Tag Archives: seasonal

{glorious golden beets}

25 Mar

another beautiful piece of produce i picked up at the cutest organic store in town….

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have you ever had golden beets?!  i just loooooove them!  i am pretty sure you can keep the skin on – so long as you scrub it pretty thoroughly.  i just peel mine.  these were so cute and little!

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love the colour!

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i usually just steam mine.  i find them to be so delicious, i don’t even add any S and/or P.  i think they have the most unique flavour. i just love to put them in salads or just munch on them alone… so good! beets are loaded with vitamins and minerals and they are just an all around amazing vegetable!

{cherry sweet-tart vitamix smoothie}

22 Mar

i’m a little late on posting today – it’s snowing here in colorado… and, sigh – i’ll just go ahead and say it – i’m over it!  can we please be in spring now?!  i’m just dying to put on my sanuks and put away my wellies.

i’ve been making a smoothie every morning since we are ‘officially’ in spring now – but i admit it’s just not as satisfying first thing in the morning as a warm cup of coffee or tea.  but i’m determined to start cleansing my body out, preparing it for a different season, and lots of different veggies to compliment!

in the meantime, here’s another smoothie recipe.  i created this one in mind as more of an evening smoothie. tart cherries and tart cherry juice are good for insomnia, remember?!  i call it “sweet-tart” because i used sweet frozen cherries and tart cherry juice… and it turned out rather delicious!

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cherry sweet-tart vitamix smoothie :

– frozen sweet cherries {1/2 cup}

– 3 frozen strawberries

– 3 frozen pineapple chunks

– 1 pitted date

– 1/2 cup coconut milk

– 1/2 cup tart cherry juice

{specialty produce : fingerling potatoes}

4 Mar

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tell me you’ve tried these before?!  i’m pretty sure i’ve mentioned them at least once or twice on this here blog of mine… they are definitely a staple in my home!  what’s better than colourful carbohydrates?!

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i was a little surprised and way excited when i spotted this multi-coloured pack at the market. my favourite way to prepare them is to simply drizzle them with tons of olive oil and S&P and roast them in a 400 degree oven for about a half hour…

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the finished product is a sheen, tender and sweet potato ready for poppin!

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they make an excellent side dish, and are also great in soups.

{thirsty thursday – “snapshot”}

27 Feb

this doesn’t really need words… right?!

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*click click*

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*glug glug*

it’s like, the beer for fotographers.

and it is soooooo good!!! 😀

{wild rice with lemon chicken, shallots, and tomatoes}

24 Feb

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it’s a little sad for me to admit that i just haven’t been cooking as much lately. i lovelovelovelovelove my tiny home, don’t get me wrong… but it has been a bit of a challenge to fotograph my recipes in action within 180 square feet.

so, i’ve just had to change the way i do things a little. and that’s okay.  i’m super forever inspired by one of my favourite bloggers – i mean she’s cute as a button, and she is into the same stuff i’m into regarding eating healthy and with the seasons.  i love her style of fotography as well; so simple and elegant and she’s such a new yorker – so classy.

i’m still working out the kinks to finding the perfect way to fotograph inside the tiny home – but for now, here’s a simple recipe i made up this weekend that turned out delicious! Continue reading

{nom nom, fresh pineapple}

22 Feb

after many years working in the organic food industry, i learned a lot about picking good produce.  it’s hilarious to watch me at the market – i take my time when picking out my fruit and vegetables, mostly because i know i’ll be fotographing them. and hey – aesthetics matter!  plus, food is outrageously expensive these days and i’ll be damned if i’m going to spend five dollars for a pineapple and not have it be incredible!

therefore, i browse the produce stands carefully when choosing what to buy. have you ever purchased something and it spoiled two days later or when you cut into it, the flesh was rotting or brown? not everything you pick up at the market is necessarily fresh and/or tasty at any given time – it’s another reason i prefer to buy and eat with the seasons… stuff just tastes better when it’s in season! i mean, wouldn’t you like to be picked during your prime?! 😉

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speaking of which, do you know how to pick a good pineapple?  the beginning of their season is just around the corner… and i’m already salivating thinking about them.

one thing to look for when picking out a pineapple – is how the leaves feel when pulled out from the top.  if they remove easily with little force, it’s a pretty sure sign your pineapple is ripe.  you also want to pay attention to the scent. i often sniff the bottom of the fruit, looking for a fresh scent that is strong enough to seep through.  and finally, you want to look for a pineapple that is a little darker in colour… not quite brown, but just golden… Continue reading

{end-of-season tomato and goat cheese toasts}

17 Oct

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aren’t these cherry tomatoes just gorgeous?!  it’s sad that the season is over… but i’m still eating as many as i can when i find them at the market…

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i just eat them like candy… popping one at a time… nom nom

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i was inspired by the pretty-much-nothing-left-in-the fridge emptiness of me almost moving and therefore having no food in the house… and i looked around at the half-loaf of bread and jar of cream cheese i had laying around…

“it’s like a little mini pizza… kind of.”  {i thought to myself…} Continue reading

{organic golden kiwi}

22 Jul

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golden kiwis are not the same as regular green kiwis you see in the stores….. i mean, of course they aren’t, right?! – they’re being featured on food & foto 😉

originating in china, golden kiwis are now mostly from new zealand, and they blow regular kiwi out of the water!  {sorry, kiwi}

their thin skin is different from the regular kiwi – smooth and hairless with little freckles throughout.  they ripen just like regular kiwi, so look for one that slightly gives to the tender touch…

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the flavour is similar, but the golden kiwi boasts a less-acidic quality and taste. they have almost a pineapple flavour… and i just LOVE THEM!!! Continue reading

{english peas}

26 Jun

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their season is ending soon… so grab ’em while you still can!

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i look forward to them every year!  i just love love love ’em!  and i love how they keep for a good long time in the fridge!

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i do lots of things with english peas

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i haven’t yet tried to pulverize them in a vitamix smoothie, though… but oh boy i just thought of this – i bet it would make a great spread with some garlic and hummus… mm mm, i may have to try that!

what do you like to do with your english peas?

{fair trade & organic – ice box watermelon}

19 Jun

do you know how to pick out a good watermelon?!  … one that’s guaranteed to be ripe, juicy, and flavourful?!

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well, for one thing – to guarantee the flavour and ripeness, it’s important to begin with quality.

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i always opt for organic food {especially produce} when i can… organic produce is grown with more care, handled with more care, and therefore just plain tastes better… in my humble {and generally RIGHT} opinion 🙂

this sticker tells us that not only is this watermelon organic, but it’s fair trade. which {happily} means the farmers that grew this watermelon are paid a FAIR WAGE for their product and services.  this is extremely important to me also because i’m a collective thinker – i am grateful for that farmer who took time to grow this beautiful fruit for me to enjoy.  and i want him/her to get paid what they are worth for doing that service. fair trade kind of cuts out the middle man, if you will.  you can read more about fair trade products here. Continue reading

{hooray for cherry season!}

18 Jun

nom nom, don’t you just love cherries?!

they are so fabulous for so many reasons!! …

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good for your heart… {among other things like gout and blood clots}

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loaded with antioxidants… Continue reading

{pretty purple artichokes}

6 Jun

why are artichokes so amazing?!?!?!?!!!!!!

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and beautiful?!?!?!?!!!!!!

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i bought a handful of these little purple ones the other day… Continue reading

{grilled cheese and tomato sammy featuring sauteed spring ramps}

13 May

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hey – how was your weekend?

i feel like mine was full of epiphanies.  i feel like i turned over a new leaf. maybe it’s because i really feel like spring has ACTUALLY finally sprung here in colorado.  we had snow to kick off the month of may, and last week was our “spring” full of rain – now we are in the 80s.  so typical.

i feel like new life is here and with it, new ways of looking at it.  i’ll dive into that more later… for now, let’s talk about baby leeks – AKA “ramps”…

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when i see ramps showing up in the produce section, i know spring is here! Continue reading

{champagne mangos — it’s like making-out with a piece of fruit!}

11 Apr

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have you ever had a champagne mango?

not quite the same as your common mango, which are typically more oval-shaped with green and red hues to the skin.  champagne mangos start off green, but are yellow when ripe…

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the champagne mango is shaped almost like a tear-drop or in some ways to me it is shaped more like a nut…

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fun with shapes… 😉

champagne mangos originate from mexico… and they are just heavenly. Continue reading

{the perfect garlic and a pretty heirloom tomato}

3 Apr

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just perfect.

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so pretty.

cook ’em up …and put ’em on something… and eat ’em…  a lot!

because this is one kickass combo for health! and tomatoes are more bioavailable when cooked – did you know that? so what that means is your body absorbs more of the nutrients when cooked versus raw.  lycopene is a big one we know of with tomatoes, but this also applies for foods that are in that same colour family {oranges, yellows}… like red peppers, carrots, corn, etc… there is actually way more lycopene in tomato paste than a raw tomato.  fact check me, it’s amazingly true! 🙂

and this is totally why i want a tomato plant of my own very very soon!!!!

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nom nom.

{sumo citrus!}

28 Mar

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i just love seasonal produce.  i love looking forward to something…

we are so spoiled – especially in the US – to get food whenever we want it… including produce.  and it baffles me when people complain about the taste of blueberries in january.

anyway – this is one piece of amazing produce that you can only get your hands on at select markets for about a month or so out of the year, usually beginning mid to late february.  they are called sumo citrus.  and they are completely out of this world!!

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i know what you’re thinking… “that looks kind of like a clementine, i’ve had clementines… i love them!”  well, i love them, too.  but this is not a clementine or a cutie or a tangerine or anything you’ve ever had that’s orange… unless, of course… you HAVE had one… 😉 {have you?!}

it’s the most amazing piece of citrus i have ever eaten.  for real. Continue reading

{what is that?! – romanesco}

26 Mar

have you ever seen this amazing vegetable?!?!

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if you have spotted it before in the produce department, you may not have even known it was edible…

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it kind of looks like something that grows on mars, right?! 😉

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considered part of the broccoli family, romanesco is somewhat of a misnomer, because it’s actually part of the cauliflower family and should be cooked as such… Continue reading

{ugli fruit AKA “uniq fruit”}

19 Mar

have you ever seen or heard of an ugli fruit?!

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this is an ugli fruit.  also known as “uinq” fruit, because apparently the name “ugli” wasn’t very PC.

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i mean, either way i think it’s beautiful. look at that colour!

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ugli {uniq} fruit is from jamaica and is similar to a grapefruit.  it’s more like a pomelo but the skin isn’t quite as thick.  the flesh of an ugly fruit is super sweet and juicy.  i add mine in smoothies as well as eat them as a snack. when throwing it into my vitamix, i keep the white part included – it’s loaded with extra fiber.  or just juice it – yummy!

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the tree that produces this fruit has been around since the early 1900s!  their season is just about over, so grab yours today!  you can find ugli fruit at many health food stores like whole foods market nationwide.

{thirsty thursday} how to eat AND drink a pomegranate

20 Dec

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pomegranates are so pretty.  look at that colour!  i just love it.

i’m sure you’ve had pomegranate juice before, it was all the rage for a while. it’s still amazing, but i wondered if everyone knew how to actually cut and eat the whole pomegranate itself.  it can seem intimidating if you aren’t sure. so here are the steps i take when buying this seasonal deliciousness.

i figured i’d buy one since they are only 2 bucks on sale right now, and just use the seeds to throw in the vitamix with my smoothies.  pomegranate juice is usually kind of pricey, so i thought this was the most cost-effective way to get my antioxidants, fiber, and vitamin c out of this amazing fruit. Continue reading

{try-me tuesday – the “christmas orange”}

18 Dec

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not to be confused with a clementine or “cutie” that you find in conventional grocery stores, you can typically purchase these tasty delights in most grocery stores, in the produce section… but only in the winter season.

meet the satsuma tangerine… also {rather appropriately} referred to as a “stem and leaf” tangerine… Continue reading