Welcome Back-To-Work, Back-To-School and Football Season!
Autumn. Time to start thinking about batch cooking to make the weeknights easier and comfort dishes for game day gangs, snacks to keep hunger at bay, and building immunity from cold-weather cooties… Melissa’s can help with all of these!
NEW CROP! BABY DUTCH YELLOW®, RED®, AND BLUE®
A new crop of our signature tasty, buttery, easy-to-prepare, edible thin-skinned Dutch potatoes has arrived! Versatile, as they can be eaten on their own or included with other veggies and paired with animal as well as plant-based proteins. There are two varieties of potato: waxy and starchy. This potato variety is waxy, which means it will hold its shape and not turn mushy when cooked, which is why this is generally the potato favored for potato salads. They can be run through a slicer and air or deep fried for chips, halved and tossed with fat of choice for roasting as cottage potatoes for breakfast, or roasted with other colorful veggies, roots, and peppers. Boil or steam them with a bit of salt, then serve as a dipper with Melissa’s Party Guacamole or Melissa’s Four Cheese Sauce (Sister to Melissa’s Hollandaise Sauce). Later in the season, add them to soups or stews, steam and individually smash and fry for twice-cooked game day dippers, or cook and quarter to mix with chopped peppers and scrambled eggs as breakfast burritos, steam or boil for potato salad amped up with Melissa’s Hot Pepper Sauce (Red or Green).
Try combining the three colors for visual appeal, or each one separately. Melissa’s Baby Dutch® Potatoes are non-GMO and require only a quick rinse before preparation, as the skin is so thin and tender, no peeling is required, yielding a bit of nutritional fiber, too! Grown in volcanic soils of Magic Valley, Idaho, yields tender skin and potatoes with little to no divots. Available Year Round. Grown in the USA, Idaho.
BABY BAKER RUSSET POTATOES
For Game Day fixin’s, why not use Melissa’s Baby Baker Russets? They’re the perfect size for a variety spread. About half the size or smaller than a regular russet, the Baby Baker Russet is just right for one serving and leaves enough room in your tummy for all the other Game Day yummies. Simply scrub the skin, rinse, poke and bake IN HALF THE TIME of a regular-sized russet. Don’t forget the Melissa’s condiments: Orange Habanero Salsa, Creamy Horseradish, Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots, Hatch Taqueria or Avocado Salsa, Kim Chi, Costa Azul, Chile Lime Shaker, homemade chili, and so many more!!! Available year-round, Baby Baker Russets are USA Grown.
ORGANIC BABY RED AND BABY YELLOW POTATOES
Cute little orbs of USDA Certified Organic yellow or red-skinned waxy variety potatoes perfect for steaming, mashing, or roasting for a flavorful and satisfying dish. Potatoes, in general, are nutritious and low-fat; it’s all the added yummies that make them high-carb and high-calorie. Prepare Organic Baby Red and Organic Baby White potatoes with their skin on. Try salt-baking them to serve with an Autumnal meal or poached fresh fish. Because the potatoes are young, their skin is quite tender and edible, adding a bit more fiber to one’s diet. IF you are lucky to have leftover mashed, and saved them, make potato ‘pancakes’ the next morning. Simply use a scooper or two spoons, pop onto a heated and oiled skillet or griddle and smoosh to ¼” thickness and about 2” round. Flip when browned and heated through. Especially yummy when mashed with a bit of sour cream, chive, and lots of butter or cheese and enough cream to bring them together.
NEW CROP! ORGANIC BABY SWEET POTATOES
Less of a commitment than their big brothers, Melissa’s Organic Baby Sweet Potatoes are just big enough as a serving for two, or usually more than enough to cook and mash for a recipe. Oftentimes, the word “yam” is used interchangeably for “sweet potato”. The two roots are not the same. Botanically, sweet potatoes are of the morning glory family and, when cooked, are soft, moist, and sweet. Yams are of the Dioscoreaceae family of tubers and, when cooked, are often crunchy, drier, and mildly sweet. Some examples of yams are oca from Australia and ñame from Africa and the Caribbean. Yams are quite large in diameter. Sweet potatoes are not yams, but were the closest to a yam to eat during that time. Take a moment and thank Dr. George Washington Carver, an agricultural researcher of Tuskegee University, Alabama. He taught people of the area how to revitalize soil quality impacted by cotton crops, plant crops to enrich the soil, livestock care, and achieve self-sufficiency. He created over 100 uses for the sweet potato!
Try all of Melissa’s Organic Baby Sweet Potato varieties and see which is your fave. Murasaki and Bonita are creamy-fleshed, while Charleston has dark purple flesh. All three have a firm yet tender flesh when cooked (steamed, microwaved, roasted, or fried), making them perfect for hash browns, latkes, sweet potato nests, tempura, curries and soups. The moist, soft-textured sweet potatoes, when cooked (Beauregard, Garnet, Jewel) make creamy smashed potato casseroles, tender fries, chilled chunks in kale salads with pomegranate arils, shakes, muffins and bread. As with most root vegetables, the crop is harvested once a year and placed into storage, then sold throughout the year.
Select sweet potatoes that appear heavy for their size and are free of dark spots or bruises. Store, unwashed, in an area with ventilation and cooler temperatures. Do not refrigerate raw. Wash sweet potato under cool water and scrub to remove any surface dirt. Skin is edible and an additional source of fiber. If peeling ahead of time, the product may be stored under water in a container, then drained and patted dry before continuing recipe preparation.
COOKED EDAMAME IN SHELL, ORGANIC OR CONVENTIONAL
Edamame in shell, aka soybeans in their shell, are a protein-rich rich interactive snack. All of Melissa’s Edamame, In Shell or Shelled, are non-GMO. All of Melissa’s organic products are USDA Certified Organic. Edamame pods are very fibrous and considered inedible, but the lime green beans inside are tender and deelish! Simply take a pod, place in your mouth, holding the stem end, gently close your teeth and pull the beans from their pod. Feel free to season the pods with a grind of Melissa’s Himalayan Pink Salt or Everything Spice Seasoning before eating. Or go cross-cultural and shake a bit of Melissa’s Chile Lime or Pico de Gallo Seasoning over the pods for some zing and additional flavor. If you like sesame-soy flavor with a bit of chili spice, why not try Melissa’s Spicy Edamame with its own seasoning sauce packet? For salads or guacamole with added protein, add our Shelled Edamame. Simply open the package and portion for salads, or fold into rice ball mixture, then season with Melissa’s Spicy Sesame Grinder, or add edamame into a bean salad, summer succotash, or use as garnish over mixed veggies or plant-based mains. Available year-round. Product of China. All of Melissa’s organic items are USDA Certified Organic.
CELERY ROOT
Also known as celeriac in European countries, celery root tastes and has the aroma of celery stalks but is a round root with tops that appear like skinny celery stalks. Its texture is slightly firm. When peeled and cubed, then roasted and puréed, celery root makes creamy soup or roasted as a soft ‘fry’ and dipped in Melissa’s Hollandaise or Four Cheese sauce. Gild the lily and shake a few dabs of Hatch Chile Hot Sauce or, for something more universal, try Hatch Seasoning Shaker.
Select celery root that is firm, not spongy, with no signs of mold or decay. Refrigerate unwashed in a plastic bag up to one week. Prepare by trimming off loose root ends and stringy hairs, then applying a vegetable peeler to the trimmed ‘ball’. Cut as recipe directs, placing product in a bowl of water with lemon juice to prevent the root from oxidizing.
ORGANIC GREEN BEANS
Green Beans are one of the fifty most nutrient-dense produce plants on the planet*, and Melissa’s offers them Certified Organic year-round! Another fun dipping or snack item usually relegated as a dinner side with almonds, chopped bacon, and butter, green beans can be consumed raw, but are best in flavor when blanched in salted water, then shocked in an ice bath before serving. A bit of olive oil or other plant fat will help to make the nutrients more bioavailable, too! Just one cup of ½-inch pieces supplies 25% of your daily fiber, 30% of your Vitamin C, and 15% of Vitamin A for the day! Nutrient-dense, green beans are also a source of iron for healthy blood, antioxidants, and reducing free radicals.
Green beans are also tasty paired with tomatoes in a classic summer salad or lasagna. Amp up the basic side by tossing in walnut or pecan oil and serving with crumbled feta or bleu. Of course, green beans are one of the three beans in Three Bean Salad, or color and texture to potato salad, and fun in a pickle combo with carrots and seeded red Fresno peppers and sweet cipollini onions. Closer to the holiday season, don’t forget the green bean casserole with fresh sautéed sliced mushrooms and caramelized onions, or with chopped red bell peppers and pickled red onions in a side salad.
Select Organic or conventional green beans that are unbroken with smooth skin and no bruises or soft spots. Refrigerate, unwashed, wrapped in a paper towel in a plastic bag. Best prepared and consumed as close to the purchase date, raw green beans may be refrigerated up to 5 days. Available Year Round. Product of USA or Mexico.
ORGANIC MINI CUCUMBERS
Did you know cucumbers are cousins to squash and melons? Refreshing and meant for much more than cooling swollen eyes, Melissa’s Organic Mini Cucumbers are crisp with a slight lemony finish, whether raw or cooked, and are tasty sliced, speared, or cubed. The skin is quite edible and tender, and though the cucurbit has seeds, they are almost unnoticeable. Add the cukes to pickled and grain salads, give them a quick stir fry with Organic Veggie Sweet Peppers and tofu, or make tzatziki with a twist by adding a bit of Melissa’s Hatch Pepper seasoning. Available year-round. Product of Mexico. All of Melissa’s organic items are USDA Certified Organic.
SUGAR SNAP PEAS
Sweet, crisp, fun finger snack food for big and little kids alike, this dipper is one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables to consume. Who knew a green veggie could be so sweet and, as a one-cup serving, be high in Vitamins C and A? Additionally, this veggie contains certain phytochemicals that block nitrates and nitrites found in grilled and cured meats. So fun to eat for adults on grazing boards to kidlettes in their lunch or after gameday practice, Sugar Snap Peas have natural sweetness and provide crunch and energy satisfaction. Sugar Snap Peas may be consumed raw or cooked (stir-fry, steamed, grilled, roasted), but either way, they are best when crisp. Once washed, simply remove the thin string by pulling the stem end of the pod, then consume whole or cut and use as a garnish or ingredient in potato, tuna, or bean salad, sauté to your liking, then season with vinaigrette or slightly diluted hoisin sauce and water chestnut slices. Fabulous sautéed with mushrooms, fresh corn kernels and thin slices of carrot.
Select sugar snap peas that appear plump, fresh, and crisp with no shrivel or soft spots. Test one snap pea to see if it snaps rather than bends when you try to snap it. Refrigerate unwashed in a perforated plastic bag up to 8 days. Available Year Round. Product of Guatemala or Peru
NEW! ORGANIC SNAX™
Melissa’s now offers USDA Certified Organic Snax™, a blend of various nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and sometimes chocolate. Keep a pack in your car for healthier snacking during commutes or trips to the beach or mountains. You’ll find a favorite one or two, just as many of our staff have!
ORGANIC TROPICAL CHOCOLATE TRAIL MIX – a blend of organic dried tropical fruits as well as dark chocolate, nuts and seeds. Please refer to our web page for allergens contained in this product.
ORGANIC PERFORMANCE TRAIL MIX – contains superfood dried goji berries and blueberries as well as a mixture of nuts, including pumpkin and cashews, and chocolate chunks. Please refer to our web page for allergens contained in this product.
ORGANIC SWEET AND SPICY TRAIL MIX – just the right amount of heat from red chili pepper to keep you going, this mix also contains dried banana chips, butter toffee almonds, roasted and salted garbanzos. Please refer to our web page for allergens contained in this product.
ORGANIC ENDURANCE TRAIL MIX – snacks are a little bit of nutrients to get you over the hump until your next actual meal. Melissa’s Endurance Trail Mix will do just that with a mix of raisins, peanuts, dates, dried apples and other nutritious, energy-packed ingredients. Please refer to our web page for allergens contained in this product.
ORGANIC RED CHILE PEPPER BANANA CHIPS – Just the right amount of sweet, salty, spicy, with a slight hint of coconut, the banana chips provide satisfying crunch. If you are lucky to have a few chips left, crush them and top your morning smoothie or dinner curry with them for an extra treat! Please refer to our web page for allergens contained in this product.
*Based on Melissas’ “50 Best Plants on the Planet” cookbook authored by Cathy Thomas. Available through our online store or inquire with your local retailer.
All of Melissa’s organic items are USDA Certified Organic.
