March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb…..maybe. Here in Central New York, sometimes it’s like a Tasmanian Devil. You might be wondering in this pandemic where to find March Madness in 2021, so we’ll bring some to you right now. Farmer Street Pantry is all about orchard fruit. March is all about citrus as well as basketball. FSP makes in small batches our Orange Sriracha Salad Dressing, so we’re going to mix it up and celebrate Orange Sriracha March Madness. March is a great time to purchase citrus or you can pick up some of our Orange Sriracha Dressing. So go grab some and read on about Orange Sriracha and March Madness.
Orange You Glad You Asked
About oranges: we’re fascinated with them. We love their spicy floral smell, bright colors, sweet and tart taste, history, and their magical properties that go beyond the table. With ancestors from Asia, orange cultivation spread across the globe with increasing trade. Oranges are a great source of many vitamins and minerals. Did you know they also provide the degreasing components for many cleaners? You can learn to make your own here. Orange peel powder can be found in many cosmetic applications. Making jam? The pectin you’re using probably comes from citrus peels, providing holding power so that jams and jellies don’t go runny on you.
March Madness….. In the Home of the Orange
Speaking of running, oranges to us look like mini-basketballs. Syracuse, NY – home of FSP – knows basketball (among quite a few other sports!) Syracuse University’s athletic teams are “the Orange” and make the school one of the most sports-focused campuses in the country. SU’s Otto the Orange is the only fruit mascot in intercollegiate athletics! There are many other great colleges and teams as well, making CNY a sports fan’s dream. The nationally-ranked Syracuse basketball men’s and women’s programs play in “The Loud House”, or Dome. Enthusiastic spectators sometimes toss oranges onto the court! March is the month of basketball madness as teams play for championship cred. Build your bracket and celebrate with some refreshing orange.
Technique: Barreling Citrus Fruit for Clean Segments
In basketball, they call it “ball control”. Here, our drill will be “barreling” of citrus in order to rebound the fruit pulp for segments free of pith and peel. Kind of like boxing out. To teach you, we created an infographic on barreling an orange, coming to you from our Pinterest page. You also can watch last year’s Food Talk Live broadcast, “Tropical Escape” where I go into detail about barreling all manner of tropical fruit. Check it out here.
Orange Sriracha Dressing: Putting Some Zest into Your Cooking
Dunk your orange into a basket and March Orange with our Orange Sriracha Dressing. Recently, we’ve selected a sulfite-free sriracha chili sauce to spice up our formula and make for a cleaner label. How can you use our Orange Sriracha Dressing? Recently, we’ve become enamored with blending fruits, vegetables, beans, herbs, and nuts into our dressings. As a result, they become colorful dressings, spreads, and dips. The top tool here is an immersion blender, however a food processor or regular blender will do. For each one-half cup of dressing, add the following, adjusting to your preferred taste and consistency. Here are our favorite “Blend-Ins” for Orange Sriracha (thin with water if necessary):
Avocado, half cup
Carrots, cooked, half cup
Beets, cooked, half cup
Red beans such as kidney or adzuki, cooked, half cup
Peanut butter, 2 Tb., 1 tsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 2 Tb. hot water
Tomato paste, 1-2 Tb.
Basil or Mint, fresh, 2 Tb., chopped
Go Orange!
Finally, for the kids and for fun, check out Lunchbox Dad’s orange and avocado basketball lunch that he composed for Robin Roberts of Good Morning America here.
For more recipes, online purchasing, and where to buy visit our website or watch our social media posts. Thank you so much for the visit, you’re an absolute Orange Angel!