Happy Summer everyone!  We hope you survived Tropical Depression Flossie and didn’t have too much rain or wind damage.  Luckily it seems that O`ahu was spared and we haven’t heard too much from our farmer partners yet so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we were lucky this time.

This week we’ve got a nice bag for you with some hefty produce.  Since we went heavy on the greens last week we thought we’d take a break from those this week.  You will find two avocados, 2 japanese cucumbers, long beans, long squash, tomatoes, and mixed lettuces in this week’s delivery.

Long squash is a vegetable that holds up well if you leave it out, so don’t feel rushed to use it right away.  It is a great addition to soups and since you also have long beans and tomatoes I would recommend finding a soup recipe to take advantage of.  If you don’t want to look for one, here’s our suggestions!

Tomato Green Bean Soup   You can easily add your long squash to this, cut into chunks or even diced.  It could replace the carrot or put it in as an addition!

Creamy Green Bean and Potato Soup   This is another one you can add your diced long squash to.  Also consider using pork belly or even chicken instead of bacon.

Homemade Pickle Relish   An easy way to utilize a few cucumbers, and perfect for taking to the beach for your cook-out.

Avocado Hummus Cucumber Bites   A fresh way to think about how to eat dips!

Soba Noodle Salad with Cucumber and Mango

Fresh Tomato Juice   in case you have too many tomatoes or are tired of slicing them…

Aloha everyone!  Are you staying cool in this hot weather?  We hope you have been in the shade or the water to cool off over the last few days.  And since it was just recently a full moon, if you haven’t been in the water or out for a cool evening walk, take that opportunity!

This week we’ve got a bag full of summer’s bounty–the late rains and plenty of sunshine have given us a bumper crop of good local produce.  You’ll be receiving round eggplant and swiss chard from Ho Farms, cherry tomatoes, bush beans, and radishes from Pacific Gateway farmers in Kunia Ag Park, fresh crisp lettuce from 808 Farm Fresh in Waimanalo, beautiful baby pak choy from Green Growers, and 2 lilikoi from Uluwehi Farms in Pupukea.  So much healthy goodness…here’s our suggestions on how to turn that produce into some wonderful meals and salads.

Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Salad with Tomatoes   This is a side dish you can make ahead of time.  It goes well with grilled foods too.

Easy Dill Beans   This is really simple and since the weather’s been so hot, you may as well enjoy something tart and refreshing!  Have these with an egg salad sandwich or some grilled chicken!

Sometimes when it’s hot out you don’t have a very big appetite.  This  Swiss Chard and Rice Soup  would be a great light meal at any time.

Tip:  Store your lilikoi in the fridge.  If they are ripe and left at room temp they may spoil quickly!   You can spoon the pulp into a blender and then strain if needed to remove the seeds.  Add the juice to a smoothie, water, club soda, or even add in vodka.

Bok Choy Chicken   Easy, pretty, & delicious!

 

Aloha Oahu Fresh Members!  This is a week full of great things and your bag is no exception!  First, you’ll be receiving lovely tomatoes from Green Growers, collard greens from Ho Farms, japanese cucumbers from Pacific Gateway farmers, organic mixed keiki greens and organic plantains (NOT bananas!) from Kahumana Farm, and an avocado and 2 Tahitian limes from Uluwehi Farms (Kama`aina Land and Plant Rentals).  We’re so happy to have the opportunity to buy fruit from Tina and Bernie again.  And more good news–Bernie will be showing his art at the Haleiwa Arts Festival this weekend!  If you’re around North Shore, stop by and say aloha.  Also this week, Hawaii Conservation Conference is going on Wednesday & Thursday at the Convention Center.

Finally there’s a great fundraiser happening Thursday through Sunday for GreenWheel Food Hub at R/D in Kaka`ako.  Utilizing local produce, several artisans will showcase their craft in preservation of meats, cheeses, and produce!  Don’t miss the opportunity to either attend an event or a demo (or both!) and also come buy products.  You can even attend a Tsukemono demo (Japanese Pickled Vegetables) and learn how to easily pickle your japanese cucumbers (or other veggies) at home!  Your support means continued EBT acceptance at certain farmers markets, making it easier for low income residents to eat healthy local produce.

So for this week’s produce, here are a few recipes you can try:

Collard Greens with Tomatoes and Garlic

Tokyo Kaikan Gimlet   Use your fresh local Tahitian limes for a nice pau hana drink–maybe while you’re making dinner!?

Oven Roasted Flounder with Bok Choy, Cilantro, and Lime   This may require an additional lime, but looks so good, and it’s healthy!

Sunomono   Japanese cucumber salad–easy!

Plantains–this week we have a first in the bag for us–plantains, or what many people call cooking bananas. These are organic and grown in Waianae.  They cannot be eaten raw, and are a bit more difficult to peel than bananas.

Fried Plantains

Mashed Plantains with Bacon   can’t wait to try this one!!

Easy Plantain Chips

 

 

Aloha Oahu Fresh family!  We have a bag of summery goodness this week, and we are excited about the possibilities of grilling almost everything in this one!

We’re bringing you long eggplant, string beans, and radishes from Pacific Gateway Farmers, cherry tomatoes from Ho Farms, the freshest lettuce from 808Farm Fresh, bananas from Frankie’s Nursery, and portobello mushrooms from Small Kine Farm.  This produce just lends itself so easily to going on the grill…keeping your kitchen a little cooler and giving you one more reason to be outside enjoying the amazing sunsets we’ve been having.  So here are a few ideas for you to get going!

Tangy Eggplant, Long Beans, and Cherry Tomatoes with Peanuts–you can adapt this recipe to be done on the grill, just cook the eggplant on the grill instead of in the oven, as well as the beans (wrap in foil with some butter or oil), then assemble everything as it calls for in the recipe.

Perfect Grilled Portobellos   great pics along with the instructions, about halfway down!

5 Sensational Grilled Lettuce Salads   Something different for your lettuce!

Grilled Lemon and Garlic Marinated Eggplants

Grilled Cherry Tomato Chutney

Aloha everyone and Happy Independence Day!  (almost…) A great bag is just hours away for all of you this week–we will be delivering all of the bags on Wednesday so we and you can take a break on Thursday and celebrate!  What’s coming for your holiday beach potluck or bbq?  We’re bringing you organic mixed greens from Kahumana Farm, bush beans from Pacific Gateway Farmers in Kunia, swiss chard and kirby cucumbers from Ho Farms, slicing tomatoes and baby bok choy from Green Growers, and papaya from Frankie’s Nursery.  It’s a wonderful selection of fresh summer produce…

Swiss Chard and Tomato Frittata

Stir Fried Bok Choy with Garlic and Ginger

Grilled Green Beans

Kirby Cucumber Salad

Sliced Tomatoes with Basil