Pear-Beet Salad with Lemon-Ginger Dressing

A colorful, hearty, juicy salad! Quick, easy, and oh so yummy! This salad contains about 250 calories!

• 2 Pears, chopped
• 1 small Beet, grated
• Juice of 1/2 small Lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh grated Ginger (more or less if this amount doesn't suit your tastes)
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped raw Walnuts/Pecans (optional)

 In a small to medium-sized bowl, toss all of the above ingredients--that's it! Chop, toss, and eat!
(Feel free to substitute apples for pears in this recipe.)

Soupe du Jour

A note from Sylvie:

I find that I have strange combinations of leftover vegetables and fresh herbs in my fridge at times. I love the challenge of trying to use them, and even though it is a trial and error process, it can sometimes turn out to become a delicious and original new recipe. I decided to use Tahini sauce in this soup. I remembered my friend Moshit, from Janjou Patisserie, mentioned using it as a creamy thickener in one of her soup recipe. I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. I really loved the tanginess and texture it added. It also made this “leftover” soup taste unusual and somewhat exotic!


In my fridge:

1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Yellow Onion, minced

2 small Shallots, minced

2 Leeks (white parts), finely chopped

1 Red Pepper, cubed

1 Fennel Bulb, finely chopped

1 medium Yam, peeled and cubed

1 cup Watercress, chopped

1 cup Spinach, chopped

1 cup Parsley, finely chopped

1 ½ Tbsp Roasted Tahini Sauce


In my pantry:

1 Tbsp Low-sodium Tamari Sauce

1 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans

6 cups Organic Vegetable Broth


I also used:

2 Garlic cloves, crushed and minced

¼ tsp Turmeric

½ tsp Cayenne Pepper (If you like it spicy)

½ tsp Pepper Flakes

In a large pot sauté the onion for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the leeks, shallots and garlic, and cook for another 10 minutes over medium-low heat. Add the yam, red pepper, fennel bulb, spices, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.

Pour the broth over the mixture and add the tamari sauce,garbanzo bean, spinach, and watercress. Simmer covered for 20-25 minutes. Turm off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Right before serving stir in the tahini sauce. Voilà!

The Cook's Pantry, Part 3: The Freezer!

By Sylvie Ryan, Boise Co-op Culinary Educator

My mother is quite the expert when it comes to freezing hand-picked fresh fruits, garden vegetables, homemade pie crust, leftovers and such. She owns a trunk freezer, and we never ran out of bread, meat, fish, herbs, and homemade stock. I learned a lot from her techniques, but was never willing to invest in such a large item (and didn’t have the room for it, either). My home freezer section is quite small, but I always know it contains staples I can rely on. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy vegetables and fruits from the garden in the middle of winter.

Some of the things you’ll always find in my freezer include:

• Loaf Breads, pre-sliced so I can use only what I need.
• Naan Bread or Pita Bread, which make quick and delicious individual pizzas.
• Corn or Whole Wheat Tortillas, which I use a lot in Mexican casseroles, quesadillas and other Latin fare.
• Edaname, which makes a wonderful and healthy snack. 
• Homemade Stock, whether chicken, fish or vegetable. A great trick is to freeze them in ice cube trays so you can use them as needed in recipes. 
• Pesto, in small containers. I make a lot of pesto in the summer and love using it all year long on pizza, pasta and soups. 
• Lunch size containers of leftovers,. When I make soups, lasagna or any casserole, I save enough for at least one individual portion for a cheap, easy, and quick lunch. 
• Frozen garden peas, as I often make Potage Saint Germain, a pea soup. 
• Frozen berries for scones, muffin or cobblers. 
• Handpicked cherries and Italian plums. My friends have a small orchard and these freeze very well and allow me to enjoy fruit pie in the winter. 
• Homemade pie crust. I always make extra pie crust and reserve some that I roll out and line in a pie dish, I then put it in a freezer bag and it keeps for 2-3 month. It makes for a quick, improvised dessert. 

Freezer Storage Tips

I would say that the most important step is to write the date on your packages or containers before freezing them. Some items get freezer burned faster than others. The type of package matters as well. Invest in some good quality, heavy duty freezer bags, as they make a difference. I reuse mine numerous times. Her are some guidelines regarding freezer storage of items:

Pie crust: 2 months

Bread: 3 months

Tortillas: 3 months

Fresh fruits: about 6 months to a year

Meats: typically 6 months to a year

Stocks: 6 months to a year

Soups: 4 months

Casseroles: 2 to 3 months

Chicken: 1 year

Fish: 6 months

Most vegetables: 8 months to a year

Jicama Orange Salad

• 4 Oranges

• ¼ teaspoon Ancho Chili Powder

• Kosher Salt and freshly ground Pepper

• 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Juice of 1 Lime

• 1 medium Jicama, peeled and diced

• 3 Scallions, chopped

• 2 Tablespoons fresh Cilantro

• Seeds of ½ Pomegranate


Peel and segment the oranges with a paring knife. Squeeze the empty membranes over a large bowl to release the juices.

Whisk the chili powder, salt and pepper to taste, the olive oil and lime juice into the orange juice. Toss in the orange segments and jicama. Before serving, add the scallions, cilantro and pomegranate seeds.

Mexican Brownies

By Liz Allred


• 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, plus more for greasing

• 2 cups Sugar

• 4 large Eggs

• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

• 2/3 cup good-quality Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

• 1 cup all-purpose Flour

• 1 teaspoon ground Mexican Cinnamon (canela)

• ¼ teaspoon pequen Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper

• ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt

• ½ teaspoon Baking Powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Press the paper into the corners of the pan and lightly grease the paper with butter.

Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat; do not boil. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla to the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the cocoa, flour, cinnamon, chili powder, salt and baking powder and mix until smooth.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out fudgy, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack, then use the parchment paper to lift out the brownies before slicing.