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This month, our Breakfast Promotion includes a dozen of Wilcox's Omega-3 Brown Jumbo Eggs. I can't tell you how much I love these eggs--they are fresh (you can tell when you break an egg and the yolk is firm and round), extremely healthy for you and local! In the spirit of these amazing eggs, I thought I would share an omelet recipe with you.

Spring Omelet (serves 2)

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 6 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
- 1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms.
- 2/3 cup of green onions, chopped
- 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the asparagus, mushrooms and onions; cook and stir until the asparagus is fairly soft, about 4 minutes.
3. Whisk together the eggs and milk in a small bowl; pour over the sauteed vegetables and reduce the heat to medium.
4. While the omelet cooks, lift the edge to allow the uncooked egg to flow underneath.
5. When most of the egg is cooked, sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. Allow the cheese to melt slightly, then fold in half and serve.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Perfect for your weekends with a great cup of coffee and fresh squeezed juice.

Blueberries are in season! These delectable little berries are healthy, full of antioxidants, and can be used to top off many of your favorite summertime desserts.

Selecting the perfect blueberry:

*When picking blueberries, make sure they're firm, plump and deep purple in color.

*Avoid blueberries that are dull in color, soft and leaking juice.

Blueberry facts:

*The blueberry is the second most popular berry in the U.S. (strawberries are first)

*One cup of blueberries provides us with almost 1/3 of the daily recommended Vitamin C.

*Blueberries contain more antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable which some say, are beneficial in preventing aging, cancer and heart disease.

*North America accounts for 90% of all blueberry production.

This Memorial Day, show off your patriotism with a red, white and blue(berry) dessert.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh organic blueberries
2-3 ounce boxes of raspberry gelatin
1 envelope plain gelatin
1 cup half and half
1 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract
8 ounces of cream cheese
2 cups boiling hot water
1 cup cold water

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, pour in one box of raspberry gelatin and one cup boiling water. Once the gelatin is dissolved, add one cup of cold water and let chill. In a separate bowl, pour in plain gelatin and ½ cup cold water. In a large saucepan, heat half and half with sugar over medium heat, and stir. Once the sugar dissolves, add plain gelatin, vanilla, and cream cheese, and blend together. Spoon over the raspberry gelatin mixture and refrigerate. While the mixture is chilling, combine the second box of raspberry gelatin with 1 cup boiling water and fresh blueberries. Let cool and spoon over the second layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top it off with whipped cream before serving to your guests.

I have long been on a search for the perfect Fried Chicken recipe. One that combines my love for easy, simple recipes, comfort food and of course, all things spicy. I think I have finally found it. This recipe I must admit comes from three different sources. One is an old recipe that my dad used to make that used tomato sauce to coat the chicken and give it a tangy flavor. That recipe goes back at least 40 years. Who knows where he got it from. Second is the simplest recipe I could find on the internet for fried chicken that had the fewest steps and third is my own addition of spice to the recipe to make it truly unique. In the end this is a recipe that could only be found in my own kitchen until now. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup shortening (I like the Sticks since they are pre measured)
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
*1 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon ground black pepper
*1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
* Enough Picante Sauce in a Ziploc Bag to shake and cover your chicken pieces

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the shortening in a large, cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. (A little plug for Lodge Cast Iron Skillets here. I consider the Lodge Cast Iron I have purchased to be one of the best investments I have made for my kitchen. I will let the 124 reviews with an average of almost 5 stars do the rest of the selling.)
2. In a gallon or quart sized Ziploc Storage Bag coat with your desired Picante Sauce. (If you do not want this recipe to be spicy at all then substitute tomato sauce.)
3. In another Ziploc bag combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Shake two chicken pieces in the bag to coat, and place them in the skillet. Repeat until all of the chicken is coated and in the skillet.
4. Fry the chicken over medium-high heat until all of the pieces have been browned on both sides. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 25 minutes. Remove the lid, and increase heat to medium-high. Continue frying until chicken pieces are a deep golden brown, and the juices run clear.
Enjoy!

The weather recently has been a bit of a let down, with all the rain and wind passing through. If my cousin were here he'd probably say something like, "Da weather go stay all kine junk!" I did manage to take advantage of warmer days in the last month, however, to try out a teriyaki recipe that I got from my mom back in Hawaii. As a bit of quick background, I grew up thinking of "teriyaki" as an overnight marinade for grilling meat, particularly beef. Imagine my surprise when I arrived in Seattle, went to my first teriyaki restaurant, and was served meat that had a sauce poured on it after the cooking process. Don't get me wrong, it's still tasty...just not quite what I expected. Anyway, with my urge to barbecue returning now that I don't have to brush snow off of my grill, I've been experimenting with a recipe and I thought I'd share it with folks. Here's the basic ingredient list:

- 2 cups soy sauce (shoyu for you folks from Hawaii)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 or more teaspoons of finely grated or chopped ginger
- 3 green onion stalks, chopped
- a splash of sake (can be substituted with mirin)
- optional - 1 large garlic clove minced, or 3-4 cloves crushed or sliced

The garlic is optional because my mom didn't always throw it in...she doesn't like garlic that much. I've been adding 3 or 4 crushed cloves since I tend to remove the garlic from the meat before grilling. The main area that's strongly to taste is the sugar, with some people like something closer to a 1:1 ratio of the soy sauce to sugar. Feel free to experiment a little, since it's pretty easy to taste the sauce and adjust by either adding more sugar or soy sauce. To be honest, I mostly go by taste and don't really measure proportions. I suspect I probably use something closer to a 3:1 soy sauce to sugar ratio and a little more ginger.

As far as directions go, all you do is mix the ingredients together (heating the soy sauce then adding the sugar may help in dissolving it, but isn't necessary) and marinate your chosen meat overnight. Personally, I've been using choice sirloin steak sliced thin, marinated, and then put on bamboo skewers so they don't end up in my grill. The result is a flavorful dish that is designed to go great with steamed rice, and can be eaten either hot off the grill or cold for that "authentic" Hawaiian plate lunch experience.

Hope you enjoy the recipe, and feel free to leave a comment with feedback or any recipes of your own! Mahalo!

Got a lot a pretty colored Easter eggs? Make egg salad. Try this tasty, quick recipe on toasted artisan bread or served over a bed of fresh greens. For extra zest, try this amazing (and gluten free) Miso Mayo--either the regular or the red pepper.

Cilantro Dijon Egg Salad

I'm happy to introduce a great new jam here at AmazonFresh-- Freezerves from Sunfresh. Sunfresh is a locally owned and operated company that has been making all natural jams for over 20 years.

Owners Reed Hadley and Jill Morganpage began with the dream of bringing the incredible flavor of all natural "Freezer Jam" to the public. Unlike most store-bought jams and preserves, this method of making jam requires no cooking and captures the taste of fresh fruit, retaining the vitamins and enzymes that occur naturally. Before Sunfresh, freezer jams were only available from the kitchens of Mom, Aunt Sally or Grandma.

They created their first batch of Sunfresh freezer jam in 1986, with an investment of $1,000 in fresh raspberries, sugar, pectin and plastic food containers. The original home-designed labels were made using their daughter's crayons.

The next four to five years, the Sunfresh Team spent time marketing, sampling, developing recipes, producing and packaging jam. Reed delivered the delicious products to restaurants and grocery stores around the Pacific Northwest, while Jill worked with restaurant chefs to determine how much jam they needed for the week.

During my years of experience in food service, it was clear that Sunfresh Freezerves was the jam of choice for many of the white table cloth restaurants in the Seattle area. This product is not just for spreading on English muffins or fresh baked bread, it's also a great gourmet ingredient. After trying this delicious recipe I am sure you will agree, Freezerves are not only a top tier jam, but also a very versatile product.

Sunfresh SEARED AND BAKED CHICKEN BREAST with garlic, sage, and Apricot Orange Marmalade FREEZERVES

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts with bones and skin on
4 tsp. SUNFRESH Apricot Orange Marmalade
1 lg garlic clove, chopped
1 full Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil

Instructions:

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees
Mix the marmalade, garlic, and sage.
With your fingers, loosen the skin from the chicken breast to form a pocket.
Put a tsp. of marmalade mix into each of those pockets.
In an oven safe skillet on med-hi, add the olive oil and sear the breasts skin side down, until golden brown. This takes 5-10 minutes.
Turn chicken skin side up and bake in 350 degrees oven for 30 minutes.
Serve with Risotto, Rice, or Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Enjoy!

Remember your first experiences in the kitchen? Maybe you helped your mom or dad measure sugar for a cake, stirred that big wooden spoon until your little arm ached, maybe you just licked the beaters.
Getting your child to feel comfortable at cooking pays off for everyone. Start by inviting him or her into the kitchen during an unrushed moment, when there is time to instruct and share responsibilities and re-create those happy moments. Cooking with children is a wonderful way to teach, share, and connect and when you're finished, you get to have dessert!

Things can get messy so here are a few tips to help minimize clean-up time.
-- Spread newspapers over tables or countertops.
-- Wear an apron. Small children can wear one of your old T-shirts over clothing.
-- Teach kids to clean as they go (and set a good example yourself).

Here is a great recipe that most every kid will enjoy preparing. I have found that even the pickiest eater still enjoys PIZZA. This recipe allows the kids to be the chef. They can make the pizza of their dreams!

The Perfect Pizza
Prep time: about 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 standard-sized bagel, cut in half (English muffins also work great)
pizza sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese
toppings: pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, bell peppers, pineapple (whatever you like)
seasonings: oregano, basil and parmesan cheese (whatever your favorite pizza toppings are)

Directions:
1. Set the oven to low heat. (325 degrees)
2. Spread tomato sauce on each bagel half or English muffin.
3. Sprinkle the shredded cheese all over the tomato sauce on each half.
4. Add your favorite toppings.
5. Put a light sprinkling of seasonings on each half.
6. Put your bagel halves on the baking sheet (for easy clean up place a piece of tinfoil on the baking sheet).
7. Bake in the oven on 325 for about 5 to 8 minutes. You'll know they're done when the cheese is bubbly.
8. Let cool for a minute, and then enjoy your pizzas.

Stay tuned for more fun recipes that you can enjoy preparing with your little ones!

Hey Fresh fans,

I am Phillip (aka Chili Philly) the resident Hot and Spicy Food Tester here at AmazonFresh. As the title might suggest I am kind of obsessed with hot and spicy food. Actually addicted might be a more accurate description. Therefore my posts here on the Blog are going to walk more on the wild side. I wanted my inaugural post to be less about the products I love and more why I love all things hot. Beyond the obvious tastiness of spicy food there are many other benefits that you Fresh fans might not be aware of so I thought I would start out by listing them for you.

*Peppers and other spices are a low calorie way to add taste that has been shown to boost metabolism, help with weight loss and the lowering of blood pressure.

*Spicy food helps the body absorb blood clots and can lead to increased heart health.

*Spicy food gets a bad rap for causing heart burn. Studies have shown that a consistent spicy food intake actually increases stomach secretions that protect the stomach and aids in digestion. The key is to not do it all in one sitting.

*After eating spicy food you can expect improved sleep patterns with a more relaxed and uninterrupted night.

*Spicy food can help with cold and flu recovery by easing the discomfort of cold and flu symptoms and clearing nasal passages. (Mix some hot sauce in with that chicken soup.)

*Last but not least are the anti-oxidant and cancer fighting properties that are found in many spicy foods.

The source of many of these benefits is the fact that spicy foods cause the body to release endorphins. The hotter the pepper the more endorphins the body releases to cope with the heat. Endorphins are the same reason that acupuncture, massage and meditation have health benefits. Endorphins cause a euphoric feeling and are the source of a runners high. If you are already a big fan of spicy food you may have noticed that you enjoy a beer or margarita much more with hot and spicy food. This is no accident. It is the endorphins and the alcohol combining to increase your enjoyment. It is also no accident that if you love spicy food you really start to crave them after a really hard workout. Try your favorite spicy dish and a beer after your weekend run or bike ride and you will be on cloud nine.

I have not included links to all the studies as evidence for all of this. A quick internet search on health benefits of spicy foods will lead you to them but this article has a lot of the ones I mentioned above.

Ok enough with all of the reasons for loving spicy food and down to giving you something to try for your first time out. Since this may be your first spin around the block we are putting on the training wheels here. I want to make this first recipe so easy that work is not a barrier to joining me in my love of spicy food. This is probably as easy as it gets but that does not mean it will not do wonders for the taste buds (and endorphins).

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

Cocktail Sauce combined with your favorite fresh salsa in equal quantities in a shallow bowl. I suggest
Charlies. Choose a hotter salsa rather than mild since the cocktail sauce already cuts down on the bite.
Place cooked shrimp around the edges of the bowl and garnish with cut lemons or limes.

I said it was easy. Enjoy! We will try something harder (and possibly hotter) next time.