Melissa's Produce Archives - Page 4 of 7

Three New Must-Try “Insider” Garlic Surprises

May 22, 2021 Comments Off

Mariam Elghani delivers her Garlic Goodness directly to us!

(Gerry Furth-Sides) 1. Mariam’s Garlic Goodness. Mariam Elghani really wanted me to try her family recipe “toom.” So she cheerfully dropped off a bag on her LA delivery trip back to Bakersfield!

We loved it so much we had to share. Mariam’s Garlic Goodness, a plant-based Lebanese garlic dip, known as “toom” in Lebanese, has always been popular throughout the Mediterranean. Mariam’s is made exclusively with Gilroy, California garlic and infuses the rich flavors of raw garlic, lemon juice, natural oils and zesty spices.

The healthy dairy-free ingredients are gluten-free and keto-friendly. The list of uses for the dip is longer: it can be used as a dip for crackers or chips; as a condiment on sandwiches and wraps; as a sauce, dressing, or as a marinade to add a subtle or intense kick to fish and proteins.

Flavors include a mild Garlic, Chili Pepper and really spicy Jalepeno. It is now available at fine retailers, including Andronico’s Community Markets, Erewhon Market, Woodlands Market, Berkeley Bowl Marketplace, and more throughout California. For more information, please visit www.mariamsmediterranean.com/ or follow on Instagram and Facebook @GarlicGoodness.

Garlic Goodness was founded by Berkeley-based entrepreneur Mariam, who was inspired while growing up working in her family’s Silicon Valley restaurant, Falafel Bite Mediterranean Grill. Elghani worked with her father to perfect traditional Lebanese recipes. The turning point arrived when they started dressing wraps with their own handmade toom, customers began asking for the condiment as a side dip and it became an instant hit.

“My family’s restaurant catered events for a lot of Valley-based tech companies. When we first introduced toom, they started requesting side order containers of it for their events. Soon it became so popular, they were requesting entire trays of toom,” as Elghani recalls. “By 2018, demand became so great, I realized we could be producing more for people beyond the Valley. And now it is thrilling to know its available in stores all over the state.”

We took the **Mariam’s Garlic Goodness** to Kapoor’s restaurant for a tasting with naan.
Delicious! A spicy level for each of us!

@Table Conversation and Sri Sambangi of Clorder taste Garlic Goodness on naan

2. Black Garlic and Elephant Garlic continues our own garlic love affair with a subtle bulb that is less pungent in smell and taste than the standard garlic. //www.melissas.com/products/black-garlic It is available online at Melissa’s Produce, along with sectioned, peeled regular garlic.

Our new favorite way to use it– one becoming very fashionable it appears- is in Roasted Garlic Jam. Black or Elephant garlic makes the “jam” almost sweet rather than pungent with less of a smell, like classic garlic. We have also use it, minced with our fingers, to dot vegetable galettes. And it makes a perfect, unique and original gift in a little reusable canning jar. The recipe is below.

Melissa’s Produce Black Garlic dots adds a perfect subtle, jammy addition to veggie tarts

Roasted Garlic Jam

Ingredients:

2 large sweet onions (we used Hatch sweet onions from Melissa’s produce)
2 Tablespoons olive oil (we use a rich Spanish olive oil or grapeseed oil)
2 Tablespoons butter (we use Kerrygold unsalted)
2 heads of Black garlic, peeled and roasted
1 head of Elephant garlic, peeled and roasted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (we used dark brown organic)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (we use rich Spanish balsamic vinegar)
1/8 teaspoon Meyer lemon (from the garden of @Table Conversation!)
Freshly ground black pepper and herbs (we sometimes use Melissa’s Produce garlic, herb grinder)

Directions

Peel the onions and slice or cut into a rough dice. Place in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.

Place in a pan. Cook for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and tender. Add the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and deep golden. Cool. Place in a glass jar with lid. Refrigerate until needed. The spread can go into the freezer for about a week.

Our Melissa’s Black Garlic jam gift to our cousin, Tim. He spread it on sourdough bread with a spot of classic yellow mustard

3. The renowned Gilroy Garlic Festival Association will present its 2021 “legacy events” the weekends of July 23rd-25th and July 31 with a variety of socially distanced and virtual events designed to showcase and honor the bulb which made Gilroy famous.

The festival is wildly popular for offering up garlic in every form imaginable from savory garlic-infused batter to sweets such as garlic ice cream. Almost as important, the camaraderie and food tastings of this unique bulb make for the most friendly, fun and tasty time ever — rivaling mushrooms for the title. This year planners are working on a variety of creatively reimagined events (socially distanced, virtual, and more). Please see the website for up-to-date schedules and details. //gilroygarlicfestivalassociation.com

On the list: a series of drive-thru events at Gilroy Presbyterian Church, a Farm-to-Table dinner at Fortino’s Winery, and a Golf Tournament at Gilroy Golf Course.

A Savor a Farm-to-Table Dinner at Fortino’s Winery (located at 4525 Hecker Pass Highway) the evening of Saturday, July 24th. The feast bring farm-fresh flavors in food and wines directly to the table.

A **Savor a Farm-to-Table Dinner** at Fortino’s Winery at the 2021 **Gilroy Garlic Festival**

Drive-thru Gourmet Alley, scheduled for the weekends of July 23rd, 24th and 25th, and July 30th, 31st, and August 1st, takes place at the Gilroy Presbyterian Church, located at 6000 Miller Ave., Gilroy, CA 95020.

Gourmet Alley at the 2021 **Gilroy Garlic Festival**

A Make a Hole-in-One at the Garlic Festival Gold Tournament “for a cause” at the Garlic Festival Golf Classic, which will be held Friday, July 30th at Gilroy Golf Course, located at 9402, 2695 Hecker Pass Road.

The Gilroy Garlic Festival Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has distributed more than $12 million to the community through its annual festivals since 1979. Their goal: to be a chain that links together residents, businesses, nonprofits, faith groups, schools, and other local institutions in a collaborative and supportive expression of “community.”

The Festival works closely with the Santa Clara County Health Department to get approval for the Gourmet Alley Drive-Thru.

GILROY GARLIC FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
PO Box 2311
Gilroy, CA 95021

Celebrate A “Well-Rounded” New Year of the Ox

February 28, 2021 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) The growing popularity of historic Chinese New Year celebrations show how important this Asian holiday is becoming with mainstream America despite the recent bizarre backlash to the pandemic. Food plays an important role during Chinese New Year, and there are a number of dishes that are eaten to bring good luck to families, who always gather for a sumptuous family reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve that begins with the new moon.

Steamed fish is a traditional dish representing and welcoming wealth in the New Year

The big homemade meal with multiple dishes is laid out on the table with each traditional dish symbolic of a good luck omen. Though traditional dishes can vary from home to home and province to province, the ideas behind each item and what they represent remain the same.Steamed fish is always on the menu. The tradition of eating fish during the New Year originates from the fact that the Chinese word for “surplus” or “profit” sounds similar to the word for fish. Thus, it is believed that Fish (与) is eaten for good luck because it symbolizes surplus for the forthcoming year. It is also the custom that this should be the last savory dish eaten to connect to the first wealth of the new year.

This whole fish would be an especially good luck sign because it is red, which symbolizes good luck. Money gifts are presented in red envelopes from older to younger family members and friends.

Mandarin oranges, which are considered a symbol of good fortune, are eaten, displayed and gifted for good luck. In northern China, round dumplings are a popular food during Chinese New Year. In the south, it’s more common to see niangao Niangao (年糕): a traditional New Year cake. Made using sticky rice, dates, sugar, and lotus leaves, this treat represents increased fortune year after year.

Butterscotch pears are a novel way add a new “round note” to the holiday. Melissa’s perfect pieces of fruit are prized for their large size and paper-thin skins, which lack the bitter flavor of other varieties. The crunchy Korean straight out of hand or sliced into salads, desserts, slaws, and compotes – and more famously by the Koreans for marinating all sorts of cuts of meat.

Melissa’s Produce wrapper protects this holiday treat

Dessert. Round and indulgent to see out the Lunar New Year holiday season! An Asian Pear galette at the plate in a ball game with dates, “the” raw cookie dough ice cream, and freshly whipped cream, all under sprinkles of Vietnamese cinnamon.

A round Butterscotch Pear, also called an Apple Pear, would also mean good luck

The subtle taste of pear invites the “hidden” frangipane paste round made with Bob’s Red Mill Pure Almond Protein Powder and Nancy Lin Chen’s cinnamon paste, which we then highlighted with crunchy candied pecans. The recipe plus many other ideas are in her book, 101 Amazing Uses of Cinnamon.

Round, sweet balls of ice cream and whipped cream add to the “round” New Year galette

“Rounding out” this finale, the very definition of festive indulgence honors the name of the pears: homemade “butterscotch” sauce (using lemon juice)! This is definitely a western touch!

This prepared with an extra “round” layer of frangipane – for a sweeter year!

Bob’s Red Mill Almond powder is used to make the “hidden” frangipane round merely by combining the healthy almond powder, water and vanilla extract

New Bob’s Red Mill Almond protein goes beyond the stereotypes of traditional protein supplements. This finely ground, blanched almond powder can be added to pasta sauces, salad dressings, baked goods and more. AND it boasts 20 grams of plant-based protein per serving.

Eat Like You Give a Fork’s Mareya Ibrahim

January 28, 2021 Comments Off

“Eat Like You Give a Fork,” effervescent author Mareya Ibrahim ( St. Martin’s Press) is known as the Fit Foodie – celebrity chef, holistic nutrition coach, speaker, award-winning entrepreneur and patented inventor.

“Eat Like You Give a Fork,” author Mareya Ibrahim with her EAT CLEANER products

We stored Mayera’s little zippered cloth lunch box until it looked a little worn. But it had a new life as soon as we used it all during the December holiday season when we worked out in the field in East LA and so many of our favorite Mexican restaurants were closed entirely or too far away for us to do a pick-up. The little “lunch box” has net side pocket for fruit and another front pocket for napkins or paper forks and knives although we found the interior to be surprisingly roomy. It is a far cry from doing lunch at a research field job for LAUSD in South Center and the westside for over a year when we lunched solely on protein bars until we looked at the label one day and were appalled.

Mayura is the author of “The Clean Eating Handbook,” a signature chef to the NY Times bestseller “The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life” by Rick Warren, Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Mark Hyman and a contributor to Recipe Rehab.She is the founder of Grow Green Industries, INC. and is the co-creator of the eatCleaner® line of products, featured on HSN and QVC.

Her podcast, “Recipes for your Best Life,” shares enticing food for thought and interviews with notable change makers. Mareya was a featured chef on the Emmy-nominated show Recipe Rehab, and is featured in hundreds of Livestrong and eHow videos. Mareya is a Signature Chef for the New York Times bestseller “The Daniel Plan” with Dr. Rick Warren, Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Mark Hyman. Her column, “The Fit Foodie,” appears in Edible Orange County Magazine.

Mayera at a Melissa’s Produce In Kitchen Presentation. It’s easy to see why Mareya can be such a motivating nutrition coach!

Mareya Ibrahim is a TV chef, holistic nutrition coach, author and award-winning entrepreneur and inventor. She is the founder of Grow Green Industries, INC. and the creator of the Eat Cleaner line of food wash and wipes. Her backpage column, “The Fit Foodie”, has appeared in Edible Orange County Magazine for 7 years. Chef Mareya is the host of “The Real Dish” Podcast, was a featured chef on the Food Network, eHow.com, Livestrong.com. and the Emmy- nominated cooking show, Recipe Rehab. Mareya has been a keynote or featured speaker for dozens of events, including the Sustainable Foods Summit, The Green Festival, The California School Nutrition Association Conference, The Fit Expo and The Daniel Plan.

We love Mareya’s recipes because they are classics with a contemporary twist. The Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai is our new favorite that substitutes Spaghetti Squash that is fun on its own because after it cooks, it can be taken out of the gourd with a fork or knife in strands.

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai with Mayura Ibrahim’s version from Eat Like You Give a Fork on the right and our’s on the left

How Joan Nathan’s “King Solomon’s Table” Made me a Star – Twice

January 27, 2021 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) I keep vowing to feature only one dish at a time but three favorites just about bounced off the page after looking up a recipe for a friend from Joan Nathan’s instant classic, King Solomon’s Table. And the best part is that even I have all the enticing ingredients in the (2 shelf) pantry because we love them and thanks to Melissa’s Produce have the best quality: Malai Corn Pudding; Slightly Sweet and Sour Cabbage; Dates in Brown Butter with Vanilla Ice Cream, Date Syrup and Halvah Crumble (we substituted Danish Cheese). And this dessert dish makes it three times!

Joan Nathan cannot be described as anything other than a force of nature. I describe her and other culinary icons such as Dorie Greenspan as the type of woman who can succeed at anything because of their intellect, drive and passion. If they would be attorney’s they would be on the Supreme Court.

Joan’s recent best-selling instant classic, King Solomon’s Table is an exquisite extravaganza of recipes and narrative for such appealing international Jewish dishes that could stand alone as a cultural history book. Or a memoir. It is truly, as Joan herself describes it, “a work of a lifetime.” And in addition to being an engaging read as culinary history, it is foremost as a guide for flavor combinations and for clear, bold, standout recipes.

To me, however, who at random picked one recipe in it for a competition as a counterpoint to cornbread and because I had the baking tin in my cupboard. The result was so special it is now my “signature dish” I’ve made time and time again. Proof is that fellow food writers at the event even let me know weeks afterward that they were incredulous that I made it! Thank you, Joan Nathan.

Thank you Melissa’s Produce for the gooseberries that make this presentation so festive and special

The Joan Nathan Malai Cornbread Pudding from King Solomon’s Table – with a few tweaks

Malai – Romanian Cornmeal Ricotta Breakfast Pudding inJoan Nathan’s King Solomons Table Book

INGREDIENTS

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
3 large eggs, divided
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 lbs. whole milk ricotta or farmers cheese
Fresh berries or cherries, to serve

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch round gratin bowl or similar baking pan with some of the butter.
Melt the remaining butter and cool slightly. Put the butter, 1 of the eggs, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the milk into a medium bowl and mix well. Gradually fold in the cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder and mix well.
Mix together the ricotta or farmer cheese with the 2 remaining eggs and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in another bowl.
Spoon half the cornmeal mixture on the bottom of the pan, then pour on all the cheese mixture and finish by spooning and spreading the remaining cornmeal mixture on top.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden and set. Serve warm with fresh berries or cherries. Yield: 6 servings

Then two years later and now a few months back we were looking for new ways to do cabbage, and came across Joan Nathan’s “Slightly Sweet and Sour Cabbage” and were again smitten. We made it five times before reading the background of this recipe, which comes from Sara Yaech, a woman Joan met on a trip to Havana. Sara grew up on Turkish and Ladino food. Sara’s father’s descendants are Turkish Jews. Her mother’s side of the family descended from es who came to Cuba centuries ago, possibly even from Spain with Christopher Columbus when Jews were often stowaways on the ships.

Joan reports that cabbage is the ” universal ingredient, ” and she views it as a symbolic Jewish food that has traveled the world, even prevalent in the Cuban Kiosks that serve as supermarkets. Sara told her that when she prepared this dish for a Jewish woman from Russia, she was told that the lady’s mother made the same dish there. This one swaps out the Tamarind once used in ancient times for the tomato and sauce used in contemporary times. I am even more thrilled to read that this dish is one recommended for good bone health and helps avoid arthritis.

We could eat this “Slightly Sweet and Sour Cabbage” dish every day of the week. And sometimes we do. We use different colored bell peppers and seasoned vinegars.

**Joan Nathan’s** Slightly Sweet and Sour Cabbage in the Vegetables section of **King Solomon’s Table**, p. 199, photo by Gabriela Herman

Our “Slightly Sweet and Sour Cabbage” dish from **Joan Nathan’s** book, **King Solomon’s Table**

We have made this dish over and over again, and always with guests asking for the recipe. This is in addition to me mentioning as an idea for a brunch, lunch or dinner side dish and being asked for the recipe. The red and purple colors are dramatic and enticing. And sweet and sour flavors, so easy with brown sugar and red wine vine, always delight at table. The other surprising thing about this is dish is that it is supposed to yield 4-6 servings out of approximately half a cabbage but it turns out at least 8-10.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 sweet red pepper, sliced thin
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
4 cup finely choppedcabsbage, purple or white, shredded
2 tablespoons brownsugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons wine vinegar
4 tablespoons tomato sauce
2 table spoons parsley for garnish

Heat a sauce pan with the oil. Add the onions, pepper, and garlic and sauce until the onion is golden. then sir in the cabbage, brown sugar, salt, wine vinegar and tomato sauce. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has disappeared and the cabbage is soft. Adjust the seasonings and serve, sprinkled with the parsley.

Joan suggests mixing the purple and the green cabbage in one dish. We also suggest added yellow, orange and green pepper julienned peppers to the purple for the same festive touch. The dish is just as good the second day, and served warm or at room temperature, which is wonderful when you put the casserole on the table.

About the book: There is a controversy about whether the extravagant, King Solomon really existed fades away with tales of his 700 wives and 300 concubines, and his gourmand love of good food. But one thing we are sure of: had Joan Nathan been around at the time, they would be friends. This is a lady who has to time herself on each slide during her talk because each dish or topic gives rise to so much going on in her life across the globe that a day would not cover it.

For me the recipes that appeal the most are the more middle eastern and Mediterranean ones because the eastern European main dishes tend to be less colorful and rich – made from available ingredients that tended to Joan center on root vegetables and the like. Next up to prepare is the Dates in Brown Butter with Vanilla Ice Cream, Date Syrup, and Halvah Crumble. We already know we would substitute the halvah with a love Danish cheese!

**Dates in Brown Butter with Vanilla Ice Cream, Date Syrup, and Halvah Crumble** from **Joan Nathan’s King Solomon’s Table**

The background introduction to **Dates in Brown Butter with Vanilla Ice Cream, Date Syrup, and Halvah Crumble** from **Joan Nathan’s King Solomon’s Table**

Joan Nathan at a **Southern California Culinary Historians** talk

Joan led us through her research process, which started at a university library and led her around the world. Some of her “insider” fascinating information she shared was how people hid expensive spices in rice when they were transporting other goods. She spoke for close to an hour and half that flew by, knowing that this was just the thoughts for the day when the world is Joan’s research field.

Joan is not unexpectedly a fascinating speaker with profound findings and from in-depth, far sweeping research. An internationally well- respected professional and popular cookbook author for decades, her books have earned every major prize from the James Beard and IACP Awards to the Julia Child Award for Best Cookbook of the Year. Joan was the host fate syndicated PBS television series Jewish Cooking in Africa with Joan Nathan, based on the book. The is a frequent contributor to The New York Times.

**Patricia Rose**, cooking instructor, and Joan Nathan at a **Southern California Culinary Historians** presentation

García de la cruz Inspires This Authentic Spanish Thanksgiving in America

November 17, 2020 Comments Off

A Spanish Thanksgiving menu honoring the first actual (Spanish) Thanksgiving in St. Augustine Florida

This year we’re sitting down to a feast of dishes from Spain. And we will toast to all of it with a Spanish Rioja and a Temperanillo – Already our favorites. Why? Archaeologists at Florida’s Museum of Natural History recently revealed that the first Thanksgiving was actually celebrated in St. Augustine, Florida over 50 years earlier in 1565. This is much earlier than the 1621 date used for the more Anglicized Thanksgiving that features turkey and pumpkin pie.

Garcia de la Cruz premium olive oil inspired all of this research and since we love all things España, so we are especially “thankful” to them.

Their extra virgin olive oil will enhance our tart, and “planned over dishes.” This includes a marvelous Spanish potato salad with peas, capers and pimento; fat, long sardines from the coast; a chestnut flan with hazelnut nutella. We’ll use the Cubbison classic cornbread for the tart crust on Thanksgiving, and the new artisan version will be used ”do-it-yourself” topping bar for tartlets made from it.

The early harvest olive oil is so refined and pure, it will only be used in a dish for dipping and tasting.

Mrs. Cubbison stuffing, created by ranch cook and nutritionist Sofie Cubbison in California close to a century ago is our other, American inspiration.

We will be using the stuffing this year as part of our tart crusts

Our ingredients that will star in our Thanksgiving feast: shallots, chestnuts, baby potatoes and pearl onions

On the menu are: a chestnut soup, Tortilla La Espańola with potato and onion, flavored with wild black garlic. A cheeseboard filled with specialty items from Spain will be offered so guests can choose from savory Salamanca dry-cured Iberico de cebo pork salchichón; Idiazabal do (Craw Sheep milk smoked basque, aged 60 days); Spanish green and black olives; quince paste and a roasted garlic tomato to spread onto barra (like a French baguette), and tomatohazelnuts from Galacia. To choose from on the sweeter side: a dense fig almond cake; almendra garrapiñada (sugar coated almonds), black dried raisins and fresh grapes.

Guests can choose from savory or sweet filled specialty items from Spain

History books document that Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and 800 soldiers, sailors and settlers created the first Thanksgiving feast. This was long before English pilgrims who had arrived in America on the Mayflower to celebrate in 1621.

The group attended a special thanksgiving mass before sitting down together with local Native Americans for a thanksgiving feast, according to Kathleen Deagan, research curator emerita of historical archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Salted pork and typical Spanish products, such as red wine, olives and chickpeas were served.

Typical Caribbean foods that Menéndez picked up in Puerto Rico before his Florida landing were also on the table. The local Timucuan people may have brought corn, fresh fish, berries or beans.

Potatoes we are serving, common to American Thanksgiving meals, also have a Spanish influence. True, the Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes around 8,000 BC to 5,000 B.C. But it was Spanish Conquistadors after conquering Peru in 1536, who discovered the flavors of the potato, and carried them to Europe.

The theory is that the celebration probably took place along the banks of the Matanzas River, the site of the first Spanish colony in the United States. Menéndez de Avilés had lost half his fleet on the voyage from Spain, and one of the first things he did on reaching the “New World” was to organize a mass of thanksgiving, followed by a feast. “So he invited all the local native people who were so curious about them,” said Deagan.

I was delighted to find this history of Spanish Thanksgiving, so obscure it was in only one article on a discontinued blog. Theories of why this vital part of history has been diminished center on our heavily anglicized past and official origins. Yet facts show that even the first colony was a melting pot and the cultural interactions of the many groups of people in the colony were much more like the US is today than the British colonies ever were,” Gifford Waters, historical archaeology collection manager at the Florida Museum.

St Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States. Founded by Menédez de Avilés, it celebrated its 450th anniversary on September 8th 2015.

Garcia de la Cruz represents a history of 5 generations working in the cultivation and elaboration of a great extra virgin olive oil. The oil itself is a product of centuries-old olive trees on the lands of Castile. The first day of the harvest brings together all the essence and knowledge of so many years of work and dedication. Even its bright green color reflects the beauty and fullness of the fruit at the time of its harvest, and its aromas and flavor, perfection in the elaboration. This is not for cooking, but a separate and special tasting oil on its own plate

Eusebio and Fernando de la Cruz, fifth generation owner-operators of the Garcia de la Cruz

The extraordinary Premium quality extra virgin olive oil, made from the first olives that harvested while still green makes for enriched organoleptic properties, rich in natural antioxidants and vitamins. This oil with body, fragrant and aromatic with clear tones of freshly cut grass, slightly bitter and but well balanced. After taste of tomato, freshly cut grass and almond.

Garcia de la Cruz tones are of freshly cut grass, almond and tomato

I represented Mrs. Cubbison stuffing for 22 years on television during the Thanksgiving and easter holidays and still respect and honor this healthy melba-toasted west coast mainstay originally created by Sofie Cubbison.

By this time in November, I had spent months planning, cooking and going out on my annual west coast tour so I would have been so pleased to have an alternative to turkey. But one thing remains the same and that is wishing a Happy thanksgiving to you!

A nationally syndicated article on me described it all!

Gina Homolka’s skinny taste MEAL PREP cookbook is Your New Virtual Assistant

October 10, 2020 Comments Off

Gina Homolka demonstrating a recipe and technique from her new book, Skinnytaste Meal Prep: Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Freezer Recipes to Simplify Your Life

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Skinnytaste Meal Prep: Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Freezer Recipes to Simplify Your Life, the new cookbook by #1 New York Times bestselling author Gina Homolka, does just that by becoming your virtual shopping and meal planning assistant. It takes away all the guess work, and Gina guides you in creating monthly plans with ingredients, meal prepping and cooking in advance. If you take pleasure in looking at a situation from a gestalt point of view, and I do, this is the cookbook for you.

Gina Homolka’s bold, colorful new book, Skinnytaste Meal Prep: Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Freezer Recipes to Simplify Your Life

The book is a very helpful guide for weight loss, healthier eating without being boring and having peace of mind when it comes to meal panning. Her 120 healthy, diverse recipes turn familiar ingredients into versatile meals and appealing, unique snacks helps you stay on your diet and within your grocery budget. Gina’s thoughtful time-saving strategies, include prepping recipes ahead so they can go straight from the freezer to the Instant Pot®, slow cooker, or oven to finish cooking, along with dishes that are completely made ahead and easily reheated.

A sample monthly plan of meals Gina Homolka’s bold, colorful new book, Skinnytaste Meal Prep: Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Freezer Recipes to Simplify Your Life

We prepared the Basil Pomodoro Sauce and the Stuffed Chicken Parmesan and Asparagus that includes the sauce as one ingredient (store bought marinara sauce is an option). from her new book. The recipe pumped up everyday ingredients into a festive, gooey dish with a very authentic ethnic flair. It also had the surprise of the gooey cheese inside of a piece of healthy white meat chicken coated with a crispy bread coating.

Gina Homolka’s Basil Pomodoro Sauce

We also gave a little jar of the Basil Pomodoro Sauce to a new neighbor. It defines homemade and colorful! It highlighted the fresh tomatoes we just got from Melissa’s Produce.

Gina Homolka’s Basil Pomodoro Sauce from her new book, Skinnytaste Meal Prep: Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Freezer Recipes to Simplify Your Life

Mix and match options from Gina Homolka’s new book, Skinnytaste Meal Prep: Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Freezer Recipes to Simplify Your Life

Enticing chapter and recipe highlights in Skinnytaste Meal Prep: Healthy Make-Ahead Meals and Freezer Recipes to Simplify Your Life. include:

BREAKFAST: Breakfast Fried Rice; Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Sheet Pan Pancakes; Stuffed Bagel Balls
HEARTY SALADS: Taco Salad Meal Prep, Instant Pot Beet Salad with Citrus and Orange Ricotta; Food-Cart Style Chicken Salad with White Sauce
WARM GRAIN, NOODLE, & VEGETABLE BOWLS: Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Rice Bowls; Kofta Meatball Couscous Bowls; Roasted Veggie and Barley Buddha Bowls
HEALTHY BITES : Pumpkin Hummus and “Everything” Nuts
SMART SNACKS: Buffalo Chicken-Stuffed Celery Sticks; Pumpkin Hummus; “Everything” Nuts
FREEZER FAVORITES: VEGETARIAN: Ribollita Soup; Chickpea Spinach Tomato Curry; Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
FREEZER FAVORITES: MEAT & SEAFOOD: Freezer-to-Instant Pot Chicken and Dumpling Soup; Sicilian Rice Ball (Arancini) Casserole; Low-Country
BOIL FOIL PACKETS
BIG BATCHES AND PLANNED-OVERS: Personal Turkey Pot Pies

Also representative of Gina’s recipes with chicken has as its “secret ingredient,” smoked paprika aioli, which lends a totally unique, international flair and is surprisingly simple to make of ingredients found in just about any fridge.

Rotisserie Summer Chicken Bowls with Smoked Paprika “Aioli”

SERVES 4

SMOKED PAPRIKA “AIOLI”

1⁄2 cup light mayonnaise

Juice of 1 large lime

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh cilantro

SALAD

6 cup mixed baby greens

1 pound leftover Paprika Roasted Whole Chicken (page 248) or rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed, torn into bite-size pieces (half white, half dark; about 3 cups)

1 1⁄3 cups halved grape tomatoes

1 1⁄3 cups steamed corn, from 2 fresh (or frozen) ears

1⁄2 small red onion, slivered

1 small (4-ounce) Hass avocado, sliced

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Make the “aioli”: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lime juice, paprika, and cilantro and blend until smooth. If it’s too thick, you can add a little water to loosen.

Make the salad: Divide the baby greens, chicken, tomatoes, corn, red onion, and avocado among 4 plates. Drizzle each with 21⁄2 tablespoons aioli, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

Gina Homolka is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of

The Skinnytaste Cookbook, Skinnytaste Fast and Slow, Skinnytaste One and Done, and The Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook and the founder of the award-winning blog Skinnytaste. She lives on Long Island with her husband and their two children.

How the Lowly “Pee Wee” Potato Became Kitchen King

June 17, 2020 Comments Off

The French Potato Salad from the Silver Palate Cookbook, perfect for Melissa’s Produce peewees and Trader Joe’s bacon ends

(Gerry Furth-Sides) You always want to know more about what you love, and in the case of Peewee potatoes, adoration at first sight and bite for me. The history beyond the cultivated potato story as fascinating and exciting as how the American way of doing business made it popular. The Incas basically domesticated the potentially toxic potato, then invented the first all natural processing system. Basically, once Farmers Market customers started buying the mini-potatoes, initially offered up as an experiment by growers although they had no commercial classification, sales earned them on as well as a place in market produce bins.

The well-deserved darling of dinner place needed an original name before the fingerling ratings were changed, so the name “peewee” became used to get around it. How can you not love this story. We made a bouquet in honor of it!

A bouquet of Melissa’s Produce red, white and blue baby potatoes in honor of 4th July and summer!

And what is not to be loved about roasted petite potatoes, their jackets so delicate they can even be kept on for cooking, delicious with any seasoning or none at all. The rougher skin of Idahos, are perfect to me in texture and taste, that was the only part of the starchy potato I ate, more as a bed for butter, sour cream and chives. And peewees easily adapt to refined French and Italian cuisines.

Melissa’s Produce Yukon Gold Peewee potatoes, so sweet even in their little mesh bag!

Peewees hold best in a potato bag, placed in a dark, cool place

Fresh rosemary adds a distinctive, fragrant touch to warm or cold pee wee potato dishes

Extra salad dressing in small canning jars is novel and perfect for easy storage

Melissa’s Grinders spice up any Peewee potato dish without buying an entire array of herbs

Mixed, adaptable Peewee are delicious roasted, boiled or baked – almost any application – served cold in potato salad. Raw is prohibited and unhealthy. Slicing them in half for roasting, and used as a side dish or salad is addictive. Note: the potato salad the next day was even tastier because the flavors had seeped through. Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins used the Southern Italian influenced, Potatoes Fonteccio recipe in their Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, which adds mint. Fontecchio is a small, medieval village in the Province of L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

What’s in a Name? Potatoes have always inspired novel names!

Seasonings influence the neutral-flavored Peewees, with rosemary, thyme or garlic being the most popular. To enhance the Peewee flavor further, pairit with lemon, arugula, tomato, meats, poultry, truffle oil, and goat cheese. They are most elegant, sliced and holding creme fraiche and caviar.

As with many love affairs, I was reluctant about the initial introduction. But when my slender potato-loving friend, who happened to be Irish, and I roasted a party platter of fingerling potatoes with salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil and rosemary, I joined in to “nibble” an entire 1/3 as the pans came out of the oven. I was smitten ever since.

And what is there not to love with Peewee’s? Here Susan Loomis’ delightful French version with creme fraiche and

Ah, the luxury of fragrant fresh rosemary with Peewee roasted potatoes

Cookbook author, Susan Loomis, with Robert Schueller of Melissa’s Produce, who joyously shared her French PeeWee recipe

Though they have very much the same taste and texture, fingerling potatoes are often confused with new potatoes. Peewees are simply a smaller fingerling variety, and are defined by their size and length, not by their color or variety. Peewee fingerling potatoes are smooth though round or oval, measuring less than 2 centimeters in diameter, and are yellow, red or blue-purple in color. Fingerlings are less starchy and are typically waxy and moist or dry fleshed and have a creamy, buttery taste. Peewee potatoes are botanically classified as Solanum tuberosum, and are most often a mix of Russian Banana, Red Thumb and Purple Peruvian fingerling potatoes.

Hoorah for the peewee that packs punch with its small portion, and with less water, starch and carbs. After all a raw potato is 79% water, 17% carbohydrates (88% is starch), and only 2% protein. Potatoes still provide so much energy because they also are a rich source vitamin B6 and vitamin C, providing nearly a quarter of daily value. They are also a good source of fiber. With a shorter cooking time, and a smaller size, Peewees are healthier since more nutrients are lost with the longer cooking time of a when a large potato, and potatoes are classified as having a high glycemic index (GI)

Mixed Peewee potatoes are botanically classified as Solanum tuberosum, and are typically a mix of Russian Banana, Red Thumb and Purple Peruvian fingerling potatoes, depending on availability. Peewees are the smaller version of the fingerling varieties and are defined by their size and length, not by their color or variety.

Mixed Peewee potatoes shine when roasted, boiled, and baked. They are most popular as a side dish when sliced in half and roasted. Mixed Peewee potatoes pair well with rosemary, garlic, thyme, lemon, arugula, tomato, meats, poultry, truffle oil, and goat cheese.

French Potato Salad with Bacon from The Silver Palate Cookbook

Ingredients for French Potato Salad with Bacon from the Silver Palate Cookbook using Melissa’s Peewee Potatoes and Melissa’s Garlic Herb spice grinder

Ready in the bag! Melissa’s Fresh Peeled Garlic lend a refined French touch to any Peewee potato recipe

Extra dressing for the Potato Salad in a whimsical, and easy-to-store container

Always a satisfying meal: beef, green veggie, a colorful mix of boiled peewee potatoes, garnished with parsley

The Peewee influenced history. First domesticated in the region of modern-day southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia between 8000 and 5000 BC Peru still boasts thousands of varieties. One of the first steps in the domestication of the potato, 8,000 years ago, was the selection of non-bitter tubers to avoid their natural compounds called glycoalkaloids, contained in many wild potato species, While it is the plant’s way of resisting insects and diseases, they impart a bitter taste and can be toxic at high enough levels, so selection and propagation of non-bitter type was crucial.

One intricate system to eliminate these substances that involves freeze-drying was also developed in the Andes. Bitter tubers are exposed to freezing temperatures for three or four nights. During the day in the warming sunlight, the potatoes are trampled by foot to remove moisture and potato skins. The trampled potatoes are then transferred to a stream of water to allow the bitter compounds to leach out.

The final freeze-dried product was known as chuño. It could be stored for a year or longer! It is essentially represents the oldest known form of potato processing. Chuno was used by populations from higher altitudes to barter for products from lower elevations.

In the Altiplano, potatoes provided the principal energy source for the Inca civilization, its predecessors, and its Spanish successor. Wild potatoes there were probably first eaten by people as early as 13,000 years ago. Following the Spanish conquest of the Inca empire, the Spanish introduced the potato to Europe in the second half of the 16th century as part of the Columbian exchange. European mariners introduced it to territories and ports throughout the world.

Piedmontese Beef Feast in a Box (from Nebraska)

June 10, 2020 Comments Off

The table setting fit for a Piedmontese Beef feast

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Any conversation about beef always used to start by saying that my mother’s entire family of 15 were meat brokers. Now it begins with the story of Piedmontese beef. And Piedmontese Beef is a tale the finer things. Let me take you there. It is my favorite gift to beef lovers, because as much of a treasure that the beef actually is, it is practically priced and delivery is free. It is a story of dark, densely textured meat, buttery as Kobe or Wagu, and more textured. It is more flavorful than Black Angus although less sweet and less fatty. Lower in fat beef is also lower in calories, higher in protein and contains a higher percentage of the good Omega 3 Fatty Acid. Used nose to tail, the meat has the most wonderful hearty flavor and tooth to it because of its muscle mass.

Piedmontese Beef Filet Mignon with Melissa’s Produce Mushroom sauce, yam fries and farmer’s market asparagus

In telling the story of the cattle both in Italy and the USA, we must give a nod to cousin its, the thriving Chianina in the Piedmont area. The Piedmontese is part of this breed that migrated to the Piedmont region of northwest Italy, where it was first discovered among the region’s robust history of fine wines and rich cuisines over 100 years ago. The story about how five of these prized animals were “finessed” into the United States decades ago (a little mysteriously by way of Canada), is one of intrigue and determination and passion. There are now about 34 ranches. The story and where to order is is on the website //www.piedmontese.com

Piedmontese Beef arrives at the door, carefully packed to ensure freshness

The famous “Tomahawk cut” – Clint Eastwood’s favorite

Prized for its noticeably heavy musculature, the Piedmontese breed’s unique genetic composition means that these cattle naturally develop a significantly greater muscle mass compared to conventional cattle. At the same time, muscle fibers remain tender without the need for excess marbling. The result is consistently superior beef that is both lean and tender.

Piedmontese Beef Wellington (photo courtesy Of Piedmontese Beef)

The (Melissa’s Instant) Beet Goes On!

June 9, 2020 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Beets have intriguing and upside down a delicious history as both an earthy, sweet veggie, and as a sugar used in other products. Today the beet, goat cheese, hazelnut salad has become so popular a restaurant menu item that trendy chefs like David Chang make fun of it as, “trite.” Shame on you, Chang! It’s popular because this classic always satisfies. Why don’t you just do a variation of your own? Hints are below.

The beet has a divided following, probably because of its appealing color and taste that hovers between sweet and a distinct earthy pungency. The Obamas’ dislike beets so much they refused to plant them in the White House vegetable garden. The fact that sophisticated Thomas Jefferson planted them at Monticello, didn’t hold much sway with them. We wonder if they know that beets have long been considered an aphrodisiac in many cultures! Proof of this belief by Ancient Romans are depicted on Pompeii wall frescoe scenes. And it really follows quite naturally since beets are a natural source of tryptophan and betaine, which promote a feeling of well-being. Beets are also a natural source of boron, which increases the level of sex hormones in the human body. New evidence links antioxidant-rich beets to strengthened immunity, better skeletal muscle function, and greater stamina. Beet juice is being used by researchers for its potential benefits to people with diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

Melissa’s Produce Peeled, Steamed, red beets boxed red beets spiffed up on salad greens with gorgonzola cheese, walnuts and a honey-mustard dressing

Melissa’s Produce Peeled, Steamed Beets are washed and cooked; all good taste and no mess

Melissa’s Produce Peeled, Steamed and cubed golden beets with teardrop tomato, goat cheese, flat parsley and seasoning

As intensely visual as they are flavorful, dark red beets are the most common today, hue so vivid and clear that they long been used as a dye. Novel and fun, beets are also grown in white to yellow color, with Melissa’s Produce Golden Beets deep orange on the outside and melon yellow inside. A candy cane red-and-white variety, known as Chioggia, adds an entire new artistic dimension to any dish. The somewhat surprising, earthy taste remains the same in all colors, and is from the geosmin in beets – surprising because it is also responsible for that fresh soil scent in your garden following a spring rain. Pamela Saltzman has the perfect dressings for the beet salad to contact and complement this taste, which is honey!

A glorious, light beet salad from the QUICKER THAN QUICK cookbook by Pamela Salzman

Syrupy Bee K’onscious California Raw Honey is the perfect partner for any beet seasoning or dressing

Betalains give beets their red hue. The rosy betalain-rich juice of red beets was used as a cheek and lip stain by women during the 19th century, a practice that inspired the old adage, now used to describe a flushed person, “red as a beet”! As important on the health side, are betalain’s antioxidant properties, currently being studied as a potential cancer-fighter. Beets are also rich in antioxidants, folic acid, potassium, and fiber.

A salad made simple with Melissa’s Produce washed, steamed, shrink-wrapped beets, red onion, seedless lemon for a flavor spark and seasoning grinders

Beet history goes back to ancient times when beets were served cooked, usually with a sauce, at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (built 605 -562 BC), a practice that originated in southern regions of Europe, where beets were also used to feed livestock During Medieval times beets were popular as pie fillings (476 AD – 1453), and Elizabethans enjoyed them in tarts and stews (1558–1603). It is also startling that originally only the large beet chard-like greens were eaten, but not the thin and fibrous roots, which were considered medicinal. Ancient Romans and Grecians loved beets so much that they extended their spring and fall growing season by developing methods for producing them during hot summer months!

Melissa’s Produce Peeled, Steamed, red beets make a dramatic lunch out of pee wee potatoes, chicken sausage, greens

The root or red part of the beet was cultivated for consumption in either Germany or Italy, first recorded in 1542. This was at a time when the beet closely resembled a parsnip. The bulb became more familiar near the end of the century. This variety is thought to have evolved from a prehistoric North African root vegetable. It took almost two centuries for it evolve into its current recognizable form – strangely enough by Northeastern Europe because of its ability to grow throughout winter. And it remains the perfect root roasting vegetable that provides both flavor and visual beauty to a platter of other root vegetables.

And then there’s the other side of the beet personality. In 1747 Andreas Sigismund Marggraf, a Berlin chemist, discovered a way to produce sucrose from beets. Next, his student, Franz Achard, perfected a method for extracting sugar, which led to the ultimate explosive rise of beet beer, tobacco and molasses. Beet sugar production requires 4 times less water than sugar cane production, propelling its use to around 20 percent of all sugars worldwide, and attracting European and even Egyptian farmers to grow it “in the process.”

Beets also have become popular as a juice. See Beetology for this story at //localfoodeater.com/new-refreshing-cold-pressed-beetology-beverages-best/

Melissa’s “Insider” Produce Trend Preview for 2020

January 14, 2020 Comments Off

(Gerry Furth-Sides) “Pee wee potatoes and giant jackfruit in small portion packages run the range of what to look for in 2020. Several the trends focus on ethnic produce going more and more mainstream, and more convenient ways to eat them or to extend the season.

The giant jackfruit is a surprise to anyone eating small pieces in the new small bags – almost as big as a halibut that arrives on your plate in filet size

Robert Schueller, Melissa’s Produce

New ethnic items that have gone mainstream and are now offered year around include Jicama Wraps, Jackfruit Pods, NEW Dutch Potato Trays, 3 varieties and Diced & Whole Cactus Leaves.

The Butterscotch Pear season runs from November to February while the season lasts all year around for Tropical Avocados and Starfruit.

Convenience trends includes:

Org. EZ Open Young Coconut- year round
Steamed Line: #1 specialty Blackeyed Peas in Dec, top items in category are Steamed Baby Beets & Lentils (year round)
Clean Snax: Peanut Butter, Chile Lime
Hollandaise sauce (year round)

Fruits:

Tree Ripen Mangoes – Australian, Tree Ripen – – Saperuna (pre-conditioned mangoes)
Charentais Melons (year round)
Rambutans (year round)
Jackfruit (year round)

Specialty Vegetables:

Mini Cucumbers (year round)
Pee Wee Potatoes (year round)
Shallots (year round)
Celery Root (year round)
Turmeric (year round)

Seasonal items include Passion Fruit (Sept – Dec, Feb – June); Kumquats (Sept – Oct, Dec-July), the beloved Ojai Pixie Tangerines (March – May) and equally adored New Mexico’s Hatch Chiles (Aug – Sept) –

NEW Value Added Items (year round) are: Polenta, Pecans, Almonds & Seasoning. (year round)

The core group of writers and bloggers and I, who have the privilege and the fun of attending cookbook recipe demos and special events created by Melissa’s Produce are always asked, “do you work for them?”

I would answer, “no, they work for me.” And as I mentioned to Robert Schueller, produce maven who heads up these days, “They just lift my spirits each and every time.” The Nordstrom of quality product and goods, along with tons of produce information and being in on the best cookbooks in the country.

Melissa’s Produce