Farm Fresh weekly news

This is the email newsletter sent out weekly to my subscriber list.  To be added to the email list, send an email to pennysemail@comcast.net with your request.

 

Good morning everyone!

 

I'm so grateful for the thunderstorms that arrived Wednesday night, as well as the soft rain falling now.  We really needed it here - the garden ground was so dry it caused scratches just to kneel on it.  So, I'm thankful that I won't have any scratches for a while and the newly planted seeds can soak up the rain and begin sprouting. 

 

This Saturday at the Freeport Farmers Market, located in the CVS parking lot on South Street from 7:30-11 am, I'll have:

 

• Sugar Snap Peas!!!!  The first harvest, and they are so crunchy and delicious.  These are still in the baby stage, so they are great for eating whole, but not ready for shucking yet.  I'm so glad these are ready - one of my favorite garden treats.  Look for a couple of recipes below, if you can keep them around and uneaten long enough to cook.
• Lettuce lots of beautiful lettuce of many varieties, colors, and frills.  All mixed together into a gorgeous mesclun mix.  An old-fashioned lettuce recipe follows.
• Spinach beautiful, bright green, nutritious spinach is still in season.  I've included a delicious strawberry spinach salad recipe below.
• Cilantro the cilantro is still in peak season.  Buy some to freeze in ice cube trays to use when the tomatoes come into peak.  I love to freeze it and pull it out in August to make red salsa and my favorite Salsa Verde (green sauce).
• Aprons & Potholders as always, I'll have my handmade unique aprons & potholders for sale.

Hope to see you soon!  Recipes follow.

 

Penny Peterson
http://all-natural-mama.blogspot.com/

 

 

Sugar Snap peas with Hummus Dip

Ingredients

• 2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, halved
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pinch paprika (optional)
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

1. Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl.
2. Drizzle olive oil over the garbanzo bean mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley, if desired.

Roasted Sugar Snap Peas

(roasting any vegetable is my favorite way to cook them)

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• kosher salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Spread sugar snap peas in a single layer on a medium baking sheet, and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with shallots, thyme, and kosher salt.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, until tender but firm.

Wilted Lettuce Salad

Growing up, this is the way my family ate lettuce from my grandparent's garden.  It's the traditional way to eat locally grown, garden-fresh lettuce.

Ingredients

• 4 bacon strips, cut up
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 green onions with tops, sliced (optional)
  
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 cups torn leaf lettuce

Directions

1. In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove from the heat. Stir in vinegar, water, onions, sugar, salt and pepper; stir until sugar is dissolved. Place lettuce in a salad bowl; immediately pour dressing over and toss lightly. Serve immediately.

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Strawberries will be coming into peak in our area over the next week or two!

Ingredients

• 2 bunches spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 4 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup canola oil
  
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions

1. In a large bowl, toss together the spinach and strawberries.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, paprika, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Pour over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.