veggie box socca bake
/The other day I was contacted by a local organic food delivery company. They wanted to send me a free box of fruits + veggies!! Yes please, where do I sign!? :)
My “bitty” box arrived today, and I couldn’t wait to rip it open. I’ve never received organic produce on my doorstep, so I was a tad excited, to say the least.
The company is door to door organics and it’s based in Colorado. There are a few other states that they service as well, so check their site if you’re interested.
I received the smallest of their boxes, which was actually quite large. I was definitely impressed. Their website is fabulous and very user-friendly. One of the things I really love is that you are allowed to sub out 5 things each week that you don’t want. For instance, I requested NO BEETS. This girl is not a fan! During the spring/summer/fall almost all of the produce is obtained from local farms, which I just love!
So what all came in the box?
- 1 huge head of red leaf lettuce
- 3 tomatoes
- 2 bananas
- 1 mango
- 1 cucumber
- 1 red pepper
- 3 heads of broccoli [don’t worry, I won’t throw the stems away!]
- 2 blood oranges
We enjoyed the lettuce with dinner! Fresh, crispy + delicious!
Organic broccoli + peppers are expensive, so for the cost of $24.99 [includes delivery] this is a pretty good price! You can check out the different box costs here. If I would buy all of this at my local natural food store, it would have cost about $22-25, with current pricing. It’s very close to being the same and the delivery is such a nice bonus. Plus there are a million things you can add to your delivery. It’s basically a whole grocery store! They even have sales, special Valentine packages, and local products as well.
I wasn’t paid for this review. I’m just really excited about this company! They’re going to be offering a special promotion for my readers too. I’ll give you the details soon.
I was finally able to get back to the pool today. It has been almost a full three weeks [flu + sinus problems], which is just way too long. I was shocked, because I felt like I didn’t lose any stamina at all. I was sore from a few spills I took snowboarding, but had a great first day back in the water.
Typically, I don’t have a problem getting motivated to workout. However, when I take that much time off, it’s always harder to get back into it for the first few days. I have ridden my indoor bike trainer a few times + walked the dogs, but have spent most of the last few weeks parked on the couch!
swimming breakdown:
- 100m kickboard warm up
- 500m freestyle
- 250m breast stroke
- 250m aqua jogging
- 500m freestyle
- 250m breast stroke
- 250m aqua jogging
- 50m kickboard cool down
Total Distance: = 1.33 miles in 1hr 7min
I think something that helped keep me going was the thought of lunch. I had something planned!
A new socca recipe, just for you! Socca comes from French cuisine and is basically an unleavened bread made from chickpea flour. It’s not sweet at all, but has a mild chickpea flavor and a thick/dense consistency. I’ve made a few different variations and have loved them all. If you’re looking to get creative with your socca, or want some inspiration, definitely check out Michelle + Lori’s socca tribute!
What I made today, was my favorite version yet!
Socca pizza!! Oh.yes.
Herbed Socca [serves 2]
- 1 1/4c chickpea flour
- 1c water
- 1T olive oil
- 1T unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/4-1/2t salt
- 1/2t garlic powder
- 1.5t dried oregano
- 1t dried parlsey
- 1/2t dried basil
- 1t dried rosemary
- black pepper
- Preheat your oven to 375*
- Line the bottom of an 8-9” round pan with parchment + grease the bottom and sides. If you don’t have parchment, that’s fine, just grease the entire pan.
- In a bowl mix all of the ingredients together.
- Pour into the pan and bake for 40min, until cracked on the top with browned edges.
- Let cool for a few minutes, then slide a knife along the edge.
- Put a plate upside down on top of the pan and flip the socca out. It should come out easily. If you used parchment you might be able to just pull it out.
- Top with pizza ingredients and bake on a pan for another 5-8min, until all ingredients are hot/melted.
I made a batch of my pizza sauce, which I love love love. I eat it by the spoonful while it’s cooking. :) You can adapt it to whatever Italian seasonings you have on hand. I also added 2-3T of apple cider vinegar, which really brings the whole sauce together. Today I used my immersion blender to smooth it out a bit.
After I smoothed out the sauce, I added about 4c of fresh spinach to to the pan. It wilted down and was the perfect veggie addition.
Then I topped it with ‘shrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and vegan parmesan “cheese.” [nutritional yeast + toasted sesame seeds + salt]
I love how the edge got a little crispy and the center didn’t get soggy at all. every bite was equally delicious. No sagging crust! It’s definitely not your typical pizza dough but worked really well. Check out the nutrition facts for the entire socca crust!
The fat is about 8g from the chickpea flour and 12g from the 1T of oil. It may seem small compared to a few slices of your favorite pie, but half of this pizza is extremely filling!
I ate the second half for dinner along with a huge salad. The second time around I also added some goat’s milk feta cheese, which was spectacular.
Definitely will be making this again!
If you’ve never made socca, and are interested in using chickpea flour, you must give this a try! You could definitely make a double batch of the crust to freeze - let it cool –> wrap it tightly –> store in a bag to freeze –>thaw in the fridge the day before you want to use it. I suggest reheating in the oven not the microwave.
This girl has not stopped since 7am this morning. More house happenings tomorrow! No new news to speak of and we won’t really know anything until possibly next week. Eeek!
b.e.d.
Ashley
