Grilled Bukidnon Pineapple and Organic Green Salad

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As of this posting, most of you have already received your organic deliveries today from our lovely certified organic partner, My Personal Farmer in Bukidnon.

We have our own stash here at The Green Grocer base and wanted to find out what interesting salad we could whip up with our organic greens.

We consulted with no less than Mikko Reyes, head chef of our favorite comfort food establishment in Bonifacio High Street, 2nd's Restaurant, who concocted a delightful recipe exclusively for The Green Grocer organic patrons. Just thinking about this dish is making me salivate!

The secret ingredient?

Grilled pineapples.

Here is one of the best salads you will ever make in the comfort of your home:

Grilled Bukidnon Pineapple and Organic Green Salad 
with Crumbled Blue Cheese, Toasted Pine Nuts 
and Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
Serves 4-6 


Ingredients:

• 1/2 Pineapple: peeled, core taken out, and cut into rings .5" thick 
• 1 bunch each of Okayama and Red Wave lettuce: washed under running water, keep in ice water for 5 mins. to make it crisp, then cut into smaller leaves 
• 20. pine nuts: toast in an oven toaster or in a pan with no oil low heat until aroma comes out. 
• 80g Danish Blue Cheese or any kind of semi soft blue cheese available: roughly crumbled into chunks
• 50ml Balsamic vinegar 
• 150ml Extra Virgin Olive oil 
• 20ml Palawan Honey 
• Salt to taste 

Preparation and Assembly:

1. Grill pineapple rings in a hot grill or grill pan until caramelized with grill marks. Let cool then cut into chunks. 
2. Whisk together the honey, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. 
3. To assemble, place greens and pineapple in a mixing bowl and season with a bit of salt. Then add the vinaigrette and the toss. Don't be afraid to use your hands, its ok. ;) 
4. Transfer to a serving dish then top it with toasted pine nuts and crumbled blue cheese. 

Enjoy!

Mikko Reyes

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2nd's Restaurant is located at
2/F  B3, 9th Avenue cor. Lane P
Bonifacio High Street
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

Life Generator: How to get your kids to eat vegetables

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A wonderful friend of mine who runs Skinny Sweets shared this youtube channel with me about a guy who calls himself the Life Generator. He's a huge advocate of juicing and eating RAW. His videos are also quite raw themselves, very down-to-earth and filled with just a genuine desire to get information out on organic eating. He and his family are so quirky, though, it's toe-cringing sometimes. Haha. 

Take a look at this old home video he did with his kids. I thought it was amusing how they were a bit rough around the edges. Even the camera lens is blurry! Informative―and entertaining―video nonetheless. 

Nevermind that they reuse the spoon that fell on the floor, or the girl rinses off leftover avocado with her saliva. :-/ The point of it all is the content (besides, you're smart enough to not do those things ;).

It may serve you well to also check out his other videos. He's got recipes, interviews and positive talks in his channel.

TGIF, everyone!

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The Green Grocer carries all Skinny Sweets products!
Call us to order their oh-so-yummy Cake Pops.

Breakfast Salad for Non-Wimps

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Who says you can't have salad in the morning?
The Green Grocer home whips up breakfast greens fit for a champion!

Breakfast Salad for Non-Wimps

All you need
1           Fresh organic green ice lettuce cup
1           Fresh organic lollo osso lettuce cup
2 pcs     Salad tomatoes
1 pc      Granny Smith apple
2 pcs     Hard-boiled eggs
4-5 pcs Delimondo Breakfast Sausage with Maple, grilled and slicec into 1-inch pieces
A handful of Muscovado-coated pili nuts, or similar
Dizon Honey Calamansi Salad Dressing
Rock sea salt

Cut all elements according to preference (cubed, julienne, etc). Toss lettuce, tomatoes and apple. Sprinkle a bit of rock sea salt (I know what you're thinking, but trust me in this. It'll go great with your salad). Throw in the sausages, eggs and pili nuts. Pour in Dizon Honey Calamansi Salad Dressing―this variant works perfectly with the breakfast salad because of its sweet, vibrant and citrusy taste.

Above ingredients make two bowls. Pop in Adele on the ipod, put volume to loud but comfortable, and share this filling breakfast salad with a loved one.

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Order the Breakfast Salad for Non-Wimps from the Green Grocer!
Call or email us to include in your next delivery.

The Wonder Potion?

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I recently received an excited call from my mom sharing how she had a meeting with her (much) older brother and was so shocked to see how incredibly younger he looked.  The wrinkles on his face had drastically lessened, had lost quite a bit of weight, and was exhibiting great health and well-being (despite his post-angioplasty condition).

And so my mom harrasses him to tell her his secret. Did he find the fountain of youth through a new diet? Expensive medication? Belo?

My uncle, now past the age of 60, finally reveals the magic potion he has been taking for a few months, and my mom after their meeting immediately goes to purchase the ingredients for the concoction. She shares the brew with my aunts, who, days later, are raving about the effects. It REALLY works, they say. It smells funky, but it works. In one household, it has reportedly relieved migraines, revitalized the weak and feeble, caused grown men to crawl their way to the throne (I kid, but what I'm officially told is that it cleans the colon ;) and known to release the most bombastic of flatulences (this time I'm not kidding) -- all in a matter of days.

Which led skeptic me to ask, so... WHAT IS IT?

My friends, please know that I have personally not experienced the magic behind this drink yet. But YES, I am buying the ingredients! :D

The Wonder Potion 
Loosely coined by The Green Grocer
A concoction of all-natural ingredients including
ginger, garlic, lemon, vinegar and honey

Wanna test out this magic brew with me this week?* 

Call The Green Grocer at (+63 2) 552-2574 or sms (+63 918) 959-4220
and I will be happy to put together a package of the ingredients for you. :)


*Juicer required.

Ginger Lemongrass Tea

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A friend of The Green Grocer's recently shared with us a recipe of ginger tea (salabat), with a slight twist. Despite the hot weather, it was such a lovely drink (being quite the tea lover), that we sought permission to share the recipe with you all.


Ginger Lemongrass Tea

1.5 cups water
8-10 pcs. calamansi, juiced
2-3 slices of ginger
1-2 stalks of lemongrass, pounded
coconut sugar to taste

In a small pot, simmer the water with calamansi juice, ginger, lemongrass stalk for 5-10 minutes (the longer, the more potent).

Remove from heat and add coconut sugar to taste. If too potent, add more hot water. Enjoy hot.

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Though the recipe calls for it hot, I wonder how it will taste blended with crushed ice? Sounds very refreshing! Will try it this week and let you all know ;)

Chinese Kangkong Stir Fry

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Seeing as how spinach prices have slightly risen, here's an alternative that is equally delicious and very easy to prepare. Cheaper too.

Chinese Kangkong

The chinese kangkong belongs to the spinach family and is actually also called the water spinach. It looks exactly like our native kangkong, except the stems are slightly shorter and they sport roots. 

Chinese Kangkong Stir Fry


All you need:
1/2 kg chinese kangkong (properly washed, stems cut, roots removed)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
salt

Saute garlic in olive oil in a hot wok.  When garlic has turned golden, add kangkong into the wok and add a bit of water (2-3 tbsp). Season with salt. When kangkong leaves have turned dark brown, remove from wok and serve hot.

The chinese kangkong contains only 30 calories per serving, so eat to your heart's content! Some add a few drops of sesame oil to the dish for seasoning, but use sparingly. There are 14 grams of fat in every 1-tbsp of sesame oil. In our opinion, do without it.

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Order your chinese kangkong at The Green Grocer for only P 48 /kg.
Opt for the native kind? Save P8 at P 40 /kg.

Call or email us for your order.


View the nutritional information of chinese kangkong (or water spinach).

Spinach Cucumber Shake

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We've been receiving requests for the recipe of the veggie shake we made during our three-day detox*.  Due to insistent public demand, we present to you our personal concoction:

The Green Grocer Spinach & Cucumber Shake

All you need:
2 cucumbers, peeled & chopped into manageable pieces
1/8 kg spinach, leaves only
1 stalk lettuce green ice
8 pcs. calamansi (small citrus fruit)
3 tsp. splenda (or honey, or your preferred sugar alternative)
ice
Bust out your blender for this.   

Combine all veggies into the blender and gradually add water and ice, until you reach your preferred consistency. Squeeze in calamansi and sweetener to taste. Serve chilled.

Above concoction makes a full pitcher. During your "detox", drink a full 350 to 500ml glass as a meal replacement.

*Note: The term "detox", as loosely coined, refers to days of regret after having consumed a full 450 gram steak two Saturdays in a row.

Enjoy! We guarantee it tastes way better than it looks.

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Wanna make this at home? Buy the Spinach Cucumber Shake package from The Green Grocer!

You will get:

1/2 kg Cucumber at P 20
1/4 kg Spinach at P 20
1/4 kg Lettuce Green Ice at P 50
1/2 kg Calamansi at P 37.50

Total cost = P 127.50 only for two pitcher servings.

Call or email us for your order.

View the complete nutritional information of spinach.

View the complete nutritional information of cucumber.

Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

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Who says veggies aren't yummy? Check out Giada De Laurentiis' Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad from the Food Network.

Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups bite-sized broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups bite-sized cauliflower florets
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 to 1 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups lightly packed fresh spinach leaves
1/2 lemon, zested
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Place the broccoli and cauliflower in a large bowl. Toss with the beaten eggs to coat evenly. Place the Parmesan in a large tray or baking dish and dredge the vegetables in the cheese, pressing to coat evenly.

Pour olive oil in a large heavy skillet until the olive oil is 1/4-inch deep, about 1/2 cup depending on the size of your skillet. Warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, carefully add the Parmesan-coated vegetables. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook in batches, if necessary. Let the vegetables cook until a crust forms, about 3 minutes per side. Turn the vegetables only when they easily release from the bottom of the pan. Drain on paper towels and season with salt.

Place the spinach in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the spinach with the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Add the Parmesan coated vegetables. Toss and serve.

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Make this recipe at home with The Green Grocer's freshest produce:

Broccoli at P75 per head
Cauliflower at P60 per head
Spinach at P20 per bunch
Lemon at P15 per piece

Call us at (+63 2) 666-0433 to order.