Essentials Box | November 13, 2021

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

• Romanesco (Sound Sustainable Farms)
• Carrots (Sound Sustainable Farms)
• Carnival Squash (Caruso Farms)
• Honeycrisp Apples
• Bananas
• Limes
• Green Leaf lettuce
• Red Onion
• Gold Potatoes

A hybrid of the sweet dumpling and acorn squash, the carnival squash’s inner, somewhat stringy flesh has a mellow, but sweet flavor similar to sweet potatoes. It’s great baked, pureed, or steamed, or used in soups and stews.

Here are some recipes to get you started:

Carnival Squash

Essentials Box | October 16, 2021

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

• Green Leaf Lettuce (Sound Sustainable Farms)
• Spaghetti Squash (The Crows Farm)
• Honeycrisp Apples (OPMA)
• Bosc Pears (OPMA)
• Bananas
• Red Onion
• Gold Potato
• Red Pepper
• Zucchini

Here’s a primer on how to cook spaghetti squash from Love and Lemons, as well as a few recipe starters:

Essentials Box | September 18, 2021

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

• Delicata Squash (Sound Sustainable Farms)
• Lacinato Kale (Sound Sustainable Farms)
• Blue Italian Plum (OPMA)
• Bartlett Pears (OPMA)
• Lime
• Red Onion
• Romaine Lettuce
• Red Potatoes
• Broccoli

Here’s a great idea for using the Delicata squash and Lacinato kale (along with apples from the store) from Love and Lemons.

Delicata Squash and Lacinato Kale

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 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