This Week’s Box Featuring Tomatoes from Green Growers – Week of Aug 9, 2021

This week we have some beautiful Tomatoes from Green Growers.

The tomato is the edible berry of the plant Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as a tomato plant. There are many varieties of tomatoes that grow well here in Hawaii. A few popular local varieties are the Healani, Komohana Grape, Anahu Bush and UH-Kewalo. These local tomato varieties have a natural resistance to common tomato diseases and are able to grow in many areas around our islands.

Preparation

Perfectly ripe tomatoes are delicious raw – enjoy in salads, make some bruschette or eat them alone. Sprinkle with a little salt, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and enjoy!

Storage

Store unripe tomatoes on your counter at room temp, once theyre ripe, transfer to the fridge..

What else is in the bag?

Cantaloupe
Aloun Farms

Japanese Cucumbers
Ho Farms

Kale
Shawn’s Farm

Lettuce
Kunia Country Farms

Mixed Tomatoes
Green Grower’s

Okra
Ho Farms

Try out these recipes!

This Week’s Meal Prep Box by Open Kitchen:

A delicious dinner for 3-4 people thats healthy and local! Or, you can have convenient prepped meals for your week. 

Appetizer: Raita & Naan 

Side: Bombay Potatoes

Entree: Spicy Lentil Dahl & Biryani

This box made by Open Kitchen is an assortment of 4 plant-bases prepared dishes, made in-house with local ingredients, and delivered straight to your door!

You can sign up for this box & still add additional marketplace items to your box each week. 

This week we have some beautiful spigarello from Ho Farms.

Spigarello is a primitive heirloom varietal of the broccoli family and is native to Southern Italy. Spigarello is a variety of leaf broccoli, is related to broccoli rabe, and looks like a cross between kale and broccoli. The taste is similar to broccoli, with the leaves having a mild taste and the texture is succulent and crunchy.

Preparation

It is recommended to trim the stems and the leaves can be enjoyed as a salad green, wilting green or soup green.

Storage

Remove any twist ties/rubber bands and sprinkle with water. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge. If the greens are larger than the bag you have, then trim the stems if you can to fit it in the bag.

What else is in the bag?

Try out these recipes!

Dragon Fruit, also called Pitaya, is indigenous to the Americas. Today the cactus vine is grown around the world in sub-tropical areas for its beautiful fruits. The fruit’s texture is often compared to the kiwifruit because of it’s small, black, crunchy seeds. The taste of dragon fruit is sometimes described as bland though it is refreshing and mildly sweet. It has versatile uses in deserts, smoothies, sorbets, salads and as a fresh fruit.

Preparation:

The fruit can be sliced lengthwise and the flesh scooped out or it can be quartered and the leathery skin can be peeled back. Eat only the flesh, not the peel which is bitter.

What else is in the bag?

Try out these recipes!

Honeydew is a smooth-skinned variety of melon which changes from a pale green to creamy yellow color as it ripens. Their flesh is light green, juicy, and sweet. Per half cup, it only has 60 calories, yet these little guys are packed with tons of vitamins and minerals including copper, potassium, B and C vitamins, and a mentionable source of fiber, with 1.4g per serving.

Honeydew melons are most often enjoyed fresh and its sweet flavor compliments breakfast and dessert preparations, like fruit salads. The pureed flesh can be added to sauces, smoothies, cocktails, and syrups. Honeydew pairs well with lime, mint, basil, sweet cream, cottage cheese, fruity olive oil and fresh berries.

Preparation

If the blossom end yields to gentle pressure, it is ready to eat. Cut honeydew in half with a chef’s knife. Scoop out the interior seeds, slice into wedges and remove the rinds. Can serve as wedges or cut up into smaller cubes. Enjoy!

Storage

Store unripe melons at room temperature. Refrigerate ripe melons for two to three days. Once cut, cover and keep refrigerated.

What else is in the bag?

Try out these recipes!

Originally from Africa, okra is now widely used in cuisines such as Caribbean, Creole, Cajun and Indian. It is a warm-season vegetable and essential crop in many countries due to its high nutritional value. Ridged along its length, the green, slightly fuzzy pod contains rows of edible seeds that release a sticky liquid when chopped and cooked. This has led to it being used to thicken soup and stew recipes such as Cajun gumbo, but it’s also served whole as a side dish. Okra’s flavor is quite subtle, so it benefits from being cooked with strong, spicy ingredients!

Storage

Keep okra dry and store in the crisper drawer in a paper or plastic container to stop it from becoming slimy or moldy. Avoid washing it until you are ready to use it. Use within 3-4 days.

Preparation

Wash and dry. If you are serving the okra whole as a side dish, and don’t want the liquid to be released during the cooking, trim around the stalks in a cone shape, so that the pod isn’t pierced. If you do want to release the liquid, chop or slice thickly or thinly, according to your recipe.

What else is in the bag?

Try out these recipes!