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September ASK the CHEF recipe!

Ginger Carrot Dressing

Serves 4

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped

¼ cup water

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 ½ Tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons sesame oil

½ cup olive or vegetable oil

In a blender, add the carrots and ginger and puree, stopping to scrape down the sides of blender. Once pureed, add the water, sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and honey and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. With the blender on low, add the sesame and vegetable oil. Blend until dressing is thick and creamy.

Serve on your favorite green salad or with fresh veggies.

This is especially yummy on spinach.

August ASK the CHEF recipe!

April ASK the CHEF - Black bean burger recipe!

October

ASK THE cHEF

Theme: Snacks!

Bag Contents:

• Red Potatoes - Mr. Moore's Produce, Blounts Creek, NC*

• Spaghetti Squash - Superfood Farm, Culpepper, VA*

• Arugula, OG - Potomac Valley Organics, Union Bridge, MD

• Banana bunch, Organic, Fair Trade - Ecuador

• Sweet Onions, OG - Central PA Produce Cooperative, Tyrone, PA

• Heirloom Tomatoes - Singing Earth Produce, Waynesboro, VA*

• Empire Apples - Saunders Brothers Orchard, Piney River, VA

• Asian Pears - Saunders Brothers Orchard, Piney River, VA

To start, how Should I approach this bag?

1. Snacks are the easiest! Asian pears, apples and bananas can be eaten straight, or jazzed up a bit. Same with tomatoes.

2. What goes well together (think: onions, potatoes, tomatoes)

3. What will make a nice entrée? Spaghetti squash

4. What’s nice to have on hand, or can go in everything (potatoes, onions, tomatoes)

5. What do I need to cook, what can be a main dish, what can be a side dish: need to cook spaghetti squash, can cook arugula or eat raw in salads

6. What will go bad most quickly, what do I need to wait a bit to ripen? Bananas will likely need to ripen

Next up, how can we prepare snacks with this bag?

3 options come to mind:

1. Tomato toasts

a. Slice your favorite bread, toast it

b. Pick a base: Garlic rubbed straight on the toast, cream cheese, ricotta cheese

c. Slice your tomato and add that on top

d. Season with salt & pepper

Alternatively, you can make a mini pizza by adding cheese on top of your tomato slice, then microwaving it to melt the cheese

2. PB & H Toast

a. Slice your favorite bread, toast it

b. Slather on Peanut Butter or Almond Butter

c. Top with sliced bananas

d. If your children are older than 1, drizzle with honey

e. Ta-Da!

Alternatively, instead of toast you can use rice cakes

You can also skip the toast all together, slice your bananas, top with peanut butter, and freeze for a fun treat!

3. Eat ‘em raw!

a. Slice your apples and Asian pears, and dip them in peanut butter, or eat with cheese

b. Dip your tomatoes in your favorite dressing

ENJOY!

And Send us Pictures of your Snack Creations!! :)

 September

Ask the Chef

Theme: Dinner!

To start, how to approach this bag?

1. Bananas, peaches, and watermelon are easy. Snacks or smoothies.

2. What goes well together (think: okra, peppers, tomatoes)

3. What doesn’t (this bag is actually pretty seamless in terms of what can be cooked together), what sticks out (callaloo),

4. What’s nice to have on hand, or can go in everything (potatoes)

5. What do I need to cook, what can be a main dish, what can be a side dish

6. What will go bad most quickly, what do I need to wait a bit to ripen?

Research, what is callaloo?

Callaloo is a leafy green vegetable, similar to spinach, that is commonly consumed in Jamaica. It is best cooked, and is often used to make a Jamaican dish of the same name. This can be swapped in for spinach if you have a favorite use for spinach. Recipe inspiration and more information here: https://healthiersteps.com/recipe/jamaican-callaloo/

How can we prepare Dinners with this bag?

We can use a technique called “braising” to cook some of these veggies.

2 options come to mind:

1. Stewed okra, tomatoes, and peppers (https://howtofeedaloon.com/stewed-fresh-okra-tomatoes/#recipe)

a. Cut veggies into bite sized pieces

b. Brown celery and onion of using, add garlic at the end and cook until fragrant

c. Add chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, and okra. Season.

d. Add in stock, let braise until you’re happy with the textures

2. Two Side dishes to a protein (braised callaloo and mashed potatoes)

a. Braised callaloo: brown onions (and bacon, turkey if using), add garlic and cook until fragrant, add callalloo, add stock and seasonings, cover and let braise until you’re happy with the textures (video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5B65ZLOA9s )

b. Mashed potatoes: Add potatoes and salt into a pot of cool water. Turn heat on and bring to a boil, let cook until potatoes are fork tender. Drain potatoes, mash or whip with olive oil or butter, and salt and pepper. (video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ6S26U2VRE )

Other okra possibilities: Air fried okra! https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/air-fryer-okra

Reminder that your bell peppers and tomatoes work great with the dips we discussed last month!

Explore dips: https://faqkitchen.com/best-dips-for-cucumbers/