Leeks are cousins to the old, familiar onion, but the flavor of leeks is sweeter, more delicate, and reminiscent of garlic or chives. Leeks are delicious no matter how they're cooked, and they're often considered to be a gourmet onion because they are less commonly used and harder to find than onions. 

Leeks contain generous amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, making the vegetable a wise addition to a healthy diet.
Quick Fried Leeks—1-2 leeks- sliced thin, 1 tbsp. coconut oil, 3 tbsp. Minced ginger, ½ minced garlic clove.  Quick fry the leeks- stirring frequently- until they become crispy and golden brown.  Place on greens, fish or potatoes…delicious!  (Alternatively, place a lid on the pan and the leeks will cook without browning.)

Watermelon-Cucumber Juice -   4 cups organic watermelon, wash outside rind,  4 organic lemons,  cucumbers or 1 large cucumber, washed.  1.  Prep juicer, watermelon and cucumbers.  Cut watermelon in half, scoop out chunks of watermelon flesh with a spoon.  Cut lemon cucumbers in half, them into pieces that fit into your juicer.  Juice the cucumbers then watermelon.  

Serve immediately, drink as is or pour over a small amount of ice. Enjoy! 

Chocolate-banana ice Kream with Hazelnuts & organic strawberries!
This is a simply recipe that you can enjoy right away! 
6 ripe bananas, peeled and frozen, 2 tablespoons honey, ¼ cup cacao powder, ½ cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, fresh berries!  Place the frozen bananas and honey in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the cacao and process to mix well until smooth.  Add in the hazelnuts with a quick pulse only. 

Enjoy immediately, or transfer to a container and place in freezer to firm up for an hour or two. Will keep for weeks in freezer.  Feel free to blend any fruit or nut with this recipe.  Simply take out the Cocoa if you don’t want chocolate and add in some vanilla paste.
                                D e l i c i o u s !

Special Savings for our healthy friends! 
What’s happening for April & May 2014? 
We want to help you - help your friends - to EAT HEALTHY!!
If you are trying to convince your friends to eat healthy like you –
save some bucks by spreading the organic eating options with Off the Vine!  
Refer a friend and get $10.00 off your next
Mixed or Juicing box!

Call JEN at 850-374-2181 or email us at support@offthevine.org and connect us with your friend and when they purchase their MIXED or JUICNG OTV share, you will get a $10.00 credit on your next MIXED or JUICING share.  A great way to eat healthy, save money and spread the ORGANIC goodness!
Offer good April 1 – May 31, 2014.  Boxes must be purchased and redeemed during this time.

The power of organic.

We know that fruits and vegetables that should be eaten
with EVERY meal.  Organic is necessary because the daily consumption 

of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, not to mention the genetically modified component, creates a real health risk long-term. These pesticides are not only carcinogenic but they also interrupt your natural hormone balance since pesticides are actually xeno-estrogens. These means that they increase bad estrogen's in your body leading to a host of symptoms including weight gain, low libido, hair loss and memory loss. As for fresh fruits and vegetables, we are all well aware of their importance in health. This is where we find the TRUE cancer and disease-fighting components that keep us healthy and young. Not to mention, we also find a bulk of our minerals here (especially in GREEN leafy vegetables), which keep our body ALKALINE. And we all remember why being alkaline is so important right? Alkaline equals TISSUE OXYGEN, and a DISEASE-FREE body.

Steamed, boiled, sauteed, roasted, grilled--asparagus takes 

on different qualities ,however you cook it. Roasting and grilling turns asparagus almost sweet. Steamed or boiled, asparagus retains the vegetable's natural flavor. Pencil-thin spears are even great raw or blanched--use them in salads or serve them as an appetizer alongside a dip of your choice. In case you're wondering where asparagus comes from, it's actually related to the lily. The spears emerge from a rhizome below the soil level and are harvested typically thin and young. Mediterranean in origin, asparagus is now grown in almost every corner of the world, including Mexico, Peru, Chile andthe USA!

Romanesco Salad
(RAW or a steam....)

This was inspired by a thought of a pasta salad or a couscous salad but we didn't want to cook with the grains. So you can use your Romanesco cauliflower as the main ingredient!

Begin by pulling off the small florets from the cauliflower.  Either lightly steam or prepare RAW.  ( a simple quick boil for this dish or GREAT RAW!! )

add 20 or so Sliced kalamata olives

Small amount of chopped capers (1 tablespoon per 4 cups florets ...)

Chopped onion: Green onions, red onions, shallots, whatever you've got.

S & P to taste, Lemon juice, freshly squeezed,
Olive oil:  use a light hand

Fresh herb: I use basil, parsley, cilantro... Chopped. 
You can top your salad with toasted sunflower seeds or another nut might also be delicious.   Enjoy!

This quick and easy raw, vegan, gluten-free berry cobbler recipe is a truly healthy treat that still satisfies our desire for something sweet.

Ingredients: 

4-5 cups mixed berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries (usually a pint of strawberries with a ½ pint each of the others)

1 tablespoon agave nectar (vegan) or raw honey (non-vegan) or maple syrup (not a raw sweetener but delicious!)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut

½ cup walnut pieces

½ cup pecan pieces

4 large medjool dates, pitted and chopped
¼ teaspoon of almond extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon powder

Pinch of grated nutmeg

Pinch of sea salt

Preparation:   Gently wash the berries and drain well. Cut the stems from the strawberries and slice into wedges. Toss the berries with the agave and vanilla extract. Divide them amongst 4 dessert glasses and set aside.

Place the remaining ingredients -coconut, walnuts, pecans, dates, almond extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt- in a food processor and pulse the mixture until it is coarsely ground but still has texture. Divide the mixture between the 4 berry dishes, scattering evenly over the top to form a "crust". Enjoy!!

Organic & Raw Food!
Sign up NOW for our next class -  Feb. 20th

Off the Vine is sponsoring a series of classes designed to help us  incorporate organic and raw foods into our everyday diet. 
A lifestyle choice of promoting the consumption of live and 
unprocessed organic foods into our diets!  
Come explore eating healthy food with us! 

 

 

 

We'll start with a fresh spritzer to cool us down as we prepare
Raw Food Italian style!
We'll make 2 pastas: Fettuccine squash noodles in Alfredo sauce and Angel-hair squash noodles in sun-dried tomato marinara along with our local Winter Salad. Everything a great meal should have, including all the enzymes!
For dessert - a tasty raw Berry dessert with strawberries and blueberries with a
sweet crème sauce made from cashews!  

Remember $5 off your OTV produce box this week
if attending this class!  

 

  Join us for our Lunch classes
($25.00 each person) from
12 noon - 1:30 and eat, lunch and learn!
Or enjoy our fun evening classes ($35.00 per person)
from 6:00 - 7:30 pm.

Instructors:  Vicki McCain and Shana Wolf

All classes on THURSDAYS and held at the beautiful 

Kitchenique Cooking School

at Cuvee Catering Center

12590 Emerald Coast Pkwy Suite C, 

Miramar Beach, Florida 32550

 

to make a reservation click BELOW!
 

  http://www.kitchenique.com/item/OFF-THE-VINE-ORGANIC-RAW-ENERGY-ITALIAN-NIGHT-2435   

OTV Organic & Raw Food Classes!    
Beginning Jan 2014

Off the Vine is sponsoring a series of classes designed to help us learn how to incorporate organic and raw foods into our everyday diet. 
A lifestyle promoting the consumption of more live and 
unprocessed organic food!  
Come explore eating truly healthy food with us!

Enjoy a full lunch or dinner with us at each of our classes.  Join us for our Lunch classes from 12 noon - 1:30 and eat, lunch and learn!  Or enjoy our Organic & Raw Evening classes from 6:00- 7:30 pm. 

All classes on THURSDAYS.
Held at the beautiful
Kitchenique Cooking School at Cuvee Catering Center 12590 Emerald Coast Pkwy Suite C, Miramar Beach, Florida 32550 850-837-0432 (all reservations made at this phone # please)
   For info about our OTV classes you may also call:
Off the Vine Organic Produce @ 850-374-2181

Off the Vine Produce 2014 Class Schedule for the Kitchenique Location:

   January  23       LUNCH   12 noon -1:30 pm

February 20      DINNER   6:00 - 7:30 pm

    March   20         LUNCH   12 noon -1:30 pm

April 17             DINNER   6:00 - 7:30 pm

   May 15              LUNCH   12 noon -1:30 pm

June 19             DINNER   6:00 - 7:30 pm