Prudent Produce Recipes 2/23/12

Looks like another great week from Prudent Produce! I've tried to give you a nice combination of fresh vs hearty recipes. Remember, you don't always need a recipe to get fancy in the kitchen. My favorite meal is a simple salad - chopped Romaine lettuce, carrots that I grate myself, tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers, and avocado. Top with a homemade vinaigrette (it's super simple and cheap to make your own - I use a tbsp each of yellow mustard, honey, 1 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup of olive oil, whisk til thick, add a salt of salt, pepper, and garlic powder). Add a sprinkle of flax seed, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds - or other favorite toppings!


This is what we can expect in our Standard size bin this week:

Standard Menu

4-Fuji Apples - Apple Spice Cake

2-Cara Cara Oranges - Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

1-Rio Star Grapefruit

2-D’Anjou Pears
1-Blueberry (6oz)

2-Bananas - Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

1-Romaine Lettuce

1-Green Cabbage - Vegetarian Fresh Spring Roll, Ramen Noodle Slaw, Indian Spiced Cabbage & Potato Fry

1-Rainbow Carrot Bunch - Vegetarian Fresh Spring Roll, Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Miso Butter

1-Ruby Crescent Fingerlings (1.5lb bag) - Indian Spiced Cabbage & Potato Fry
1-Green Onion Bunch - Vegetarian Fresh Spring Roll, Ramen Noodle Slaw
1-Red Cherry Tomato (pt) - Ziti with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes & Gorgonzola

Vegetarian Fresh Spring Rolls - I love fresh spring rolls, but have never tried my hand at making them! Substitute your green cabbage for the Napa cabbage. If you can't find the bean thread noodles, I think I have seen the skinny rice noodles at both Hy-Vee and Target, easy substitute. One of my favorite Thai restaurants grinds up peanuts and serves along side their rolls as well - dip your rollinto the sauce, then the peanuts - YUM!

Indian Spiced Cabbage & Potato Fry - haven't made this one, but in looking through the reviews, it looks like you might want to double the spices for more flavor. I would also add a small can of tomato sauce and some coconut milk at the end, to make a creamy sauce. 

 Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Miso Butter - I'm not a big miso fan, so I would leave it out and just add some sea salt instead. Or you could add a splash of soy. Otherwise this looks like such an elegant way to serve carrots!











Ramen Noodle Cabbage Salad -  not really the healthiest thing you will ever eat, but you can make it much healthier by cutting down the amount of sugar in the dressing. I've always made it with green cabbage vs the napa cabbage suggested in the recipe. There's something about all the crunch from the cabbage - ramen - nuts - I love it!








 
 Ziti with Spinach, Tomatoes, Gorgonzola Sauce - I'm not a fan of blue cheese, and if you aren't either, you can substitute good old parmesan instead - although you might want to add 1/2 cup or so since the flavor isn't nearly as strong. Another fun cheese to throw in here would be those little pearl mozzarella balls - have you seen them at your grocery store lately? Little tiny balls of fresh mozz - adorable.

Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie - getting the right texture is going to depend on how industrial your blender is. I peel oranges and throw them in the freezer whole. If you don't have a Vitamix or comparable - don't freeze at all. To make the dreamsicle smoothie I use: 1 frozen banana, 2 frozen oranges, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 cup almond or coconut milk. Blend til smooth! If using a regular blender, use a fresh oranges instead of frozen, and add some ice.

Fuji Apple Spiced Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - I love anything with cream cheese frosting! I would probably cut back on the butter and add applesauce for the cake batter, and use only half the sugar. Of course, this may be why none of my baking endeavors go very well!