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072118 MAD Newsletter
This Week’s Newsletter:
Cool Summer Meal Ideas
The Final Word . . .
Market Chitchat
Grower Notes
ENTREE SALADS
While many people automatically gravitate towards salads after the holidays, actually the hot days of summer may be the best time to take a break from grilling and take advantage of the season’s bounty. Salads are one of those versatile dishes that does not have to be dull or boring as there are many ways to make them interesting and satisfying.
Long gone are the days when main-course salads were pretty much limited to chicken or seafood concoctions involving mayonnaise or a virtuous (i.e., heavy and bland) effort composed of brown rice and not much else. These days, they’re far more likely to showcase interesting greens and other pristine seasonal produce, as well as staple ingredients from around the globe. Whether you favor a carefully curated classic like Salade Nicoise or a wonderful jumble of leftovers, main-course salads are an easy way to work healthy foods into your daily routine without being chained to the stove. Also, you get to channel your inner forager, whether you’re on the prowl at a farmers market or staring into your kitchen cupboard or refrigerator.
A word about beans: as far as beans go, we are all aware that legumes are an important (and inexpensive) source of dietary fiber and protein, and they also contain folate, iron, and potassium. In a perfect world, we’d all have a stash of cooked-from-scratch beans in the freezer, but if you don’t, it’s not an insurmountable hurdle. While some of us aspire to keep a stash of home canned beans in the pantry, there is no shame in using a store bought version. Canned beans, a genuine convenience food, will do; just remember to rinse them (to remove much of the sodium) and drain well before using. And for those who would bravely attempt to cook dried chickpeas, add a teaspoon of baking powder to help break down the protein chains and make them soft.
If you enjoy Mediterranean food, with most any combination of salad ingredients, if you add lots of flat-leaved parsley (which is sensibly treated as a vegetable in the Middle East), tomato, kalamata olives, red bell pepper, feta cheese, and lemony-garlicky vinaigrette you’ll have yourself dinner in no time flat.
For more inspirational ideas, follow Susan Avello, the Lean Bean Chef on Facebook or Instagram as she’s a master at using fresh locally sourced ingredients in her beautiful creations.
. . . COMES FROM YOU
Thanks to everyone who chimed in on our Market Discussion Page and shared how they use “Ugly Food”
Mrs. Patty: I save up all my veggie scraps plus stuff that maybe isn’t quite fresh enough for salads but not bad like lettuce, other greens and cucumbers. I also save up the bits left over from spiralizing, cucumber and tomato ends etc.
When I have a gallon zip lock or more full, I put it all in the food processor with a ton of seasonings and puree it. I will usually add a bag of cauliflower, kale and a few onions, several cloves of garlic, a few hot peppers and anything else that strikes my fancy. it usually takes several batches then I mix in huge bowl by hand.
Drain the excess liquid and scoop onto dehydrator sheets. If mixture is too liquid add coconut flour, almond flour, konjac flour etc until consistency of soft dough. Flatten and dehydrate until crisp. Drying time varies greatly depending on temperature, humidity etc. Highest temp is fastest but if you are trying to do raw, stay below 110. I usually get 150 to 200 2" round crackers/batch. When seasoning remember that seasonings will concentrate as the food dehydrates.
Another way I use bruised/scraps etc is to put in meatloaf.
T Harris: Soup stock. I always have a few bags in the freezer collecting scraps for soup stock. The crackers idea is great, and that would be a great way to use some of the vegetables that are too strong for vegetable stock.
MARKET CHITCHAT
Refrigerators! Someone stopped by late last Friday and noticed the ones we use in the Market Shed. It reminded me again how blessed we are to have them in this heat. Some foods require refrigeration and some just can’t handle the heat very long. A few of us remember retrieving such items were from coolers in the summertime. We’re thankful to the Nursery Staff and our donors who have made real refrigeration possible.
New & Relisted Products
- Bone Broth Kit from Hawkins Homestead
- Poona Dill Pickles from Bain Home Gardens
- Berry Granola Bars from Yard Eatins
- Pumpkin Butter from Hawkins Homestead
- Soybeans from Bain Home Gardens
- Cinnamon Spiced Pears from Hawkins Homestead
THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES
We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.
AVALON FARMS Just put a reminder in APRIL of next year’s farm calendar “July is coming. Farming sucks in July. Plan for it!” That’s the unvarnished truth. It’s not even working in the heat. It’s when the heat ruins a crop because they won’t set fruit over 95 degrees. Or the heat plus lots of rain encourages fungus, mildew and disease. Or seeds just plain won’t grow. (It’s all so frustrating to a mere mortal. BUT it does showcase that only God can cause a seed to grow and produce no matter what you do right or wrong.) Next year it may be the lack of rain that is the issue. Or armyworms. Or volcanoes. Who knows! Always something out of our control. All of this is why it’s a joy to me when I am able to produce nice veggies for you all.
Working up my garlic order. Have to get those babies in the ground in September/October. With this year’s success (see, sometimes things work! ) I’ll be planting a full row of 1200. Plus a few elephant garlics just for fun.
While I’m planning and ordering for cool weather crops, do you have any requests? Would love to hear your ideas. Email me at wendy@avalonfarms.us
BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hello Marketeers!
How are you?! This humidity is pretty rough! Humidity plays a large part in how productive vegetation is. Keeping things alive and well can be a REAL challenge this time of the year due to humid air which can zap the moisture right out of the plants! Having a humidity controlled environment to grow would be excellent. Since that is not an option at this point we will continue our tug of war with nature. Experimenting with different crops enhances our hands on knowledge and prepares us better for next growing.
In the garden we have some exciting developments. We have soybeans!
Learning how they grow along with how and when to harvest, has been a great adventure. We are not experts – yet. So we will be releasing them on the market this week or the week of August 4th IF all goes according to planned. Keep on the lookout! This week we will also be releasing our Poona Dill Pickles- from the Poona Kheera Cucumber. They are extremely tasty! For photos check our Facebook page – they are our pride and joy this year.
We will be off next week. Don’t miss us too much! Sending warm wishes of rest and relaxation – from our family to yours!
HAWKINS HOMESTEAD: Hello Market Friends. Hope this past week has been treating you well. For us, we’ve been busy as usual with all that we have going on at our urban farm. In the next few weeks we will be introducing some new and exciting things to the Market, that we’re excited to share with you.
We went out on a limb and decided to plant pumpkins in the Spring and boy did we get pumpkins! So many in fact that we decided to make pumpkin butter. Rich with cinnamon, nutmeg and all the spices that bring Autumn to mind, this butter is creamy and delicious!
In addition PEARS are in season! So we’re making all types of pear goodies that we invite you to try. Starting with our Cinnamon Spiced Pears. Our family tested and approved!
In chicken news we will be offering our bone broth kit this week! This will allow you to make your own bone broth at home! Good and good for you! We do have chicken feet up and are still working on how to bring our chicken back to the Market. Hopefully soon!
Of course our egg flats are available along with our basil varieties. Did you hear about Bain Home Gardens Poona Pickles? Made using a wonderful cucumber variety that’s organic. We grew this this year as well but they never made it to the Market. That’s how good they are!
As always we appreciate you all. We have been on the Market for one full year now and we are happy and thankful to be apart of the only Wiregrass Market that offers sustainable food. See you next week.
FOOTNOTES
We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.
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