Our friends at Long Table Harvest have just launched their IndieGoGo fundraiser and we would love for you to support them. Plus, they’re offering some fantastic perks!
“Long Table Harvest is a new farm-food rescue program serving Columbia County, New York. The Hudson Valley is an extremely fertile region – we have over 52,000 acres of farmed land and an abundance of high-quality, local produce in Columbia County alone. However, even amongst this abundance, 7,000 of our county’s residents are food-insecure and another 10,000 live below 200% of the federal poverty line. On average, 20% of produce doesn’t make it off of the farm. We created Long Table Harvest to serve as a bridge to connect this abundant and edible resource onto the plates of people in our community.”
What is the big deal about smoothies? How are they different than juices? Simply put, smoothies are made of fruits and vegetables that are blended. This means they retain the fiber while juicing removes the fiber from the mix. Smoothies will fill you up while juices give you an instant hit of nutrients. The downside to fruit-based juices is that they are loaded with sugar. Vegetable-based juices aren’t. A study done by the BMA showed that people who consumed whole fruit as compared to fruit juices had a significantly lower risk of diabetes. Bottomline, smoothies are probably a better meal option while vegetable juices will leave your vitamin pills in the dust.
Several of our frozen items are obvious smoothie ingredients — strawberries, blueberries, kale. But you may not have considered using the diced sweet peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, or butternut squash! Here is an exciting bit of news about using frozen veggies in smoothies: the freezing
process helps break down some of the fiber making it less necessary to use a super blender like a Vitamix. It truly is a fabulous blender that can also be a backup for your 5hp fishing boat motor.
Googling smoothie recipes brings up 1.9 million results. Clearly, smoothie recipe options can be overwhelming. The common denominators are blenders, ice with raw fruits and/or vegetables. After that all bets are off. You can add just about anything: yogurt, tofu, coconut water, seeds, sweeteners, spices, etc. Yes, it is possible to make smoothies without bananas! Here are a few uniquely tasty recipes: Tomato Smoothie, Broccoli Green Smoothie, Sweet Corn Smoothie, Red Pepper & Apple Smoothie, Butternut Squash Smoothie (who knew? FYI our butternut squash is cooked).
NEW Pasta supplier this week! Flour City Pasta makes dried pasta and this week’s offering is their Bon Vivant Orzo, which is a special mix of wild mushroom, saffron, spinach and cayenne. Orzo is a short-cut pasta made in the shape of a piece of rice, often used in pilaf.
This Week’s Field Goods Favorite
Tatsoi
AKA spinach mustard, but we think its proper name is more fun to say! This mild, hearty Asian green can be used in place of spinach. Lightly steam or sauté, wilt the leaves with a warm dressing, or add to a soup.
Steamed Spinach with Balsamic Butter (substitute tatsoi)
Chilled Wilted Tatsoi
Tatsoi with Avocado and Egg
Browned Butter Pasta with Tatsoi