This Week’s Box Featuring Kale from Ho Farms – Week of March 7th

March 7, 2022 by Amy Buglione

Kale is a vegetable with green or purple leaves, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is a member of the Mustard, also known as the Cabbage, family. Kale can be curly, flat, or even have a bluish tint mixed in with the green. This week we have curly kale from Shawn’s Farm.

Depending on the variety, kale can sometimes be spicy or a bit sweet, and usually slightly bitter. In general, kale offers an earthy flavor with a nutty sweetness that is accentuated when cooked. Kale is rich in antioxidants and packed with vitamins A, C, E, K and B, as well as minerals like iron and calcium. Kale is a great source of fiber and contains a fair amount of protein.

Preparation

Kale is incredibly versatile in the kitchen and can be enjoyed raw or cooked. Young kale leaves add an earthiness to raw salads, and mature kale is one of the few leafy greens that doesn’t shrink much when cooked. Try it sauteed, roasted, stewed, or even baked into kale chips. Or try it raw in juices and smoothies.

To prep mature kale – first remove the tough fibrous stems. Hold the stem and strip the leaves along the stem away from you. If preferred, you can cut the leaf into thin, confetti-like ribbons.
A quick massage with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt can break down the cellulose structure of kale. This gives a slightly sweeter, silkier kale to add to salads.
To store – wrap the leaves in a loose bundle, cover with a paper towel or a thin cotton towel (to absorb excess moisture) and store in a large, sealable bag in the crisper for up to a week.

Check out this video:

Farms that grow kale

Recipes

Crunchy Dino Kale and Coconut Bowl
Kale Caesar Salad
Chocolate Mint Smoothie with Kale
Kale and Eggplant Summer Pasta
Kale with Onion, Celery & Tomato
Stir Fry Greens– Same method, but you can just use Kale!

What else is in the bag?

Avocados
Twin Bridge Farms

Bell Peppers
Sugarland

Kale
Ho Farms

Lettuce
Kunia Country Farms

Long Beans
Ho Farms

Mixed Salad Greens
Kahumana Organic Farm & Cafe

Try out these recipes!

Kale Caesar Salad

Toasted Orzo with Kale, Feta, and Radishes

This Week’s Box Featuring Swiss Chard from Ho Farms – Week of February 28

February 28, 2022 by Amy Buglione

Swiss chard, also known simply as chard, is a beet that is grown for its deep green leaves instead of its root. It’s known for its brightly colored stems of red, yellow, pink, and purple. Swiss chard is highly nutritious and is a good source of several vitamins. It also contains more minerals than most other greens and is very high in fiber.

The leafy greens are extremely high in vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, and antioxidants. This nutrition combo makes for a good dose of healthy digestion, eyes, skin, heart, and immune function. Swiss chard was considered medicine for allergies, constipation, and general pain in ancient times.

Preparation

Before you cook chard, the first thing you should do is wash it well, by rinsing it in a sink full of cold water. You can even drain the water and repeat, unless the chard is free of dirt. If you got the chard at a farmers’ market, it will be extra fresh and more likely to have dirt on it, so wash thoroughly. Don’t wash chard until right before you’re going to use it, or it will wilt.
Decide whether to separate the chard or leave it whole. Small leaves of Swiss chard can be left whole or added to salad, and larger leaves with thin ribs can also be left whole for cooking. But if you’re cooking Swiss chard with thick ribs, then you should separate the ribs from the leaves by tearing the leaves away, because the ribs will need to cook for a few more minutes since they are tougher than the leaves.
Bitterness is caused by the organic compound oxalic acid, which is found in the stalk of Swiss chard and many other vegetables. It can be removed altogether or cooked out. When cooked, the vegetable loses the bitter flavor and makes for a more refined taste.

Farms that grow swiss chard

Ho Farms

Recipes

Swiss Chard with Lentils

What else is in the bag?

Apple Bananas
Sugarland

Japanese Cucumbers
Ho Farms

Lettuce
Kunia Country Farms

Orange
OK Farms

Red Radish
Adaptations

Swiss Chard
Ho Farms

Try out these recipes!

Kale Potato Chive Frittata

Stir-Fried Brown Rice With Swiss Chard and Carrots

Meal Kit Recipes:

This Week’s Box Featuring Sweet Potatoes – Week of December 20

December 20, 2021 by Amy Buglione

This week we have sweet potatoes from Adaptations

The Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) is one of the oldest vegetables known to mankind. Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America, but archaeologists have found proof through prehistoric remnants that the sweet potato was grown in Polynesia before western exploration, according to radiocarbon dating. Current thinking is that it was brought to central Polynesia around 700 AD, possibly by Polynesians who had traveled to South America and back, and spread across Polynesia to Hawaii and New Zealand from there.

The sweet potato is not a potato, and it is not a yam! They’re far higher in nutrients than many people realize too, though shouldn’t be eaten as the only vegetable. Consider the sweet potato high in fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Manganese, among many others. It can help boost brain function, stabilize blood sugar, enhance immune system, and it promotes vision health.

Preparation

The simplest way you can prepare a sweet potato is by first heating the oven to 400° F. Pierce each sweet potato several times with the tines of a fork. Place the sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Make a slit in the top of each sweet potato.

What else is in the bag?

Apple Bananas
Sugarland

Avocados
Twin Bridge Farms

Bok Choy
Aloun Farms

Lettuce
Kunia Country Farms

Mixed Tomatoes
Sugarland

Sweet Potatoes
Aloun Farms

Plant Based Prepared Meal Box

This Weeks Meal Prep Box Recipes:

Try out these recipes!

Curried Sweet Potatoes and Tofu

Sweet Potatoes with Onions and Tomatoes

This Week’s Box Featuring Carrots – Week of December 6

December 6, 2021 by Amy Buglione

This week we have carrots from Twin Bridge Farms

Oh how we love carrots! They are a funny little root crop so that you never know what you’re going to get until you pull them out of the ground! Usually orange in color, but sometimes they can be cosmic and come out purple, yellow, red or even white. Packed with health-promoting beta carotene, they promote good vision, especially night vision, and help combat health-damaging free radical activity.

Preparation

Since carrots are root crops, make sure you scrub them well to get an residual dirt off of them. Peeling off the skin is optional, I usually don’t because I’m lazy like that. Grab a knife and chop away! Or you can be more fancy pants like this guy!

Farms that grow carrots

Twinbridge Farms
Kahumana Farm
Keiki and Plow

Recipes

Carrot Nut Muffins

What else is in the bag?

Lettuce
Kunia Country Farms

Mixed Carrots
Twin Bridge Farms

Mixed Tomatoes
Sugarland

Star Fruit
OK Farms

Sweet Potatoes
Aloun Farms

Tangerine
OK Farms

Try out these recipes!

Candied Carrots

Thai Sweet Potato Soup with Lemongrass

Vegetarian Meal Kit Meals for this week:

Plant Based Prepared Meals for this week:

This Week’s Box Featuring Kabocha – Week of November 15

November 15, 2021 by Amy Buglione

This week we have Kabocha from Aloun Farms

Kabocha is a variety of winter squash, often referred to as a Japanese pumpkin. It’s sometimes described as a cross between sweet potato and pumpkin in flavor and texture. It’s sweet taste, velvety texture, massive offering of nutritional benefit and versatility, make it a prized staple vegetable in Japan. You can substitute it within recipes that call for acorn and butternut squash or pumpkin. Most forward nutritients are beta carotene, vitamin C, iron, and potassium with smaller amounts of B vitamins, folic acid and calcium.

How to select a Kabocha:

The two things to look for are weight and color. Skin should be a rich, deep green and it should feel heavier than expected. Ripeness is indicated by golden speckling and stripes on the exterior.

How to prepare Kabocha:

Carefully slice the entire squash in half, keeping in mind that it’s dense and might be difficult to cut. Like other squashes, you’ll want to scoop out the pulp and seeds, leaving the meat behind. From here you can slice it into wedges for roasting, simmering, pureing, or baking. You can also grate it to add texture to breads or other baked dishes and desserts. The skin is ok to leave on.

What else is in the bag?