The Farm of Minnesota
Community Supported Agriculture
Community Supported Agriculture
Newsletters
THE FARM NEWS
Volume 3; Issue 16R/20E September 26, 2011
THOUGHTS FROM THE FARM
Greetings,
We wanted to thank all of you who took time out of your busy schedules to come and join us for the last open house of the season. We had a great time visiting with you all. We were very thankful for all of your feedback about the farm and your participation in our CSA family. Again, you are all welcome back here anytime! We would suggest that you be sure that someone is here first – sure would hate to have you wandering around on your own. It’s much more fun to listen as Dan explains all of the different things around here.
We had a lot of requests for the recipes of the different dishes served Saturday night. So this week’s recipes will be from the dishes we served at the open house. So even if you could not be here, enjoy!
We did not get the heat we were expecting, so unfortunately, the tomatoes are very slow in turning red. For those of you who have tomato shares, we are trying to get them filled for you. We will be approaching these shares one at a time.
We are starting to plan for next year, so keep your thoughts on this year’s season coming. Every thought helps. If you know that you want to stay with us next year, be sure and let us know, as we are starting to put those lists together and plan for the over number of CSA shares for next year.
Please have a blessed and great week.
From our home to yours,
Dan & Donna Moe
ITEM OF THE WEEK – TOMATOES
So bet you never knew that tomatoes are one of the best “fruits” you could ever eat to improve your body’s state of being! And guess what – they only have 37 calories! And if you are looking to add fiber to your diet – look no further. Tomatoes give you nearly 8% of recommended daily fiber intake. And we all know that fiber lowers high cholesterol.
Speaking of cholesterol, one of the benefits of tomatoes is that they help prevent dyslipidemia – which is when lipids and fats build up on the blood stream. This is due to the9-oxo-octadecadienoic acid found in tomatoes which works 24/7 to clear our blood streams and also helps stave off obesity-related diseases. Tomatoes also help prevent blood clotting and have properties very similar to anti-dyslipidemia. Those preventative acids found in tomatoes can be very effective at cleaning out our blood streams and making everything run smoothly. But watch the labels – some juices add a lot of salt, which counteract ost of the good work the tomato acids are doing.
Anti-inflammatory properties are also a part of the tomato repertoire as it has been found that drinking a glass of tomato juice can reduce inflammation by cutting out free radicals, reducing not only inflammation but stress as well.
It has been a while sense we talked about lycopene. Your body does not make lycopene, but we need high levels of it in our systems at regular intervals. One of the biggest health advantages found in tomatoes is its lycopene. Lycopene is a very powerful and important anti-oxidant. If your body has enough lycopene, it will flush out the free radicals. A review of 72 different studies showed consistently that the more tomatoes and tomato products people eat, the lower their risks of many different kinds of cancer. The secret may lie in lycopene, the chemical that makes tomatoes red. 57 studies showed that the more tomatoes one eats, the lower the risk of cancer. The strongest benefit was for cancers of the prostate, lung, and stomach. If you drink a very small glass of pure, organic tomato juice every day, you will give your body all of the lycopene it needs! Keep in mind, the darker the red is in the tomato juice is the higher the lycopene is.
So the next time you want to pass on the tomatoes, juice or ketchup, think again. The benefits are incredible!
Recipes
Baked Herb Potatoes
Ingredients:
Directions: (Serves 4)
Sautéed Zephyr Squash
Ingredients:
Directions: (Serves 4)
Refreshing Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Ingredients:
Directions: (Serves 4)
Grilled Patty Pan Squash
Ingredients:
Directions: (Serves 4)
This Week's Items – ½ Bushel:
Volume 3; Issue 16R/20E September 26, 2011
THOUGHTS FROM THE FARM
Greetings,
We wanted to thank all of you who took time out of your busy schedules to come and join us for the last open house of the season. We had a great time visiting with you all. We were very thankful for all of your feedback about the farm and your participation in our CSA family. Again, you are all welcome back here anytime! We would suggest that you be sure that someone is here first – sure would hate to have you wandering around on your own. It’s much more fun to listen as Dan explains all of the different things around here.
We had a lot of requests for the recipes of the different dishes served Saturday night. So this week’s recipes will be from the dishes we served at the open house. So even if you could not be here, enjoy!
We did not get the heat we were expecting, so unfortunately, the tomatoes are very slow in turning red. For those of you who have tomato shares, we are trying to get them filled for you. We will be approaching these shares one at a time.
We are starting to plan for next year, so keep your thoughts on this year’s season coming. Every thought helps. If you know that you want to stay with us next year, be sure and let us know, as we are starting to put those lists together and plan for the over number of CSA shares for next year.
Please have a blessed and great week.
From our home to yours,
Dan & Donna Moe
ITEM OF THE WEEK – TOMATOES
So bet you never knew that tomatoes are one of the best “fruits” you could ever eat to improve your body’s state of being! And guess what – they only have 37 calories! And if you are looking to add fiber to your diet – look no further. Tomatoes give you nearly 8% of recommended daily fiber intake. And we all know that fiber lowers high cholesterol.
Speaking of cholesterol, one of the benefits of tomatoes is that they help prevent dyslipidemia – which is when lipids and fats build up on the blood stream. This is due to the9-oxo-octadecadienoic acid found in tomatoes which works 24/7 to clear our blood streams and also helps stave off obesity-related diseases. Tomatoes also help prevent blood clotting and have properties very similar to anti-dyslipidemia. Those preventative acids found in tomatoes can be very effective at cleaning out our blood streams and making everything run smoothly. But watch the labels – some juices add a lot of salt, which counteract ost of the good work the tomato acids are doing.
Anti-inflammatory properties are also a part of the tomato repertoire as it has been found that drinking a glass of tomato juice can reduce inflammation by cutting out free radicals, reducing not only inflammation but stress as well.
It has been a while sense we talked about lycopene. Your body does not make lycopene, but we need high levels of it in our systems at regular intervals. One of the biggest health advantages found in tomatoes is its lycopene. Lycopene is a very powerful and important anti-oxidant. If your body has enough lycopene, it will flush out the free radicals. A review of 72 different studies showed consistently that the more tomatoes and tomato products people eat, the lower their risks of many different kinds of cancer. The secret may lie in lycopene, the chemical that makes tomatoes red. 57 studies showed that the more tomatoes one eats, the lower the risk of cancer. The strongest benefit was for cancers of the prostate, lung, and stomach. If you drink a very small glass of pure, organic tomato juice every day, you will give your body all of the lycopene it needs! Keep in mind, the darker the red is in the tomato juice is the higher the lycopene is.
So the next time you want to pass on the tomatoes, juice or ketchup, think again. The benefits are incredible!
Recipes
Baked Herb Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Potatoes – small or cubed into 1” pieces
- 1/8 cup fresh dill
- 1/8 cup fresh savory
- ½ tsp dried garlic or 1 chopped fresh clove of garlic
- ¼ tsp fresh ground pepper (to taste)
- ¼ tsp sea salt (to taste)
- 2 Tbsp butter
Directions: (Serves 4)
- Bake potatoes in a pan with a approximately ½” of water in the bottom.
- Bake potatoes at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
- When potatoes are done, place them in a large bowl.
- Add butter, dill, savory, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Sautéed Zephyr Squash
Ingredients:
- 3-5 small Zephyr Squash, cut into ¼” slices
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp fresh Savory, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh Dill, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh Cilantro, chopped
Directions: (Serves 4)
- Mix zephyr squash, herbs and olive oil well in mixing bowl.
- Sautee over medium heat until done – approximately 6-8 minutes, until edges start to darken.
- Serve and enjoy.
Refreshing Cucumber & Tomato Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced
- ½ small Red Onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large tomato, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
Directions: (Serves 4)
- In a medium bowl, toss together the cucumbers, red onion and tomato.
- Gently stir in the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper until vegetables are coated.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
- Serve and enjoy.
Grilled Patty Pan Squash
Ingredients:
- 2-3 small Patty Pan Squash, cut into ¼” slices
- ¼ cup Olive Oil, if using a grilling pan
- 1 tsp dried garlic or 1 clove pressed garlic
- ½ tsp ground Pepper, to taste
- ½ tsp sea salt, to taste
- 1 tsp fresh dill, chopped
Directions: (Serves 4)
- In mixing bowl, stir cut patty pans, garlic, dill, salt and pepper, until squash is seasoned. If using a BBQ, add the olive oil to the mix and stir until patty pans are coated.
- Heat olive oil in grilling pan over medium heat. Once hot, add patty pans and grill. If using a BBQ, once the patty pans are coated in the olive oil, you are ready to grill.
- Serve and enjoy.
This Week's Items – ½ Bushel:
- Radishes
- Beets
- Peppers
- Leeks
- Tomatoes
- Jack-be-Little Pumpkin
- Radishes
- Beets
- Peppers
- Lemon Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Melon
- Eggplant
- Carrots
- Kale
- Radishes
- Beets
- Peppers
- Beans
- Lemon Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Eggplant
- Melon
- Celery
- Kale
