Health
y Food Can Be a Big Change with Big Benefits
Accessing healthy food grown on local
farms is easier now more than ever. Almost every county in Kentucky has a
farmers market with local food items, CSA programs are available from more
farms, and some restaurants are sourcing locally for menu items. Many farms
(including Elmwood) participate in the WIC program and Senior program that
gives vouchers to low income seniors and young mothers to spend on Kentucky
grown fruit and vegetables. And many farmers markets are set up to process SNAP
or EBT benefits as well.
Changing a family’s food consumption from
processed items purchased at a conventional grocery store chain to local
produced foods, eating food that is in season where you live, food offered for
sale at an independent food market or restaurant, and food items you grow
yourself are all more than just a simple choice – it does turn into a change in
lifestyle. Not having all the ingredients in that recipe you saw on TV, having
family members unwilling to try foods that are “different”, or not having
enough time to think through your meal preparation are all real challenges.
However, often folks find surprising benefits if they get far enough
into the lifestyle change. Examples are weight loss from including more
vegetables and whole foods in the diet, healthier medical test results, quality
family time as meals are prepared and eaten together, better food choices by
the kids at school, and people are generally happier as a result of consciously
eating nutritiously and becoming well-nourished.
While some CSA members are making plans
for seasonal vacations, many others are back into the routines of school
schedules. Unusual weather patterns this August push us to think a little bit about
fall, but from the growing season on the farm, we are really just about halfway
through the year. Continuous producing summer veggies like tomatoes and yellow squash
have been coming ripe for harvest for several weeks, and items that have a
one-time harvest like cabbage and sweet corn have had somewhat good growing
conditions with all the rainfall. We still have a few items that take the whole
summer to reach maturity like sweet potatoes and onions, other items like
spinach and lettuce prefer the shorter, cooler days of autumn for their primary
growth and harvest.
The summer season CSA program goes through
the week of September 28th - October 1st. We offer a shorter season
Fall CSA that runs October through mid-December. Shares are expected to contain
some combination of cooking greens such as kale and collard; salad greens; root
crops such as turnips, radishes and beets; and storage items such as potatoes
and winter squashes. We offer only one share size and pickup is every second
week: 6 pickups over the three months. Some members are already signed up, and
we have the Fall Season signup available on our website now. Organic pastured
chicken shares, grass-fed beef shares, bone broth shares, egg shares, and
pantry shares are available for the Fall also. The pickup locations are fewer
due to weather conditions in December that move us from some of the
neighborhood pickups to indoor pickup locations.
This time of the season, we start taking
pre-orders for Elmwood’s organic heritage breed and broad-breasted breed
turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can reserve the type of turkey you
want in the size range that meets your family’s needs, and then we’ll make
arrangements for pickup at the farm or at one of our Fall CSA pickup locations
the week prior to the holiday. We were extremely honored last fall to be
featured in Cook’s Illustrated magazine as a “Recommended” farm to acquire a
heritage breed turkey out of several turkeys that were sampled. Once the
feature was published, our turkeys quickly sold out with calls coming in from
all over the country. Please contact us by email, and we can send you all the
details regarding the different types of turkeys we raise, sizes we expect to
be available, and pricing. Or, just google Elmwood Stock Farm Turkeys – they
have their own blog website, and some nice photos also.
In Your
Share :
Sweet Corn
Lettuce
Melon
Hot Chile Pepper
Sweet Bell Pepper
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Green Beans
Garlic
Recipes:
Jose Andres Tomato Sandwich (makes 4)
½
C mayonnaise
1
T Dijon-type mustard
2
tsp capers, chopped
2
tsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
½
tsp fresh lemon juice
Kosher
salt
1
large tomato
4
brioche buns, split in half and toasted
2
avocados, halved and cut into 12 slices
Kosher
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Olive
oil, for drizzling
¼
C pickled onions
1
C alfalfa sprouts
To
make herbed mayo: In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard,
capers, parsley and lemon juice. Season with salt and set aside. Makes 1 cup.
To
make the sandwich: Prepare an ice bath. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
Using a paring knife, cut a small "x" on the bottom of each tomato.
Using a slotted spoon, lower the tomato into the boiling water and cook until
the skin starts to peel back slightly, 10 to 20 seconds. Immediately transfer
the tomato to the ice bath. After about 10 to 15 seconds, remove the tomato
from the ice bath and use the paring knife to peel off the skin. Cut the tomato
into four ¾-inch-thick slices.
Spread
both halves of each bun with the herbed mayonnaise. Season the tomato and
avocado slices with salt and pepper. Place 1 tomato slice and a few slices of
avocado on each bottom bun, then drizzle with olive oil. Top each sandwich with
pickled onions, alfalfa sprouts and the top bun, and serve.
Garlicky Green Beans food on the food The author of this recipe reports: The kids used to
hate green beans prepared this way, but now they love them. We love the basic
recipe, but there are lots of variations, too. You can add 1 T of chopped
scallions and/or minced fresh ginger. You can add a splash of toasted sesame
oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Or you can heat things up with a half
teaspoon of sriracha or some sliced fresh chilies. It's all good.
1
lb green beans, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
1
T vegetable oil
1
T soy sauce
1
tsp hoisin sauce (or honey)
1
T rice wine or white wine (or water)
1
T finely chopped garlic
Pinch
of kosher salt
Freshly
ground black pepper to taste
Heat
the oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat, and sauté the green beans,
tossing occasionally, for about 7 minutes or until they blister and brown in
places but are still crisp-tender, not mushy. Remove the green beans to a
plate. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce,
and rice wine. Set aside. Add the garlic to the hot pan and stir-fry for about
20 seconds until fragrant but not browning. Add the beans and sauce, and stir
until heated through and the sauce reduces to a thick glaze, 1 to 2 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Scalloped Tomatoes
4 slices bacon, cut
into ½-inch pieces
1 small onion,
chopped
¼ C seasoned dry
bread crumbs
3 medium tomatoes,
sliced ¼-inch thick
In pan over medium
heat, cook bacon until done, remove bacon and set aside. Discard all but 1 T
fat. Add onion to pan, cook until translucent, 5-7 minutes. Stir in bread
crumbs. Cook 3-4 minutes more until brown and crisp, stirring often during
cooking to keep onions and bread from burning. Around edge of 9-inch oven-proof
pie plate, arrange tomato slices overlapping.
Sprinkle crumbs and bacon on tomatoes. Put into 350°F oven for 12-15
minutes until heated through.
Baked Eggs in Tomato
Cups, Vegetarian Times
8 medium tomatoes
1/3 C grated Parmesan
cheese
8 organic eggs
1 T fresh or 1 tsp
dried herbs (oregano, chervil, basil or sage)
Preheat oven to
425°F. Slice tops off tomatoes and scoop out seeds and pulp. Place tomatoes in
shallow baking dish, and sprinkle cavities with salt, pepper and pinches of
cheese. Crack one egg into each tomato. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, herbs and
remaining cheese. Bake 20 minutes for soft yolks, 30 to 35 minutes for hard
yolks. Serve immediately.
Sweet and Sour Greens from Mary Beth Lind
and Cathleen Hockman-Wert’s Simply In Season, serves 4
1 bunch fresh greens
(kale!)
1 medium onion
¼ C dried cranberries
or raisins
2 cloves garlic
3 T white or cider
vinegar
1 ½ T sugar
salt and pepper to
taste
Rinse and pat dry
kale. Remove stems and discard. Stack leaves, roll up, and slice in 1 inch
strips. Saute onion about 2 minutes in
deep frypan in 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 5
minutes. Add rest of ingredients to pan,
cover and cook for 7-8 minutes. Place
chopped leaves on top of the mixture, cover and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir and serve.
Creamy Potato Salad
2 ¼ lb white
potatoes, scrubbed
3 tsp salt, divided
2 large plum
tomatoes, diced
3 T finely chopped
onion
½ C mayonnaise
2 T white balsamic or
white-wine vinegar
½ tsp pepper
Cut
potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Bring potatoes, 2 tsp salt, and enough cold water
to cover by 2 inches to boil in a large saucepan. Cook 15 to 17 minutes, until
fork tender. Drain potatoes in colander.
Rinse under cold running water just until cooled to room temperature. Drain again.
Meanwhile cook tomatoes in a skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes or
until thick. Cool. Combine tomatoes, onion, mayonnaise, vinegar, remaining tsp
salt, and pepper in food processor. Puree until smooth. Transfer to medium
bowl. Add potatoes and toss to coat.
