Perfect Food for Poolside Parties

A picture taken, of A Green Salad.
Check out these recipes or poolside party menu ideas for filling your plate with healthy options this summer. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s summer and that means it is time for partying by the pool.  Whether you are throwing the party or just looking for something delicious to bring, these ideas and recipes are sure to meet all your poolside party menu planning needs.

Salads

There are few pool party options that are better than a salad.  Light, fresh, and full of delicious ingredients, salads are easy to put together and almost everyone can find something they like when presented with a selection of salads.  Before choosing a recipe, check with the host to find out if there will be refrigeration available or the food needs to be room temperature ready.  It is also good to inquire about how long the food will be out so you can pick an option that will be great tasting and safe for the entire time it needs to be served.  Here are some great salad recipes that are pool party perfect.

Finger Sandwiches

Pool parties aren’t always about big burgers or barbeque and even when they are, there are some people who prefer lighter fare.  This means there is always room for some small finger-style sandwiches on the pool party table.  You can stick with the standard selection of meats, cheeses, and breads or mix it up a bit with some of these fun sandwich fillings.  Just make sure you are following food safety guidelines for any food containing meat, cheese, dairy, or other ingredients requiring refrigeration.

Chips and Dips

There is no reason you can’t bring a selection of these traditional party foods, especially if guests will be grazing the food table rather than sitting down for a meal.  If you are worried about having things at room temperature, skip any dips that are cream-based and swap in something else.  Here are some delicious dips that are sure to please even the pickiest pool party-goers.

Veggies and Fruit

Few things hold up better on hot summer days than a veggie and fruit tray.  Check the farmer’s market or grocery produce section for a wide variety of fresh fruits and veggies grown right here in Arizona and then slice, dice, and chop them into bite size servings.  Arrange everything on a tray and consider adding in a dipping sauce or two and you are done. Think outside the box by including some of these unusual options on your tray.

  • Kiwi slices
  • Orange sections
  • Cucumber rounds or slivers
  • Cantaloupe squares
  • Tomato slices
  • Pineapple chunks

Cakes and Cookies

There is always room for some sweet treats on the pool party food table and these foods are generally fine without refrigeration.  You can easily make your cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it to cut down on the time it takes to make home baked goodies on the day of the party.

Pie

Nothing says summer like pie on your plate and what better way is there to finish off your poolside party menu than with some sweet and tasty home baked pie.  You can fill your pie with fresh fruit, fruit filling, or even something savory.  Many pies will also hold up fine without refrigeration although you will need to keep any whipped toppings on ice.

Delicious Desserts

Dessert is always a popular choice because there are so many options and everyone loves it.  If cake, cookies, and pie aren’t your thing, try one of these other delectable desserts for your contribution to the perfect poolside food table.

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10 Ways to Fill Your Day with Fruits and Vegetables (Part 2)

Fruits and vegetables

Everyone knows that a healthy diet consists of fruits and vegetables, but most adults are not getting enough servings of these important foods each day.  Here in Arizona, it is easy to find fresh, locally grown, affordable fruits and vegetables all year round.  Building off of the tips we gave in part 1 of this series, here are the remaining tips that will help you fill your plate and your day with fruits and vegetables.

5.     Stock Up on Super Snacks

Snacking isn’t actually bad for you, but in order for snacking to be good for your health, you need to choose healthy snacks.  This is one area where fruits and veggies can help save the day.  From a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter to pre-made baggies of celery, carrot, and sweet pepper sticks, fruits and vegetables provide a wide range of low calorie, super healthy snacking options.

6.     Leave Room for Dessert

Dessert doesn’t have to be decadent to be delicious.  The natural sweetness of fruit can form the foundation of many different desserts.  Many of us think that dessert is something we should save for special occasions, but why not indulge in a sweet treat at the end of every meal?  Fabulous, fresh fruit makes it possible to appease your sweet tooth while sneaking in another serving of fruits and veggies.   Turn chopped fruit and fat free yogurt into fabulous fruit-sicles or dizzle a little chocolate over strawberries, cherries, or bananas.

7.     Stick with Salads

Salads are a great way to get more vegetables into your day while also decreasing your overall caloric intake.  Salads full of dark leafy greens and chopped vegetables help fill you up which makes it easier to eat less over the course of the day.  Choose dark leafy greens and top your salad with chopped peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, onions, carrots, or even your favorite fruits.  You can get two or even three servings out of a single salad.   Don’t let the dressing drag your salad down.  Serve it on the side and dip your salad in the dressing rather than pouring it over the top.  You will get all the taste and flavor while using significantly less dressing.   Start with a Green Salad as a base and add your favorite chopped fruits and veggies.

8.     Shake Things Up with a Smoothie

Smoothies are another great way to get more fruits and vegetables into your day.  The key to keeping them super healthy is to make them yourself from fresh ingredients.  This ensures you know everything that is in your smoothie and allows you to control how many calories it has and how many “extras” get added in.

9.     Think Outside the Bread

Another way to get some more vegetables in your day is to look for creative ways to replace high-calorie bread with high-nutrient veggies.  Using lettuce or other leafy green leaves in place of bread or tortillas is a great way to swap out some high calorie carbs for low calorie nutrient dense veggies.  Try making Asian Lettuce Wraps, Chicken Lettuce Wraps, or Goat Cheese Lettuce Wraps.

10.  Look for Opportunities to Swap

Simply swapping out some high calorie snacks and drinks for healthier options can make a big difference.  Swap a can of pop for a glass of juice or veggie sticks for crunchy snacks like chips.  Looking for these easy ways to swap out something high in calories for something made from fruits or veggies that satisfy the same craving will help you get more servings of fruit and veggies without feeling like you are on a diet.

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Great Ideas for Holiday Sweets and Treats

christmas brunch
Try one of these Arizona recipes this holiday season (Photo credit: surlygirl)

One of the best things about the holidays is all the delicious desserts and delicacies that seem to come with the season.  There is no other time during the year where you are likely to find a variety of cookies, some pie, homemade candy, and even fudge in most Arizona kitchens.  When it comes to things we look forward to about the holidays, getting presents is the only thing that beats out all the sweets and treats.

While many of us have family favorites that have been handed down from our parents and grandparents, there is always room in the holiday season to try some new recipes.  Here are some of our favorites, many of which are made using ingredients grown right here in Arizona.   No matter what the occasion or event, you are sure to find something on this list that will tempt your taste buds and help you fill each and every holiday plate from now until New Year’s.

Christmas Morning or Holiday Brunch

Arizona Specialties

Delicious Desserts

Candy

Cookie Swap

Pie

Cake

 

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5 Tips to Make Holiday Cooking Easier

Christmas Dinner
A little planning as well as delegating can make your dream of the perfect holiday dinner become a reality.
photo credit: comedy_nose via photopin cc

The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day mean family, friends, and feasting.  Odds are that at least once or twice over the six week span, you will be the one in charge of the feast.  With everything going on this time of year, it is easy to get overwhelmed, stressed out, and to get to the point that you just wish it would all be over.  Spare yourself some of that stress by following our favorite tips for making holiday cooking easier.

1.     Plan Ahead

This is the most important thing you can do to make any cooking or baking easier and less stressful.  One of the things about cooking for the holidays that can turn something enjoyable into something excruciating is when you try to do things at the last minute.  First, you will invariably spend more money than you need to because you won’t be able to shop for the best price and you are more likely to buy things you don’t need when you are in a rush.  You are also more likely to forget key ingredients which will leave you scrambling for a replacement at the last minute.

Make this year easier by planning ahead for any event that you need to cook for including a menu, shopping list, prep list, and overall plan that includes details about timing.

2.     Prep in Advance

There is no reason that you have to wait until the day of your event to do all the work.  Many things can be made or prepped in advance and then stored in the refrigerator or even frozen until the big day.

Once you have a plan, figure out what things can be done ahead of time and then add time to your plan for advance prep prior to the big day.

3.     Enlist Assistants

Another major holiday meal stressor is this feeling many of us share that we must do all the work ourselves.  While it may be a badge of honor to make everything from scratch, create the perfect centerpiece, and frame it all with flawless decorating, it is also an unrealistic goal for most of us.

Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to do everything yourself.  Let family members handle the decorations, the desserts, or any other details that will free you up enough that you can also enjoy the festivities.

4.     Bigger Doesn’t Always Mean Better

Another way to say this would be, Keep it Simple Silly!  For some reason, we equate holiday meals with course after course of gourmet dishes that most people at the table have never seen before.  The bottom-line is that you don’t need to go overboard.

Stick to family favorites and limit your menu options.  Remember, the food is important, but it isn’t only the food that makes the meal.

 

5.     Clean the Kitchen

Before you bake your first cookie or plan your holiday menu, take an afternoon and clean your kitchen.  This might seem like an odd way to start the holiday cooking season, but it can make a big difference when you get to crunch time.  Starting with a clean kitchen means that everything is put away and organized and will be easy to find when you need it.  It also helps ensure that you will have the surfaces available when you need them for rolling out dough or chopping carrots.  It is also a great way to make sure you have the right amount of staples like sugar and flour on hand for your holiday menus.

Taking the time to start off on the right foot is a guaranteed way to make cooking easier and much less stressful this holiday season.

 

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Plan the Perfect Thanksgiving Day Dinner With These Easy Steps

Thanksgiving dinner in Canada.
What’s on your menu this Thanksgiving? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It seems like school just started and already it is time to start thinking about Thanksgiving!  In order to put together the perfect Thanksgiving dinner, you need to have a plan and you need to start early.  Whether you are hosting the holiday dinner for the twentieth time or setting out to make your very first turkey, planning a meal this big and this important can be daunting.  In addition, we tend to do things that just make this massive meal much harder than it needs to be.

Some of us jump right in and start searching for new and interesting recipes without thinking through the logistics.  Others put everything off until the last minute and then miss out on the family fun because they are stressed out and exhausted.   Whatever it is that you do to complicate this day, resolve now not to do it.  Things can be perfectly wonderful and stress-free if you plan ahead, think everything through, simplify, and then don’t sweat the small stuff.

Here is our plan for making the perfect Thanksgiving Day dinner with some delicious recipes you can use to fill your plate and bring local food into your feast.

Logistics

Before you start leafing through cookbooks or designing place settings, you need to get some basic details sorted out.  The most important question is how many people you are going to have at dinner.  This is critical to sort out because it impacts everything from seating to selection.  You also need to know the breakdown between children and adults and if any guests have special dietary needs.

Readiness

While you might be envisioning a cooking and dining experience that would make Martha Stewart proud, if you normal contribution to dinner is making the phone call to the take out place down the street, you may be biting off more than you can chew.  Figure out what you can do and what you want to do and then plan to outsource the rest.

Need some side dishes than even a novice can make?  Try Orange Coated Yams and Twice Baked Potato Casserole.

Traditional or Nouveau?

Next, you need to decide what kind of dinner you want to serve.  While most people stick to the tried and true traditional Thanksgiving dinner dishes, you may decide that you want to do something different.  Deciding your approach early on helps ensure that you still have a cohesive menu that was built with intent.

Looking for options other than roasted turkey?  Try Arizona Ranchers Prime Rib or Citrus Marinated Grilled Turkey instead.

Menu

Now that you have all the information you need, you can create your menu.  Start by picking your protein if you are not planning to make a traditional turkey.  If you have a large guest list, you may want to consider providing more than one option.   Make sure your menu includes lots of side dishes like Special Holiday Stuffing, Cosmo Cranberry Sauce, and Creamy Potatoes.  Don’t forget to include a couple of delicious desserts like Harvest Pumpkin Bars which are great for kids and traditional Pumpkin Pie.

With a little thought and a little more planning, the perfect Thanksgiving Day dinner you are dreaming of can be a reality.  Take the stress out of the day by enlisting help and simplifying.

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Spice Things Up on Swap Ideas Day

Cheese Soup Recipe
Swap your favorite recipe ideas on Swap Ideas Day (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On September 10th, people all across the country will be sharing with others as part of Swap Ideas Day.  Here at Fill Your Plate, we are all about food and think this is a great chance to share some of your best food-related ideas.  Below we share our ideas on how you can spice up your meals and sweeten your menu by participating in Swap Ideas Day.

Dinner Recipe Swap

Is your family getting tired of the same old dinner options week after week?  Celebrate Swap Ideas Day by hosting a dinner recipe swap and inject some excitement back into your family’s main meal.  Start by inviting friends and family to your swap.  Ask each invitee to bring their favorite dinner dish and enough copies of the recipe for all attendees.  At the start of the swap, set up all the dishes buffet style and let everyone taste test all the recipes.  This gives each person the opportunity to pick and choose dishes that their family will like from all the great options.  One of the greatest hurdles people generally face when trying to find new recipes to make is trying to imagine how the food will look, smell, and taste based on the information provided in the recipe.  This taste test eliminates that problem by giving everyone the chance to try a couple bites before taking the recipe home to their family.

In this day and age of food allergies and sensitivities, it is a good idea to have cards available for guests to indicate if a dish has a common allergen as a component or meets a special dietary need like being gluten-free or diabetic friendly.

Dessert Recipe Swap

Looking for a fun way to spend some time with your girlfriends or a great idea for a family get together?  Host a dessert recipe swap and swap ideas for delicious desserts.  The set-up and party is the same as doing a dinner recipe swap.  Attendees bring a finished dessert and recipe cards so that everyone can taste each dessert and take the recipes they love home with them.  This type of recipe swap could also be used in some other fun ways.  If you are having a bake sale at your church or for your children’s school, as you swap ideas, have a dessert recipe swap right before and ask each person to bring two finished dishes- one to share at the party and one to donate to the bake sale.  Everyone who comes to the party will get a handful of great new dessert recipes while also contributing to a great cause.

Holiday Recipe Swap

It is only September, but that means that we are heading into holiday season.  From haunted Halloween goodies to Thanksgiving Dinner dishes to perfect recipes to put together for a pot-luck, we can all use some fresh ideas and new recipes for holiday entertaining.  For this swap, you could do it as a theme and pick a single holiday to feature or you can ask certain people to swap ideas and bring things representing specific holidays.  You could also change up the format a little and have people teach others how to make a recipe that is particularly complex or a technique that elevates your holiday dish from average to art.

As always, don’t forget to check out our great recipes using delicious locally grown food on Fill Your Plate!

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Perfect Ways to Use Peaches

English: Autumn Red peach. Français : Pêches E...
Celebrate National Peach month by visiting one of our local peach farmers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

August is National Peach Month and the perfect time to enjoy this flavorful fruit.  Whether you like them best in cobbler or prefer them sliced fresh with whip cream, peaches provide a delicious alternative to other fall fruits and are packed with healthy goodness.  A medium size peach has less than 50 calories and contains calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and important vitamins like C and K.  Perfect fresh, grilled, chopped, diced, and in a variety of recipes, peaches can play a role in almost any meal.  Considering all these benefits, it’s no wonder these fuzzy orange-yellow orbs were coveting by royalty and associated with longevity and happiness.

Here are some great ways to celebrate National Peach Month by incorporating them into your August menu.

Make Breakfast Better

Filled with healthy goodness including phytochemicals, peaches are a great way to start the day.  Break out the blender for a Mango-Peach Smoothie made with heart healthy soy milk.  Your family will flip for Peach Pancakes filled with surprise pieces of diced peach.

Liven Up Lunch

Let the unique flavor and juicy goodness of peaches liven up your lunch.   Try Peach Chicken Salad for a twist on a family favorite everyone is sure to love.    You don’t have to be going to the beach to love Beach Goer’s Wraps, they are just as perfect out by the pool.  Cook up a batch of Chilled Peach Soup, just make sure you leave time for it to chill so it can fill you up and cool you off.

Deliver a Delicious Dinner

When it comes to peaches, most people think dessert not dinner, but with so many great dinner recipes featuring them, it would be a shame not to incorporate them into the biggest meal of the day.  Try Baked Chicken with Peaches or Pork Chops with Peach Riesling Sauce for a new take on family favorites.  Fire up the grill to make Grilled Balsamic Peaches, Grilled Fruit Kabobs and Grilled Shrimp and Rice Noodle Salad.

Give Your Party a Punch

Fill your punch bowl with Peach Pineapple Sangria and your party will be the talk of the neighborhood.  Served ice cold, this refreshing adult beverage fits perfectly with any party and is also great to partake in when you are poolside.  Serve up a sweet and spicy spin for dipping your chips with Fresh Peach Salsa or Strawberry Kiwi Peach Salsa and Fruity Guacamole.

Don’t Forget Dessert

There are so many great desserts made with peaches you could serve a different delicious dessert every night in August and still have recipes left to try.  One of our favorites is Peach Paradise which is perfect when made with fresh locally grown peaches.  For something totally different, try Summer Fruit Galettes and a scoop of ice cream.  Cool off a steamy August evening with Frozen Peach Shortcake Squares, the perfect way to end any hot day.

We have many farmers in Arizona who grow delicious peaches. Check out our list below and visit one of these farmers near you to enjoy some of their delicious crop!

 

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I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for National Ice Cream Month!

chocolate frozen custard
Chocolate Frozen Custard (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whether you love chocolate, vanilla, or some fancy flavor full of cookies or candy, there is nothing quite as refreshing during the hot summer days of July as a cone of your favorite ice cream.  Odds are, according to the International Dairy Foods Association, the flavor that tops your list is one of the top five which are, in order, vanilla, chocolate, cookies n cream, strawberry, and chocolate chip mint.  Americans love their ice cream and almost 10% of the milk our dairy farms produce each year goes into making this frozen treat.  We generally prefer eating ice cream we scoop ourselves since 67% of the $10B of ice cream sold in 2010 was the kind you take home and eat later.

What’s What in the Ice Cream Cooler

When it comes to frozen treats, we have a wide variety of options to choose from: ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, etc.  Do you know the difference between them?  Many consumers don’t and either call something one thing, when it is another or use one term for many different things.  To help you understand what is ice cream and what is something else, here is a helpful breakdown, provided by the International Dairy Food Association, explaining what is what when it comes to frozen goodies.

  • Ice Cream – This frozen dessert is made from milk and often combined with other ingredients including sweeteners, flavorings, or bite size things like nuts or chunks of chocolate.  In order to be considered ice cream, the base product must contain at least 10% milk fat and must weigh 4.5 lbs per gallon.
  • Frozen Custard/French Ice Cream – This option is very similar to traditional ice cream but must contain a certain amount of egg yolk solids in addition to the required % of milk fat.
  • Gelato – This option, which has a similar consistency to the soft serve version of traditional ice cream, is more dense, less frozen, and is often characterized by the intensity of its flavors.  Generally offered in a variety of flavors, gelato also contains egg yolks, like frozen custard, and uses more milk than milk fat in its base.
  • Frozen Yogurt – This option uses cultured dairy products to produce a lower-fat alternative that is similar in texture and consistency to traditional ice cream.
  • Sherbet (often misnamed Sherbert) – This option, which is generally featured in fruit flavors, is sweeter and much less creamy than traditional ice cream.  It contains only 1-2% milk fat and must weigh 6 lbs per gallon.
  • Sorbet/Water Ice – This option is Sherbet without the dairy products.  Often offered in fruit flavors with a much less creamy texture than ice cream.
  • Novelties – This term is used to describe the frozen treats and desserts that do not come in pint, quart, or gallon form. They may or may not contain ice cream, eggs, milk, milk fat, or other traditional ice cream ingredients.   This includes ice cream sandwiches, popsicles, fudgesicles, etc. 

Cool off, eat something sweet, and support our hard working dairy farmers  this July by picking up a gallon or two of your family’s favorites or, even better, try making a flavor or two that is totally new.  A good one to start with is Avocado and Pistachio from Fill Your Plate.

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What Diet, Geography, and Stroke Health Have In Common

The Stroke Belt region of the United States.
The Stroke Belt region of the United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the different regions of the U.S. have different dietary patterns and different regional flavors and foods.  But can the place you live drive the food you eat and seriously impact your health?  A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health and General Mills set out to answer that question with the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Difference in Stroke (REGARDS) study.

There is a portion of the U.S. called the stroke belt or stroke alley. This area, located in the Southeastern U.S., is comprised of the 11 states listed below:

  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Georgia
  • Indiana
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia

For some reason, this region has an abnormally high rate of stroke and some other forms of cardiovascular disease.  The cluster was first recognized in 1962 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  To date, despite investigating several possible links, there is no definitive answer as to the root cause of the higher incidence of strokes in this region.

The REGARDS program is designed to look at look at why there are differences in stroke rates that follow racial and regional lines.  As part of that program, a group of researchers led by Dr. Suzanne Judd from the University of Alabama-Birmingham studied the dietary patterns of people from around the country to see if any patterns emerged that offered insight into the stroke belt phenomenon.  The results of that study were presented earlier this year at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Scientific Sessions.

The research team found that across the 20,000+ participants, there were 5 consistent dietary patterns that emerged.

  1. The Southern Pattern which features a significant amount of fried food, processed meat, and sugar sweetened beverages is most commonly eaten by men, African-Americans, people who make less than $35,000/year, and people without a college degree.
  2. The Traditional Pattern which features foods generally categorized as ethnic like Chinese, Mexican, pasta, pizza, and soup is most common amongst people between the ages of 45 and 54.
  3. The Healthy Pattern which is made up of fruits, vegetables, and grains.
  4. The Sweets Pattern which features excessive sweet snacks and desserts.
  5. The Alcohol Pattern which is comprised of protein, coffee, salad, and alcohol and only occurs in people making more than $75,000/year.

The team didn’t go into the dietary pattern research with any real assumptions or hypothesis.  Instead, they gathered the data and let it tell its own story.  The emergence of such consistent clear patterns shows the importance of understanding how region can impact diet and the role diet plays in overall health.  In future research efforts, the team will dig deeper into how region of birth and where you are raised influences your diet.

Here in Arizona, we can fill our plates with healthy choices from local farmers. Check out any of our local farmer’s markets for locally grown fruits and vegetables. Also, check out our local cattle farmers to find your choice of organically raised beef.

 

 

 

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What to do with All that Fruit?

What do you plan to do with your left over in season fruit? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here in Arizona, we are blessed with a long growing season, predominantly warm weather, and a ton of sun.  This means that things that don’t grow well in other parts of the country, like citrus trees, can flourish here.  This time of year you can see several different kinds of trees bursting with fruit wherever you look.  Fresh locally grown oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes are filling the bins and baskets of our grocery stores and farmer’s markets, which is great if you are a consumer.

But what if you aren’t a farmer and you don’t own an orchard, but you have citrus trees in your yard that are providing an overabundance of fruit?  Although it might seem like a strange problem to have to people in other parts of the country, many Arizonians find themselves with flourishing fruit trees that produce significantly more fruit than their family can consume.  Even after giving the excess away to friends and family, they can’t always give enough away to make sure it gets put to good use before it goes bad.  Never fear! The experts at Fill Your Plate are here to help! Here are 3 great things to do with your leftover oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes.

1.     Donate It

The United Food Bank Citrus Gleaning Program provides homeowners in Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, and Queen Creek a way to donate their excess fruit.  Donations help the organization create the 40,000+ meals it provides every day to people in Arizona.  The program provides a few alternatives for picking and delivery of excess fruit.  For more information, visit United Food Bank on the web.

St Mary’s Food Bank Alliance offers a similar program for homeowners in the majority of Arizona’s counties and includes the cities of Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Surprise.  For more information, visit St Mary’s Food Bank Alliance on the web.

2.     Preserve It

If you find yourself with excess citrus this time of year there are several different ways you can preserve that food to make it available for your family for the rest of the year.  What better way to spread your food dollar than to grow your own food and then put it up for use all year round.  For citrus, you have several options for preservation.

  • Canning is a great way to preserve fresh fruit.  Citrus can be canned in water, light syrup, heavy syrup, or an artificial sweetener solution.  Canned citrus that is processed and stored correctly can last for 6 to 9 months.
  • Freezing is also a good way to preserve your fruit for later consumption.  You can either freeze the fruit or turn the fruit into juice and freeze the juice.   Follow the instructions for safely freezing your excess citrus and you can enjoy the health benefits and fabulous flavors for 8-12 months.
  • Dehydration is another great option for preserving some types of fruit.   Slices of lemons and limes can be dehydrated and stored in jars for later use in flavoring water.  Oranges and grapefruits are not great candidates for dehydration.

 

3.     Make Jam or Jelly from It

One of the best ways to use up excess fruit of any kind is to make it into jam, jelly, preserves, marmalades, and compotes.  These condiments can be used throughout the year by your family, but also make great gifts for various occasions throughout the year.  Here are some recipes for turning your excess oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes into condiments.

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Cherries on Top!

A pair of cherries

Whether you prefer them sweet or sour, cherries are a flavorful way to get in a serving or two of your daily fruit and vegetable requirement.  Although cherries aren’t widely grown here in Arizona, some of the sweet varieties do well with our mild weathers and dry climate.  This month is National Cherry Month, so let’s celebrate the great flavor and many uses of this wonderful fruit.  Here are fun facts, a bit of history, and some great recipes featuring cherries.

Fun Facts

  • It takes about 250 cherries to make a cherry pie.
  • Cherries are cousins to some other Arizona fruits like nectarines, apricots, and plums.
  • If you cataloged all the different types of cherries from all over the world, you would find more than 1,000 varieties.
  • The two most popular kinds of sweet cherries, Bings and Lamberts, are grown in North America.
  • Cherries are low in calories and are a good source of soluble fiber.  They are also a good source of antioxidants, vitamin C, beta carotene, and potassium.
  • In traditional medicine, healers used cherries for a variety of medicinal purposes including the treatment of gout.  Some alternative medical practitioners continue to use cherries today because of they contain cyanidin which can reduce inflammation and for pain relief.
  • Each year more than 300 million pounds of cherries are harvested in the U.S.
  • Cherry trees can grow more than 30 feet tall.
  • Although there are more than 1,000 varieties of cherry, the ones most commonly grown commercially are the Bing, Rainier, Royal Ann, Montmorency, Morello, and Early Richmond.
  • Cherry trees are known for more than just producing delicious fruit; they are also known for the beautiful blossoms that fill their branches in late spring.
  • Cherries are enjoyed around the world and are used in a variety of ways including as filling for pies, the final touch on an ice cream sundae, to flavor tea, to add color and flavor to salad, and to make liqueur and brandy.

 

The History of Cherries

  • Cherries, like many of their cousins in the stone fruit family, have been around since ancient times and cherry pits have been found amongst other artifacts in caves from the Stone Age.
  • They are mentioned as far back as 300 BC by one of Aristotle’s protégés, Theophrastus, in his work the “History of Plants”.
  • Wild cherries are native to Europe, western Asia, and some areas of North Africa.
  • Cherries were often used for their healing properties and their sweet flavor made them a popular treat among rich merchants and royalty.
  • George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are both credited with growing cherry trees.

Great Ways to Use Cherries

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25 Recipes to Spice-up Your Super Bowl Sunday Spread

The San Francisco 49ers' Super Bowl XXIX troph...
What are you cooking on Super Bowl Sunday? Image via Wikipedia

As we head into Super Bowl weekend, both teams are getting ready to take the field and people everywhere are prepping and planning for one of the biggest parties of the year.  Unlike other sporting event championship games, there is something about the Super Bowl that brings people together.  Whether you are a hard core football fan or barely know the difference between a first down and a touchdown, there is a good chance Super Bowl Sunday will find you munching chips and dip while you cheer for your team or whatever team helps you win the football pool at work.

There are only a couple things you need in order to host a great Super Bowl party – a big television, comfortable seating, and fabulous food.  From chips and dip to delicious desserts, the right Super Bowl spread can win the day no matter which team wins the game.  This Sunday, take advantage of the great southwestern flavors that Arizona has to offer and surprise your guests with a little spice and they will be talking about more than just the best play of the game on Monday.

Here are 25 recipes sure to spice-up your Super Bowl Sunday.  Each one features fresh Arizona ingredients you can easily find at one of our local farmer’s markets or grocery stores.   With a little pre-planning and some pre-game prep, you can mix and match them to make a menu that guarantees guests will remember more than just the commercials.

 

  1. Avocado Appetizer
  2. Baked Goat Cheese Appetizer with Shrimp Basil
  3. Fried Zucchini 
  4. Garlic Cheese Fingers
  5. Green Chili Wontons
  6. Chicken Enchilada Dip
  7. Corn and Black Bean Salsa
  8. Jalapeno Pepper Dip
  9. Cantaloupe Basil Salsa
  10. Arroz Con Chile Verde
  11. Artichoke Dip
  12. Cha Cha’s Chili Corn Bread
  13. Chicken Tortilla Soup
  14. Black Bean and Goat Burger Chili
  15. Desert Chicken Salad Sandwiches
  16. Smothered Burritos
  17. Grandma Gertie’s BLT jalapenos
  18. Hawaiian Meatballs
  19. Quick Pork Fajitas
  20. Sonoran Hamburgers 
  21. Sonoran Hotdogs
  22. Arizona Melon Dessert
  23. Christy’s Yummy Goey Bars
  24. He-Man Cowboy Cookies
  25. Nuts Over Brownies

 

Just like the teams that take the field on Super Bowl Sunday, the best way to have a winning day is to have a plan and prepare ahead of time.  Plan your game day menu around dishes that can be made ahead of time and that are easy to serve and easy to eat.   A great game day spread doesn’t distract from the game, but enhances the entire experience! Find more great Super Bowl recipes here!

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Food Trends, What’s Hot in the Foodie World

As we begin a new year, everyone is taking a look back at what was hot in 2011.  From the top movies to the best blogs, there are top ten lists for almost everything, and food is no exception.  As we looked at each top ten list and every trend recap, the most consistent thing we found was that everyone has their own opinion about what topped the list of 2011 food trends.

We were able to uncover a few overarching themes that made 2011 an interesting year for food.  Whether you are a foodie or a farmer, there is sure to be something on this list that suits your palette.  The question is; will these trends continue into 2012?  I guess we’ll find out!

Odd Eats in 2011. Insects as Food Source
What odd eats did you encounter in 2011?

Odd Eats

2011 was the year that food ventured far outside the norm, in some cases, venturing so far that it ended up in the yard!  Here are a few of the unusual items that gained popularity making 2011 an odd year in more ways than one.

Bugs.  It seemed like no matter where you looked, you could find some unconventional ingredient coexisting on your plate next to your standard cuisine.  The use of bugs and other crawly critters is just one example of this kind of “outside the plate” thinking.  Before you shudder distastefully and move on, you should know that insects as a food source are both environmentally sustainable and good for you.

Offal.  Popularized by St. John restaurant in London, the use of offal meats like liver, testicles, tongue, stomach, and lung was the experimental cuisine that everyone was trying this year.

Custom Condiments

Whether you were at a high-end foodie eatery or the diner down the road, custom-made condiments were a must have for America’s diners.  Chefs in every genre created their own condiments, like ketchup, mustard, honey, pesto, jam, and salad dressing.

Fancy Flavors

From donuts to dinner, fancy and often unusual flavors were showing up in all kinds of food.  Donut shops carried bacon donuts, fried chicken donuts, and nutella tahini donuts.  Chinese restaurants looked to their homeland for inspiration, offering customers a more authentic taste of China than the American version of traditional Chinese food.  By bringing local variants, Chinese chefs opened new doors to the cuisines of the region.

Crazy Cupcakes

The cupcake craze has been around for years, but in 2011 it took a walk on the wild side.  Savory cupcakes with fillings like lasagna, meatloaf, and fontina cheese made their debut and won over hearts and minds throughout the country.  If you opted out of serving cupcakes this year, it’s probably because you opted for macarons instead.  Seen as the trend that will knock traditional cupcakes back to birthday parties for good, these brightly colored French desserts made in a wide array or flavors were showing up everywhere  this year.