OC Food Diva: Melissa’s Produce 2017 Produce Trends and 2nd Annual Dessert Contest + Recipe

In the past five years, I have been eating more and more fruits and vegetables thanks to Melissa’s Produce. They sell the most amazing variety of produce in Southern California and across our great nation. Their products are readily available for foodservice companies, restaurants, and consumers. On my trip to the World Food Championships in Orange Beach last year, I found Melissa’s Baby DYPs at Winn-Dixie. I was so excited to see a fellow Californian, even in produce form, I had to post it on Instagram. In Orange and Los Angeles Counties, I have personally seen their products at Northgate, Smart & Final, JONS International Marketplace, and Vons.

If you want to know what the produce trends are for this year, I have them for you thanks to Melissa’s. (below each trend, is a listing of Melissa’s products):

Convenience to Save Time in the Kitchen

Peeled & Steamed Butternut Squash is prepped and ready-to-heat and eat right out of its convenient, single serving package.

Organic Soup Starter Kit

is a variety pack of the basic fresh ingredients needed for a delicious soup in a convenient 2½ lb. tote consisting of 3 russet potatoes, 2 carrots, 1 zucchini, 1 celery stalk, and 1 yellow onion.

Organic Garden Grab Bag

is a variety pack of essential organic vegetables in a convenient 2 lb. tote consisting of 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 cucumber, 1 zucchini, 1 carrot, 1 bulb of garlic, and 1 shallot.

Coconut Heart is harvested before the meat is fully developed with delicious and refreshing coconut water inside.

Varieties and Colors in Produce

Fresh Mixed Baby Carrots are sweet, tender young carrots that are peeled, washed, and ready to use.

Snack-able Sized Items

Spicy Edamame is seasoned with a mix of favorite Asian flavors including sesame, soy sauce, salt, ginger, and togarashi seasoning.

Fresh Coconuts are conveniently labeled to indicate which eye to punch with a straw. Crack them open and the thin layer of coconut meat is soft and sweet.

Trendy Vegetables

Okra are small, crisp, brightly colored pods that are a mainstay of southern cooking. They are served fried, roasted, cut up for soups and gumbo, or pickled.

Trendy Potatoes

Baby Dutch Yellow^® Potatoes (DYPs^®) are round with distinct yellowish-white skin.

Trendy Chile Peppers

Shishito Peppers are traditionally served in Japanese cuisine roasted and tossed with sesame oil and a dash of soy sauce.

Emerging Produce: Tatuma, Milpero, Turmeric, Organic Ginger, Thai Chiles, and Guava

Trendy Citrus Fruit

Neopolitan Tangerines are a brand-new hybrid variety and are slightly smaller in size than most mandarins. They have a big flavor with a very high natural sugar content and are seedless, easy to peel, and extremely juicy.

Seasonal Fruit

Butterscotch Pears™ are directly imported from the fields of South Korea. Each pear is carefully wrapped while still on the trees with a protective paper cover to protect them from the elements resulting in a blemish-free fruit. Each pear is tissue wrapped for moisture retention and placed in form-fitting foam socks to protect them from bruising. The prized paper-thin skin is devoid of the bitter flavor normally associated with other pears.

Trendy Tropical Fruits

Passion Fruit is an aromatic, jelly-like golden flesh fruit that is sweet-tart in flavor and filled with edible seeds. If the skin is smooth and perfect, it is not ripe yet. Let it get wrinkled and dimpled and then it is ready to eat.

Tropical Dragon Fruit is an exotic cactus fruit that has a delicately sweet and mildly acidic flavor somewhat like watermelon, cactus pear, and kiwi. The fruit inside ranges from white to pink to magenta. The tiny black seeds are edible, similar to a kiwi.

Once a year, the Melissa’s Produce family of writers and bloggers have a friendly dessert competition where the winners are amongst the attendees.

My mom submitted her tasty Manju recipe and won 4^th place! She received two lovely cookbooks by Ming Tsai – Simply Ming In Your Kitchen and Ming’s Master Recipes. I am a HUGE fan of Ming Tsai and had the privilege of dining at his Blue Ginger restaurant back in 2009 while working on a tradeshow in Boston.

My recipe didn’t place but if you are on a gluten-free or ovo-lacto vegan diet, you’ll love my recipe.

Coco-Chocolate Chip Cookies by OC Food Diva

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Yield: 16 cookies

Great for gluten-free and ovo-lacto vegan diets

Ingredients:

1 cup Pereg Gourmet Coconut Flour

1 cup peanuts, crushed into a powder

1 tbsp grapeseed oil

½ cup granulated sugar

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, whisked

½ cup coconut milk

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together coconut flour, sugar, powdered peanuts, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Add in oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and coconut milk and mix with hands until dough forms.
Mix in chocolate chips.
Shape into 1-inch balls, pat down to form a patty shape, and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Bake on the middle rack for 15 minutes until golden brown.
Let cookies cool on sheet and serve.