Honey roasted sweet potato & red onion

If you haven't already noticed The Lettuce Shop is all about convenience. We aim to make life that little bit more convenient for our customers, hence the delivery of fresh produce to your front door. We are also a bit partial to sharing some good finds, and this is a simple beauty!

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 red onions, cut into wedges

2 tbs olive oil

Fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp cumin

1 tbs honey

A dash of balsamic vinegar

Fresh coriander

Sea salt

Preheat oven to 200^oC. Place sweet potatoes and onions onto a baking tray. Mix olive oil, ginger, cumin, honey and balsamic vinegar until combined and pour over the top of the potatoes and onions. Season with freshly ground sea salt and roast until the potatoes are tender (30-40 minutes).

Top with fresh coriander and serve.

Every monday the wonderful Veggie Mama has a link for bloggers to share their vege dishes. Head over and check out some other fabulous recipes.

Valentine's Day Gift Bowl of Fruit

I’m not sure how you feel about Valentine’s Day but I do know the old teddy bear with red rose gift has had its day. Sure a bunch of red roses will always delight, but we have the perfect, unique gift for your beloved!

A gorgeous glass bowl filled with crisp seedless red and white grapes, deliciously sweet strawberries, chocolate coated honeycomb and red heart chocolates, wrapped delicately with clear cellophane and a beautiful red ribbon. There is no doubt this would not only impress your beloved but would fill their heart and tummy with love. The glass bowl is reusable and is filled entirely with fruit and chocolate.

Head to our website to order yours now. Delivery is included and gift will arrive chilled.

School holiday fun!

At The Lettuce Shop we are all about simplifying life for our customers. And as a lot of you will currently have young ones on school holidays we've got a few ideas to keep the boredom at bay.

The City of Fremantle is currently running some free workshops for people aged between 12 and 25 years. Workshops include creative theatre, mask making and skateboarding among other things. Check out their website for full info.

1300 Trail Rides host day camps for kids to explore WA's landscape on horseback. Day camps are for kids over the age of 8 and run up until January 25. Check out their website for more info.

Challenge Stadium host a range of fun activities for kids of all ages over the school holidays. Head over to their website to see the range of activities and holiday fun.

Fremantle Art Centre runs exciting art programs for kids during school holidays. Classes commence Monday 16 and run until Friday 27 January. Head to their website for more information.

The Sandpit at Mandurah Performing Arts Centre runs a holiday program from 16 to 27 January that encourages the creative side of kids. Cost is only $2 per child per session and run from 9am to 2pm daily. Visit here to find out all about it.

Cottesloe Beach never disappoints. Have some fun in the sand and in the waves, take a picnic of fresh, cut fruit to keep littlies happy and end the day with fish and chips on the grass watching the sunset.

And lastly, Bayswater Waves is always a fun day out for kids of all ages. Mums and dads can sit back and enjoy a coffee or join in the water fun.

To save yourself a trip to the supermarket don't forget to place your order for next week's delivery of fruit and veg, and have a great week!

Happy New Year!

The Lettuce Shop team would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. We are enjoying our break however we look forward to getting back into providing our customers with quality fresh produce. We will be back in business on Monday 9 January. In the meantime please join us on Facebook or twitter.

We have noticed an increase in requests recently for gift boxes and would like to suggest if you are after a gift for a new mum, why not look at purchasing a box full of fresh vegetables. New mums love it -one less trip to the supermarket and having fresh vegetables to prepare meals while juggling a newborn is the perfect way to help out new mums. If you are interested give us a call from Monday 9 January or check out our website for ideas.

Happy New Year all!

Smoked salmon, asparagus and dill tart

The Lettuce Shop hopes you had a wonderful Christmas. If you are not yet back at work we also hope you are having a refreshing break and are making the most of the downtime. In our busy lives downtime is so essential, and after the busy period that comes before the festive season it's important to use downtime wisely.

Here is a tried and tested easy recipe for you. It contains simple ingredients and is quick to whip up on a summers night to be enjoyed with a lovely summer salad.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

100g smoked salmon, sliced

4 asparagus spears, cut in half and sliced lengthways

2 tbs dill, chopped

4 eggs

185ml cream

Salt and pepper

For crust:

250g unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature

250g plain flour

250g ricotta

Mix the flour and cubed butter together with your fingers to make a crumby consistency. Once crumbs have formed add the ricotta and combine well. Roll pastry out into a disc shape, cover with cling wrap and place into the fridge for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes take the pastry out of the fridge, roll out on a floured surface, fold into 3 like an envelope and roll out again. You need to make a circular shape at about 10mm thickness. Once rolled out, gently lift the dough with a rolling pin and place into a greased 28cm flan tin. Press into the sides and cut off any excess.

Cover pastry case with greaseproof paper and baking weights or uncooked rice and bake for 12 minutes, crust will reduce down sides of tart tin. Remove baking paper and rice and bake for another 5 minutes.

Combine eggs, cream and dill in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Place sliced smoked salmon and asparagus in the bottom of the pastry case, top with egg and cream mix. Bake in 180^oC oven for approx 30 minutes or until set and golden colour.

Serve with a crisp, leafy salad.

Rocket, pear and walnut salad

It's only natural that as purveyors of fresh produce we enjoy dishes loaded with greens. This summer salad is so easy it will make you wonder how it can taste this good. The secret is the freshest of fresh greens and a tangy yet sweet delicious dressing. Fresh, ripe, thinly sliced pear only adds to the crispness of this salad. Paired with a BBQ feast or eaten on its own, it won’t disappoint.

Ingredients:

1 pear, finely sliced

1 bunch of rocket

1 bunch of baby spinach

1 handful of chopped walnuts

Parmesan cheese

Dressing:

1 tbs honey (or 1 tbs mango chutney)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ tbs wholegrain mustard

Splash of balsamic vinegar

2 tbs olive oil

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

Roast walnuts in hot pan for a few minutes until aromatic. Combine dressing ingredients together, mix well and set aside for 15 minutes; remove garlic. Toss roasted walnuts into a bowl with rocket and baby spinach. Add sliced pear, drizzle with dressing and top with freshly shaved parmesan.

Eat immediately!

Special Christmas delivery times

The Lettuce Shop will be closed for deliveries over the Christmas and New Year period following last deliveries on Friday 23rd December through Friday 6th January. To ensure you get your delivery of fresh produce in time for Christmas why not pop your order in now! We have put on a few extra deliveries to assist during the busy lead up to Christmas, extra deliveries for this week are as follows.

• Hills/Southern suburbs - Thursday 2pm to 5pm; orders in by Wednesday 10pm
• Northern Suburbs - Friday 5am to 10am; orders in by Wednesday 10pm
• Canning Hwy South/Western suburbs - Friday 2pm to 7pm; orders in by Thursday 10pm

To find out delivery times for your area you can also refer to our website. Simply enter your postcode into the box in the bottom left side of the screen and we'll let you know what days we deliver to you. We will commence taking orders for these extra deliveries immediately. With early orders we have a better chance of ensuring you don’t miss out on something you need, so place your order now.

Meat ordersWith a higher than usual demand leading up to Christmas we would also like to ensure our customers do not miss out on organic beef orders so we urge you to place your order in asap. Be prepared for Christmas dinner and get your order for meat and fresh produce in now.

Seasons GreetingsThe Lettuce Shop team thank you for your patronage this year and we wish you all a Merry Christmas. We look forward to providing you quality produce in the New Year. Pop back here and to our Facebook page during the holidays for some holiday and recipe ideas. And don’t forget to share your ideas with us too!
                   

Seasons Greetings,

The Lettuce Shop Team