Fried Green Tomatoes- The fruit not the movie

Green Tomatoes, better known as tomatillos, or 'tomate verde' in Mexico, are a tangy, pale green, small tomato-like fruit usually covered by a papery husk (ours don't have the husk on them). They are related to the gooseberry and are not tomatoes at all.

They are generally a bit on the sour side and so you might want to add some sugar or honey to them. I use them exclusively for Mexican cooking, one of my two favorite cuisines to cook, Thai being the other. Bear in mind they contain natural pectin and so if you cook them they will thicken the sauce once it cools.

In this weather I would recommend preparing a nice salsa or sauce for enchiladas. It just adds such a unique taste to the food you serve it with. I often grow them in my garden and they do quite well in Vancouver weather.

Tomatillos are highly nutritional and very low in calories. One medium raw tomatillo contains only 11 calories. However, it packs 91 mg. of potassium, 4 mg. of vitamin C, 2.4 mg of calcium, 2.38 mg. of folic acid, and 39 IU of vitamin A.

Recipe Ideas:

Salsa Verde (Yields apprx 1 1/4 cups)

I recommend cooking the tomatillos in a small amount of water for about 10 minutes on a slow simmer (bubbles just breaking the surface). Take them and the cooking liquid and blend them adding more water as needed to get a thick consistency. (it's always better to have it too thick as the old tale goes 'you can always add more water but you can't take it out').

1 cup cooked tomatillos
2 serrano chilies- minced (these are smaller than jalepenos and have more heat so use what you want depending on how spicy you like your food) A tip when using chilies is the seeds and white membrane contain a large amount of the heat so you can always remove these parts to tone down your food.
1/4 small white onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
cilantro- about 5 sprigs finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

If possible do not use a blender to chop all of your ingredients as food reacts much differently when it is chopped with a sharp knife as apposed to being pulverised by the blades of a blender or food processor.

Take all the ingredients, mix em' together and add more cold water to reach the desired salsa consistency (you can also add a bit of sugar if you feel it is too tart). Try and use it the same day for ultimate freshness but it will keep refrigerated for 3-4 days. The multi-use sauce can be used on everything from burritos, eggs, rice, what have you.


Avacado Tomitillo Salsa (taken from the ReBar cookbook)

8 ripe tomatillos- diced
2 jalapenos, minced
2 garlic cloves- minced
1/4 small red onion, minced
5 sprigs cilantro- finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 cracked black pepper
15 ml fresh lime juice
2 ripe avacados- diced

Combine all the ingredients except the avacados and toss in a bowl. About 1 hour before serving add the diced avacado and leave to chill.

Fennel? What am I to do?

First thing to do when you get your fennel home is not freak out. It's going to be o.k. It is after all just a simple vegetable.

Often mistakenly called anise, fennel has a sweeter and more delicate flavour than anise which has a stronger licorice flavour. Though the white base and stems can be used raw in salads (I usually shave it thin), the flavour mellows as it's cooked. I often will grill it on the bbq in the summer (though it takes a bit longer than most vegetables to really soften) it's also great braised, sauteed or used in soups. The tops can be used much like you would dill for a great garnish or flavour enhancer, and yes this is where fennel seeds come from. To prep simply cut in half lengthwise, cut those in half again and remove the tough core from the bottom.

Fennel is an excellent source of potassium, it contains vitamin C, folic acid, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.
It is a diuretic, an antispasmodic (good for people with kids!) and a stimulant (good for people who want kids?).
It stimulates the appitite, cleanse the system, prevent flatulence and aid in the digestion of fatty foods. Candied fennel seeds are often found in a little dish as you exit an Indian restaurant for exactly this purpose.

Some great combos that go with fennel include: Parmesan cheese, lemon, oranges, pancetta, walnuts and butter or cream.

What to do with your red onions?

I'm a little pressed for time this week so I am going to keep it short and sweet, or should it be sour and sweet with this weeks post.
If you are looking for a great way to use your red onions this quick red onion pickle is very versatile and I use it all the time. It is courtesy of my mother-in-law and it looks something like this:

Step 1-Cut your onion in half (from the tip to the root) and slice each half as thin as you can.
Step 2- dissolve 1 cup of sugar into 1 cup of white vinegar in a saucepan (you don't need to bring it to a boil, just heat it till the sugar dissolves).
Step 3- Pour warm liquid over onions and let them get to know each other for at least 1-2 hours, but ideally 24 hours.
Step 4- strain off the liquid and discard. You will be left with some very bright pink pickled onions.

They go great with roast beef, and even better inside roast beef sandwiches, also great inside hamburgers, they make a great garnish/ accompaniment to grilled white fish and I will also throw some in my salads.

Give em a whirl and tell me what you think.

First Food Feature

Leeks: our first feature ingredient. Native to Mediterranean countries, the leek has been prized by gourmets for thousands of years. Historically Nero believed they would improve his singing voice and thus consumed huge quantities of them and in the 6th century A.D. the Welsh made leeks their national symbol because they were convinced the leeks they wore on their helmets in battle strengthened and helped them win wars.

Leeks are related to both garlic and onions though the flavour is milder and more subtle. The smaller the leeks the more tender they will be. Remove the dark green tops and use in stock (if you make the stuff) and thoroughly wash the white bottoms to remove the large amount of sand that can get trapped in between the many layers.

Some great flavour combinations that pair well with leeks include:

-bacon
-butter
-cheeses: cheddar, goat, Gruyere and Parmesan
-cream
-fish
-hollandaise sauce (what doesn't go with hollandaise?)
-lemon
-olive oil
-parsley
-peas
-potatoes
-thyme
-tomatoes
and red wine

A great and classic summertime leek recipe is for cold leek and potato soup (Vichyssoise).
This one comes from Anthony Bourdain's les Halles cookbook and serves 6.

Ingredients:
4 TBSP butter
8 leeks (whites only, cleaned and thinly sliced)
2 Yukon Gold potatoes (diced)
4 cups chicken stock (or veg stock)
2 cups heavy cream
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste (white pepper if you have it)
chives (finely chopped)

Method:
1- Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pot over medium low heat and add leeks and sweat (cooking slowly but with no colour to the leeks, you should hear a light sizzle) for 5 minutes.
2- Add chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer (bubbles just breaking the surface of the liquid)
3- Simmer for 30-45 minutes ensuring potatoes are soft, remove from heat
4- Using a blender (a hand one will do but for a refined and silky smooth textured consistency I highly recommend a stand up blender) and in small batches (never fill the blender more than halfway) puree the soup being VERY careful to not burn yourself when you start the blender and the soup flies up! Unfortunately this happens all too often, even in professional kitchens. Use a kitchen towel and press firmly on the lid of the blender.
5- Return pureed soup to the pot and add the cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper (the reason I suggested white pepper is so you don't have black flecks in your nice white soup) to desired taste.
6-Bring to a quick boil, turn back down to a simmer for 5-10 minutes and take off heat.
7- At this point you want to chill the soup down as fast as possible, but DO NOT do this in your fridge. Place the pot in a larger container filled with ice water and stir the soup periodically until it is cold. Then and only then should you transfer it to a container with a lid and ideally leave it overnight. (the flavour will be MUCH better the next day)
8- When you are ready to serve, check the taste one more time and add salt and pepper as you need and serve in chilled bowls with the finely chopped chives as garnish.
ENJOY!

Call for new members

There are currently about 20 people per order and I'd like to see this number grow. Please pass the info along to anyone that you think might be interested. Email Darren at kitsorganic@gmail.com for more info.

The next order will arrive on Tuesday April 21st.

The new pick-up location

The pick-up location will be at 2556 West 3rd between Larch & Trafalger on the front porch.
Please note that this is only two doors west from David's.

Bring a bag or box to carry your organic delights and cash in an envelope to put through the mailbox.

The passing of the torch

Welcome!

A big thank-you to David, yoga guru extraordinaire, for starting the Kits Organic Co-op a little over a year and a half ago. As most of you know, David will be moving to Victoria, and I'm excited to keep this great service going.

A few tidbits on the co-op:

• All produce is from Discovery Organics - the same supplier to Capers
• Discovery is known for hand-picking their farms by doing farm visits and actually meeting the farmers
• Every Thursday I'll send out the list of available produce
  
• Please let me know by email if you're in for the week (kitsorganic@gmail.com)
  
• Pick-up will be every Tuesday afternoon

I'm excited to get to know each of you and looking forward to bringing healthy foods into your life.

Darren