California mezze time

We’re marinating organic chicken or a mixture of lamb and grass-fed beef in middle eastern spices and grated onions, so you can make Lula kabobs (or several other things we’ll provide instructions for.) 

For other proteins, we’ve got branzino filets, free-range chicken thighs, and whole, head-on shrimp from TransparenSea, a sustainable shrimp farm right here in SoCal. Serve any of these over Fregola Sarda and call it a meal. Fregola Sarda, Sardinian pasta balls similar to Israeli couscous, have a dense and chewy texture but a distinct toasted, nutty flavor. You can serve these hot or as the base for a cold salad. To sauce your Lula, branzino, chicken thighs, or vegetables, there’s zhoug, a middle eastern fresh, green chili and herb (including cilantro) condiment. 

Our friends at Forage are making us a red lentil soup spiced with cumin, coriander, ginger, and cinnamon, and mint. And we’re canning another batch of shakshuka sauce for you to have on hand to bake eggs in and make an impressive breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And make sure you have some Bub and Grandma’s sesame loaf on hand to scoop and dunk. 

Aris Natural Food’s marinated kefir cheese is particularly dense and creamy and delicious spread on bread. It comes packed in olive oil, and we have it in three flavors: sundried tomato, jalapenño, or kalamata olive. Their plain yogurt can be turned into a sauce like tzatziki or sweetened to your liking. A mere spoonful of their lemon or mango yogurt can finish a meal on a sweet note. 

We have Valbreso’s sheep’s milk feta and kalamata olives to garnish almost anything on this week’s menu or for making Greek salad with the cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and fresh oregano that will be in this week’s produce box.

We’re excited to offer a Middle Eastern spice set from Miry's List, consisting of shawarma, za'atar, Aleppo pepper and sumac. 100% of the profits support this local nonprofit devoted to resettling recently arrived refugee families. Season your chicken thighs with the shawarma blend. Add some za’atar to our local olive oil for a phenomenal bread dip. We’ll provide some directions and recipes for how to cook with Aleppo pepper. Sprinkle sumac on your fava bean fattoush, feta cheese, or greek salad. 

For something sweet, we’ve got walnut baklava from Baklava Factory, a local baklava shop.