search results for cantaloup

Mint Cantaloupe Aguas Frescas

Friday, September 23, 2011

I know, I know; I just can’t seem to let summer go.  While I absolutely cannot wait to pull out my Fall arsenal of recipes (you will wonder how much more butternut squash you can possibly stand from me), I’m still sad to see all the fresh fruits and veggies go under a winter frost.  Luckily, my CSA veggie shipment still has some treats tucked in it, like one more beautiful cantaloupe for the season.  Wanting something special for a last hurrah to summer’s melons, I decided to try my hand at aguas frescas.  I’m pretty impressed with what came out of these ingredients and this is such a refreshing drink that I’m pretty bummed that I’ve gone the whole summer without it.  It’ll be great for those warm Indian Summer afternoons and evenings that may still pop up-and if you want to make it for a party, I’m sure adding vodka would make it fantastic.

Mint Cantaloupe Aguas Frescas

  • 1/2 cantaloupe, diced
  • handful of fresh mint leaves (package from my store was .66 oz)
  • 1 bottle (750 mL) sparkling water, such as San Pellegrino
  • 4 cups lemonade (click here for my favorite recipe)
  • ice
  1. Puree the cantaloupe and add to pitcher.
  2. Muddle the mint leaves in the bottom of the pitcher by crushing the leaves with a wooden spoon.  When it smells minty, you’re done.
  3. Pour sparkling water and lemonade into the pitcher and stir.
  4. Add ice cubes and serve with mint sprigs for decoration!

0 comments categories: Beverages, Fruits

First Organic Produce Delivery!

Friday, July 22, 2011

So this first post this morning isn’t a recipe; I couldn’t let the day pass without sharing the wonderful box of goodies that showed up on my doorstep yesterday afternoon!

I signed up for Farm Fresh To You, a service that delivers a box of organic local produce to your home.  Now, for months I searched for exactly this, but only found services that were too expensive and gave more produce more frequently than I would be able to eat before the next delivery.  Farm Fresh To You, however, has a LOT of things going for it:

  • You can choose to get deliveries every week, every other week, or every 3 or 4 weeks.
  • You can choose the size and variety of your box-small, regular, large sizes and you can choose to get just fruits, just veggies, both, or even options beyond those, like only “grab and go” fruits and veggies that you can pick up on the way out the door and eat just with your hands.
  • You can choose what exactly comes in your box.  I know some people might think this is cheating since, after all, part of the fun is figuring out how to use the produce that week.  But there are some people with allergies (I should have said no apples, since I am indeed allergic to apples, but I love cooking with them and giving the treats away) and there are some people who don’t want to let food go to waste if they already know they will not eat them (I, admittedly, said no beets and no celery).

So back to the first box:  it was a bumper crop!  1 head of green leaf lettuce, 3 stalks of broccoli, 2 slicing tomatoes, 1 yellow onion, 1 pound of yellow squash, 1 avocado, 1 cantaloupe, 2 doughnut peaches, and 1 pound of lemon cucumbers.

If any of you out there have ever had a lemon cucumber, then you had me beat.  I’d never even heard of them!  Turns out they look like a small yellow tennis ball, but taste exactly like your average every day cucumber.  The only difference is that the skin is just ever so slightly tougher-but we ate the skins anyway and only barely noticed them.  What an experience!

I absolutely suggest you find a service like this in your area.  You may be surprised to find that they do exist in your area, especially since the locavorism trend has begun to take off in popularity.  I can say this much…you guys will definitely benefit from these produce deliveries.  My head is already churning with recipe ideas for how to use everything!  Except the peaches-those will be a delightful little breakfast on the way to the office tomorrow.

Bonus-if you live in California, check out the Farm Fresh to You website and see if they deliver to your zip code.  If you want to give Farm Fresh to You a try, use code “6164″ for $5 off your first box. Mention my name and I get a treat too!

0 comments categories: Events