Follow this link to a fabulous article about a town that decided to make “locally grown” a reality for everyone in the town–very inspiring!
www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2072383/Eccentric-town-Todmorden-growing-ALL-veg.html
2 Sep
Tomorrow’s Market!
Sweet corn should be available at tomorrow’s market! Hooray! We are still hoping for some tomatoes to be ripe and ready by tomorrow’s market day too. We are hopeful that the fall weather will continue to stay warm enough to ripen those crops that are taking a bit longer to mature this year.
We want to remind vendors to give the market manager a heads up if you plan to be at market. It helps us to spread the word about what will be available.
Hope to see you tomorrow in the G.E. Lemmon Park!
15 Aug
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
½ C soft margarine 4 tsp. cocoa (I used 5, but I like chocolate!)
½ C oil ½ tsp. baking soda
1 ¾ C sugar ½ tsp. cloves (I used a little less)
2 eggs ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla 2 C shredded zucchini (I peeled it to avoid the
½ C sour milk flecks of green that scream” zucchini”!)
2 ½ C flour ½ C chocolate chips
Cream margarine, oil, and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and sour milk. Blend thoroughly with a mixer. Sift all dry ingredients together. Beat well. Stir in zucchini until well blended. (I did this by hand.) Pour or spoon into a greased and floured 9x13x2 inch pan. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips, place in a 350o for 40 to 45 minutes. Enjoy!
I served this cake to Sunday dinner guests, they loved it and had no clue it was a zucchini cake. A good way to get the family to consume the lowly but abundant zucchini.
15 Aug
Ooh Baby! – Corn, that is –
Don’t you love that baby corn in stir fry and salad dishes? This popular Asian cuisine is seen everywhere, mostly canned or processed. How about growing some fresh? The miniature size of baby corn makes consumers think that it grown on dwarf corn plants. Field or sweet corn varieties work great for baby corn. Since baby corn ears are harvested before pollination and before sugar has been stored in the kernels, it is too underdeveloped to be sweet. For baby corn, monitor the growth of corn ears carefully, this takes patience and some dedication. Corn grows so quickly, in an extra day or two, the corn can grow larger than you like for baby corn, giving a tougher and larger ear stage on each plant. Start by harvesting ears where silk appears that day. Each ear may reach this stage at a different time. Baby corn ears are best harvested when they are two to four inches long and a third of an inch to two-thirds of an inch in diameter. Refrigerate baby corn with husks on, immediately after harvest if you don’t use it right away. Gardeners can harvest baby corn and mature sweet corn ears from the same plant. You may want to harvest the lower ears for baby corn, allowing the top ear on a plant to mature for sweet corn. Starchy feed (field) corn, with a tendency to grow multiple ears, also works well for baby corn.
28 Jul
“Simply in Season” Cookbook Review
I have recently purchased a wonderful cookbook called “Simply in Season” by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert. It is in the same philosophy as the classic More With Less cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre. Both were commissioned to be written by the Mennonite Central Committee, the charitable arm of the Mennonite church. As with it’s predecessor, More With Less, the new Simply in Season contains no fancy ingredients. It is almost entirely a “from scratch” cookbook. Definately not your run of the mill cream-of-mushroom-soup-church-cookbook.
Simply in Season is not only the title of Lind and Hockman-Wert’s book, it also is the way they chose to organize the recipes and tidbits of information. Starting with spring’s first bounty of asparagus, spinach, rhubarb, lettuce and other early garden fare, they work through the possibilities for salads, soups, main dishes and desserts. Besides the expected recipes for peak growing season, there is a lovely winter section with root vegetable ideas for those good keepers that have been stored away for a snowy day.
This cookbook abounds with information about herbs, cooking and gardening suggestions and food preservation. An alphabetical listing of the fruits, veggies and fungi used in the recipes also lists a description of the item, how to select the best of that produce, storage and handling, preparation tips, serving suggestions, nutrients and pounds to cups equivalent measurements for each fresh ingredient. It’s all beautifully organized with full color pictures of lucious looking fruits and veggies displayed throughout the book.
Simply in Season is available for purchase from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Season-Expanded-Community-Cookbook/dp/0836194942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311889620&sr=1-1 as well as in book stores.
21 Jul
Watch for the Rainbow!
Rumor has it that we are going to have a rainbow of color at the farmers market this week! Of course there will be many shades of green veggies, but also some red and yellow too! Look for several varieties of lettuce, Bright Lights swiss chard (red, yellow and white), red and green rhubarb and, drum roll please….yellow and green summer squashes. There are sure to be many other surprises–including some items so yummy that they probably won’t make it back to your vehicle to haul home!
Bring your family and friends down to the G.E. Lemmon park this Friday from 5-7 p.m. and pick up your own rainbow of produce for the week!
19 Jul
The LAFM Up and Running!
This is great news for those of us that love to use fresh home grown veggies and fruits. Here is a couple ways to put the many veggies that are ready right now to use in your meals.
Veggie Frittatas using fresh greens, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, fresh herbs and fresh eggs make a quick and easy meal for breakfast, lunch or supper. To make a simple frittata sauté onions and garlic, peppers (all or your choice) until translucent then add your choice of veggies until wilted. Whip together eggs (as for scrambled eggs), 3 to 8 depending on how many servings, pour the eggs over the veggies, cook on top of the stove until firm around the sides and still soft in the middle, sprinkle about a cup of shredded cheese over the top and place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until the center is firm and cheese is melted. Serve with fresh garden salsa.
Fresh green pesto made with fresh from the garden herbs to serve with pasta or use as a spread on crusty breads or snack crackers.
Zucchini: grilled, salads, breads, cakes, muffins and even brownies the kids will love. Summer squash for almost all the same uses.
Salads of all sorts using everything from edible pod peas, lettuces of all varieties, cabbage, kale, cucumbers, you name it and if it can be eaten raw or barely cooked it can be made into a cool summer salad.
Get you creative juices flowing and experiment with fresh produce from LAFM!
13 Jul
The Green Stuff is Coming!
Sounds like this Friday from 5-7 pm we will have a good assortment of vendors. More veggies are ready to go, so be sure to stop by for your salad fixings for the week! Summer squash should be making a showing either this week or the next, so look for those yellow crooknecks or zucchini for your favorite recipes!
8 Jul
Boss Cowman Market Day
Be sure to look for the Farmers Market in the G.E. Lemmon park from 5-7 p.m. Friday July 8, 2011. It sounds like we might have some really unique vendors–think RHUBARB LEMONADE! Oh Yum!
30 Jun
It’s Chard Season!
This leafy plant features distinctly large dark leaves with well-developed stalks. Generally, chard leaves are harvested at various stages of maturity. While whole plant with tender young leaves harvested for salad preparation; individual matured large sized leaves with slightly tougher stems picked up for sautéing and cooking.
Chard is a good veggie for cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs. It contains many good nutrients such as Vitamin C, Vitamin K, B complex vitamins, B Carotene and Iron among the most notable. It can be prepared many ways: Fresh young chard can be used raw in salads. Mature chard leaves and stalks are typically cooked, braised or sautéed; the bitter flavor fades with cooking. However, antioxidant properties of chard are significantly decreased on steaming, frying and boiling. Here are a couple different ways to serve this versatile green leafy vegetable. Enjoy!
Swiss chard with Garbanzo Beans and fresh Tomatoes
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bunch red Swiss chard, rinsed and chopped
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Stir in shallot and green onions; cook and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft and fragrant. Stir in garbanzo beans, and season with salt and pepper; heat through. Place chard in pan, and cook until wilted. Add tomato slices, squeeze lemon juice over greens, and heat through. Plate, and season with salt and pepper to taste
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Crustless Swiss Chard Quiche
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 1/2 bunch Swiss chard
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup skim milk
• salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Wash and dry Swiss chard. Cut off the very ends of the stems. Roughly chop (leaving stems intact) the chard.
2. Add onion and Chard to the oil and sauté until stems are tender (do not overcook). Add salt & pepper to taste.
3. Meanwhile, grate 2.5 cups of cheese. Use whatever varieties you want/have. Be creative! Try Swiss, Cheddar, Parmesan, Cojito or a mixture of your favorites.
4. Wisk eggs. Add milk and cheese. Fold in the onion/chard mixture. Add salt & pepper to taste, if necessary.
5. Pour into a pie dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and no liquid seeps when you poke it with a knife
