod fillets

Preparation

• Combine zucchini, chopped cilantro, and next 4 ingredients in blender. Add 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt. Puree until salsa is smooth. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill.
• Preheat broiler. Line broiler pan with foil; coat foil with nonstick spray. Combine 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper, coriander, and remaining 1 teaspoon coarse salt in small bowl; stir to blend. Pat fish dry. Sprinkle fish on all sides with seasoning mixture.
• Arrange fish on prepared pan. Broil until just opaque in center, 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
• Transfer fish to plates. Spoon some salsa over. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve with remaining salsa.

Mexican Sweet Potatoes

I wanted to find a way to cook the sweet potatoes I had received to go with the black bean burgers. I found this! If only I had had the time to roast them a bit longer, they would have been perfect. It was a great combination of honey, lime and spice, and so easy!

Zucchini Bread

I've always wanted to bake more breads, but am hesitant due to the all purpose flour, just not my thing. After searching for a bit, I found a recipe that uses whole wheat flour which I had recently purchased. I was excited to make zucchini bread for my first time. Although I only had half the amount of necessary honey, this bread was perfect and I'll definitely be making it again soon. I may even try adding raisins next time.

Black Bean Burgers

I've been wanting to make black bean burgers for a while now. I finally found a recipe that I was going to attempt. It was a great use for my green pepper. I was quite nervous that the burger would fall apart. After following the cooking instructions, I put the pan in the oven for an extra 10 minutes and I think this really helped keep it in form. It was delicious although definitely messy. It was a hit among my typically meat eating guests.

• 1 c black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 c cooked brown rice
• 1/2 c onion, chopped
• 1/2 c cooked corn
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 t cumin
• 1 t coriander
• 1 t cayenne pepper
• 1 T cilantro, chopped
• 1 egg

Rinse and chop ingredients as directed above. Preheat griddle to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, add black beans and smash with a fork until thick and pasty. Add all other ingredients and mix. For each of the five burgers, spoon ingredients onto griddle first, then smooth/mold into burger shape. Cook about 10 minutes, flipping once, until golden brown.
Top with: cheddar, avocado, cilantro, salsa, corn

Juicing

I've had a juicer for about 4 years and its one of those appliances I used more in the beginning, mostly due to the lengthy clean up. However upon researching yellow carrots I found they are great for juicing as they are sweeter than orange carrots. I took 2 handfuls along with 3 apples and an orange and made a delicious breakfast juice. I'm going to vow to juice more in 2011!

Coconut Curry Tofu

A beloved recipe shared by Melissa, coconut curry tofu, has quickly become a favorite of mine to make. After receiving tomatoes and green onions in my box, Bryan suggested I make this again for him, but with a little extra kick to it this time. Since I love anything with tofu and vegetables, of course I agreed. I added two and a half times the amount of chile paste, but overall followed the recipe exactly. The outcome was a dish so fragrant and spicy, I wish it was acceptable to eat my leftovers for breakfast. Served over brown rice, this was a one-dish meal that left us full and satisfied. (I always know it's a success when Bryan picks at the leftovers in the pan with a fork when I'm not looking.)

2 bunches green onions

1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk

1/4 cup soy sauce, divided

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoons chile paste

1 pound firm tofu, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

4 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

4 cups chopped bok choy

salt to taste

Directions

1. Remove white parts of green onions, and finely chop. Chop greens into 2 inch pieces.
2. In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, mix coconut milk, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, brown sugar, curry powder, ginger, and chile paste. Bring to a boil.
3. Stir tofu, tomatoes, yellow pepper, mushrooms, and finely chopped green onions into the skillet. Cover, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in basil and bok choy. Season with salt and remaining soy sauce. Continue cooking 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender but crisp. Garnish with remaining green onion.

-submitted from Allrecipes.com

Celery Soup

To backtrack a bit, because this is worth remembering, I'd love to share a celery soup recipe I made this week with the celery I received in my last box. Since soup is my favorite food, you'll see many soup recipes along the way. I decided that I wanted to use my celery for soup since Phil does not care for raw celery at all. I was having some friends over so thought that just in case they were also not fans, turning celery into soup would be the right way to go. This celery soup recipe was a hit! It was so spicy and lemony in an unexpectedly awesome way. Although I did have to purchase potatoes, I had onions from my box I could use as well - bonus! One of my guests has already inquired about the recipe and how she's craving more. I'll spare you the picture - imagine "green!" What I love about this is that it easily made 6+ servings (eating 5 of 6 right now) and intend to enjoy the last bowl on a cold winter day, which in Chicago means anytime until June.


2 Potatoes -- Cubed
1 bunch Celery -- Chopped
1 Onion -- Chopped
2 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
1 tablespoon Ginger,cubed
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 1/2 quart Broth
Salt And Pepper -- To Taste
Lemon juice
2 ounces Butter

 

Saute the onion and potatoes in the butter, add the seasonings. Stir well; add celery and add broth. Put in salt and pepper and simmer for 30 minutes.


Puree all in food processor or blender and season with lemon juice. Mix in the butter. Serve warm.

The New Ice Cream

As I sat on my couch last night watching my three-hour Gossip Girl Netflix DVD, I couldn't help but begin to crave something sugary and sweet. After raiding my pantry, fridge, and freezer, I came to the conclusion that the only dessert I would be eating tonight was a spoonful of peanut butter. But then, I came across a recipe online called 'banana soft-serve' and my mouth started to water. Conveniently, I received bananas in my box on Monday that were ripening quickly, so I chopped them up and threw them in the freezer for later use. This recipe was titled, "this post will change your life" , and it did just that. The only ingredients required are a food processor and frozen fruit.

I took one frozen banana, about 5-6 frozen strawberries, and 10 frozen blueberries, threw them in a food processor with a splash of almond milk, and let it run for about 3-5 minutes. The fruit may seem dry and crumbly at first, but after awhile, turns into this glorious whipped consistency and VOILA! raw strawberry-banana-blueberry soft-serve is created!

Now me being an ice-cream/frozen yogurt/any kind of dessert junkie, this creation is not only satisfying in taste, but seriously filling as well. Check out the website below for more raw recipes of deliciousness!

http://www.choosingraw.com

Artichokes

I first became enthusiastic about the artichoke when I studied abroad in Italy and cooked with them in my Italian Vegetarian Cooking class. Since then, I've made them only once, and likely steamed them. I am most recently excited about the artichoke from a business trip I was on last week in California which took me through the Artichoke Capital of the World - Castroville, CA. I've passed by the artichoke farms many times but this time was with a colleague who encouraged me to finally pull over for an early lunch!  Pezzini Farms was the place to be. Families, business travels like us, and anyone looking to get their artichoke fix were there. More important than the artichoke food cart at first was the pure amount of artichokes they had (not surprising, it was an artichoke farm after all)!

We decided to order the fried artichoke wrap after artichoke excitement settled. Served with ranch, it was delicious. For more information on artichokes, visit the Artichoke Advisory Board.

I found the best way to use my artichokes were to go with the ever classic, steaming! It was perfect, and with a lemon butter sauce, I couldn't get enough.

Ingredients

• 4 sprigs parsley
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 lemons, cut in half
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 quart chicken broth or water
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 whole artichokes

Directions

Put the parsley, garlic, bay leaves, lemons, wine, oil and broth in a large pot and bring to a simmer. Season the liquid with salt and pepper. In the meantime prepare the artichokes.
Wash artichokes under cold water. Using a heavy stainless steel knife, cut off the stems close to the base. Pull off the lower petals that are small and tough. Cut off the top inch of the artichoke and rub with half a lemon to preserve the green color. Alternatively, you may put the artichokes in acidulated water. If you wish, trim the thorny tips of the petals with kitchen shears.
Place the artichokes in the steaming liquid, bottom up. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. The artichokes are done when a knife is inserted into the base and there is no resistance.
To eat, pull off a leaf and scrape the meat off the tender end with your front teeth. Dip the ends of the leaves in lemon juice and melted butter if desired. When you reach the center cone of purple prickly leaves, remove it. This is the choke that protects the heart. Now, scrape away the thistle fuzz covering the artichoke heart. The heart is the meatiest part of the artichoke. Steamed artichokes may be served hot or cold.

Fresh Organic Produce!

Melissa and Lauren have both started ordering organic produce boxes to be delivered each week.  Melissa orders her box from Newleaf Natural Grocery in Chicago and Lauren from Door to Door Organics in Kansas City. Although in different cities, they work together to figure out how they will make the most out of the fruits and veggies they receive. Each week they will post their box contents and share their favorite recipes from the week. Enjoy!

On April 4 Lauren Received:
Red Tomatoes
Grapefruit
Green Onion bunch
Red Chard bunch
Carrots bunch
Kiwi Fruit
Bartlett Pears
Gala Apples
Bananas

On April 6 Melissa Received:
Zucchini
Baby Yellow Carrots
Artichokes
Romaine
Yams
Radicchio
Green Peppers
Navels
Kiwis
Granny Smith Apple
Bananas