Healthy meals are right at your fifingertips. Gathering stock from your local farmer’s market or organic food store can yield some tasteful results. Eating local organic foods is better for you in many ways, the most prominent being the lack of pesticides, antibiotics and fertilizers in the ingredients. Moreover, the freshness is a much-welcome stimulant for those lazy summer days.
Organic food consumption peaked in the 1960s and 1970s, but today it is an especially popular option. Organic farmers use natural methods instead of chemicals while cultivating their produce, making it nutrient-rich. The best time to purchase organic fruits or vegetables is at the height of the growing season. It’s also a wise option to buy in bulk to save on the cost.
If this is your fifirst attempt at cooking organic, an easy way to start is with a mellow salad. Blue Heron Organic Farm in Lincoln, Massachusetts, has a harvest schedule through Oct. 21 offffering a wide variety of vegetables. Their tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil salad recipe is best prepared using their heirloom tomatoes (the farm has over 30 varieties!) and basil leaves, both in season throughout August and September.
While assembling the ingredients for your salad, there are a few tips to consider. Look for tomatoes that are bright in color, smooth, with unblemished skin, and that yield to the touch. Since heirlooms are a difffferent type of tomato, they come in a variety of colors and may have ridges and bumps. However, don’t limit yourself. “It is best to buy an assortment of heirloom varieties so that you can have your own private tomato tasting as you eat your salad,” suggests Ellery Kimball, owner of Blue Heron Organic Farm. Lastly, mozzarella belongs to the “fresh” cheese category. It doesn’t have a rind and is usually located in the supermarket deli.
Now that you’re ready for the main course, one particular Whole Foods recipe is as hearty as it is tasty. Chicken breasts with grilled pineapple and tomatillo salsa is an excellent blend of juice and spice. Take advantage of Natick Community Organic Farm’s fresh chicken available in the late summer and early fall. While at the farm, you can also grab a large sweet white onion that the recipe instructs to cut into thick rings. Sweet onions are seasonal, harvested in the spring and early summer, according to Whole Foods Market’s Guide to Vegetables.
Whole Foods has the pineapple you’ll need to grill and chop to create a topping for the chicken. When selecting a pineapple, opt for one that has green leaves and firm fruit. Whole Foods recommends cutting a pineapple in stages: first chop off the crown and base, then slice off the skin, cutting it in half and trimming away the center core.
A summer meal wouldn’t be complete without a crisp blueberry pie. Natick Community Organic Farm sells its blueberries in late July. “Blueberries should be plump, round and blue or purplish-blue,” says Trish Wesley Umbrell, farm administrator at the Natick farm. “Foods that are tasty will look more plump, have a healthy sheen on them (think about how you know if a person is healthy by seeing radiance in their complexion or their eyes),” adds Julie Rawson, Education and Executive Director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Massachusetts.
Head to Whole Foods for the remaining ingredients, including the pie shell, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, and you have yourself a delightful treat.
By Elizabeth Saucier
Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Salad
Ingredients fresh local heirloom tomatoes fresh basil leaves fresh mozzarella extra-virgin olive oil coarse sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Directions 1. Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella and arrange with the basil leaves on a plate. Presentation is key—alternate slices of two different color tomatoes with the cheese and basil, either overlapping the slices or placing them next to each other. 2. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the dish. 3. Drizzle with the fanciest olive oil you have.
