BOB'S KITCHEN 30th NOVEMBER

Wednesday 12/30/09 - BOB

This week’s ingredients:

Bumper Box this week • Pink Lady Apple (Esp.Bay, Tasmania – NASAA) crunchy & juicy • Asparagus Bunched (South Aus, NASAA) • Corn Sweet (OFC) • Mesculin Mix (South Aus, NASSA) • Mango (Qld, ACO) • Pineapple (Qld, ACO) • Avocado (Red Plateau) • Pak Choi (Green Stem, Galea, NASAA, NSW) • Broccoli (Kilconnel NASAA – local product) • Dutch Carrots (Busch NASAA – local product) Delivered with tops on, these need to be refrigerated in a sealed bag or container to stop dehydration, which will make them floppy •Cucumber English (D. Paoli ACO – local product) •Zucchini (De - paoli nasaa)

Zucchini is botanically a fruit and is a squash, which is a member , of the Cucurbitaceae family and relatives of both the melon and the cucumber. The French call the Zucchini a Courgette - which was also adopted by the English. The entire vegetable, including its flesh, seeds and skin, is edible. Full of fibre, this delicious green is packed full of nutrients such as vitamin c, folate, potassium and many minerals and the dark green skin provides beta carotene. To get the most out of your zucchini, you should also eat the rind. Zucchini squash is also a good source of fiber (4 grams per cup). An adult should get about 30 grams of fiber per day in their diet. One cup of zucchini has nearly as much potassium as a banana. Plus it contains the valuable mineral nutrient phosphorus. Low in calories as they have a 95% water content, with only approximately 15 food calories per 100 g fresh zucchini!! Store zucchini fresh and unwashed in a cold dry place, such as refrigerator drawer, for a maximum of around 5 days

Green Salad with Avocado, Almond and Mustard Dressing (Star Foods Recipe).

4 cups mixed greens, 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley, 1/4 cup slivered almonds, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard Cracked black pepper, Pinch Sea Salt, 1 large avocado

Wash and dry salad and parsley and place in bowl. Dry roast the almonds in a dry pan on medium heat until they turn golden Combine the oil, mustard, pepper and salt in a jar. Put 1 tsp of the dressing over the leaves. Toss the leaves. Arrange the avocado on top and sprinkle over the almonds

Char grilled salmon with asparagus, lemony and anchovy

Salmon filets, Asparagus 2 tablespoons olive oil anchovies 1/2 cup parsley 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon Black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Wipe salmon fillets clean with damp cloth. Brush lightly with olive oil. Heat a grill pan and sear salmon for 2 mins on each side Transfer to baking tray and cook as desired. Place Asparagus in a pan with just enough boiling water to cover them and boil for 2 mins until crisp but tender. Drain and keep warm. Drain and blot the anchovies of oil before mashing them, add the mashed anchovies to olive oil. Add asparagus to a pan with the parsley and spoon over the anchovy oil. Add lemon juice and black pepper and serve under the salmon.

Asparagus and Corn Salad

6 ears yellow corn, shucked 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed 1 small red onion, diced small 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, Dressing: 1 cup rice wine vinegar 1 tspn salt 1 tspn freshly ground black pepper (you can add sugar to the dressing if you wish)

Fill a large stock pot with water, salt and bring. it to a boil. Place corn in boiling water and blanch for 3 minutes until bright yellow Then toss the corn into an ice bath. In the same water used for blanching the corn, blanch the asparagus for 1 minute and toss into the ice bath. For the corn, once cooled, remove the kernels off the cob with a sharp knife and cut the asparagus into 1-inch angled sections. Place both the corn and then asparagus into a medium size bowl. In another medium size bowl, mix together vinegar, salt, and pepper. Drizzle over corn And asparagus. Mix together.

Glazed Dutch Carrots

Bunch of baby Dutch carrots, trimmed and scrubbed (see link in email) 1 sp honey 1 tspn butter 1 tspn olive oil

Blanch carrots for 2-3 minutes in a small saucepan of boiling salted water, drain, refresh in iced water, drain again and set aside. Warm honey, butter and olive oil in a frying pan. Add the carrots and sauté, gently rolling the carrots around the pan, for 3-5 minutes over medium- high heat or until well coloured. Transfer to a dish and season to taste with sea salt and set aside.

Christmas Kitchen 21st Dec

Tuesday 12/22/09 - BOB

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay - Bob hope's you loved your BOB yesterday, it was a pretty fun box:

BOB’s gourmet box this week includes: 

 Cucumber (ACO, Newgold)

 Flat Mushrooms (Prices, NSW ACO)

 Vine Ripened Tomato  I(Sahyne Eldridge, NASAA)

 Corn Sweet (Cremona, OFC)

 Mignouette Lettuce (Cremona)

 Mango (Qld, ACO)

 Bananas (Cavendish, QLD)

 Zucchini (De - paoli nasaa)

 Fennel Bunch (OFC)

 Eggplant Purple (Coochin Hills, ACO)

 Honey Dew Melons (Demeter)

I was speaking with one of the  grow ers yesterday - of the beautiful Mignouette lettuce and she compared BOB to choosing a life partner - when you choose the person that you want to spend your life with you choose someone that's "good for you" - you don't often don't choose the person that is in the best shape or is perfect - but the one that is going to give you the best long term outcome - and that's what BOB will do. With no pesticides used sometimes the cucumbers and zucchini do look a funny shape or there is holes in your lettuce and mud! BUt this is when you know it is fresh and organic - you may even find a friendly bug!

Honey Dew Melon is not quite ripe, it will take a few days to sweeten up - hopefully in time for CHritsmas so you can have melon and pama ham - delicious. Here are a few tips on how to tell if yours is ripe:

1. Inspect the color of the honeydew melon. If it's beige with green veins, it means it's immature. This would be a good for a melon you plan to eat in the near future, but not right away. A yellow hue with bright yellow sections, means it was taken off the vine too soon. Look for one with a golden color, and don't worry if it has a bit of brown freckling. Brown freckling actually means it's a spot where it's high in sugar, which is a good thing.
2. For those more experienced with melons, they always smell the melon. A sweet scent is a good sign that your fruit is ripe and ready to be eaten.
3. A healthy melon should be firm, but not hard. It also shouldn't have any soft spots on it. Some melons feel spongy under the finger pressure, this means they're too ripe.
4. If you shake it gently, a ripe honeydews fibers inside will actually seperate a bit. So you should be able to hear the seeds move around inside.
5. Many like the old fashioned thump test. To do this, lightly knock against the melon as you would gently knock onto a door. A hollow sound is bad, this means that it doesn't have much moisture and won't be sweet. The sound should be slightly deep for a healthy melon.http://www.ehow.com/how_4888516_honeydew-melon-ripe.html

CHRITSMAS RECIPES ARE BELOW

Have a wonderful Chritsmas and New Year - 

BOB is now closed but will re-open on the 11th Jan - orders by the 9th January please!

See you soon LOVE BOB X

For entertaining here are some beautiful Chritsmas recipes from thefoodcoach.com.au –

All serve 4 people.

Crumbed Ocean Trout and Fennel

2 tbsp olive oil  - lemon juiced 
- 4 fillets ocean trout  - 
2 cloves garlic 
- 2 tsp ground cumin 
- ½ tsp paprika - 
2 tbsp Dijon mustard 
- 4 tbsp flat leaf parsley 
- 100 grams sourdough breadcrumbs, browned 
2 bulbs fennel

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Pour 1tbs olive oil and lemon juice into the bottom of a baking dish and place the trout fillets into the dish. Brush the top of the fish with a little oil and season with a little cracked pepper.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a pan and saute the garlic for 2 - 3 minutes. Add the spices and cook for a further minute. Remove from the heat and stir through the Dijon, parsley and breadcrumbs. Spoon the mixture over the fish. 

Cut the fennel into slivers and place around the fish. 

Cover with foil and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 5 - 10 minutes until the fish is cooked through and the crumbs are toasted brown. 

Serve with steamed bok choy and snow peas.

Note: To make sourdough breadcrumbs, process 100g bread in the food processor until it turns into crumbs. In a large flat frying pan, dry fry them until they are an even golden colour.

Barramundi with Cucumber & Lime Salsa

4 fillets barramundi 
1 tbsp olive oil 
squeeze lime juice 
steamed greens to serve 

Salsa: 
2 Lebanese cucumbers peeled 
2 2.5cm pieces preserved lime, finely chopped (see recipe list) 
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped 
1 lime juiced 

 To make the salsa, use a vegetable peeler to slice the cucumbers thinly lengthways. Place the slices in a bowl and add the preserved lime, mint and lime juice. Mix it all together and rest a plate on the surface to weigh the ingredients down. Chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

 Brush the barramundi lightly with olive oil and a squeeze of lime juice. Grill the fish for a couple of minutes each side. Serve with steamed greens and cucumber salsa.

BBQ STEAK WITH BALSAMIC MUSHROOMS

4 large flat mushrooms thickly sliced 
½ cup olive oil 
½ cup balsamic vinegar 
1 pinch sea salt 
cracked black pepper 
4 eye fillet steak trimmed 
1 cup semi dried tomatoes, chopped

Place mushrooms into a ceramic bowl. Mix the olive oil and vinegar together with seasoning and pour over the mushrooms. Toss to coat. Cover and stand 15 minutes to marinate.

 Preheat a barbecue plate on high until hot. Reduce heat to medium. Brush both sides steaks with oil. Barbecue 4 to 5 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Drain the mushrooms and add to the barbecue plate. Cook, tossing for 3 minutes until just tender. Transfer to a bowl. Add tomatoes and stir to combine. place steak onto plates. Spoon over mushrooms and serve immediately.

 Roast Eggplant, Garlic and Caramelised Onion

 1 small eggplant 
5 large cloves garlic 
2 tbsp olive oil 
1 large brown onion, finely chopped 
1 tsp cumin 
½ lemon juiced

 Roast the eggplant and garlic under the grill until the skin of the eggplant is blackened and the garlic is soft. 
While the eggplant is cooking, heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion for approx 20 - 25 minutes until it's soft and sweet.

BOB's Kitchen 14th DEC - SUMMER!

Monday 12/14/09 - BOB

woweeee BOB is full of variety this week!

BOB’s gourmet box this week includes: 

 Cucumber (ACO, Newgold)

 White Mushrooms (ACO)

 Gourmet Tomato  (ACO)

 Corn Sweet (OFC)

 Mesculin mix (South Aus, NASSA)

 Mango (Qld, ACO)

 Cherry’s (NZ, ACO)

 Bananas (Cavendish, QLD)

 Carrots (Busch NASAA – local product) 

 Zucchini (De - paoli nasaa)

 Cauliflower (Busch Nasaa)

 Beetroot (Busch Nasaa)

Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the Brassica family. It’s an annual plant that reproduces by

seed. Typically, only the head (known as the white curd) is eaten while the stalk and surrounding thick,

green leaves are used in vegetable broth or discarded. Cauliflower is nutritious, and may be eaten

cooked, raw or pickled.

Nutrition: Cauliflower is low in fat, high in dietary fiber, folate, water and vitamin C, possessing a very

high nutritional density it also serves as a very good source of vitamin B5, vitamin B6, manganese and

omega-3 fatty acids.. Cauliflower shares with broccoli and cabbage several phytochemicals which are

beneficial to human health (anti-cancer, hormone balancing and liver detoxifying).

Storage: Cauliflower will keep for up to five days in a plastic bag in the crisper section of the refrigerator.

Keep the leaves on when storing it as it will keep for longer. Keep the head stem-side up to prevent

moisture from collecting on it.

Preparation:  To cut cauliflower, first remove the outer leaves and then slice the florets at the base

where they meet the stalks. Trim any brown coloration that may exist on the edges. Cauliflower contains

phytonutrients that release odorous sulfur compounds when heated. If you want to minimize odor,

retain the vegetable's crisp texture, and reduce nutrient loss, cook the cauliflower for only a short time.

For whiter cauliflower, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the water. Do not cook cauliflower in an

aluminum or iron pot. The chemical compounds in cauliflower will react with the aluminum and turn the

vegetable yellow.

Flavor Affinities: Cheese, Parmesan, Cumin, Curry - very very versatile  and it’s a great substitute for

potatoes for those on low cab diets

Find out more »

BOB's Kitchen 7th November

Wednesday 12/9/09 time 11:13 AM

This week’s ingredients:

Gourmet box this week included: 

•  Asparagus Bunched (South Aus, NASAA)
•  Corn Sweet (OFC)
•  Eggplant (Coochin Hills, ACO)
•  Rocket (South Aus, NASSA)
•  Mango (Qld, ACO)
•  Kiwi (NZ, ACO)
•  Avocado (Red Plateau)
•  Bananas (Cavendish, QLD)
•  Bok Choi (White Stem, Rivendale, OGA NSW)
•  Carrots (Busch NASAA – local product) 
•  Zucchini (De - paoli nasaa)

Bok Choy:

Cultivated in China since ancient times, Bok choy is a plant in the cabbage family  - more than  20 varieties of bok choy are available in Asia.

Recipes this week - courtesy of The Food Coach