Wow! Can you believe this March break weather. It has been so heart warming to hear the children’s voices as they happily play and run outside over the past few days. In fact as I sit at my desk preparing the food box order for March 20th I could see and hear the neighbour’s girls laughing and giggling as they swung back and forth on their swings. It truly turns your attention to your gardens and what is growing out there already. BUT we all know that no matter how warm it feels today that we cannot plant our veggies yet. We also pray that the fruit trees do not bud too guickly and then fall prey to an early spring freeze….mother nature is so unpredictable. Having worked with the food box program for 8 years now I know what an effect weather has on the quantity, quality and variety of fruit and vegetables we can procur for your eagerly awaited boxes each month.

This month being March we thought we would go for the greens…so your box will have broccoli, English cucumber (I highly recommend you make your own Tzatziki sauce), celery ($17 box); Romaine lettuce ($13 and $17 boxes), Kale ($13 and $17 boxes); and Shanghai bok choy. Then just to add some interest and still support local growers we have added beets, potatoes, apples, mushrooms ($8.00 box only), cooking onions, and carrots. Please watch for signs of decay in your root vegetables as this is nearly the end of the good storage cycle of our Ontario grown crops. Let us know if you have any issues.

Finally for a little pizzazz we added bananas, lemons, oranges, mangoes and plums.

Check out our newsletter in your box as it has an interesting tip about using your kale. It is highly recommended that you massage your kale like you knead bread to improve the flavour especially if eating it raw. Try it you will be amazed….to check for how long to knead simply taste before kneading and then after a few minutes. If it is tasting milder then you know it has worked. Quite something!!!

There is also information in our newsletter about the Halton Fresh Food Box evaluation we are just starting. There are at least 3 opportunities coming your way to provide input to how the program is operating and what we can do to make it better. These opportunities are listed on the front page of the newsletter.

Now for the best part – here is a quick and easy recipe for homemade Tzatziki Sauce just for our blog followers…it is soooo good.

The secret of great tzatziki is to drain the excess liquid out of both the yogurt and the cucumbers. This will give you a thick, delicious dip that is fresher tasting than anything you can buy ready made. The recipe covers two quantities – about 1 cup or 2 and 1/2 cups…make a little or a lot.

1 or 3 cups plain greek yogurt (low fat is fine)
2/3 or 2 medium cuucmber
1/3 or 1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, squished
1 tsp. or 1 tbsp olice oil
1 tsp. or 1 tbsp. chopped mint, dill or chives
salt and pepper to taste

First, drain the liquid from the yogurt. The easiest way to do this is to take a paper coffee filter, place it into the filter holder balanced over a bowl or measuring cup, and dump the yogurt into the filter to drain. Let the yogurt drain, refrigerated, for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, peel or do not peel(chunkier if you do not) the cucember and grate them on the coarse holes of a grater. Place shredded cucumber in a bowl, add salt and let sit while you wait for the yogurt to drain (at least 1 hour for the cucumber). After 1 hour, drain the cucumber thoroughly and, if you want to be really fanatical about this, squeeze the remaining water out be hand. Plunk into a bowl.

Finally, dump the yogurt into the bowl with the cucumber, add garlic, olive oil and any seasoning you wish. Season with salt and pepper to taste; and serve as a dip with pita bread or fresh vegetables, or as an accompaniment to grilled meats or vegetables.

As always have fun with the produce in your box….it will enrich your meals incredibly.

The Food Box Guru