Join us at our Demo Kiosk on Saturday August 21, anytime between 3:00-5:00 p.m. and taste the possibilities!

Chilled fruit soups are a thrill of July and August, and Produce Possibilities features a melon soup recipe using local watermelon, ripe at the peak of the season. Melon balls are a cinch to make with the right tool, and add yummy texture to this smooth soup. This weeks recipe makes a great starter as is or can be served as a dessert. For extra fun, try spiking the soup with a little cognac or rum!

For our delicious Papaya Coconut Chicken recipe, the chicken marinade calls for an herbal orange spice tea blend that can be found in the bulk spice department, and purchased in the exact amount needed. This convenience and money-saving option also applies to the coconut flakes, curry powder and cayenne pepper.

Ripe papaya is a very rich, deep orange color.  Don’t bother with a papaya that’s not ripe.

Click here to see this weeks Produce Possibilities recipe

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One of the most popular items in our store is our freshly-made garden salsa created by our own produce staff. Lately, some of you have been asking why the texture of our delicious salsa now seems blended rather than chopped.

Rest assured, our salsa is still chopped and never blended. The flavors and textures change when the local season is in full swing. Currently, we’re using local tomatoes which are much sweeter and softer, making the salsa a little more juicy than usual. So enjoy the local flavor! Stop by for a sample anytime.

Check out where your friends and neighbors are growing fresh food at the 5th Annual Parade of Community Gardens Gardens on August 21st, 10am-2pm. 65 community gardens from all over the Metro Area, including 8 gardens from Dakota County, invite you in to celebrate and discover these community treasures. Each garden’s celebration will be as unique as the garden itself: featured activities include food samples, art activities, a beehive demo, youth-led yoga, and much more!

The Parade of Community Gardens is sponsored by Gardening Matters, a Twin Cities-based non-profit that supports sustainable community gardens by connecting gardens with each other and to their communities. Learn more about the Parade and download a map on the Gardening Matters Website or call Gardening Matters at 612-492-8964. Parade events are free and open to the public.

Finally! All you Kombucha fans who have been waiting for over a month will be happy to know that GT’s Kombucha is back on our shelves again. Grab one from our icy bin near the store entrance, or stock-up by purchasing a 12-pack case of any one variety at a special case-discount price for a limited time. Get ‘em while they’re here! (Cases are available in the cooler next to the fresh eggs and butter area.)

Join us Saturday, August 14 at our demo kiosk anytime between 3:00-5:00 p.m. and taste the experience!

Zucchini Anyone? It seems in the flurry of summer activities sometimes picking zucchini can get overlooked. When you walk into the garden to find a huge zucchini, the most common reaction is “let’s make zucchini bread.” After a month of zucchini bread though, the idea gets a little worn out. Enter the classic Italian recipe of stuffed zucchini. Both tasty and healthy, this recipe allows you to turn your boring zucchini into a beautiful dinner centerpiece. With lean ground chicken or turkey and all the fresh vegetables and herbs, this recipe has what it takes to be a hit at home.

Corn is King! Right now the biggest crop everyone talks about in Minnesota is the sweet corn. Where can we get it? Is it fresh? Is it local? Organic? These are the questions we hear every day in the produce department. The sweet corn at Valley Natural Foods right now is almost exclusively from Gardens of Eagan. This farm has a huge history regarding sweet corn. The farm itself has been in organic operation for over 30 years and has been growing sweet corn almost as long. Just this week the farm has finished its sweet corn trials which they do every year, testing out dozens of new varieties of sweet corn to find that perfect ear. The combination of sweet corn grown at Gardens of Eagan and the “special” sauce makes this new recipe an instant classic in our book.

Click here to see this weeks Produce Possibilities recipe

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Music in Kelley Park
August 13, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Kelley Park in Apple Valley

Valley Natural Foods is sponsoring a grand finale to Apple Valley Arts Foundation’s first summer program of Music in Kelley Park. This last concert of the season will take place Friday, August 13. Kelley Park, located in Apple Valley at Fortino and 152nd Streets, is the city’s newest park. It is dedicated to the late Rick Kelly, long time Community Development Director for the City of Apple Valley. AVAF created a series of concerts with the park’s gazebo serving as “Stage One.” The final concert of the summer features Timothy Frantzich (fran-zik) of the Brothers Frantzich and musical guests.

Heirloom tomatoes are cherished for their deep wonderful flavors, and the narrow window of opportunity we have here in the upper Midwest to enjoy them is wide open!  Our heirlooms are from a cooperative of farmers in Wisconsin, and are delivered twice a week.

This week’s recipe is for a basic tomato sauce that showcases ripe yellow and red heirloom tomatoes. This meal will be all about amazing flavor, so be sure to enjoy this in a relaxed setting to be able to really take in its beauty.

You’ll also see green and purple tomatoes in our heirloom display. One year the green striped tomatoes tasted nearly as sweet as honeydew melon! The best way to appreciate these varieties is to take a few home and enjoy them side by side, topped with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. The distinctions of flavor are best appreciated in comparison with each other.

This week Produce Possibilitities also showcases a budget-friendly kitchen gadget called a spiral slicer. You’ll easily find these on-line, and it might be the tool that unleashes some real artistry in your kitchen. Here we use the slicer to make incredibly wonderful zucchini spaghetti, and a confetti of edible salad decorations that thrill guests.

Click here to see this weeks Produce Possibilities recipe

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If you’re a Sweet Cheeks baby food fan like we are, you’ll love reading the latest on this wonderful, local company:

Click here to read all of the Latest Babble from Sweet Cheeks Baby Food… including information about a great metro dad organizing events and classes for dads and kids… as well as some fun recipe ideas, a wonderful nutritionist, and more!

Click here to read a great article, “We Made it Ourselves” written about Sweet Cheeks by the NY Times!

Look for Sweet Cheeks Baby Food in our frozen section, Trail no. 7.

What happens to a garden that contains rich soil, gets full sun from dawn to dusk  and receives tender-loving-care from a couple of member-owners? It produces an overwhelming abundance of veggies, that’s what!

Yes, our south-facing Valley Natural Foods Garden Classroom is in full swing now producing squash, cucumbers and hot peppers by the dozens, massive-sized zucchini, large heads of broccoli, kholrabi and cabbage, genereous bunches of bok choi, mustard greens, chard and lettuces, and basil plants that are almost hedges (in 4 varieties)!  Not to mention those 5 foot tall bushy tomato plants!

So you may be wondering what we do with all those fresh, nourishing veggies. Dakota Woodlands, the only short-term housing facility for homeless women and children in Dakota County, receives our fresh harvests. Dakota Woodlands is already a recipient of our usable perishable items, so we thought they would enjoy garden fresh produce too.

If you have an abundant garden yourself and end up with extra produce, consider donating to Dakota Woodlands too! Visit their current needs page for details.

The next time you enjoy a lunch or snack out on our patio, feel free to take a walk over to our Garden Classroom and enjoy the sights and sounds of birds, butterflys  and even our gardener darting about the beautiful veggie plants and flowers.

Produce Possibilities recipes for this week offer a refreshing spiciness to the taste buds.  Poblano peppers are a mild chili, and are roasted here to make it easier to remove the skins. Aji Amarillo is a dried chile, and is very unique with almost fruity overtones. Here we rehydrate and mince the Aji Amarillo to season the filled Poblano pepper. The package gives instructions for creating a very simple chili hot sauce which will keep for weeks in the fridge. Along with the Monterey Jack and St. Pete’s Blue cheese, this vegetarian Chile Relleno recipe brings several rich flavors together.

Bosc Pears are known for their subtle nutmeg-like flavor.  Here they are showcased in a salad that highlights this spiciness, including dried allspice in the dressing.

Click here to see this weeks Produce Possibilities recipe

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