< PreviousTOMATO AVOCADO CORN SALAD CITRUS MELON QUINOA SALAD 15 mineasy6 30 min easy 6 Fun, fresh and full of flavor, this Tomato Avocado Corn Salad made with sunny Pure Flavor® Bumbles® Yellow Grape Tomatoes might become your new favorite side dish! These tomatoes are rich in iron and potassium and add the perfect tangy, sweetness to this salad! A fresh and light Quinoa salad that comes together with an incredible mix of both fruit and vegetables, topped with a creamy orange yogurt sauce. SEE RECIPE SEE RECIPE 10 SUMMER OF SALADSSUMMER MINI PEPPER SALAD GRILLED SOUTHWEST CHICKEN SALAD 10 minmedium4 This super quick summer salad is filled with flavor from a few key ingredients like Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers, jalapeños & corn. Top it all off with an easy homemade dressing and have the perfect side salad in no time! This grilled southwest chicken salad has loads of fresh veggies, including juicy Organic Sangria® Medley Tomatoes, crunchy lettuce, fiber-rich black beans, roasted corn, grilled chicken, and chipotle ranch dressing making it a full meal. SEE RECIPE SEE RECIPE 11 10 mineasy212 KEEP READING When you think of salads, does your brain automatically default to the typical side garden salad made with chopped iceberg lettuce and topped with shredded carrots and a wedge of tomato? We know that doesn’t sound all too exciting but luckily, we have put together some unique and flavorful ways to go beyond the greens and create more exciting salad options! Consistently fuelling your body with healthy meals, ensures that you hit your daily nutritional goals while also training your brain to crave the right foods. It’s time to #flavorup with yummy salads – we hope you are hungry! Let’s think outside the box for a minute – the variety of options and potential flavor combinations in salads are nearly endless and since they contain a substantial number of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, salads also make it easy to enjoy getting your daily dose of vegetables. As you may know, this is important to staying healthy and keeping your body functioning properly. That said, a salad is only as good as its ingredients. If you want fresh, think of Pure Flavor®! SUMMER OF SALADS Crave-Worthy SALADS THAT GO BEYOND THE GREENS 13 SEE RECIPE SEE RECIPE SEE RECIPE SEE RECIPE TERIYAKI CHICKEN SALAD HAWAIIAN CHICKEN SALAD AUTHENTIC FATTOUSH SALAD KALE PEANUT SALAD14 SEE RECIPE SEE RECIPE SEE RECIPE STRAWBERRY PEPPER SPINACH SALAD BLACK GRAM AND CUCUMBER SALAD MELON & PEACH CAPRESE SALAD LEMONY QUINOA CUCUMBER SALAD SEE RECIPE 15 Brighten Up YOUR TABLE WITH SUNSHINE PASTA SALAD There is nothing I love more at an afternoon barbeque than a fun pasta salad dish! I probably have a hundred different pasta salad recipes that I love to rotate through throughout the spring and summer months, but this one has to be one of my favorites! Sunshine Pasta Salad is a super simple side dish consisting of penne pasta, cucu- mbers, sweet corn, feta cheese, and a silky lemon dressing! Seriously so delicious. The showstopper in this dish? These fun little Uno Bites™ Nano Cucumbers from Pure Flavor®! How can such a teeny tiny cucumber pack so much flavor? They are the perfect ingredient for this easy pasta salad; but they are also one of my favorite things to toss into a snack pack, slice and put in a lunch salad, or honestly just eat straight out of the package! Seriously, you’ve got to try them. KEEP READING SUMMER OF SALADS by Amber Bogardus1016 1. How do Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers grow? Explain the process of growing them this past year. In January, we planted 154,000 small (approx. 14-16” tall) plants in compostable growing mediums. From the start of the growing process, we focus on building a strong root system and use an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) biological program, which means we use good bugs like Ladybugs, to fight off bad bugs, to keep away any nasty pests. Soon after planting, the root system will break through the growing medium which strengthens the core of the plant which will then in turn, produce heads on the plants. As a rule of thumb, we keep 3 heads per plant to increase the plant density. After the heads on the plants are established, we focus on creating the ideal fruit setting, when flowers on the plant become fruit. TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW: AURORA BITES MINI SWEET PEPPERS Isaak Fast, Head Grower at Pure Flavor Farms in Leamington, ON shares how his love for growing started as a summer job in the industry as a crop worker and has carried him through to his position today. Throughout his career his ambition and passion allowed him to work his way up through the greenhouse industry learning every aspect of operations. From crop worker, to the packhouse, shipping and receiving, and now growing, Isaak knows it all. Isaak joined Pure Flavor Farms six years ago but began growing in 2014. Today he oversees nearly 1 million plants a year at our Leamington, ON farm. From lunchbox to dinner plate these Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers are the super sweet snacking pepper that kids crave and parents love. Get a glimpse inside our Leamington, ON greenhouse and hear from Head Grower Isaak Fast on what it’s like to grow our Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers. 17 This is done by ensuring proper water allotment and controlling the nighttime and daytime temperatures. From here, nodes grow on the plants, and at every node there is a side shoot that grows off the main stalk. We let 2 to 3 nodes grow before we remove the side shoot. This is done so we have more fruit setting and a bigger leaf canopy to shade the fruit from the direct sun light. Yes, there is a science to growing better fruit! 2. Are Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers sustainably grown? Yes! Greenhouse grown vegetables use innovative technologies to produce more vegetables with less impact on the environment. To water and feed our peppers, we use a closed loop irrigation system which allows us to give each plant the exact amount of water it needs, precisely when it needs it. Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers grow vertically, which results in a smaller footprint with more plants… and peppers in the greenhouse! Each plant is grown in a recycled natural growing medium such as coconut husks, which are composted at the end of the growing season. 3. How tall do Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Pepper plants actually grow? During the growing season, the plants will grow upwards of 4 meters (in excess of 12 ft) tall! As the season progresses, our teams go through the crop to wind the plant around a vertical string every other week to assist them in stretching for the sun as they need natural light to produce the best fruit they can. 4. How are the pepper plants fed? During the growing process, each plant has a dedicated dripper that supplies the water & plant nutrition it needs to grow strong. What is unique about this is that we can monitor and provide dedicated nutrients at the exact time the plant needs it. A sensor in the growing substrate shows us the time the plant is drinking and how much it is drinking, so that we know exactly what to feed the plant. Whatever the plant does not consume gets recycled back into the system so there is no waste. 5. How large is the Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Pepper crop that you are working with? How many peppers does the crop produce? We currently have 11.5 combined acres of Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers planted which equates to approximately 154,000 pepper plants. It takes about 7-8 weeks for plants to produce peppers that are ready to be picked so that means our crop produces about 20,790,000 mini peppers annually! 6. What is the ‘season’ for Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers? Are they grown year-round? As a company, we grow Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers year-round; our family of growers ensure that we have a consistent supply, regardless of the season. That’s the beauty of greenhouse grown produce; grown indoors ensures that we provide the optimal climate for all of our crops and are removing the seasonality so you can enjoy fresh Pure Flavor® vegetables 12 months a year! We are always in season! 7. What is special about Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers? For me, the taste. Hands down. Nothing beats the crunch & flavor of the Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers. This is the first year we have planted Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers at this farm specifically, and we are learning how their consistency makes them fun to grow. By providing the right amount of light, water, heat, and nutrition, we are giving the plant every reason to produce great fruit; consistency in size, color, and most importantly flavor is key to growing a great product. 8. What is your favorite way to eat Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers? Right off the plant! They are the perfect snack – super crunchy and delicious. We grow red, yellow, and orange and I know I’m not supposed to have favorites, but I tend to like the orange ones the best! When I am at home, I like them raw, or in a salad, even slicing them down the middle and put them on the grill. 9. Why do you like growing them? Simply put, they taste great! They are consistent and fun to grow so quality control is easy. As a grower, I love to be challenged; working with plants is a very interesting career path and given that we grow so many different types of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers, I get to encounter so many different growing environments that I get to learn something new all the time and get to pass that knowledge on to my team. 10. Any fun facts about Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers? Most people don’t realize how little water mini peppers need to start growing! On average, Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers only receive water once a day when they are first planted which is much lower than the other commodities we grow. This will increase when the crop is producing and fully grown. Also, in comparison to other vegetables, we can grow about 3 times more Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers per square meter, it’s like they are constantly multiplying!1 1 VEGGIE GRILLING If you really want to get that grill fired up, why not add some of your favorite vegetables to the list of what’s cooking? Create a colorful feast for your family and friends to enjoy by adding more veggies to the grill! This summer is all about entertaining and spending time with the people that matter most, so it’s the perfect opportunity to create heathy and delicious meal ideas. Grilling vegetables is simple and most pair perfectly with whatever protein you are serving as the main dish. From steak, to shrimp, to chicken – we are certain that a side of grilled Tomatoes, Peppers or Eggplants will complement the flavor profile. GO BEYOND THE TYPICAL HOT DOG AND HAMBURGER SPREAD THIS SUMMER! 18TOMATOES • Grilling enhances tomatoes with smoky char while preserving their summery taste while adding another dimension of flavor • When grilling larger tomatoes, cut them along the equator to grill them with ease • If you are grilling whole, brush the outside lightly with olive oil before adding to the heat • For smaller tomatoes, use skewers or a grill pan so tomatoes don’t fall through the grates PEPPERS • Grilling Sweet Bell Peppers adds a subtle and delicious smokiness that everyone loves • To grill a whole bell pepper or long sweet pepper, start by brushing the outside with avocado or grapeseed oil so it doesn’t stick to the grill. As each side chars, rotate them to ensure an even grill • Mini Sweet Peppers are great on the grill, toss them in olive oil and herbs and add to a grill pan or skewer them to easily rotate over the heat EGGPLANTS • Grilling eggplant is a fantastic way to add a smoky note to its sweet flavor • Sprinkle eggplant with salt & press between paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible before grilling • The simplest method for grilling eggplant is to cut it crosswise into ¼” to ½” thick slices, brush the slices with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt, and grill over medium-high direct heat, turning once 19 PURE-FLAVOR.COM /GRILLINGNext >