Summer Storage Tips for Fruits and Veggies

We get a lot of questions about how best to extend the shelf life of the produce you receive in your bins and how long different items are expected to last. Keeping fresh food fresh throughout the week can be especially challenging in these hot summer days. Here are a few tips on how best to store your produce this summer to make the most of what arrives in your bin.
Fruit

If you want to speed up the ripening on your peaches, plums, apricots, or nectarines, place them in a paper bag at room temperature. Cold makes stone fruit mealy, so skip the fridge and keep them on the counter instead. Be careful not to pile stone fruits on top of each other, as they bruise easily.

Berries are so hard to keep fresh -- and everyone's favourite treat this time of year. When you first get a basket of berries, pick through it to remove any moldy ones, as mold spreads incredibly quickly through berries, and then spread everything else on a baking sheet and cover gently with a towel. Store in the fridge.

It's always a guess as to whether tomatoes would be best included in the fruit or vegetable section, but either way you want to store these summer beauties stem side down in a single layer. They like room temperature best and prefer to be away from direct sunlight, which can cause bruising and softening.

Vegetables

If you have an overabundance of summer squash and zucchini (and who doesn't at this time of year?), the best way to keep it fresh is to store it at room temperature or in the fridge for up to a week. You may find sturdier varieties last longer in the fridge than that -- great! As long as it's still firm and fresh, eat it!

Bell Peppers do best kept in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to a week, while cucumbers can be kept either uncovered or in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to a week.

If you're eating good, sturdy greens like kale, swiss chard, or collard greens, wash them in lukewarm water to remove any dirt, then wrap in a damp paper towel and store in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to a week.

Who doesn't love corn in the summer? And who doesn't feel immensely disappointed when you peel back that husk to discover your cob is not as fresh as it could be? Store corn husked or unhusked in the fridge for up to a week and avoid that disappointment!

Fresh tender greens like arugula and baby spinach stay fresher longer if their roots are still attached. Store these guys in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to four days. If the roots are still on, wrap the roots in a damp paper towel.

Beets can be a double storage issue if they arrive with their greens intact -- cut their tops off and store the greens separately the same way you'd store heartier greens like kale and chard. Store the beets in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to three weeks.

Summer is the time of fresh herbs, so make the most of them by storing them correctly. Heartier herbs, like mint and parsley can be prewashed, wrapped in a damp paper towel and stored in a plastic bag in the fridge. Others, like cilantro, do well to be kept upright in a glass of water in the fridge. Only wash tender herbs like basil and chervil right before use.

Zucchini Gratin

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup uncooked white rice
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 or 4 medium zucchini
1/2 pound plum tomatoes
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS 

Cook the rice. Slice both the zucchini and the tomatoes into 1/4 inch rounds. Preheat oven to 450°F.

Coat two large baking sheets each with a tablespoon of olive oil and spread zucchini and tomato slices on the baking sheets in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes for 10 minutes and zucchini for 20, flipping the zucchini halfway through.

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Thinly slice the onion. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan and while it heats, mince the garlic. Add onions, garlic and a pinch of salt to pan. Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking onion until limp and tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl, then add the onion mixture, rice, thyme, half of the grated cheese, a half-tablespoon of olive oil, and a generous amount of black pepper in a bowl. Coat a shallow 2-quart baking dish with the final half tablespoon of olive oil. Spread half of rice mixture in bottom of dish. Arrange half of roasted zucchini on top. Spread remaining rice mixture over it, arrange remaining zucchini on top, then tomato slices. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese and bake until set and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Preserving the Summer Harvest in Your Freezer

Summer is a time of abundance in the food world -- and it's also a time of serious heat in the weather world. Preserving food is usually a time-consuming process that involves standing over the stove for many long hours, which just isn't that appealing in the midst of a heat wave. That's where the freezer comes in. As well as a few tips on how to prep summer produce for the freezer, so you'll be eating well all year long.

Freeze corn well by first blanching the ears -- boil them for 3-4 minutes, then plunge them into cold water to shop the cooking process. Once the ears are cool, scrape the kernels off and freeze in portion-sized freezer bags. To eat later, simply cook as normal without defrosting first. To preserve whole cobs, blanch for about 6 minutes, then freeze the whole thing. When you want to eat corn on the cob in December, simply steam for another 6 minutes and enjoy!

Blanching is also the key to delicious frozen green beans, which should be adding to a rolling boil of water for exactly 3 minutes (any longer and they won't hold up when you defrost them), then plunged into ice water. Blot dry the beans and freeze in freezer bags.

Who would have thought of freezing cucumbers? These summer delights do well frozen for chilled soups or as additions to smoothies in colder months. Peel first and cut into chunks, then freeze in freezer bags.

Broccoli holds up well in the freezer, so might as well put some aside for winter while the getting's fresh right now! Cut into uniform pieces and blanch for just a minute before cooling and freezing in freezer bags.

If there's anything we have an abundance of in the summertime, it's summer squash and zucchini. You can only make so much zucchini bread before you really need something else to do with these suckers. They hold up in the freezer best when you first puree them and then freeze to later use in breads, blended soups, and other baked goods.

All berries can be treated the same for freezing -- the best method to freeze a single layer on a baking sheet and then transfer to a plastic bag or container when fully frozen. This keeps the berries from sticking to each other and clumping up into a frozen mass.

For stone fruit (peaches, plums, and apricots), slice or half the fruit, remove the skin and sprinkle with lemon juice to preserve their colour. Freeze on a baking sheet like berries or simply in a bag. Enjoy in smoothies or baked goods all year round.

You can make your own standard frozen carrots for TV dinners during the winter by slicing or dicing the carrots and blanching for about 2 minutes before freezing. If you want them for later use in baked goods, consider grating the carrots, quickly dipping them in boiling water, and then freezing in recipe-sized portions.

Peas are another frozen vegetable favourite that taste so much better when you preserve them at home. Shell peas and then blanch for a minute and a half. Plunge into ice water, blot dry, and freeze in freezer bags. There's no need to defrost them before cooking. For freezing whole peas, like sugar snap or snow peas, simply blanch for 2 minutes, plunge into ice water and freeze in freezer bags.

The freezer makes it easy to enjoy fresh summer produce all year round! Try these tips and let us know if they work for you.

Honey Blueberry Butter

Adapted from Grow It Can It Cook It

INGREDIENTS

5 lbs blueberries, washed
1 cups water
2 cups honey
zest and juice of 2 lemons
8 half pint jars, sterilized

DIRECTIONS

In a large, heavy bottomed pot, combine the honey and water and bring to a simmer, stirring to melt the honey. Add the blueberries and keep simmering.  Once they’re soft, puree the mixture with an immersion blender.

Turn the heat to low and cook until thickened, for several hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Fruit butter is an art, rather than an exact science so stop cooking when it's reached the consistency you like -- it's going in your pantry, after all. Once the butter is your preferred texture, add the lemon juice and zest.

Transfer the blueberry butter to the sterilized jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace.  Either store in the fridge and eat within a couple of weeks, or process in a water bath for 15 minutes to save through the winter.

Whole Wheat Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

INGREDIENTS

2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup blueberries, rinsed and dried

DIRECTIONS

In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.  Slowly add the melted butter, stirring constantly, to the wet ingredients.

In a small bowl, massage lemon zest into the sugar until fragrant and yellow. Add to wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. It's fine to have a few lumps left.

Heat your skillet or pan to medium. Add enough butter to just coat the pan and ladle in about a 1/4 cup of batter at a time. Press a few berries into the top of each pancake. When the pancakes are dry around the edges and you can see bubbles forming on the top, about 3 to 4 minutes, flip them and cook for another 3 minutes, until golden underneath.

Keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. Serve with maple syrup or your topping of choice. Perfect for a summer weekend!

Cook for the Season: Summer in the Kitchen

Let's face it -- hot summer days and haywire schedules do not make it easy to spend multiple hours a day in the kitchen, especially not if those hours involve finicky prep or standing over a stove. But trading in homemade meals for restaurant food grabbed on the go can add up quickly and impact not only your wallet but your health. So what can you do to make sure you're eating well and staying cool this summer? Here are a few ways to maximize summer eating!


Make a Salad

This is an easy one, and something you probably already do at least some of the time. Summer is the time for salads. And not just side salads, or the pile of lettuce that is really just a brave attempt to get your greens. Summer is time to fall in love with the salad -- make it the center of your meal. Think past lettuce and dream up the salads that make your dinner something to look forward to. An easy way to boost any salad is to add in fruit -- strawberries and peaches are particularly good for this -- a crumbly cheese and toasted nuts. Toss on a lemony dressing and you're good to go!

Make your salad a meal by adding in cooked rice, quinoa, beans, hardboiled eggs, bacon, grilled tofu, crisp tortillas... or anything else you can think of. Fresh herbs can transform the plainest of foods into first-class dining, so don't forget to add in sliced basil, sprigs of mint, or fresh thyme.


Turn on the Slow Cooker

The slow cooker is often thought of as the domain of wintertime cooking, but it's also made to help you with your summer cooking. Turn it on the morning when the weather is still almost-cool outside and then don't worry about having to stand over the stove at all. Simmer up a meat sauce for an easy pasta dish, or get some pulled pork ready for a picnic of sandwiches. Beans do great in the slow cooker and are delicious and nutritious topped with cheese and served with a big salad full of avocado and lime.

You can even use the slow cooker to mix up some fabulous dips for summer cocktail parties. Set the cooker on low for a couple hours to make that spinach-crab dip ready in time for hors-d'oeuvres. And don't forget dessert -- the slow cooker is great for custard, caramelly bananas, and bread pudding.


Get Out the Grill

You knew this one was coming, right? Summer is when you want to be outside but you still need to eat... So cook outside! The grill is great for turning simple meals into something spectacular -- throw some veggies and meat on and you have a gourmet supper with almost no work. The great thing about grilling is that you hardly need any sauces or accoutrements to make your food taste amazing; just cooking it over the open flame does all that for you. So keep it simple and expect greatness.

Grill up food you might not think to put over the fire -- grilled corn surpasses boiled corn by about a million taste bud points, and peaches on the grill will make you doubt you ever need to eat anything else. Fish is a great summer grill food and tastes even better if you grill it on a cedar plank.

No matter how you decide to eat this summer, enjoy it! That's what the season is really for.

Herbal Vinegars from Gaia Garden

This week we teamed up with Vancouver Herbal Dispensary Gaia Garden to bring you information on herbal vinegars and a few recipes so you can make your own at home! This information was provided by Angie Shand and Bronwen Erickson, who both are Practicing Herbalists with over twenty years of combined experience. They are currently working at Gaia Garden Herbal Dispensary, 2672 West Broadway Vancouver BC (604-734-4372) http://www.gaiagarden.com/



How to Make Herbal Vinegars:

Pack a clean glass container (a canning jar, a discarded peanut-butter jar) loosely with the herbs you’ve chosen. Cover with vinegar warmed to room temperature.

Tamp the herbs down to release the air bubbles; then add more vinegar to completely submerge the plant material. Cap the container tightly, set in a dark, warm place, and let the herbs steep for a month to six weeks. Use a plastic cap or a piece of plastic film tied with a rubber band to prevent the acidic vinegar from corroding a metal top.

Strain out the herbs and repeat the process with more herbs if you want a stronger-flavored vinegar. Otherwise, decant the vinegar into a cork- or glass-stoppered container. Store your herbal vinegars in a dark, cool place.



Medicinal Plants used for making Herbal Vinegars:

Nettles are a plant rich in chlorophyll, it rebuilds the blood, stabilizes blood sugar and supports bone health, strengthening the whole body. Nettle is a rich source of antioxidants and Vitamins A, C, D, E, K, Quercitin and flavanoids. Nettle also contains calcium, iron, potassium and sulfur. Medicinally, nettles are astringent and toning and cleansing for the kidneys and blood.

Chickweed is an excellent source of vitamins A, D, B complex, C, and rutin (an accompanying flavenoid), as well as iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, sodium, copper, and silica. Chickweed is believed to help break up fat and fatty deposits in the body. Chickweed is a demulcent, helping to reduce inflamed tissue and joints, promoting a cleansing soothing tonic effect on the urinary system for relieving cystitis and urinary inflammation.

Red Raspberry is an excellent source of vitamins C, E, A, B complex, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, selenium, silicon, sulphur and calcium. Magnesium helps the absorption of calcium, and increases the absorption of certain hormones. These minerals additionally promote strong nails, bones, teeth, hair, and skin. It can be used as a mouthwash for sore throats, weak gums and mouth ulcers as well a great tea for children’s diarrhea. Traditionally known as a blood tonic and purifier, red raspberry possesses hormone-regulating and uterine-toning properties.

All of these herbs can be made into a herbal vinegar to use medicinally. Use 2 tsp to 3 tsp a day in water, on salads or other foods, and is safe for children. Apple cider vinegar helps to break down the minerals with its enzymes and increases the hydrochloric acid in the stomach which helps to absorb the minerals.


Gaia Garden is now owned and operated by members of the Gaia Garden team. Our mission is to provide the community with exceptional plant based medicine to cleanse and nourish the mind, body, and spirit. It is our responsibility to support and educate our community on their path to optimal health. We offer natural, organic, or wild crafted products to contribute to the health and sustainability of our planet. We are proud to facilitate peace, harmony, and good health to all Gaia’s beings.

Fava Bean Fennel Salad

INGREDIENTS

2-3 lbs fresh fava beans (1 1/2 to 2 cups shelled beans)

1 small bulb fennel, thinly sliced

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced

10 fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced

2 green onions, sliced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Shell fava beans over a large bowl. Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and simmer for a few minutes, until just tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the beans and transfer to a bowl of ice water. The ice water halts the cooking process and keeps the beans a nice, bright green colour.  After a couple minutes, drain the bean and remove the outer peel.

On a platter or In a bowl, combine the cooked fava beans, the sliced fennel, and onions. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over the mixture, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Add the Parmesan and mint, and toss to mix. Garnish with fennel fronds and/or mint sprigs. Perfect for a summer day!

Do you have an old cell phone at home?

This July we’re having a cell phone drive!

 

Just place your mobile devices inside your bin and we’ll recycle it for you. But before, please ensure that:

1. The account for the device has been fully paid and service has been deactivated.
2. Any headsets and chargers for the device are included with your donation (These accessories also contain recyclable and salvageable materials).
3. The SIM card is removed if there is one.
4. All personal information is erased from your device, including text messages, contacts and personal files!

For more information on how to clear all data from your device click on the following link: www.recyclemycell.ca 

What Does it Really Mean to Go Gluten Free?

More and more people these days are opting for gluten-free diets, whether because of a celiac diagnosis, a wheat-sensitivity, a bid to be all-around healthier, or just to see what it's like. But what does going gluten-free really mean?

Gluten is an elastic protein that's present in wheat, rye, barley, spelt and kamut. Of all these grains, wheat is the one that tends to give people the most trouble and is present in the most things that we often reach for as a snack. Modern wheat is vastly different from the grain it used to be thanks to extensive cross-breeding; classic wheat plants used to grow to over four feet tall, while modern wheat, which is grown in the vast majority of the world’s wheat fields, stands at about two feet and balances a huge seed head on its small stem. As a result, the structure of the gluten protein in wheat is very, very different from its ancient grain form -- which, essentially, is what both spelt and kamut are. This shift in wheat's structural make-up may be to blame for the huge numbers of people having difficulties with wheat-loaded diets. We also tend to eat a lot more gluten these days than our forebears did in days past, especially since gluten can be hiding in everything
from soy sauce to candy to yogurt to lipgloss (no, really).

So what's a gluten-free gut to do? First of all, figure out what kind of gluten-free eater you are, or if you are one at all. Some of us thrive perfectly well on a wheat-full diet, despite all trends. Others would do well to simply cut back on the amount of processed wheat they're consuming. But some of us really do need to go gluten-free for good. Know what's best for your body -- not anyone else's -- by checking your resources, talking to your doctor, and tuning in to what your own body is telling you.

There's a huge difference between going gluten-free because you have celiac disease and going gluten-free because you think you'd like to cut back on your wheat consumption. Both change your diet, certainly, but the former almost always entails a much stricter eating regime than the latter, which can sometimes make room for a snack that you don't feel like skipping or for cross-contamination. If you're celiac, all of a sudden you need be able to decode the many mysterious ingredients on the back of salad dressing bottles and be vigilant for any speck of gluten that may have touched your otherwise-totally-gluten-free salad. Luckily, for the seriously celiac, there are a lot of resources on how to not only cope with your new diet but to thrive. Good places to start on the internet are Celiac.com (http://www.celiac.com) , Gluten-Free Living (http://www.glutenfreeliving.com) , and Gluten Free Girl and the Chef (http://glutenfreegirl.com/) .

Perhaps the best way to imagine your new life without gluten is to focus on all the delicious foods you get to bring into your diet that you were previously neglecting out of an unnecessary wheat loyalty. Gluten-free can be really hard if you're only thinking about what you can't eat. A lot of gluten-free products out there take your favourite wheaty snack and replace it with something that almost inevitably doesn't taste as good as the original. It's hard to make a good gluten-free pizza (though certainly not impossible)! A much easier way to start enjoying your gluten-free life is to fill your plate with good, fresh food that's naturally gluten-free. Explore your vegetables. Embrace the multitude of other grains, like amaranth, buckwheat, millet, rice, teff, and quinoa (not technically a grain but it works).

If you are attached to baking or baked goods, familiarize yourself with the many ways to bake gluten-free and keep a stash of all-purpose gluten free flour mixed up in your kitchen. A good way to bake gluten-free is to do it by weight; invest in a kitchen scale and your baking life will become much, much easier. You can make your own all-purpose flour mix at home -- because buying it in the store can be really expensive if you use a lot -- by simply mixing 7 parts of gluten-free flour of your choice with 3 parts gluten-free starch of your choice (for more instructions on that, check out this post (http://glutenfreegirl.com/2012/07/how-to-make-a-gluten-free-all-purpose-flour-mix/) ).

The most important thing about going gluten-free is knowing what works for you. Learn to ask questions about cross-contamination at restaurants, to expect ingredient lists for meals, and to really listen to how your body is dealing with whatever it is you're eating. It's a whole lot easier to be gluten-free these days, but it can still be a challenge. Luckily, every single one of our predesigned produce bins comes automatically gluten-free!