Happy almost summer Oahu Fresh fans!  We have a packed bag this week for you–plenty of farm fresh produce that will make you feel great about what you’re eating and where it comes from.  In this week’s bag there will be long beans, papaya, and cucumbers from Pacific Gateway Farmers in Kunia, swiss chard from Ho Farms, avocados from Kama`aina Land Plant Nursery, carrots from Kahumana Farm, and certified organic hydroponically grown lettuce from Mari’s Garden!

Original Sunrise Smoothie:  This recipe comes from KCC’s collection A Sweet Dash of Aloha.

2T quick oats, 1/2 c low fat milk, 1/2 papaya very ripe, 1 large frozen banana, 1T orange juice concentrate, 1 tsp vanilla extract, ice, and 2T fat free whipped topping.

Soak the oats in the milk for 30m in the refrigerator.  Seed and peel papaya.  Combine oats, milk, papaya, orange concentrate, vanilla, and ice in blender and puree until smooth.  Divide into two portions and top each with 1T whipped topping.

Indian Cucumber and Yogurt Salad

Shrimp and Coconut Curry with Green Beans   use your long beans in this one!

Goat Cheese, Lentil, and Brown Rice Rolls     Swiss chard leaves wrapped around the lentils and brown rice mix and baked with marinara sauce.

Roasted Carrots with Cumin   This is for 1-1 1/2 lbs carrots, and you will be getting a 1/2 lb, so you will need to reduce everything accordingly.  This link also has a few other variations if you don’t like cumin or want to try something else!

Aloha Oahu Fresh members!  What’s coming this week!?  It’s a great bag, we have Pacific Gateway Farmers kale & string beans, Kama`aina Land Nursery  avocado, Waimanalo bananas, Ho Farms cucumbers, and Green Growers tomatoes.  It’s going to be so easy to make refreshing summer meals with this produce.  Here are some ideas to get you started:

Raw Avocado Kale Pesto  with Zucchini Noodles

Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta   This looks amazing…definitely would add the tomatoes!

 

Sesame Soy Green Beans   easy to make, and would be really good with fish or scallops

Two Ingredient Banana Pancakes   Definitely making these this week…

Grilled Cheddar, Tomato, Bacon sandwiches

Green Bean Salad with Red Onion and Tomatoes

 

Oahu Fresh deliveries make it so easy for you to eat locally grown healthy food–and this week’s bag is full of possibilities.

We have okra from Ho Farms, broccoli or long squash from Leilehua Ag Students, green onions and tomatoes from Green Growers, eggplant and long beans from Pacific Gateway Farmers, and lettuce from Mari’s Garden!

What can you do this week with your produce?  Here are our suggestions, and we hope to hear from you too-send us your pictures, recipes, and suggestions.

 

Roasted Okra Fries   Easy–no cutting or slicing, the okra here is roasted whole!  Here’s another roasted okra recipe, sliced crossways.

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes   Indian flare, serve this with basmati rice!

Eggplant and Okra Curry   There’s a theme this week, can you tell?!

Eggplant Sandwiches   Your long eggplant can be used just like Italian eggplant would be in this, just cut it longways instead of across.  You can also order Naked Cow Dairy’s Feta cheese from us, see our specialty items for more!

Vegetable Lasagna:  Veggie lasagna is an easy way to use a lot of different veggies.  You can pick and choose what you want to put in it from what is in your bag, but if you need a step by step reference on how to do it, try this vegetable lasagna recipe from Pioneer Woman.  Although your veggie choices may be different, the pictures and steps are helpful to understand how to put it together.

 

 

It’s Memorial Day week and we hope you have spent some of your holiday time thinking about those who have sacrificed in the service of our country.  Memorial Day has a long history; according to the website of the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs, it was first observed in 1868 and was initially called Decoration Day.  Some localities claim to have been observing the holiday even earlier, in 1866, in honor and remembrance of those who died in the Civil War.  In any case,  it is a day to ensure that we never forget those who have fallen in service.

 

This week’s bag will contain  kabocha pumpkin and chinese parsely from PGC Farmers, slicing tomatoes from Green Growers, lettuce from Leilehua High School Ag students, lemons from Hoalike Farm, and watercress from Sumida Farm in Pearl City.

Sumida Farm is a long time farm in south  central Oahu,  started in 1928  by David and Barbara Sumida’s grandparents.  David and his sister Barbara are the current operators, 3rd generation, to work the farm in the heart of what is now heavily urbanized Pearl City.  If you’ve driven down Kam Hwy in Pearl City you’ve seen the farm, it’s just before Anna Miller’s and just below Monterey Bay Canners Restaurant.  It’s an oasis of green!

Avocado and Watercress Salad

PoPo’s Tofu Watercress Salad   a local favorite!

Kabocha Bliss Salad

Oven Roasted Kabocha with Garlic and Parsely   Here are a couple of tips with this one:  I never peel my kabocha before roasting it.  I cut it into wedges, following the curve of the pumpkin, and scoop out the seeds.  You can more easily peel or cut the skin off after roasting, or eat it if you want too!  Also with this one, I would add a few squirts of lime or lemon juice when you toss it, the acidity pairs well with the squash and garlic.  Use your chinese parsely (cilantro) instead of Italian parsley.  And just like another reviewer mentioned, I roast my veggies at a higher temp too, like 425.

Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup   This looks amazing…reminds me of butternut squash bisque, but even easier!

Tomato Eggplant Tian   I made this Sunday night and I’m amazed…it’s that good!  I halved the amounts because I had only 2 eggplant, but it still came out amazing.  I ate  it with baked ono–delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s bag is full of amazing locally grown veggies.  Lettuce this week is coming from the Leilehua High School Ag Program, sweet potatoes (purple!) and cucumbers from the Pacific Gateway Farmers in Kunia, organically grown carrots from Kahumana Farm, beautiful slicing tomatoes from Green Growers, and green onions from a new farm partner, Nalolicious  Farm in Waimanalo.

Here are our suggestions for using this week’s items:

Purple Potato Salad with Gorgonzola and Bacon   So technically this recipe is referencing regular potatoes, but I think using the sweet potatoes would be really good!

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

Mustard Glazed Carrots  You could easily sub in sweet potatoes and even add the green onions to this one.

Cucumber Watercress Salad   This recipe is a simple one to make with all local veggies, and you could also add your tomatoes to it.  Look for Sumida Farms watercress at local stores…and hopefully we’ll get some in the bags soon!

Lettuce Leaf Tacos