Got Recipes? Here's A Good One From Melina Macall

Melina Macall is founder and CEO of MutiOils.com (offering natural mother and
babycare) and BoxedOrganicsNJ.com (offering organic and local fruit and veg in the Montclair area). Melina combines 25 years of experience in holistic wellness, green living, and clinical aromatherapy with a passion for good food to offer guidance and information on well-living.

When it's too hot to cook but you still have to eat why not enjoy some quick, tasty
meals made with in season, local harvest ingredients?

Montclair has a number of resources if you are looking to stock up on farm fresh,
local, and organic produce (listed below) and, if you just want to eat without the prep, you can always try a meal at Market on Church Street.

This week I shall be enjoying Golden Beets (Sunrise Ridge Organics, PA). I leave them raw, (you can roast them first if you prefer) then mix them with dark cherries (Red Jacket Orchard, NY), and then lightly dress with fresh basil from my garden. For variety add some fresh creamy goat cheese (from Apple Tree Goat Dairy, PA).

Golden Beets have a more mild flavor than their red counterparts and are good source of potassium as well as having a respectable measure of folic acid and vitamin A. Don't throw out the greens. Not only are they even more nutritious than the roots but they are also very tasty as a salad green or cooked.

Here's my recipe:

Golden Beet and Cherry Salad
4 golden beets, very thinly sliced
12 whole basil leaves broken into small pieces
1/4 cup fresh dark/bing cherries, stoned and halved
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine all of the ingredients (except goat cheese) in a small bowl and toss
to coat.
Add goat cheese in small pieces, turning gently so as not to overspread it.

Check out the Montclair Farmers' Market from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every Saturday at the Walnut Train Station parking lot. The market runs all summer, and through the fall into November.

For regular bi-weekly farm fresh produce try a buying club, CSA, or food co-op:
Boxed Organics
Montclair Community Food Co-op
Purple Dragon

Try Corrado's in Wayne for an interesting assortment of fruit and veg. Further afield is Fairway, which is now open in Paramus.