what's new this week?

A new menu and cabbage.

Cabbage doesn't sound that exciting or new, I know. But it's in season, and right now it's beautiful and bountiful. Cabbage is extremely versatile, durable and delicious. It's a negative calorie food, high in vitamin c and k and it's inexpensive. There are so many varieties and so many different ways to incorporate cabbage into raw or cooked meals. It can add dimension to an italian vegetable stew with other hearty vegetables and fresh oregano just as easily as it can be chopped and tossed into a savory stir fry with snap peas, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Red or purple cabbage - cooked or raw - provides a rich, vibrant punch of color and flavor to a wide variety of dishes.

Previously, cabbage was the casualty in my vegetable drawer because I just wasn't inspired by it. After I made the rainbow slaw featured on last month's menu, there was no turning back. It's become a big favorite that's easy to make: just finely chopped red and green cabbage, green onions, bell peppers and carrots in a sage kitchen sesame agave dressing. My June and July menu was rich with cabbage because I just couldn't decide what to leave out. Here are just a few simple ideas to add cabbage to your repetoire. 

Typical green or red cabbage leaves are great used as taco shells (featured last week in mixed veggie tacos), lettuce cup wrappers or as a healthy substitute for a tortilla. The leaves are durable and add a satistfying flavor and crunch. I recently visited sakura house with my family where they serve cabbage cut into triangles just like chips with a tasty soy ginger dipping sauce. The kids couldn't get enough.

Savoy cabbage is a great lettuce for any asian inspired salad. Next time you want to bring a chinese chicken salad to a picnic, opt of savoy cabbage instead of a lettuce that will get soggy. It's got a great flavor and holds up well for a while even after it's tossed in dressing.

Napa cabbage is more delicate and delightfully light in color, flavor and texture. It can be sliced thin on a mandoline, piled high and drizzled with a sesame ginger dressing. Simple, elegant and delicious.

By special request, I'll be featuring napa cabbage in next monday's raw lunch: thai noodle salad. Don't miss this one. Please click on the menu page to see a complete description.  

I appreciate all your feedback and creative ideas. Please click on the "Thoughts" button above if you have any suggestions, requests for menu items or posts. 

Have a great week!

hey july, where do you think you’re going? & sage kitchen goes bowling!

I'm not done with you yet! There's so much to fit into the last few days of this sunny, silly, scrumptious month of July. Please click on the menu page to see what's coming to your doorstep next week.

I am happily planning the sweet and short August menu. It’s a busy travel month for me, so here are my delivery dates:

Monday, August 3 (raw lunch, cooked dinner)

Thursday, August 6 (raw lunch, cooked dinner)

Thursday, August 20 (raw lunch, cooked dinner)

I’ll post the menu for these dates very soon.

The combination of our travel plans and inspiration from a friend developed into a Picnic Basket service that I’ll be offering for the month of August in addition to the deliveries listed above. Just send me an email to find out if I’m available & I’d love to bring you  a little health & happiness...

Picnic Baskets: Going to the Pier Thursday night? Heading to the Bowl? Bring something healthy, fresh & delicious. Contact me 2 days in advance and I’ll put together a beautiful, conveniently packaged, picnic spread for your special summer night. Sample menu below.*

My fun-loving friend requested a Hollywood Bowl dinner for herself and 3 of her equally fun-loving friends. She wanted something special, yet convenient and healthy to make the evening complete. We decided on an Asian theme & here’s what the lovely ladies brought to the bowl.

appetizer: sweet potato & avocado sushi rolls

salad: asian chopped salad with sesame soy agave dressing

dinner: seared ahi tuna over micro greens with wasabi mashed potatoes

dessert: summer fruit cobbler 

Each guest received their own personalized, planet-friendly reusable bag that contained each course & utensils. All the reusable containers & utensils just get rinsed & placed in the bags & I pick them up on my next delivery run. So fun & easy! If you're interested, please email me 2 days in advance.

have a beautiful weekend! i'll be shopping 2 markets this Sunday. please place your orders before 9am, Sunday, July 26 for Monday's delivery.

"summer" izing thanksgiving

i love summer. i love the heat and the sun, the peak of sweetness for tomatoes, strawberries, peaches and blueberries. this summer, my first vegetable and herb garden. happy energy, lighter, fresher meals, the loosening of schedules, summer reading, biking to the gym and the beach, even the endlessness delights of baseball. all the fun, festivals and celebrations. my favorite season. by far.

I love thanksgiving. I love all the extensive preparation of this holiday and all the anticipation of gathering with friends and family to share in this special meal. all the planning, caring, tradition. I love that everyone sits down together and thinks of what they are thankful for. It warms my heart.

So when my husband requested a Thanksgiving Birthday Dinner the day before his birthday, I was happy to oblige. I had to get a move on! So did the Whole Foods because it was out of turkeys, but the nice man assured me they would have a fresh shipment on Friday - the day of our dinner. My love of the holiday, and my favorite summer season – what a perfect (though odd) combination! All the flavors of Thanksgiving, lightened and freshened up for summer. Abbreviated planning made it new, even more fun, and creatively challenging -- all while staying fresh, local and organic as possible.

The birthday man requested that I didn’t mess with the turkey, or the stuffing or the onions au gratin. The rest was fair game. To me, there must be yams, sweet potatoes, cranberries, a great salad, good friends and family to make it a true Thanksgiving. Here’s what ended up on the menu:

Appetizers:

Yam and avocado sushi rolls

Roasted red pepper & sundried tomato pesto with grilled parmesean baguette

Hummus (raw & bean free inspired by his recipe)drizzled with rosemary olive oil with grilled garlic toasts

Salad:

Kale, Cranberry and Cashew Salad with Lemon Honey Vinagrette

Main:

TURKEY in honor of my favorite Birthday Turkey

Sides:

Onions au gratin

Herb & Garlic Stuffing

Rosemary Potato Platter (Thinly sliced potatoes arranged in spiraling layers like a pie. with olive oil, rosemary, garlic & shredded parmesean)

Mashed Sweet Potatoes (since the there was an outcry for mashed potatoes in the aisle of the Whole Foods when we picked up the turkey)

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with basil and garlic olive oil

La Brea Bakery Garlic Loaf

Dessert:

Yummy Cupcakes

This was one of my favorite Thanksgiving Dinners ever, during one of my favorite summers so far. Taking the time in the kitchen and at the table - in the middle of July - to consider again all the things to be thankful for was a wonderful way to honor a birthday and celebrate the summer bliss.

Happy summer days to all my favorite turkeys out there!

I'll be shopping the Promenade Farmer's Market this Wednesday. If you're interested in Thursday's meals, click on the Menu button near the top left of this page to see what's being delivered. Please let me know by 9am, Wednesday, July 22. 

Things are heating up around here

July is bringing on the heat! And so is Sage Kitchen. I'm offering cooked dinners for the rest of the month. Quinoa is currently my favorite grain. It's high in protein, easy to digest, and it's DELICIOUS! I'll be featuring it in my debut cooked dinner for Thursday's delivery. Oh, how do you pronounce it? So glad you asked: KEEN-WAH

I suggest that you heat up the cooked dinners on the stove or in the oven. The beauty of the quinoa dish this week is that it can be enjoyed warm or cold/room temperature.

For many of you, it's your first visit to the online home of Sage Kitchen. I'll be posting Sage Kitchen menus, recipes, and news along with any other interesting stories to to enlighten and enhance your healthy life. Look for my "what's new" posts, where each week I'll try a new fruit, vegetable, recipe or food tip and pass it along. Last week, donut or "saturn" peaches were the star.

This week, head over to the Virginia Avenue Farmer's Market for mango nectarines. I am crossing my fingers that these are still available from the sweet young Asian man who is my new hero. I was skeptical, but these are the most delicious pieces of fruit that my kids and I have devoured lately. A mango wearing a nectarine costume. No peeling or cutting or spooning out involved -- just perfect little mango flavored fruit that you can just bite into. They're tasty when they're firm, and out of this world sweet once they soften up a bit. Unfortunately I haven't seen these beauties anywhere else but the Pico Farmer's market. Good luck!

Drink a lot of water during this heat & please place your orders for Thursday's delivery by 9:00am on Wednesday, July 15. I'll be shopping the Promenade Farmer's Market tomorrow with my favorite little girl.

Have a happy healthy week! 

sweet like candy

Saturn Peaches

i hope you are all enjoying this beautiful summer. i'm so excited to shop the promenade farmer's market tomorrow for thursday's delivery. the peaches & strawberries are sweet like candy. if you haven't had donut peaches yet this summer (or ever) you should try them very soon. (trader joes is also carrying them right now & they're packaged as organic "saturn" peaches)
they are delicious! i'll be adding them to the fruit cobbler -- along with mangoes, pineapple, the freshest strawberries, drizzled coconut cashew cream & a crunchy sweet nut topping. lettuce is beautiful right now too. as always i'll showcase the freshest, most flavorful fruit and vegetables available.
if you're interested in thursday's delivery, please let me know by 9am, wednesday, july 8.

july 9
lunch: kale, cashew & cranberry salad, fruit cobbler
dinner: asian chopped salad with sesame agave dressing

july 13

lunch: carrot mango salad with honey lime dressing over romaine
dinner: mixed veggies and marinated shitake mushrooms with thai noodles

beginning july 16th & continuing through the end of the month, i'll offer cooked meals for dinner. if you're interested in the july 13th delivery, please let me know by 9am saturday, july 11. want to see the menu for the rest of the month? click on the "menu" button at the top of the page.

july 16
lunch: chopped baja salad with red cabbage shells
dinner: hummus & tabouli with jicama triangles, mediterranean quinoa COOKED

have a great, healthy week!