Hi Oahu Fresh family!  We’re moving towards summer so fast-I hope you’re planning fun things to do as soon as Memorial Day weekend arrives!

For this week’s bag, we’re bringing you a lot of freshness…baby bok choy & Hauula tomatoes from Green Growers, swiss chard from Ho Farms, long beans from Pacific Gateway Farmers, lemons from Hoalike Farm, organic carrots from Kahumana Farm, and finally either sweet potatoes or squash grown by  the Ag students at Leilehua High School!    What a great bag!  Here’s a few ideas on how to use your local produce this week:

Bok Choy, Carrots, and Green Beans Stir Fry    A few tips on this one:  your carrots will take the longest to cook so you may want to add them a little earlier than the other items.  Cut all produce into similar sizes.  I would add garlic and ginger too, and of course you can add tofu, some kind of meat, or even shrimp if you want.

Carrot and Sweet Potato Mash   This one is paleo and vegan, if you are into that!  Also be aware that this recipe uses 2# of sweet potatoes and carrots, but we’ve only got about 1/2# of each, so you will need to reduce everything accordingly (for example 3 cups stock  would be 3/4c).

Roasted Carrot Ginger Soup

Swiss Chard with Lemon and Olive Oil

 

Aloha Oahu Fresh members!  It’s May, and summer is on the horizon…we got a taste this weekend with warm weather, no rain, and unfortunately almost no wind!  It gives you the opportunity to take advantage of some great food and beverage specials though since there are a lot of places celebrating Cinco De Mayo this week.  Check out Cactus Bistro in Kailua for their amazing New Americas menu featuring loads of local produce!  You may not know, but Cactus Chef John Memering buys  a lot of local produce that we source and deliver.  So please go check them out!

 

This week we’ve got a wonderful bag for you–all local as always, and really varied this week!   We’ve got long squash and tomatoes from Ho Farms, kale, long beans, and chinese parsely from Pacific Gateway Farmers, chico fruit from Waianae farmer Joleen Jackson, & mixed organic keiki greens from Kahumana Farm.  Here are some suggestions for this bounty-

Pork with Long Green Squash Soup   Long squash is also referred to as Opo!

Opo Squash and Ginger Chicken Soup

~add your long beans into either of the above soups~

Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro

Garlic Cilantro Lime Rice

Marinated Kale and Green Beans salad   Use your long beans here by cutting them into the size you want.

Grilled Vegetable Tacos with Cilantro Pesto   grill any combination of veggies, including this week’s tomatoes, squash, and beans, and add to a warm tortilla with some cilantro pesto!  chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, or tofu would also be great!

 

Hi Oahu Fresh family!  We’re excited for warming temperatures and sunny days…those really help our farmers out.  While rain is also needed, some crops like tomatoes are very difficult to grow with inconsistent sunshine.  Keep your fingers crossed that more  sunny weather will result in slicing tomatoes in the near future!

In the meantime we have a bag full of yumminess this week.  We’re bringing you collard greens from Ho Farms, hydroponic organic lettuce from Mari’s Garden, mushrooms from Small Kine Farm, string beans from Pacific Gateway Farmers, green onions from Green Growers, and chico fruit from Jolene Jackson, Waianae farmer.

Have you had chico before?  It’s an amazing fruit, also known as sapodilla, with texture like a pear and a brown sugar flavor.  It makes a wonderful dessert fruit!

How to Saute Mushrooms   Make the most of your locally grown ‘shrooms by cooking them perfectly…they can be added to eggs, steak, pasta, greens…any number of items!

Green Bean Salad with Basil and Capers   This is a unique approach to green beans, and if you don’t have basil right now I am sure you can leave it out.

How to  Keep your Green Onions Fresh, Use them, or Freeze them for Later!

Braised Collard Greens

What do you have  your collard greens with?  Let us hear from you!

 

Aloha Oahu Fresh family!  It’s nice to be back on the island, I spent two weeks on the mainland and experienced everything from freezing temperatures and rain to sunny 70+ degrees.  It’s nice to be somewhere else for a little while but it’s great to be home!

This week we’ve got lots of great veggies for you, and you’re going to enjoy making spring dishes with them.  Your bag will have Mari’s Garden swiss chard and lettuce, Pacific Gateway Farmers tomatoes, cucumbers, chinese parsley and pak choy from Green Growers, and locally grown mushrooms from Small Kine Farm.

You can turn this produce into wonderful spring meals -here are a few recipes to get you started!

Short Ribs with Mushrooms and Spring Vegetables   You can easily substitute some of this week’s veggies for those listed here, like the chinese parsley instead of regular, and the pak choy  for the turnips and carrots.  You can also add in your swiss chard for even more green power!  I would add it in around step 6 or 7.

Oven Roasted Flounder with Bok Choy, Cilantro, and Lime   Did you look at the photo of this!?  I want to make it now!  You could easily use tilapia instead of flounder.

White Gazpacho   Cucumber and yogurt, a little olive oil, maybe a bit of chinese parsley…sounds refreshing!

Barley Risotto with Swiss Chard, Radishes, and Preserved Lemon   a different grain, but achieving the same creamy texture as risotto.

 

 

Well, if you are like me, taxes are not over because you filed an extension! If you are completely done, congratulations! This week’s bag will taste that much better for you! Ok, so we have a big bag coming this week, get ready!!

Aquaponic Lettuce: Mari’s Garden
Filipino Long Eggplant: Pacific Gateway Center
Kale: Pacific Gateway Center
String Beans: Pacific Gateway Center
Sweet Potatoes: Mililani Ag Park

Now for some recipe ideas!

Eggplant and Sweet Potato Stir Fry – when in doubt, stir fry it out! At least that’s my theory in the kitchen! Simple, feel free to substitute items based on what you have in your pantry!

Swiss Chard and String Bean Stew – lot’s of green, healthy goodness in this one!

Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Kale Skillet – sign me up! I’ll be making this one for sure!

Does anyone have other recipe ideas or pictures? Please post to our Facebook page! Enjoy!