Order Overview

Estimated Total: $

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is perhaps the best-known style of fermented vegetable in our country and also happens to be one of the simplest to make at home. The ingredient list is short, the steps are simple, and the margin for error is extremely low. In fact, famed fermentation revivalist Sandor Katz points out that the large population of lactic acid bacteria present in the ferment handily outcompete any incidental pathogenic bacteria, and the acidity that rapidly develops in fermented vegetables destroys any remaining pathogens. Lactic acid bacteria are present on cabbages and all other raw vegetables and they’re largely responsible for the magical transformation that takes place when you pack cabbage and salt together into a jar. 

Our ability to use microbes — fungi (yeasts) and bacteria — as a method of food preservation dates back to the dawn of recorded history. Prior to refrigeration, it was the only way, short of sun-drying, to preserve food. It is a process that is inextricably linked to our culture as human beings. It is, in large part, responsible for our survival as human beings as it allowed our earliest ancestors to preserve and store food to get through long winters and periods of famine.

Fermentation also makes our food more nutritious, more flavorful, and easier to digest. Fermented foods deliver a healthy dose of living probiotic bacteria and enzymes to our overall intestinal flora, increasing the health of our gut microbiome. Even though the practice of fermentation has been around for centuries, we are just beginning to understand, from a scientific point of view, why fermented foods are so important for our health. The forty-odd trillion microbes that live on and in our bodies allow us to digest food and produce key minerals that nourish us and protect us from disease. They guide the development of our bodies, are key to the healthy functioning of our immune systems, and influence our behavior. They even modulate the expression of our genes, bind with and remove toxins from our bodies, prevent or lessen the effects of food allergies, and communicate with the nervous system using some of the same neurochemicals that relay messages to the brain (the Gut-Brain Axis). They secrete a profound number of chemicals, many of which are the same chemicals used by our neurons to regulate our mood and signal appetite clues like hunger and fullness.

Our weekly sale from April 21st – 27th celebrates foods that promote gut health, so what better time to try whipping up a batch of your very own probiotic-packed sauerkraut? 

Roasted Asparagus with Crispy Leeks and Capers

Spring is finally here and with this change in seasons comes the arrival of the tender spring veggies our bodies crave after a long, cold New England winter. Whether you’re celebrating Easter with your family or simply heralding the arrival of Spring, we think you’ll love this supremely springy asparagus recipe. The author of this recipe suggests looking for spears that are a minimum of 1/2-inch in diameter, as thinner asparagus will cook too quickly before the leeks have a chance to turn golden. You’ll find organic asparagus in our weekly sale from April 14th – 20th, so it’s a great time to give this one a try!

Scalloped Potato & Kale Casserole

This delicious casserole makes a perfect dish for your Easter brunch, or any occasion when you need to feed a crowd. You’ll find ham and potatoes featured in our Weekly Sale from April 14th – 20th, so it’s a perfect time to give this recipe a try! The original recipe did not include ham and it’s easy to leave it out if you prefer. It’s a fan favorite of our Produce Manager, Kira, who declared it “the most decadently delicious”!

Kik Alicha

Alicha is a mild split pea stew simmered in a turmeric and ginger-based sauce. Split peas are known as kək or kikki in the local languages of Ethiopia – hence the name, kik alicha. Our Weekly Sale from April 7th – 13th celebrates Ethiopian cuisine and you’ll find organic yellow split peas featured in the sale. A traditional ingredient that gives kik alicha its authentic flavor is an Ethiopian spiced clarified butter known as Niter Kibbeh. Unfortunately, this ingredient can be hard to find around here, but we invite you to try making your own, or you may substitute ghee (though it will lack the full spice and aromatic profile of the original dish). This healthy, hearty one-pot meal is vegetarian and gluten-free making it a deliciously inclusive crowd-pleaser and it’s particularly tasty when scooped up with the traditional Ethiopian flatbread known as Injera!

Injera (Ethiopian Flatbread)

Injera is a soft, thin pancake-like flatbread made from fermented teff batter. A staple food in Ethiopia, the bread is typically used for scooping stews, meat, and vegetables like Doro Wat, Gomen, and Kik Alicha (all three of which are featured on our blog this week!). Our weekly sale from April 7th – 13th celebrates the cuisine of Ethiopia and you’ll find Bob’s Red Mill teff flour featured in the sale, which is all you’ll need to make this traditional flatbread. Much like sourdough bread, injera is a product of fermentation, so while the steps and ingredients are simple, you’ll need to plan ahead by starting the fermentation of the batter 4 days before you’d like to prepare the injera. The resulting bread is naturally gluten-free and the fermentation process improves the digestibility and bioavailability of the nutrients present in the teff flour.

Doro Wat

Doro Wat is a fragrant, flavorful Ethiopian spicy chicken stew considered to be one of the national dishes of Ethiopia. Our Weekly Sale from April 7th – 13th celebrates the cuisine of Ethiopia and you’ll find many of the ingredients needed to make this tasty dish. It’s typically served over a spongy Ethiopian bread known as Injera which can be whipped up using the Bob’s Red Mill teff flour also featured in the sale. It works equally well with rice, pita, or naan. The original recipe featured here did not include tomatoes, though the addition of tomatoes is relatively common in this dish and can be a good way to temper the heat of the berbere spice, if you tend to prefer a milder heat profile. A common garnish for Doro Wat is a sliced hardboiled egg.

Ye’abasha Gomen (Ethiopian Collard Greens)

Our Weekly Sale from April 7th – 13th celebrates Ethiopian Cuisine and we think you’ll love these healthy, hearty braised greens known as Ye’abasha Gomen. They’re traditionally prepared with an Ethiopian spiced clarified butter known as Niter Kibbeh, though that can be challenging to find around these parts. You could take a crack at making your own, or sub in plain clarified butter/ghee (though it will lack the full flavor and aromatic profile of the original dish). You’ll find organic collard greens and organic yellow onions featured in the Weekly Sale, so it’s a great time to give this dish a try! It pairs well with Doro Wat (an Ethiopian spicy chicken stew) and Injera (an Ethiopian flatbread), and you can find recipes for these dishes on our blog this week, or pick up copies at the Weekly Sale display!

 

Shorbet Adas (Lebanese Lentil Soup)

This easy-to-make Lebanese Lentil Soup traditionally known as Shorbet Adas is simple to make, full on flavor, and deeply nourishing, making it ideal for breaking the Ramadan fast. It requires a short list of simple ingredients and minimal prep. Red lentils are the most traditional choice for this recipe, but green or brown lentils may be also be used with a slight increase to the cooking time. Shorbet Adas is one of the most comforting soups to have during the month of Ramadan, which spans from Friday, April 1st to Sunday, May 1st this year, and you’ll find the lentils featured in our Weekly Sale from March 31st – April 6th, so it’s a great time to give it a try!  

 

Na’ama’s Fattoush

For members of the Muslim faith, the season of Ramadan (spanning April 1st -May 1 in 2022) is dedicated to turning inward, engaging in prayer, and observing soul-cleansing daily fasts from dawn to dusk, only breaking the fast with a light meal after the sun has set. One of the dishes on many tables in Levantine countries during Ramadan is fattoush. It may be served during the evening breaking of the fast and is often part of the celebratory spread that marks the end of the month of abstinence.

According to Chef Sami Tamimi, who shares this recipe for his mother’s fattoush in Jerusalem – the cookbook he co-authored with Yotam Ottolenghi, each cook, each family, and each community has their own variation of this classic dish.  Families engage in lively debates over whether to dice or slice the veggies, the size of the dice, whether or not to include lettuce, and whether or not to toast or fry the bread. What they all agree on is that the veggies must be fresh, ripe, and flavorful. Our weekly sale from March 31st – April 6th celebrates the culinary traditions of Ramadan and you’ll find many of the ingredients needed to pull together this deliciously simple dish! Tamimi’s mother’s recipe did not call for lettuce, though we listed it here as an optional add-in for those who feel that the crunch of the lettuce is a necessary component of this dish. Regarding whether to slice or dice? We’ll leave that up to you!

Mango Green Smoothie

It’s smoothie week at the Co-op! Smoothies are a perfect vehicle for sneaking in a few extra servings of healthy raw veggies and they also offer a great way to use ‘inglorious’ fruits and veggies from your fridge that are a little ugly and past their prime. It’s fun to get creative and experimental with your smoothies and our weekly sale from March 24th – 30th offers up a handful of items to get your smoothie gears turning. This recipe is intended to be a rough framework using some of the ingredients featured in the sale, so don’t let it cramp your style!