Just Picked

Ingredient Spotlight: White Flesh Sweet Potatoes

Our produce department has loads of these delicious, elegant sweets! They're a terrific size and they taste amazing...slightly more firm and just a touch less sweet than your average orange yam. These are practically reaching out and begging you to slice them into wedges and make some baked sweet potato fries.

For another inspired take on that to do with these radical root vegetables, try these "Jacket Potatoes" posted on Porky Dickens, the food blog of our very own Jessica Pithie who works in the Milton Fruitcenter's wine department. The Jacket Potato is a great way to turn a humble starch like a sweet potato into a delicious, filling and budget-friendly meal idea.

Come in and grab some of these great sweet potatoes today!

A Fresh New Idea for Asparagus



Our produce department is bursting at the seams with fresh spring produce right now! And is there a better harbinger of spring than our lean, green friend: asparagus? When it’s this fresh you really have to do very little to it to make it shine. Take, for example, this Shaved Asparagus Salad, which we cannot get enough of right now. Shaving the asparagus into thin ribbons lets it retain a fresh crunch. Dressed simply with bright lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil, the greenery is complimented by shavings of tangy Parmesan and toasty sliced almonds. Taste testers in our Milton store last Monday couldn’t get enough of this refreshing spring side dish. Incorporate this into your spring menu planning while the asparagus is at its best!

SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD

1 lb. asparagus

¼ cup sliced, roasted almonds

1 lemon, halved

Olive Oil

Kosher salt

Cracked black pepper

Grated or shaved parmesan cheese

Roast almonds at 350˚ for 10-15 minutes, until fragrant, stirring occasionally. Using a sharp vegetable peeler, hold each stalk of asparagus by its tough end and shave thin slices up the stalk towards the pointed tip. Helpful hint: anchor each stalk to your cutting board with your non dominant hand and use your dominant hand to shave the “ribbons.” Collect these “ribbons” in a bowl as you go. Squeeze the juice from your lemon over, add a generous drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of salt and cracked pepper. Toss well and top with roasted almonds and parmesan cheese, tossing once again to incorporate. Serve immediately. Make this salad a full meal by dropping a poached egg on top or serving alongside roast chicken or fish.

Thanks for stopping by to check out the blog! We've got a LOT of great ideas brewing for resurrecting this particular area of our website, so stay tuned for many more blogs to come!

In Praise of ... Fresh Ginger

Ginger is certainly one of the more versatile roots and one that is frequently associated with medicinal benefits.  Among its attributes, ginger is used as a remedy for travel sickness, chills, and flu and has also been linked to reducing the affects of arthritis, headaches and lowering blood-pressure. Add minced ginger to veggie stir-frys or combine ginger with tamari, olive oil and garlic to make a simple salad dressing.

Mango Salad with Ginger-Raisin Vinaigrette

Whole Roasted Carrots with Fresh Ginger

Grilled Shrimp Scampi Style with Soy Sauce, Fresh Ginger and Garlic

Stir Fry Ginger Beef

Fresh Lemon And Ginger Muffins

In Praise of ... Jicama

With a mild flavor that’s like a cross between an apple and a potato, Jicama is a South American root that’s great for adding a bit of crunchy texture to fruit salads and salsas. Jicama can also be steamed, baked, boiled or added to stir-frys. For some quick ideas read these "Top Ten Ways to Enjoy Jicama" or try one of these recipes:

Strawberry Mango Jicama Salad

Jicama "Fries" (a raw-food recipe)

Spicy Crab Salad with Carrots and Jicama

Grilled Chicken, Mango and Jicama Salad with Tequila-Lime Vinaigrette

 

 

In Praise of ... Celery Root

Sure, its not one of the prettiest items in the produce department, but it's subtle flavor make it a must-try item. Also called celeriac, celery root not surprisingly has a celery-like flavor.  Boiled and mashed, celery root is a nice alternative to mashed potatoes.  It can also be braised, sautéed or baked.  You may want to try grating or shredding raw into salads too.

Need some recipe ideas - try one of these:

Celery Root, Apple and Tangerine Salad

Celery Root and Winter Root Vegetable Stew

Apple, Fennel and Celery Root Salad

Celery Root Lasagna

Berries of Summer - Strawberries

 

Sure, they're available year-round, but there's something alluring about strawberries in the summertime. Their brilliant-red color and their bright sweetness are the perfect match fro the summer's heat. Nutrition-wise, strawberries and packed with vitamin C and antioxidants.

Here's some recipe suggestions for your summer strawberries: 

Strawberry and Brie Bruschetta

Strawberry and Avocado Salad with Orange Dressing

Jasmine Risotto Spring Rolls with Vanilla Dipping Sauce

Stir Fried Scallops with Strawberries

Berries of Summer - Blackberries

It's one of those words I'd heard a hundred times, but never really gave any thought to what it actually was. When describing a somewhat overgrown landscape I assumed that "bramble" was simply some additional branches and leaves, nothing too significant. Come to find out there are juicy treats in those brambles.  Bramble is where you'll find blackberries (and raspberries and several other varieties of berries). In fact, blackberries and their berry-cousins are sometimes referred to as brambleberries.

Blackberries are one of the most nutrient-rich foods available and one you should make room for in your diet.  Loaded with antioxidants, blackberries also offer vitamins A, C and K, potassium and fiber.

In our selection of recipes that feature fresh blackberries, I made the Blackberry Avocado Salad.  It's a nice blend of flavors with the sweetness of the berries, the creamy-tanginess of the goat cheese and the butteriness of the avocado. And here's a tip: make extra butter-coated pecans - you'll be snacking on those long after your salad is done.

Blackberry Breakfast Bars

Blackberry Avocado Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Grilled Chicken and Polenta with Blackberry-Nectarine Salsa

Nectarine Blackberry Crisp

Blackberry Lime Rickeys (includes alcohol)

The Berries of Summer

When the full-force of summer bares down with all its relentless heat (it's already reached into the 90's here on the South Shore!), you're probably craving something that's refreshing and healthy. Look no further than nature's summertime gift, fresh berries. Whether you're a fan of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries, they're really a perfect warm-weather snack or sweet addition to many dishes. And at this time of year, we've got berries that are grown locally here in Massachusetts. As of this writing, we're offering native blueberries from Kosinski Farms in Westfield, MA; a family farm just about 100 miles from our stores. We've also got native raspberries and native-style strawberries.

Throughout the month of July, we'll be featuring recipes that will help you get the most from your berries. Seeing as we have local blueberries in-store right now, here's a few fresh blueberry-focused recipes:

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Blueberry Walnut Salad

Blueberry Beef Burgers

Grilled Salmon with Blueberry Corn Salsa

Blueberry Mango Dessert

In Praise of ... Fresh Spinach

As this year's harvest moves up the East Coast, we're now receiving top-notch, "Close-to-Home" produce from New Jersey. If there's any doubt as to why New Jersey is called the "Garden State" - besides the fact that it boasts over 10,000 farms - look no further than the fresh items we've got available right now in our produce department: asparagus, parsley, escarole, Romaine lettuce and spinach. It the case of our fresh spinach, it's literally harvested, bagged and shipped.  You'll even notice a little sandy grit still stuck to the big, broad leaves (so wash thoroughly!).

As you may know, spinach is one of the most nutritionally-dense foods we have available to us. It's loaded with vitamins A and K, folate, magnesium and iron, just to name but a few of it's nutrients. Spinach has also been linked to preventing a wide range of diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer and arthritis.

Preparing spinach can be fairly simple.  You can quickly wilt spinach in a pan with some olive oil, garlic and salt. Of how about one of these tasty recipes:

Cheese and Spinach-Stuffed Portobellos

Spinach Cauliflower Salad

Strawberry and Spinach Salad

Fusilli with Fresh Spinach and Ricotta

Tempeh Recipes

So you're trying to lower your intake of meat products, or perhaps cut them out of your diet altogether. Crafting a fresh-foods, fruit & veggie-driven diet offers some undeniably amazing health benefits. But if you still crave flavors associated with meat products, there are some wonderfully tasty meat-free alternatives. Tops on our list - tempeh. If you're not familiar with tempeh, it's made from fermented soybeans, is low in fat and high in protein. The brand we offer here at the Fruit Center is LightLife Three Grain which includes brown rice, barley and millet. Tempeh's firm texture and mild flavor make it a nearly perfect meat substitute (more so, in my opinion, than tofu). While some folks will eat it simply as-is, tempeh greatly benefits from cooking and marinating as it readily takes on other flavors. One of my favorite recipes that includes tempeh is Tempeh Bourgignon (see link below), featured a few years ago in Vegetarian Times magazine. Very hearty and full of flavor, the tempeh takes on a savory flavor (since it's marinated in red wine and onions) and closely mimics beef. I recommend serving it over brown rice. Let us know if you try any of these recipes:

Tempeh Bourgignon

Orange Pan-glazed Tempeh

Tempeh Hash

Smothered Tempeh Sandwich