Hot Shots - January 13, 2023

Hot Shots - January 13, 2023
Severin R-B Danieli

Hello all,

Here on the coast we have been fully covered in a rain cloud this past week - gloom city. Also, it's Friday the 13th? Spooky and gloomy!

However, it is nothing compared to the rain California is experiencing! Have you guys seen those photos? Coke farms, one of our steady suppliers, put up a photo on their Instagram page of their fields and operations area. Some of the water was almost covering the wheels of their trucks!

Thinking about all of those farmers this week and hoping there will be some easing of rain asap. 

This past weekend was relaxing, some dog walks, some sea wall walks, some family time. Just what the doctor ordered. And this weekend, I am heading up to Whistler with two friends for one of their birthdays! Snow and hot tubs? Sign me up. 

As I was looking around the warehouse this week, what continually caught my eye were apples - so, this week's Hot Shots will be la pomme heavy. 

Jazz apples.

A delicious blend between a gala and a braeburn, these apples easily slide into the 'apple a day' category.

Developed in New Zealand and made commercially available in April of 2004, the Jazz apple has both sweet and tangy notes, a crisp crunch, and are well suited for baking. 

When I think of baking and apples, my mind immediately goes to an apple crisp. There is something so delicious about oats, butter and brown sugar. As I am writing this I can literally smell an apple crisp crisping up in the oven. 

Our Jazz apples are from Washington State, and come in 100/113ct boxes. 

Butternut. 

One of my top fav types of squash, also on that list are delicata and acorn.

We've got BC butternut from a few different local BC farms: Green Dirt Farm, Harkers and Longview, and one from an Alberta farm by the name of Mans Organic. 

Recipes with butternut are wide reaching, and encompass everything from a simple roast in the oven, to a soup, to a risotto, to gnocchi, to ravioli, to tortellini... okay, now I am just naming types of pasta. 

The name butternut is thought to have come from its creator, Charles A. Leggett, who is quoted saying, "smooth as butter and sweet as a nut". 

Butternuts are believed to have originated in the USA around the 1930's, and a natural mutation of the Canadian crookneck squash. This squash looks very similar to what we know today as the butternut, but looks more like an airplane pillow with a half-moon shape. 

Cosmic Crisp. 

The second apple on today's Hot Shots is the Cosmic Crisp. This apple is a cross between an Enterprise and Honeycrisp. They come from Joyfully Grown, from Washington, in a 70ct case.

There is a full on website about cosmic crisp apples, and I'll link it here. 

They have a few recipe ideas on their website, so if you order a case of these otherworldly (see? see what I did there?) apples, why not print out some of these recipes for your customers so they can draw inspiration! 

These recipes include a cosmic crisp apple hash, cosmic crisp chicken cutlet, cosmic crisp apple fritter cinnamon roll, cosmic crisp curried cauliflower soup, cosmic cocktail, cosmic crisp pierogi with bourbon sugared apple slices? Ok, you get the gist. 

Iceberg. 

Iceberg lettuce reminds me of two things, my grandma and veggie burgers.

Random, I know. 

The grandma part, my mom's mom, is because whenever we would visit her in Montreal, we would go grocery shopping (ah, my produce love started at a young age), and she would always buy iceberg lettuce, tightly wrapped in plastic, as her lettuce of choice. 

On the other hand, iceberg lettuce is usually an accoutrement to a delicious veggie burger or sandwich. This weekend, I was at a friend's place and she had set up a whole sandwich building station on the island in her kitchen. I always forget how delicious a simple sandwich is! 

We've got three options for you for your iceberg needs (no, Jack and Rose, I'm not talking to you), one from Earthbound Organic, the second from Josie's Organics and last but certainly not least, Lakeside Organic. 

Take a gander with this lettuce and see what memories it evokes. Who knew lettuce could be such fun!

Page Tangerines. 

I had to do a double take when I saw TANGERINE PAGE BULK 25# on the paperwork for this citrus as, I will admit, I have never heard of this type of tangerine. 

About the size of a mandarin or satsuma, page's are known for their high juice and sugar content, making them a perfect citrus snack. 

These tangerines are incorporated into Chinese New Year festivities throughout the US, and were first bred in 1942 when a clementine mandarin and a minneola tangelo were crossed.

I don't know about you, but January is already speeding by for me. Next thing we know there will start to be fresh green and pink buds on trees. I know it is too early to say it... but, I can't wait for spring! 

Thanks for reading along, I hope you have a relaxing weekend, and I will talk to you all next week! 

Big love,
Severin R-B Danieli