Nourished Kitchen is a wonderful blog about lots of good information about recipes and cooking techniques for preparing super-healthy food.
On the home page today is an article with ten excellent tips for success at farmers’ markets. My favorite is “bring a cooler.” You never know what kind of cheese or meat or other stuff might be available at a farmers’ market. It is the worst to have to walk away from something simply because it won’t withstand a summer afternoon in the car.
Posted in Farmers Markets | Leave a Comment »
Last week, Chris, James, and I watched the Future of Food, a documentary about genetically-engineered crops, monoculture, and big agriculture companies. You can watch it on Hulu here.
Even if the idea of genetically modified food doesn’t bug you, the mafioso tactics of Monsanto surely will. What started out as a green revolution in the seventies to help more people grow more food has turned into an aggressive and dangerous power play for one company to have control over what no one company (or institution) should have control over.
And Monsanto has the money, the government connections, and the will to make it happen.
What can you do? One thing is to join Just Label It in pressuring the FDA to require labeling of genetically modified foods.
From the Just Label It homepage you can easily send a pre-composed email to the commissioner of the FDA.
In other ag news, the 2012 Farm Bill will likely be voted on in the Senate this week. Like previous farm bills, this bill includes billions in subsidies for large commodity growers of corn and soy but does little to support real food crops. Read more about it at FoodFight2012.
And here you can find contact forms for Georgia senators if you’d like to let them know your thoughts about this bill as they consider it this week.
FWIW, here is the brief message I sent Senators Chambliss and Isakson. (If you agree, feel free to copy/steal any part of this in your messages.)
Dear Senator Chambliss,
As you consider the Farm Bill this week, please know that I am among the citizens of the US (and residents of Georgia) who believe that the subsidies to large corn and soy growers have gone on too long and are dangerous to the health of our nation. If we need to subsidize agriculture, the recipients should be farms growing food that people actually eat (like vegetables and fruits) and smaller local farms feeding their communities. De-centralized, small agriculture has the same benefits as de-centralized, small government. The inverse is also true.
Sincerely,
Susan Loper
Posted in CSA reports | Leave a Comment »
I had a long meeting in Atlanta and did not make it back in time to pick up my veggies Wednesday evening. I wish them well wherever they wound up.
So instead of photos of my regular haul, here are some notes about things we ate this week.
Kohlrabi greens
Kohlrabi greens are tasty sautéed with raisins and chopped walnuts. This recipe is our greens default, and Chris and I love it. (Pine nuts are expensive! Walnuts are almost as good and very healthy.)
kohlrabi greens and root
What I’ve finally learned is that with greens like kohlrabi, I want to spread them around and cook them to the point where I first get a whiff of, “Oh, no! I’ve burnt the greens!” Then the greens come out dry and tasty rather than green balls of soggy cud.
Kale, Komatsuna, and dandelion greens cook up fast and dry. Beet greens, chard, and kohlrabi are greens that need more time in contact with the heat.
Beets, goat cheese, and sorrel
This is my favorite food in the world.
Because no one else in my house likes sorrel, I hoard all the beets and goat cheese and then have a glorious feast for me!
The beets are prepared ahead of time. I wrap them in tin foil and put them in a pan so they won’t leak in the oven. Then they go in the oven for half an hour to two hours depending on the size of the beets. After being roasted, the beets chill them in the fridge. After a few hours or overnight, they are super easy to peel and chop. Continue Reading »
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA | Tagged beets, gluten-free, grits, kohlrabi, pizza, sorrel | Leave a Comment »
This Saturday 5/5 is Carrollton’s annual arts and craft festival. It’s Mayfest!
Come visit the Farmers Fresh CSA store on the square and enjoy lots of other fun events and vendors from all over the Southeast.
Mayfest runs from 9:30 to 4:30. For more information, visit http://www.carrolltonmainstreet.com/mayfest.php.
Posted in CSA reports | Leave a Comment »
Here’s what came from Farmers’ Fresh this week.
Strawberries!
Strawberries make life good. Especially when they look like cartoon whales.
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA | Tagged dandelion greens, green beans, par-cel, peas, radishes, strawberries | Leave a Comment »
Is it too early to declare 2012 Year of Spinach?
I have still have spinach from last week, so I just threw in the towel and blanched this batch and what I had. It’s now frozen and awaiting further instruction – like jump in this creamy pasta dish.
Tuscan kale, on the other hand, I never get enough of.
Kale is high in iron, and I was deferred from giving blood last week on account of my iron being low. That’s low for giving blood, not low in general. The blood donation cut-off excludes the “low-normal” range for women. But, hey, it’s an excuse to eat more kale. And cheeseburgers at the Vortex.
Strawberries are always tasty. And pretty.
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA | Tagged brown rice, prosciutto | Leave a Comment »
Here’s a report from my second to last CSA deliviery:
STRAWBERRIES!
I am a gush-o-phobe, so I like my berries frozen. Freezing fruit (and then thawing it slightly) turns it into a delicious, non-gushy treat. To keep the berries separate when frozen, I wash, stem, and half them and then freeze them on a cookie sheet for a few hours before transferring them to a bag.
Frozen fruit also works great for pancakes, muffins, and smoothies. Our smoothie recipe is a banana, a handful or two of frozen fruit, and about a cup of plain yogurt. It usually needs a splash of milk or water, too, to make the mixture liquid enough to blend. So yummy!
Salad fixings and greens
radishes and greens
The radish greens were nice-looking enough that I saved them to sauté. But then I didn’t get around to it, so they ended up in the bucket anyway. Continue Reading »
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA | Tagged berries, oregano, salad, strawberries | Leave a Comment »
This week, we got a bunch of yummy stuff from our CSA.
greens onions and a leek (or possibly a giant green onion?)
Red Russian kale
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA | Tagged bordeaux spinach, red kale | Leave a Comment »
Check out this week’s haul…
Tomato and arugula
Sometimes, I find arugula overpowering, but this is wonderful stuff. I’m currently cooking down the tomato with some garlic, olive oil, and wine. Tonight, we’re going to have tomato, arugula, and goat cheese pizza. Continue Reading »
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA | Tagged arugula, broccoli, fava beans, pac choi, spinach | 1 Comment »
It’s spring!! It’s thundering outside, everything’s getting green, and our goldfish made an appearance at the top of our pond today.
In other critter news, yesterday I was driving home from picking up my box of vegetables when I came across an enormous snapping turtle in the middle of the road. Someone else had already stopped to try to get him to safety. But, you know what? Snapping turtles don’t like being helped. Really don’t like it.
A couple stopped and offered to take him to a nearby lake behind their house. If we could only get him into their trunk without sacrificing fingers to the cause. So I dumped my veggies out in my front seat. We loaded him into the box, and off he went on a new adventure.
If you’re wondering how big he was, the CSA box was only just big enough to hold him.
Enough of turtles… how ’bout some veggies?
radishes, a few radish greens, and pea shoots
Posted in CSA reports, Farmers Fresh CSA | 2 Comments »
thoughtful consumption 