Nature surely had some fun creating snow peas. Sweet little peas packaged in their own crisply delicious pods, snow peas deliver unique, fresh flavor with no waste! The French call this veggie “mange-tout,” which means “eat it all!”

Whether or not you like regular peas, you’ll want to give this nutty flavored sibling a try if you’re not already a fan. Add them to stir-fries (along with shiitake mushrooms and bell peppers), toss them with any pasta dish or salad, and lightly steam them to serve alongside fish or chicken. Notice how they get brighter with a bit of cooking, as if they need to be any more enticing.

What to make: Cilantro Lime Noodles with Shrimp and Snow Peas

You can find this recipe located in our produce department, in the June 1 Co+op Deals flyer and Stronger Together website.

At first blush, mangos may seem exotic (they’re a tropical fruit, after all), but more of them are eaten fresh worldwide than any other fruit. It’s easy to understand why, once you indulge. So sweet and juicy, mangos are fully satisfying on their own. In Mexico, they’re often placed on special forks and eaten like lollipops.

But they’re also a natural for fusion dishes, partnering their sweetness with the spice of chili peppers, ginger and curries. Add them to salsas and spicy marinades, as well as fruit salads and breakfast smoothies. Mangos will provide color, flavor and nutrition, morning to night.

What to make: Grilled Chicken with Mango Salsa

You can find this recipe located in our produce department, in the April 27 Co+op Deals flyer and  Stronger Together website.

If you like your vegetables robust, you’ll want to include green and red  cabbages on your menus. If you prefer a slightly milder taste, give Savoy varieties a try.

Easy to grow, easy to store, easy to serve—raw or cooked—cabbages deliver on every count. They’re even extremely nutritious providing vitamins C, K, A, and B6, riboflavin, thiamin, calcium, magnesium, protein, fiber, manganese, folate, potassium, omega-3 fatty acids and beta carotene!

Why not put one on tonight’s menu?

What to make: Reuben Sandwich with Russian Dressing

You can find this recipe located in our produce department, in the March 16 Co+op Deals flyer and on the Stronger Together website.

Green or black? Nearly everyone has a preference when it comes to olives! But did you know that there are many, many varieties of olives that distinguish themselves well beyond color?

There’s the mild and nutty French picholine, and the strong, sweet, Spanish Picual. There are olives from Africa and Israel, Egypt and Greece. There’s also the California Mission olive and a host of Italian olives used for distinctive olive oils.

Even if you’re not interested in becoming an olive (or olive oil) connoisseur, you may enjoy taking note of the varied tastes of olives—whether you’re slicing a handful onto your pizza or dropping one into your martini.

What to make: Muffuletta Sandwich 

You can find this recipe located in our produce department, in the March 2 Co+op Deals flyer and on the co+op stronger together web site.

The Stew Mix being sampled in this week’s Produce Possibilities is an assorted and prepackaged mix of fresh root vegetables that have a proven record of being great for stocks, soups, and stews. Familiar vegetables like carrots, red potatoes, parsnips and turnips are included. Parsnips are sweeter tasting than carrots and richer in potassium. Turnips are high in vitamin C and bring a certain kind of freshness to the stew.

Also included in the Stew Mix are less common fresh root vegetables including sunchokes, rutabagas, black radish and leeks. Sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, are a good substitute for potatoes, carrying a nice woody and nutty flavor. Rutabagas, a yellowish flesh root, are a lot like turnips except they tend to be a bit larger and have different coloring than turnips. Adding freshness to the stew, black radish is a variety of radish that tastes much closer to a turnip and can even be enjoyed eaten raw. Leeks will bring a fresh seasoning that is necessary in stews.

Winter is a great time to warm up with a hearty roast or stew. The Valley Natural Foods Stew Mix adds a healthy variety of nutrients. You may be surprised to discover new roots; start with this week’s field fresh recipe and venture into adding the Stew Mix your own recipes.

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The simpler the meal, the better. This is believed to be more true during the middle of winter than any other time. This meal is one that can be made in about an hour or less. The first dish is a delicious stir fry that is easily made while using ingredients that are great for the health conscious. This recipe includes refreshing and healthy ingredients like ginger, baby bok choy, carrots, and green onions. Ginger alone is known to benefit hundreds of illnesses or deficiencies in the body. The second recipe is a salad that refreshes our bodies and mind for this winter. One of the ingredients, Burdock Root, is said to be a good scalp treatment that improves hair strength, and shine and is also believed to help battle hair loss. Watercress is one of the oldest leaf vegetables to be consumed by humans and carries significant amounts of iron, calcium, and folic acid. The blood orange is known to be a great antioxidant. Delicious to the last bite, these recipes are healthy for everyone.

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Berries are nutritional stars, and here are savory recipes that include two of our favorites, cranberries and blueberries.

Cranberries are included in a sautéed greens recipe that invites you to sample a leafy green you’ve seen but may not known how to prepare. By simply varying the greens you use, you can create a variety of flavors. Try frilly, bright green mustard greens or expansive deep-green collards for a peppery, bitter flavor.  Kale and chard are milder flavors, and dandelion greens will put hair on your chest, so to speak. These greens give so much nutritionally, that a basic recipe like this will open the door to a huge boost in your phyto-nutrient intake, besides being seriously delicious.

The Banana Corn Fritters are a slightly more healthy take on a typical fried fritter. Here they offer a slight heat from chipotle powder, sweetness from bananas, and are served under the savory blueberry sauce.

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Winter in Minnesota doesn’t have to be a wait for summer. Fresh red bibb lettuce paired with dried mushrooms and hearty roots is like a taste of summer with a splash of winter. How can that be?

Farmers involved with Valley Natural Foods and other co-ops enrich our winter selection with a homesteader’s legacy and a producer’s ingenuity. Centuries old techniques like cellaring, canning and freezing extend the availability of squash and allow for year-round delicacies like dried Morel, the official state mushroom.

Modern advances in cultivation that create a symbiotic environment between aquatic animals and plants are called Aquaponics. This brings us a near-summer taste of freshness with Aquaponically-grown plants like red bibb lettuce. It also allows for local farming during an unlikely season.

Those of us active in sustainability have winter options. Look for squash that is firm. You will find dried Morel mushrooms in packages in the produce department. Store these items in a cool dry place. When selecting Aquaponic plants, select fresh bunches and use within a day or two.

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Bartlett, Danjou, Bosc. Pears carry such elegant names and no wonder—they are an elegant, fragrant, succulent fruit. December is peak of pear season and perfect for a cold weather dessert or combining flavor to a holiday cheese plate.

When selecting pears, seek ones that are firm. As with all fruit, examine the skin for bruising. Orchardists allow pears to reach optimum sugar level, yet pick them while they are still green and firm. A tree-ripened pear is mushy to the point of disintegration. Pears can be ripened at room temperature and then stored in the refrigerator.

If you are preparing a plate of cheese, pears can add color and sweetness to your array. Serve with Brie, aged cheddar, Swiss or Gruyère. Add almonds and a sprinkle of dried cranberries for another layer of texture and color. If you are looking for a simple, yet stylish dessert for the holidays, try the Poached Pears recipe.

This particular recipe packs an aroma wallop combining aromatic pears with vanilla bean. Vanilla beans from Madagascar are for sale in bulk in the wellness department.  Each bean costs about $2.00. Extract the tiny seeds (which look more like coffee-colored silky goo than seeds) by cutting off an inch or two of the bean, splitting it in half and scraping the silk with a knife. The hulled beans can be placed in your sugar jar for adding a sultry vanilla scent to your sugar.

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Pomanders are citrus or apples studded with whole cloves, brushed with spices, and allowed to dry. They are natural air-fresheners and moth repellents harkening back to Victorian times, and they are fun to make. This week’s Produce Possibilities includes explicit instructions for putting together a variety of pomanders, using oranges, apples, lemons and limes. After they are assembled, they dry inside a paper bag for a number of weeks, until they are completely dry. They will last at least a year after, and can easily be refreshed. 

This week’s Holiday Antioxidant Punch is festive and healthy. It would be especially beautiful served in a punch bowl surrounded by fresh-cut greens and whole fruits, and even a string of lights. 

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