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Monthly Archives: June 2013

Micro Antioxidants Mix™

By | MicroGreens, Recipes | 568 Comments

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A colorful, attractive mixture of micros with different textures and shapes, our Micro Antioxidants Mix contains micros with the highest levels of antioxidants!  These include: broccoli, cabbage, dill, kale, lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, radish, savory and thyme.  This combo boasts fresh flavors of citrus, spicy flavors of radish, intense herb flavors, and hearty flavors of cruciferous veggies.  Antioxidants are substances that may protect your cells against the effects of free radicals.  They can help to maintain health and prevent diseases such as cancer and heart disease.  Eating these tasty MicroGreens is a fun and simple way to get these crucial vitamins into your body.

Boost your antioxidant intake even more with meals that include berries!  Few fruits have quite the provocative allure, the fragile charm or the nutrients of berries. They’re full of fiber, vitamins and minerals and are loaded with healing antioxidants.

Cranberry & Feta Stuffed Pork with Cranberry Reduction

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Ingredients:

Fresh Origins Micro Antioxidants Mix

2-3 lb Pork Roast

2 packages of Dried Cranberries

3 Cups of Red Wine

1 package of Feta

1 can of Chicken Stock

Olive Oil

Butter

Cinnamon

2 cups of Sugar

Salt, Pepper

Cooking Twine

Directions:

For the Pork:

Cut pork roast down the center (not all the way through) to make it into a thinner flat piece.  Add 1 package of cranberries and feta to the center of the meat (like you are making a burrito).  Then take the two side ends and bring them together. Tie up the whole roast with 4 pieces of twine.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add olive oil and butter to the top.  Add chicken stock to the bottom of the baking pan.  Bake for 10 minutes at 400 to get the top crisp. Then for an additional 45 minutes at 350 or longer depending on your oven.

For the Cranberry Reduction:

In a small saucepan, add 1 package of cranberries, butter, olive oil, sugar, red wine, salt and cinnamon.  Simmer for 30 minutes or until the consistency is thick and the wine is reduced.

When pork is done, slice it and add the cranberry reduction on top.  Serve with a side dish of your choice and garnish with Fresh Origins Micro Antioxidants Mix!

 

Antioxidant Berry Tart

antioxidant-berry-tart

Ingredients:

Fresh Origins Antioxidants Mix

Fresh Blueberries

Fresh Blackberries

Fresh Strawberries

Fresh Raspberries

Mascarpone Cheese

Granulated Sugar

Powdered Sugar

Grand Marnier or Triple Sec

Small Frozen Tart Crust

1 Egg

Directions:

Put whole blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and sliced strawberries into a bowl, add 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier and granulated sugar, stirring to coat every berry.  In a separate bowl, add berries and 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier and mash mixture.  Combine mashed mixture with whole berry mixture.  Place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to an hour to let berries macerate.  Mix every 20 minutes or so and add more sugar.  You’ll know they are ready when a thick syrup begins to form.

While waiting, combine mascarpone with Grand Marnier and Sugar and set in refrigerator.

When the berries are almost done, crack an egg and separate the yolk and the whites. Brush the edges of the crust with the egg yolk. (This will give the edges a nice golden brown color when baked). Bake tart crust for 10-12 minutes at a temperature of 450.

When crust is done, let cool for 15 minutes.

While waiting, combine mascarpone mixture with berry mixture.

When crust is room temperature, remove it from its outer baking shell.  Then plate crust and fill the center with the mascarpone and berry mixture.  Add fresh berries to plate, surrounding tart. Garnish tart with fresh berries and Fresh Origins Micro Antioxidants Mix.

Fresh Origins Receives Perfect Scores in Agricultural and Manufacturing Practices for Second Consecutive Year

By | Edible Flowers, MicroGreens | 1,289 Comments

ImageOutstanding Compliance in Greenhouse Operations, Harvest Crew & Packing House

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – February 21, 2013 – Fresh Origins, America’s leading producer of MicroGreens and Edible Flowers, has received for the second consecutive year a perfect score of 100% in their annual third party food safety audit by Primus Labs in the areas of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

Fresh Origins is third-party certified for food safety in three main areas of food handling: Greenhouse Production, Harvest Crew and Packing House operations, with separate audits and certificates of compliance in each one. A 100% in each of these areas is seldom achievedPrior years’ scores have been Superior ratings in the very high 90’s.

Fresh Origins is also a proud member in good standing of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA). As a member, they are subject to the rigorous standards and mandatory random field audits by USDA State and Federally-authorized licensed inspectors. Fresh Origins is among the smallest of all farms audited by Primus and LGMA. The average is estimated to be over 1,500-2,000 acres compared to Fresh Origin’s 24. 

 “Our family farm is very serious about food safety. This is a discipline and priority that we instill in each member of our team,” says David Sasuga, founder of Fresh Origins. “We are proud to be an example of a small farm that is recognized for excellence in food safety compliance. There is really no reason that small farms shouldn’t be held accountable for the safety of their products.”

Fresh Origins products are available to professional fine dining foodservice venues through specialty produce/food distributors nationwide. In 2013, Fresh Origins will be also partnering with U.S. retailers to offer select products for home cooks to enjoy as well. Visit www.freshorigins.com for more information, photos and recipes, and find us brand on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Celebrating Colorful Crunchy Crystals – How Chefs & Mixologists are using our Herb Crystals® & Flower Crystals®

By | Edible Flowers, Herb & Flower Crystals™, MicroGreens, Recipes | 935 Comments

Herb & Flower Crystals Bottles Group

Since its arrival earlier this year, our Herb Crystals® & Flower Crystals® line has been very well-received by the culinary community, and their responses are quite humbling. We hear from chefs and home cooks alike that they absolutely love the exotic look these crystals convey and that it has been such a unique and flavorful ingredient to include in their dishes. Pastry Chef Johnny Iuzzini says, “I love the basil crystals, not only for their vibrant flavor but also for the unique texture they impart to my desserts.”

Branching out to the bar scene as well, our Mini Herb Crystals® & Mini Flower Crystals® also got a loud response from cocktail connoisseurs and mixologists.

Feeling like proud parents, we wanted to show off some cool examples of how our customers have enhanced their creations by using our Herb Crystals® & Flower Crystals®, and to debut a few new flavors coming out in a few weeks!

Cocktails and Mini Herb Crystals® & Mini Flower Crystals® – A Perfect Pair

Our March trade show tour was where we really got to show off our stuff to mixologists and cocktail enthusiasts. There we realized that our Mini Herb Crystals® & Mini Flower Crystals® were an immediate hit. Everyone’s eyes were pulled in when we brought out our large display of cocktail glasses rimmed with the different flavors.

The vibrant colors drew their attention but it was after sharing a few tasting samples, when we watched everyone’s faces light up. They were captivated by the crystal’s fresh flavors. Many exclaimed, “Wow, they actually taste like fresh Basil or fresh Mint!” They were also intrigued to see a different substitute for plain white sugar for adding a unique sweetness to any drink, including tea.

The Mini Crystals® are a smaller, more granular than the regular Crystals, making them more adhesive and ideal for rimming cocktail glasses. Instinctively, we invited mixologists to take their creations to the next level and combine our Microgreens, Edible flowers, and Mini Herb Crystals® & Mini Flower Crystals® into their next cocktail concoction!

Check out Mixologists like Junior Merino with his The Big Apple cocktail. Rimming his cocktail with Herb Crystals® Fennel, and garnishing with our Apple Mint Tops. Check out his recipe:

Big Apple Cocktail with Mint Apple Tops & Herb Crystals Fennel Rim by Junior Merino

2 oz Hudson Whiskey

1/2 oz grilled apple juice

1/2 oz cinnamon syrup

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/4 oz Xtabentun Mayan Liqueur

1 dash of Junior Merino Roasted Apple & Toasted Spices Bitters

Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and strain into a rocks glass rimmed with Fresh Origins Flower Crystals® Fennel and garnish with a Fresh Origins Apple Mint top.

The high praise and overall review by our mixologist, bartender, and cocktail-lover friends, was more than we could ever ask for. Thank you!

Herb Crystals®, Flower Crystals® & Chocolate! Oh my!

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Its a no-brainer. Our Herb Crystals® & Flower Crystals® make a pretty sweet addition to any chocolate treat. So if you’re a sucker for a box of chocolates or you know of one, check out The Madison Chocolatier West. They are beautifully coating their strawberries with white and dark chocolate and then covering with our Crystals and Crystallized Flowers! These fancy strawberries are not like any regular chocolate covered strawberry you see at the market. They have also put our Crystals on the inside of their chocolate ganache truffles. What a burst of flavor in your mouth. And the Crystals stay crunchy!

They create small batch chocolates, all hand made using the freshest fruits, herbs, spices and ingredients that have no preservatives added. Each ingredient provides unique flavor pairings for exceptional chocolates. Check out their photos here,

Topping New York’s Cronut Craze

Or if pastries suit your fancy, we would like to introduce you to the Cronut. If you haven’t heard of it yet, the Cronut is literally half-croissant, half-doughnut – yes they do exist!

After a few tries, its’ creator French pastry chef Dominique Ansel of Dominique Ansel Bakery, found the winning formula and successfully infused the French classic into a shape of a doughnut. Consisting of layers on layers of flaky-goodness, each Cronut is deep fried in grapeseed oil (like a doughnut), filled with Tahitian vanilla cream, rolled in cinnamon sugar, topped over with a sweet glaze, finished with sprinkle of our Flower Crystals® Rose. Each Cronut runs at $5 a piece and all customers are limited to six per person.

Despite being around for only a month, this pastry delicacy has already made a name for itself. So, we highly recommend you try it out if you’re in the area and make sure to order beforehand or get there early – really early. Watch Zagat’s Bizarre Bites coverage on the Cronut below:

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Congratulations to pastry chef Dominique Ansel and his revolutionary pastry skills! The world is a better place, now that you’ve created such a pastry gem.

New Herb Crystals® & Flower Crystals® Flavors

Chili-Lime Shrimp, Mango Salsa, Cilantro Rice

Herb Crystals®Cilantro on Chili-Lime Shrimp, with Mango Salsa & Cilantro Rice

We’re very excited announce a new flavor to add to the mix this week: Herb Crystals® Cilantro. It has an amazingly fresh & sweet Cilantro flavor. In a couple weeks we will be introducing Fruit Crystals® Lime and Herb Crystals® Hibiscus. We hope you all enjoy these just like the first batch. Let us know about your experience with our Herb Crystals® & Flower Crystals®. We would greatly appreciate your feedback and would love share your success story with the world!