Mixed herbs from our garden

Growing up in Germany, meatballs were a frequent dish for our family’s dinner table. German meatballs consist of a mix of pork and beef, bread, onions, eggs, salt and pepper. They are truly delicious. However, we have taken only the concept and adapted it to our Californian organic life-style and created a recipe for grass-fed beef meatballs. Here it is:

Ingredients:

For a family of four use one of our ground beef packages, 1.5 lbs.
1 onion
1 egg
5 cloves of garlic
1 cup of mixed herbs – here you can vary. We use what’s in our boxes and in our backyard (not the mint, we use that in “Albondigas.” Recipe to follow. ).
Coconut oil, olive oil

Preparation:

Thaw the ground beef and put in a bowl. Cube the onion, mince the garlic and add to the meat. Add one whole egg. Chop the herbs and add as well. Our favorite herbs are oregano, rosemary, parsley, sage, and thyme. We use what’s available. Spice with salt and pepper. Mix well and form balls out of a handful of beef mix each. Place in hot coconut – olive oil mix and sauté at low temperature (low flame) until inside is still slightly pink, about 25 minutes. Serve with organic mustard and ketchup.

Meatballs go well with baked potatoes, sauteed kale and a green mixed salad. They can be eaten cold and put on a sandwich the next day as well.

Colorful veggie (and fruit) box today!

Look at our incredibly colorful box today; it’s just bursting with color: red carrots, orange carrots, and another shade orange carrots, golden beets, dinosaur kale, Italian parsley, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, Swiss chard – and if you ordered the fruit share – lots of strawberries and some peaches, apricots, and nectarines. What a feast!

I have been collecting beets for several weeks now. Usually I like to grate them raw and put them in salads – they add a gorgeous color and they are reputed to be great liver cleansers. But I hadn’t and there they were.

Scouting around to find something seasonal to bring to a potluck last night I discovered the stash of beets. I remembered a recipe I made last year and thought I would give it a go. It turned out so scrumptious that I recommend you take those beets in your box and give it a try. (That is unless you are planning on juicing them! Warning, if you are new to juicing, beets are an extraordinary cleanse – go easy with them at first and gradually work up to more.)

Easy to make and so very delicious:
Roasted Beets with Citrus and Avocados

3 to 6 beets
Avocados – (I used 3 with 6 or 7 beets)
3 oranges sectioned
1 grapefruit sectioned
Grated orange zest

Balsamic dressing:
Extra virgin olive oil (preferably Nuevo, if you have it)
Balsamic Vinegar
A dash of agave or maple syrup
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cayenne for a little punch

Roast the beets by placing in 375 degree oven for 25 minutes to one hour; until beets are soft. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap with foil to keep moist.

When cooked to perfection (a knife will go through easily), let cool and take off skin. Cut into chunks.
Add sectioned oranges and grapefruit – being careful to remove as much of the bitter pith as you can. Add sectioned avocados and mix with dressing. Top with a little grated orange zest.
Thank you Chef Christina Merkle for the celebration of flavor and colors! Enjoy.

Read more about the sensual goodness of beets: http://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2012/05/10/6-health-benefits-of-eating-beets/#s.agph434vaaiaa

The chocolate and olive oil tasting on May 4 at the May Faire of the Waldorf School of Orange County went exceptionally well. We decided to not wait a day longer and make these delicious items available to our customers. ZXy Chocolate – Coffee is prepared with our own ZBrew Coffee and ZXy Chocolate – Coco/Vanilla with Coconut and Madagascar Vanilla and only pure, raw and 100% organic ingredients: pure cacao, cacao butter, stevia, unpasteurized almonds, clear agave, maca powder, cacao powder, vanilla, and pink salt. The chocolate is paleo diet approved and blood sugar friendly. Check out this extremely delicious treat for yourself!
For more information on our Nuvo Extra Virgin Olive Oil please read our post: http://zucchinixpress.org/nuvo-california-extra-virgin-olive-oil/
We are offering two flavors – Robust and Delicate
Our robust oil is well balanced with true olive flavor, herbal, and buttery tones.
Our delicate variety features a luscious, fruity flavor retaining a sense of delicacy.
Enjoy these new additions to our sortiment!

Enjoy Mixed Green Salad – African style – prepared by ZucchiniXpress, African Soup prepared by Jene Meece and listen to a most interesting speaker, Edith Omwami, Ph.D.

When: May 9, 2013  5:30 to 7:00pm
Where: Private Residence in Shady Canyon
Cost: Event is free

RSVP: Jene Meece 949 533-9569

Jene.Meece@C2CKenya.org

ZucchiniXpress’ Jesús Gamboa with Steve Madiglian

Tasting Nuvo Olive Oil, we were so impressed by its outstanding flavor that we decided to visit the H. Marin Farms olive orchard in Oroville California and see for ourselves. Owner, Steve Madiglian, gave us a tour of the 2000 tree grove with over hundred year old Mission olive trees and explained that they were planted by German immigrant Freda Ehmann. Freda invented and perfected the art of olive canning and planted in Oroville, Butte County, because it features ideal soil and climate for olive trees. The climate is comparable to one of the largest olive oil producing regions around Seville, Spain.
Steve’s two sons, Joshua and Nathan, remembered the olive orchard their family owned and decided to go into production in the fall of 2012. Their first harvest of NUVO California Extra Virgin Olive Oil ever won bronze medals at the prestigious Los Angeles Olive Oil competition!

NUVO California Extra Virgin Olive Oil

That speaks for the exceptional quality and flavor of the oil. Right after the olives get picked an Italian master miller crushes and mills the olives organically to ensure high Polyphenol content (the antioxidants in olive oil) and superior freshness. Nuvo Oil has 3 times the Polyphenol content compared to average oil. NUVO’s estate blend olive oil is certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil by the California Olive Council (COOC).
We’ll introduce two varieties of NUVO, delicate and robust, on May 4^th at the May Faire at the Waldorf School of Orange County from 10:00am to 2:00pm. You can also place your order online.

Pristine Natural Environment of the Olive Orchard

Part 1: Spring Cleansing Herbs/Parsley

Spring herbs are abundant right now and you’ll find cilantro, parsley and arugula in your boxes this season. You may wonder what to do with such a profusion. Most of us are used to eating little sprigs of herbs such as parsley on salads or as a garnish to fish etc.

Parsley has so many health benefits that it is worthy of a place of honor at your spring table. Loved for adding freshness to your palate, parsley is also reputed to aid in detoxifying the kidneys. It is full of vitamins and minerals, particularly high in vitamin C.

At our home last night, we discovered a wonderful recipe for Parsley Pesto atop grilled salmon kabobs. After grilling we then laid the kabob skewers on a bed of arugula salad, (simply leaves with a little caesar dressing) and voila!
It was fantastic, the epitome of a great spring dinner!

Here is a sample of the recipe we played with, a version of which I found on an MD Anderson website:

Salmon Kabobs with Parsley Pesto

Ingredients
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (I put in one whole bunch)
1/4 cup capers, drained
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 - 5 cloves of garlic – depending on how much you love garlic
2 and 1/2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, or until it reaches a good consistency
salt and black pepper to taste


1 or 2 lbs boneless salmon fillets, cut into 1-inch chunks 
Other veggies also cut into chunks: onion, green and/or yellow squash, cherry toms…


Arugula
 and/or your favorite grain if desired

Preparation
Ready the grill.

Combine first 7 ingredients (cheese through garlic) in food processor or blender. Add 1 ½ tablespoons oil to herb mixture; process until smooth, scraping sides. Set aside.

Thread fish and veggies evenly on skewers. Brush fish with remaining 1 tablespoon oil salt, pepper. Arrange skewers on prepared grill rack. Grill 1 minute on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove skewers from grill, and keep warm.
Place cooked salmon skewers on a bed of arugula and/ or your favorite grain.

Enjoy and stay tuned for Part 2 Spring Cleansing Herbs/Cilantro

Tour Unity Farm with ZucchiniXpress, Saturday 4/14, 10:00am

Remember to sign up for our Tour Unity Farm this coming Sunday, April, 14th. We meet at 10:00am at the farm in Rubidoux, Riverside at 4800 Crestmore Rd. We’ll be touring the farm with farmer, Gabriel Ruiz, who will tell us all about organic growing practices. He’ll let you pick some veggies too. This is followed by an organic-ingredients-inspired lunch hosted by your ZX Team – Jutta Jesús and Alison. More on the Hike the Ranch on May 5th in our next blog post.
We have more exciting events coming up in May, the African Speaker Series, sponsored by Cradle to Career, an organization dear to our hearts! We’ll be providing for the hors d’oeuvres served at the first gathering, Thursday, May 9th.
Here a post by our guest blogger and C2C Executive Director Jene Meece:
May Speaker Series on Africa
On four Thursday evenings in May you can enjoy the rich culture of Africa in a series of free gatherings at the May Speaker Series, which will be held private homes in Newport Beach, Shady Canyon and at Sage Hill High School sponsored by Cradle to Career in Kenya (C2C).
As an extra treat you can enjoy African inspired hors d’oeuvres supplied by ZucchiniXpress at the first gathering on May 9.

One of the high school girls helping with lunch

Cradle to Career in Kenya (C2C), and ZucchiniXpress have so much in common.  While a non-profit focused on Kenyan orphans and an organic produce delivery service in Orange County may seem worlds apart, the similarities begin in the garden.So many of the fruits and vegetables you and I embrace when our box arrives each week also grow on the grounds at Mt. Olive Academy, the boarding school in Kenya that C2C built to educate Kenyan orphans and vulnerable children. You and I feed our families and C2C feeds our family of students in Kenya.
Something else we share is that too often our family members turn to unhealthy alternatives when they leave home. Our university students in Kenya have a very small stipend to purchase food. I was appalled when I visited last year and saw them lunching on junk food (think gas station cakes wrapped in cheap plastic).
At last year’s C2C college summit we taught the college girls to make their first California salad with the fresh ingredients found all over Kenya. Kenyans stew most of their vegetables leaving it bland and tasteless (maybe a holdover from British Colonial cooking!).
Then our students found delicious dressings off the ZucchiniXpress blog using oil, vinegar, adding oranges and mangos and their salads became quick, easy, cheap and delicious. http://zucchinixpress.org/juttas-salad-dressing/

C2C College Girls with their first California salad

ZucchiniXpress was an international hit!
Look for bookmarks in your ZucchiniXpress box for all the details on the May Speaker Series or go to C2CKenya.org. The series is free buy you must sign up at the C2C website.

Questions? Contact Jene.Meece@C2CKenya.org or call 949-533-9569.

Recipe for “old-world” strawberry pie:

Ingredients: 

2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
1/14 cups organic brown sugar
1/3 cup organic flower
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups fresh organic strawberries
2 tablespoons organic unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place on crust in a nine inch pan

Mix together sugar, flour and cinnamon. Mix lightly through the berries. Pour filling into pastry lined pan and dot fruit with butter. Cover with top crust and cut heart shaped slits into top. Seal and flute the edges.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is slightly browned.

Amazing Icicle Radishes

What are those white things in your box this week that look like carrots?
You may have already discovered that they are radishes – icicle radishes.
In case you are wondering if they are worth eating, please read on!

Radishes are known for their anti bacterial and anti fungal properties.

They are a good source of riboflavin, vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium, potassium copper, manganese, folate as well as being an excellent source of dietary fiber.

Radish are very good for the liver and help to detox and purify blood. They are great for the stomach, providing a rich source of roughage, facilitating digestion and natural weight loss. The juice of the radish is helpful in treating inflammation.

Radishes are anti-carcinogenic and can help lower the risk of prostate cancer.

Radishes are anti-congestive and help in respiratory disorders.
If that were not enough, radishes can help keep the skin beautiful by maintaining the moisture of the skin.

Radishes can be juiced (add to a vegetable blend), grated or sliced in a salad. Enchance their crispiness and flavor by soaking in ice water for a couple of hours before adding to salad.

Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/radish-health-benefits.html