Essentials Box | July 24, 2021

Here’s this week’s all-organic Essentials Box lineup with some locally sourced delights:

• Collard Greens (Ralph’s Greenhouse)
• Green Beans (Sound Sustainable Farms)
• Tomatillos (Sound Sustainable Farms)
• Apricots (OPMA)
• Cilantro
• Red Onions
• Pink Lady Apples
• Limes
• Red Grapes

This week, DGC volunteer Agen takes through some starting points for recipes:

  • This Zesty and Zippy Tangled Collards recipe from Food 52 looks great, but instead of the Mama Lil’s peppers, I’ll probably use some of our stockpile of Pangea Curtido or Kimchi (available for purchase at the DGC).
  • Speaking of those beans (I’m already dreaming of that creamy curry concoction as I type), some quick pickled red onions would be a grand addition.
  • For this week’s tomatillos, salsa verde is always a good choice (here’s one recipe from Love & Lemons). Here’s a collection of tomatillo recipe ideas from Bon Appetit for more inspirado.

Essentials Box | July 3, 2021

Here’s this week’s all-organic Essentials Box lineup:

• Head of Little Gem Lettuce (Sound Sustainable Farms) — varieties will vary by box and may include mini romaine, mini red gem, or butter lettuce
• Cilantro (Sound Sustainable Farms)
• Zucchini (Alvarez Organic Farms)
• Pink Lady apples
• Bosc pears
• Limes
• Gold potatoes
• Red onion
• Persian cucumber

We hope you have a great Fourth of July holiday weekend. Here are some tidbits to think about from the contents of this week’s box.

  • Small, narrow, and thin-skinned, Persian cucumbers are nearly seedless, extra crisp, and have a mildly sweet flavor. (That still won’t get DGC volunteer Agen Schmitz anywhere near them.) Here’s a recipe for cuke-and-tomato Salad-e Shirazi from the New York Times by way of Iran that will go great with anything you might be throwing on the grill this weekend.

    Speaking of which, we’ll have Skagit River Ranch Hot Italian Sausage, brats, and burgers — both beef and Impossible — in our freezer and ready for your holiday cookout.
  • Oh, we’re not done with the Persian cukes… the New York Times also has Scarlett’s Tuna Salad — which pairs perfectly with Lummi Island Wild Albacore Tuna (6-ounce can available for $6.99 for in-store purchase). Troll caught in the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest, LIW uses small fish so it’s the healthiest tuna available and ensures it’s sushi grade before canning.

Essentials Box | June 19, 2021

Here’s this week’s all-organic Essentials Box lineup:

• Pink Lady apples
• Lemon
• Bananas
• Green cabbage
• Yellow onion
• Red potatoes
• Yellow squash
• Cilantro (from Dharma Ridge Farm)
• Red leaf lettuce (from Dharma Ridge Farm)

Recipe Starters

This week, DGC volunteer Agen Schmitz provides some starting thoughts for what to do with the contents of this week’s produce box.

One of the most game-changing recipes I’ve discovered in recent years comes from Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen (by Richa Hingle) is her Cabbage with Mustard Seeds and Coconut. I cook Indian dishes a lot at our house, and this recipe is a great way to use up a bunch of cabbage you have on hand, and we often use it as a base instead of rice to reduce our carbs.

It uses 3 cups of shredded cabbage, 1/2 cup of shredded coconut, and a 1/2 cup of finely chopped onion (either red or yellow).

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add some mustard seeds for a minute. Then add the onions and a finely chopped green chile plus curry leaves (we prefer dried fenugreek leaves, or you can use some marjoram). Cook about 6 minutes, then add the cabbage and 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric. Cover and cook for 15 minutes (stirring once halfway through).

Next, add the shredded coconut and 1 teaspoon of salt, mix well, and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and cook until cabbage is cooked through (about 10 minutes; add a tablespoon of water to deglaze if necessary). Stir and cook uncovered for a couple minutes if too wet, and serve hot.

Essentials Box Feb 6th, 2021

  • pinklady apples
  • avocado
  • lime
  • red leaf
  • celery
  • red onions
  • red potatoes
  • purple kale
  • cilantro

All items organic

What to do with it all: 
*Or some of all the deliciousness. Since i live alone often i will eat half the avocado and make a dressing or sauce out of the other half to eat the following day. Since we cannot predict the ripeness of what we will get from the producers there are a few options this week to use them.

  • Red Lettuce Salad with pepitas, avocado, cilantro and pink lady apple with a lime vinaigrette. 
  • Salad with a creamy cilantro lime avocado dressing.
  • That avocado base can also be used to replace the mayo to make Potato Salad with the red potatoes, onions and celery.
  • Leftover celery and onion can be used, all the same ingredients sans potatoes can be used to make chickpea salad sandwiches.
    • Cook the chickpeas forever until they are mush then mash them until there are no chunks bigger than the cut of the celery and onion.
    • Hint: smaller the chunks the more tasty but too small and it is just mush.
  • Alternately the potatoes, onions and kale can be made into a hash. 
  • If you still have zucchini leftover, i recommend using a peeler to make zucchini noodles and make kale lasagna with your favorite filling.
  • Lime Vinaigrette:
    • lime and apple cider, champagne or other wine vinegar
    • olive oil
    • add a clove of garlic if you like
    • salt n pepper
    • optional: make it spicy by adding some dried or fresh spicy pepper
    • optional: pepitas
      • dry roast in a cast iron by warming the iron adding a layer, toasting until they start to pop and then turning off heat, stir occasionally remove from pan when browned
      • or toast: 10-15 mins in a 300-350 degree oven
      • at the end of or immediately after toasting pepitas, add some dried spicy pepper along with some regular snp
      • Or use some tajin seasoning
      • a touch of oil will help seasonings stick
  • Avocado Dressing:
    • add ripe avocado to blender
    • add sour
      • total sour should be around 1/4 cup for one avocado such as two tablespoons lime juice and two tablespoons apple cider vinegar
        • this is flexible depending on how much lime you have and taste
    • add a clove of garlic if you like
    • salt n pepper
    • blend to puree
      • add water to thin
      • add olive oil to thicken
    • optional: add lightly chop cilantro
      • blend lightly so cilantro is still visible aka do not puree
  • Potato Salad:
    • cube potatoes into one inch and smaller chunks
    • add to boiling water.
    • boil until soft but still firm. drain.
    • add chopped onion and celery.
    • add above sauce in substitution for mayo.
    • Important Note: I don’t like the flavors of sweet relish and cilantro together so it is one or the other of the following for me.
    • optional: add your mustard
    • optional: add relish
    • optional: and/or leave the cilantro out of the above recipe and add that directly to the salad. 
  • For some protein, hard boiled eggs can be chunked in.

I tried to make videos last week but until i get a computer that can handle video editing that is going to have to be put on hold. Until then i hope you enjoy these tasty recipes and i look forward to seeing what you all make.

So as always, let us know what you’ve made by tagging our Facebook and Instagram feeds and using #lovemydgcbox

Happy eating! 

In Solidarity,
Smitty and the DGC Crew