A couple of months ago I posted a hasty review of two food co-ops operating in my region of the west. That comparison dealt mostly with ease of ordering (one totally dominates over the other) and value (both seemed a pretty good deal on paper, although I had only tried one of them). Since that time, I have ordered multiple baskets from both entities in question and am here to give a more thorough review.

Entity one?
Field to Families.

Entity Two?
Bountiful Baskets.

My week of salad sortof got sidelined by life, a 3 day weekend, and a trip to I-dee-ho. Instead of a painful recap of my fibrous outings, here's a highlight from last week's salad audit. Be excited.

This week I resurrected another old recipe that I once loved but carelessly, thoughtlessly, set it aside. Because I usually bake my bread-diva-neighbor's bread every week for my family, it was a treat to rework Harvest-Time Oat Bread into the schedule. This bread is tasty with wheat flour, oats, carrots, onions, parsley, and dill.



HARVEST TIME OAT BREAD - 2 LOAVES

Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
6 to 6 1/2 cups freshly ground wheat flour
(I like half hard white kernels, half hard red)
2 cups uncooked rolled oats
4 tsp. yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup honey or brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup finely shredded carrots
2 TBL. dried parsley
2 TBL dried dill
1 TBL butter, melted

Spray skillet with cooking spray, heat over medium heat until hot. Cook and stir onion until tender and slightly browned.



In your Bosch, mix 3 cups of flour and your oats. Add your salt and yeast in there as well. I also added 2 TBL of vital wheat gluten (not pictured).



Heat water, milk, and 1/4 cup butter or margarine over low heat until mixture reaches 120 - 130 degrees.



Make sure you switch your Bosch attachments so you are ready to mix your bread dough with your dough hook. So now add the heated milk mixture to flour mixture. Blend at low speed long enough to get everything sticky and wet. Then beat 3 minutes at medium speed while you throw in...



Slowly add the remainder of your flour. Only add enough to get your dough formed together nicely, sweeping the edges of your Bosch clean as it turns. Do not add too much flour! To allow gluten chains to form nicely, keep your Bosch running for about 8 minutes on medium speed.



Cover and let rise until doubled (about 30 minutes) and then punch down. Cover and let it rest 10 more minutes. Spray 2 loaf pans and form into 2 loaves. Allow to rise again until doubled (about 30 minutes).



Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Brush melted butter onto warm tops. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

Later...
slice, toast, lightly butter and salt, then cut into squares and top on your fresh greens! These seasoned "croutons" won't fly across the room when sprung with your fork...and THAT's a treat.

Adios!
Mrs. Olsen

I'm still doing it! We're in March and every day this year (so far) I've eaten salad! Some days my salad is a spinach smoothie, and once in a while it's steamed cabbage. Other days it's both. So I figured another weekly audit is due. So this week I'll be posting pics of my salads.

Here's the recipe...

VEGGIE-STUFFED MUSHROOMS

20 large (1 ½ to 2-inch diameter) mushrooms (about 1 pound)
½ cup broccoli, finely chopped
¼ cup carrot, finely chopped
1 TBL onion, finely chopped
1 cup seasoned croutons, crushed (about ½ cup)
½ cup (2 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1/8 tsp salt
2 TBL butter or margarine, melted

Carefully cut out stem end of each mushroom. Reserve enough stems for ¼ cup chopped mushrooms. Place hollowed out mushroom caps onto glass pie dish or (small) casserole dish.

With reserved chopped mushrooms, add the remaining ingredients. Spoon mixture into caps and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until tops are lightly golden. Serve warm.

Within a couple of days of each other, I learned of two food co-ops that deliver fresh produce to my area. The first was Field to Families. What I love about them is they deal with local and regional growers, and although not certified organic, aim to work with farmers that are pesticide free.

So until I start failing in my garden again...we're eating good with Field to Families this week!

A few nights ago as I was serving dinner, I added an extra plate of salad for me and The Mister of the House. Four year-old Vanilla Wafer exclaimed: Daddy, you can't eat salad. That's mommy food!

Still eating salad every day, but it's taking me a week and a half to document one week of doing so. I could drive the final nail in my blog's coffin if I decided to write every stinkin' day about salad. I think highlighting a week every once in a while will suffice. Besides, if I am eating greens every day in 2010...I have plenty of time. Still going strong!

Last Friday we were invited to dinner by our neighbors, Mike and Sara. The invite came late in the afternoon, after breakfast and lunch, and I found myself having NOT eaten my salad for the day. I would soon tempt my fate of asking a green salad to squeeze Chicken Tikka Masala off my plate. What would you do?