This week’s bag features taro! Taro, or “kalo”, is a staple of the Native Hawaiian diet and is deeply embedded in the history and culture of Hawaii with Hawaiians having cultivated more than 300 varieties overtime. Cultivation of taro has shown to improve soil and water quality in some restoration efforts on Oahu. Taro should always be thoroughly cooked and can be pounded into poi, powdered and added to baked goods, baked, fried, roasted or steamed!  Do not keep them inside the refrigerator, this root vegetable should be stored in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place similar to potato or yams. What else is waiting for you in this week’s bag?

Taro– Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi

Lemon grass– Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi

Bok Choy– Green Growers

Grape Tomatoes– Twin Bridge

Bananas– Pacific Gateway Center

Kale– Pacific Gateway Center

Try these recipes!

Taro Pancakes

Sweet Potato and Lemongrass Soup– Try substituting sweet potato for taro this week!

Sauteed Bok Choy

This week’s bag features bush beans! Beans can be steamed in about 5 minutes or so, then complimented with butter or oil ad salt and pepper for a quick side dish. Try the quick and easy recipe below. Add some garlic and local peppers and serve over rice with your choice of meat on the side. What else do you have to experiment with in this week’s bag?

Mixed Lettuce – Mari’s Garden

Filipino Long Eggplant– Pacific Gateway Center

Cherry Tomatoes– Pacific Gateway Center

Pineapple– Maui Pineapple Company

Bush Beans- Kahumana Organic Farms

Portobello Mushrooms- Small Kine Farm

Try these recipes!

Spicy Beans

Tortellini with Mushrooms and Cherry Tomatoes

Pineapple Chicken

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s bag features butternut squash! Are you intimidated by this hearty gourd? (Butternut) squash those self doubts and try something new! Although a fruit, butternut squash is used as a vegetable that can be roasted, toasted, puréed for soups, or mashed and used in casseroles, breads, and muffins. The seeds are also edible, either raw or roasted. Just one cup of butternut squash has 160 percent of your recommended amount of vitamin A, which is important to keep your immune system, skin and eyes in good shape and helps the body assimilate nutrients. What else is in this week’s bag?

Mixed Lettuce – Mari’s Garden

Japanese Cucumbers– Pacific Gateway Center

Butternut Squash– Ho Farm

Rosemary- Kamaaina Land

Collard Greens– Kahumana

Slicing Tomatoes– Green Growers

Try these recipes!

Butternut Squash Casserole

Collard Roll Ups

Cucumber Salad

 

This week’s bag features papayas from Molokai! Papaya has a wonderfully soft, butter-like consistency and a deliciously sweet, musky taste. This fruit is a great addition to salsas and smoothies, and is certainly sweet and filling enough to eat on it’s own. Mix diced papaya, cilantro, jalapeno peppers and ginger together to make a unique salsa, sprinkle papaya with fresh lime juice and enjoy as is, or combine with other fruits like strawberries and bananas for a smoothie or acai bowl! What else is in this weeks bag?

Mixed Lettuce – Mari’s Garden

Cherry tomatoes– Pacific Gateway Center

Long Beans– Pacific Gateway Center

Non-GMO Papaya– Kumu Farms

Portobella Mushrooms- Small Kine Farm

Bok Choy– Green Growers

Try these recipes!

Acai Bowl with Papaya

Bok Choy Stir Fry with Garlic and Ginger

Tortellini with Mushrooms and Cherry Tomatoes

 

This week’s bag features Red Russian Kale with Amaranth. Amaranth is generally considered a weed, but is actually a delicious wild food. When collected very young Amaranth is similar to spinach. It’s a tasty green that is usually boiled but can also be sauteed like your other greens. Later it becomes a source of grain.  These stages, however, are dynamic, changing and they change at different rates with different species of amaranth. Enjoy this special treat knowing that some people mistakenly think it is inedible and belongs in the compost bin!

Mixed Lettuce – Mari’s Garden

Red Russian Kale with Amaranth– Kahumana

Bananas– Pacific Gateway Center

Mixed Russet Potatoes– Twin Bridge Farms

Japanese cucumber– Ho Farms

Beefsteak Tomatoes– Green Growers

Try these recipes!

Cucumber Mint Gimlet

Crunchy Kale and Coconut Bowl

Smashed Red Potatoes with Garlic and Herb