Aloha Oahu Fresh members!  We’re bringing you a stocked bag this week–so many items you can use this week in many ways!

What’s coming?

• Ho Farms butternut squash
• PGC Farmers string beans
• Green Growers slicing tomatoes
• Mari’s Garden hydroponic lettuce
• Kama`aina Land starfruit
• Small Kine Farm mushrooms
• Ho Farms luffa sponge (not to eat!  but great to wash with!)

Here’s our take on ways you can use this bounty:

Balsamic Glazed Butternut Squash   Easy and tasty, this one can be on the table in less than an hour!

How can you elevate your squash, steak, chicken, or even potatoes?  Top them with a Mushroom Red Wine Sauce!

Best Ever New Potatoes and Green Beans

BLT Wraps without the bread!  Use your lettuce leaves…

Fresh Pico de Gallo   and Baja Fish Tacos!  Here’s a recipe to use if you feel like going all out and making some amazing tacos!  Pick and choose from it–you don’t have to make the creamy sauce, just top your fish with the pico de gallo.

What to use your luffa for?

exfoliating

washing dishes

 

Oahu Fresh members, we’ve got some wonderful produce this week!  Fresh from farms spanning the island, from Heeia to Waianae, here’s what you can expect in this week’s bag:

• Green Onions from Green Growers
• Taro from KakooOiwi
• Round Eggplant from Ho Farms
• Kale from Pacific Gateway Farms
• Long Beans from Pacific Gateway Farms
• Organic baby greens mix from Kahumana Farm

We’ve chosen a few recipes for you to try if you’re stumped on what to do with this week’s produce.  You can also search our previously posted recipes for more ideas!  Use the search box on our recipes page.

Stewed Taro with Green Onions

Pork and Purple Taro Stew

Spicy Eggplant and Green Bean Curry   Use your long beans and eggplant all together!

Green Bean Salad with Red Onion and Tomato   If you have a tomato or two left from last week’s bag plus a cucumber, you can easily sub the green onion in from this week instead of red onion and your salad is done!

Sweet and Spicy Kale Salad: from Tone It Up Blog

♥ If you weren’t sure that kale deserved its superfood status, then this little-known fact may be enough to make you fall in love. Kale is an excellent source of manganese, a blood-sugar stabilizing trace mineral that’s needed to metabolize key nutrients, and to promote bone health. Stable blood sugars mean less sweet cravings. Kick temptation to the curb by having this salad for lunch, or as an afternoon snack.

♥ Fight muscle fatigue with vitamin C and plant-based iron, a fierce duo. Our zesty orange & lime dressing is packed with more than just tropical flavor. It’s loaded with vitamin C, which according to our Tone It Up Registered Dietitian, helps your body absorb more of kale’s plant-based iron and delivers oxygen to your tissues during sweat sessions. Kale lovers, eat up!
♥ Meet your daily vitamin C needs with just one serving of this salad. Vitamin C is great for collagen synthesis and wound healing, which promotes flawless, healthy, younger looking skin—-> Get glowing!
♥ Eat with your eyes…or for them, anyway. Our vision, immune, and reproductive systems all perform at their peak when we’re getting enough vitamin A in our diets. Try this recipe to get almost twice the amount of vitamin A that’s recommended daily. A-mazing 😉

Sweet & Spicy Kale Salad

Makes 4 servings
1 large bunch of kale
1 orange, juiced & peeled (your preference)
1 Tbs fresh lime juice
1 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
2 tangerines, peeled and sectioned
2.5 oz macadamia nuts, crushed or whole
1 large carrot, grated or chopped
2 Tbs raisins
Tear kale off the vein into bite-sized pieces and place in a mixing bowl. Coat leaves with orange and lime juice, olive oil, honey, salt, and a dash of cayenne pepper. Massage leaves in dressing for a few minutes, add garlic and allow mixture to sit for at least 30 minutes or even overnight. After the kale mixture has marinated, top with remaining ingredients, toss and serve. Enjoy!

 

Oahu Fresh members we have a fun bag this week!  Well, I think they’re always fun, but this week we have some items we haven’t had for a while, so we’re extra excited!

• Ho Farms Okra
• Mililani Ag Park Sweet Potatoes
• Sumida Farms Watercress
• Green Growers Slicing Tomatoes
• Mari’s Garden Lettuce
• Pacific Gateway Farmers Cucumbers

Although  the summer  is coming to an end, we will still be bringing great summer produce to you for a few more weeks!  You can celebrate using your locally grown veggies this week in these recipes:

Crunchy Watercress, Cucumber, and Radish Salad   Use any leftover daikon from last week’s bag in this salad instead of buying french (red) radishes.  You could also throw in some avocado and tomatoes…

Watercress Soup   This soup uses a sweet potato, and if you still have kale left from last week, just put that in too!

Sweet Potato Egg Boats   Sometimes I just google  random food items together to see what recipes are out there that use them both…this one looks pretty good!  Use your sweet potato as a “boat” to hold your egg!  In about 20m you have a unique breakfast 🙂

The Easiest Oven Roasted Okra Fries recipe EVER.  No breading, sliced in half.  10-15m at 400.  That’s it.  !!!!

Easy Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo

 

 

Aloha everyone and happy back to school week!  We’ve got a bag full of good produce and some great recipes this week to help you get meals on your table quickly.

• bananas and daikon from Leilehua High School Ag students
• kale from Ho Farms
• long beans from Pacific Gateway Farmers
• slicing tomatoes from Green Growers
• hydroponic and organic lettuce from Mari’s Garden
• avocado and fresh rosemary from Kama`aina Land Plant Rentals and Nursery

 

We know you’re busy getting keiki to and from school again, so here are a few time friendly recipes that you can make to use your produce and still have time to relax!

Halibut with Asparagus, Tomatoes, & Rosemary   Use your slicing tomatoes and quarter them, and if you don’t want to buy asparagus, you can substitute in your long beans.  Any (white) fish would work, so if you can’t find halibut, use tilapia, moonfish, or even salmon.  20m and dinner is done!

Daikon Salad with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette

Massaged Kale Salad

Avocado Mayo   Use this on your sandwiches or wraps!

 

As Hawaii’s families are preparing for Hurricane Iselle to pass by the islands later this week we hope you are setting up to have plenty of water, batteries, and food on hand  for yourselves and your pets.  Oahu Fresh will be delivering as usual this Wednesday and Thursday before the storm,  so you’re guaranteed to have some fresh produce on hand too.  Here’s what you’ll be receiving:

 

 

Ho Farms pesticide free swiss chard,

Pacific Gateway Farms eggplant,

Mari’s Gardens certified organic hyrdroponic lettuce,

Green Growers tomatoes and green onions,

Kahumana Farm organic carrots.

What can you do with all of this, especially in light of our impending bad weather?  Well, making some dishes that can be cooked ahead of time but eaten anytime might be useful!  Here are suggestions:

Swiss Chard Quiche   This quiche recipe calls for potatoes overlapping on the bottom to form a crust.  This is a great way to use lots of veggies that you may have leftover in the fridge, and can be eaten warm or cold–perfect if the electricity goes out!

Spicy Stuffed Eggplant

Beef Soup with Mushrooms and Chard   Perfect for rainy days and nights.

Eggplant Pizza: a couple ways!  Mark’s Daily Apple  Sugarfree Mom  Traditional Crust from Epicurious

Crispy Bacon and Green Onion Deviled Eggs

Cauliflower and Carrot Puree

No cook tomato dish:  Tomato Mozzarella Bliss   This is a simple and popular preparation, great for a side, snack, or light meal with some bread or protein on the side.

Enjoy, and be safe this weekend!