Seasonal Showcase – January, February, March 2010
- Start the New Year Right
- Chase Away Jack Frost with Hot Soup
- For More Comfort Foods in January
- Keep the Fun Coming in February
- Spring Into Spring
- Did you know . . .?
- Other Than Chicken
To start the New Year off on a healthy path, open the vegetable drawer in your refrigerator, and enjoy some of these delicious combinations with California Raisins. Asian Turkey Salad has only 150 calories and a low fat serving melds some great Asian flavors together. Keep the salads coming as you serve Warm Salmon Soba Salad with Currant Dressing. The salmon, soba noodles, and Zante Currants help fill you up so you won’t miss those calories and rich foods that were so tempting during the holidays. Another quick option is the simple Neptune’s Raisin Salad full of all kinds of interesting flavors.
Chase Away Jack Frost with Hot Soup
Gather the family, grab a fresh baguette, and warm up with some of these soups. Dress up a traditional favorite with California Raisins in Caramelized Onion Soup with Golden Raisin Pesto; add a dollop of fresh pesto and a few cilantro leaves and you have a new family favorite. Bananas – as in plantains – in this Sweet Plantain and California Raisin Soup with Saffron or another unexpected creation, such as Cream of Raisin Soup, add a sweet note to any frosty day.
For More Comfort Foods in January
If salads and National Soup Month have not warmed you quite enough, turn to some good old fashioned Southern cooking and remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior’s birthday on January 18 with his favorite food, pecan pie. Raisin Fudge Pecan Pie seems perfect, and you could add some finger-licking ribs, like Raisin Country BBQ Back Ribs to the menu. They will require napkins, but also provide plenty of satisfied smiles.
California Raisin and Granny Smith Apple Beignets, little fried puffs filled with apples and raisins and served for breakfast, are another good old-fashioned Southern pleasure.
On January 23, turn to the ultimate comfort food, and celebrate National Pie Day with California Raisin and Maple Crunch Pie, California Nuggets of Gold Raisin Pie, and, or repeat Dr. King’s favorite, Raisin Fudge Pecan Pie.
Keep the Fun Coming in February
Start planning for Super Bowl Sunday with the January Recipe of the Month, and enjoy Curry Pistachio Snack Mix several times in between, too. Add the companion trail mixes, Five-Spice Snack Mix and Spanish Tapas Snack Mix, and add more options to your menu, as well.
Then, add more portable fun foods like Amazing Appetizer Cups and Raisin Apple Mini Pizzas. Plop a bowl of Tunisian-spiced California Raisin Hummus onto the coffee table along with fresh pita triangles and watch them all disappear.
Raisins star on Valentine’s Day in a meal you and your Valentine can prepare together – or one just to surprise him. For the main course, we recommend Citrus-Raisin Sauced Salmon Steak paired with Fennel-Raisin Gnocchi or Spicy Vegetable Stew with California Raisins (Sambhar), the Recipe of the Month. To top it off with California Raisin-Orange Crostini with Chocolate Drizzle would be perfect.
Mardi Gras, flavors of the South, and all that celebration call for Gulf Shrimp with Spicy Golden Raisin-Avocado Mayonnaise for a starter. Continue the Southern fun with New Orleans-style Meat Loaf with California Raisins and Creole Mustard. Smother a rich bread pudding with hot butter sauce and end the night with Southern Delight Bread Pudding.
March, the third month of the year, has been designated National Nutrition Month, and features Pi Day, and Poultry Day. This is a good time to check up on those healthy choices that we vowed to make in January and put them back into action with recipes like Lima Beans with California Raisins or Whole Wheat Raisin Apple Bread. Raisin-Apple Stuffed Squash incorporates the flavor of maple syrup into an appealing filling for any winter squash. A high fiber, delectable dish with the Recipe of the Month, Maui Onions Stuffed with Curried Raisin Couscous, gets you back to those good-for-you vegetables, again.
The mathematical number, pi rounded to 3.14, is celebrated on March 14. That would be a great day to celebrate with recipes like California Raisin and Sour Cream Dream Pie, Lemon Delight Pie, or Schnitz ‘n Raisin Pie to thrill your children and provide a math lesson, too.
Poultry Days in March are an opportunity to explore some creative alternate poultry ideas. Fill quesadillas with turkey, vegetables and cheese spinning them into Pavo Quesadilla with Raisin Fruit Chutney and a chutney with bite.
Now, may be the time to fry a few pieces of quail as directed in Five Spice Quail with Raisin and Nectarine Chutney or do something really new like Terrine of Chicken Liver, Green Peppercorns and Golden Raisins.