Tuesday, June 27, 2017

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends!

We hope that everyone has had an enjoyable June, with lots of gatherings with family and friends. Many recent graduates will be celebrating their new status with parties over the next few weeks, and of course, Independence Day is always a great reason to have a cook-out or picnic. No matter what the reason, the fruits and veggies at Pathfinder Produce are always in season!

Our Edmeston market is at the Village Commons on Thursday, from 1 to 5 p.m., and our Morris Market, which has been going strong for over six months, is on Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. Stop by and check out all fresh and tasty produce, including the just-picked items from our Pathfinder Hoop Houses!

***

A few weeks back, there were lots of media stories about the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” album, and what a pivotal moment in musical history that was. The second track on the album, “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends” was the story of the Grace garden beds this year.
 
Given the weather we'd had in May and other delays, I was late in cleaning out our three raised beds, and that pushed everything back a few weeks. To help things grow better, I added some new soil to the mix this year, about four bags per bed, which raised the soil level a few inches. The additive we used is made from composted produce scraps, mixed in with some other organic materials. I mixed it well, and deep rooted any of last year's roots using my stone rake, garden weasel, and Grandfather's high-wheeled cultivator, a tool I truly love.

(I decided against growing wild strawberries in one of the beds, as they didn’t really produce last year, and the fruits are very, very tiny.  My strawberry experiments may have to move to a new variety and system to grow).

I stopped by Hoyt’s, our local hardware store, and got a nice selection of lettuce and cucumber seeds, and put them in two weeks ago. And, thankfully, a friend of ours was able to spare a few tomato plants, and the family that runs a small plant business still had pepper and Brussels sprouts plants this past weekend. Everything is now in, and is acclimating well.

This year, I'm trying a weed barrier around the plants, to cut back on the grass and weeds that always gets out of hand. I did see that weeds are actually growing under the black cloth, but they should be less successful in taking over the 4 x 8 foot growing spaces.

I did see a really cool gizmo online, the Tertill, a small solar powered robot that continually weeds your beds. I would love to try one out and may get one if they're not too expensive (early Christmas present!). Apparently, you put a wire collar around the plants you wish to keep, and the little bot cuts anything off not protected by a collar. Brilliant -- think Roomba, but for the garden.

Until next time, get outside, get your hands dirty, and eat well!


Lori

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Bittersweet

Hello!  This week we’ll be celebrating lots of area high school graduations, and here at Pathfinder Produce, we can assist you as your family gets ready to celebrate your special young adult.  We have a wide variety of fruits, veggies, and our own Pathfinder Produce hoop house greens for your party needs.

Stop by the Edmeston market at the Village Commons on Thursday, from 1 to 5 p.m., or the Morris market at the UMC Hall on Friday, from noon to 5 p.m.  We look forward to serving you, and hearing about your student’s accomplishments!

In this week’s blog, Sr. Director of Education Maura Iorio shares her thoughts on graduation at Pathfinder School.
Good luck and well done to all our area grads!!!

***

This Wednesday, five of our Pathfinder School students will be graduating. Our Graduation and Moving Up Ceremony is always bittersweet for me. I absolutely love it because it showcases our students and their many talents and accomplishments, but it will also be sad to say "so long" to our Class of 2017!

This year's theme is the Wild West. Our graduates helped select this theme and I think it's very fitting. It represents their hard work and their determination to keep pushing forward despite any hardships that may stand in their way. We are so proud of the five young men graduating this year!

As we have worked to turn our school's gymnasium into a scene from a John Wayne western, I have had the opportunity to read up on cowboys and the Wild West. One article that I found of particular interest was about how difficult it was to find enough fresh produce in the harsh desert climate.  (An interesting blog post on modern day desert growing strategies is at the Prairie Homestead website).

Having your own western homestead garden was precarious at best, as crops were often lost to drought, pests, storms, or wildfires. For soldiers and cowboys posted on the frontier, gardening wasn't an option and too often they would develop scurvy. One solution to this problem was the prickly pear.

Part of a cactus, the prickly pear fruit was covered in bristles that needed to be carefully removed. They were then peeled and boiled with sugar to create an applesauce-like food. Although the men complained that it tasted more bitter than sweet, the ingenious concoction contained enough Vitamin C to keep men on the frontier healthy. Even today, the prickly pear is sought after for its high amounts of fiber and antioxidants! 

Although I can't promise that there will be any prickly pears, stop in at Pathfinder Produce this week and stock up on some fresh produce to keep you and your family scurvy-free! 
 
And like those cowboys of the Wild West, Pathfinder School's Class of 2017 will get to show off their tenacity and grit this Wednesday at our Graduation and Moving Up Ceremony. We can't wait to celebrate with our staff, students, families, and community! 

Thanks for an awesome school year,

Maura (and Lori) 



Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Give Peas A Chance!

We are in the cook-out and picnic season, which means we’re ready here at Pathfinder Produce to help you with all your outdoor foodie fresh produce needs!  Keep watching our produce list for new items coming in, and we’ll be sharing lots of just-picked items from our Pathfinder Hoop Houses too.  We already have some wonderfully tasty greens to share with you; they’ll make a great base for any green salad you might like to put together.

We hope to see you this Thursday at our Edmeston market, at the Village Commons from 1 to 5 p.m., or on Friday at our Morris market, at the UMC Hall on Church St., from noon to 5 p.m.  Ask about our Buyers Clubs to learn about more ways you can save on fresh and yummy fruits and veggies!

Fresh peas are an early favorite of many; below, my colleague Martha recalls her transformation from “ugh to WOW!” regarding these seasonal veggies.

***

When I was growing up, no one in our family was a great fan of peas, so except for appearing in an occasional casserole or pot pie, they were not often seen on our dinner table. My memory of peas from that time was grey-green balls of mush that came from a can. No wonder no one was excited about it!

Flash forward several years: When my children were little, we moved into a house that had a flowery vine growing on the front fence, and one day I discovered little sweet pea pods growing on it. When they looked matured, I picked them—there were probably a dozen altogether, so not exactly a bumper crop—and we had a tiny sampling with our dinner that night. They were much different than the grey-green balls of mush from my childhood! These peas were brighter, firmer, and much more flavorful.

Later on my family discovered sugar snap peas, and they became a dinner-time favorite. Sugar snap peas are eaten with the pods on, and are a cross between snow peas (the flat pod variety often seen on salad bars and in stir-fries) and sweet peas. As the name suggests, there is a bit of sweetness to this variety. We get them from farmer’s markets or Pathfinder Produce when they are available, and purchase them frozen in the off-season. You can boil them or eat them raw, but I prefer them steamed until they are tender-crisp.

Peas are typically classified as a legume, although I did find some references that said they are a fruit since they contain seeds produced from a flower.  There is consensus, however, that they are packed with vitamins and minerals, making them a power food. There is a graph on The World's Healthiest Foods website which details the large amount of Vitamin K, Manganese, B Vitamins and many other nutrients found in peas.  They are also very filling, making them helpful for weight management.

If you were not a fan of peas in your youth, consider trying them again. Try a different variety or a different preparation. You might be surprised!
Until next time, eat well and savor those fresh flavors!

Martha (and Lori)

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Grilling & Other Produce Adventures

Hello everyone!  We hope you will join us at this week’s Pathfinder Produce markets, at the Village Commons in Edmeston this Thursday, from 1 to 5 p.m., and at the UMC Hall in Morris, from noon to 5 p.m.  Our Pathfinder Hoop House-grown greens are being harvested to share with you … they’re so fresh and delicious, and make a wonderful addition to any lunch or supper.

We look forward to serving you this week, and as always, we thank you for shopping at our Pathfinder Produce markets.

***

This past weekend was a whirl for the Graces, with lots of pre-visit cleaning, marvelous company, and of course, cooking!  Although it was breezy on Saturday, it was a nice evening to use our grill; we balanced our barbecued chicken with a few stand-by favorites that feature lots of yummy and healthy produce.

One of our go-to-grill recipes is from my sister – you simply peel and slice potatoes thinly, add some sliced onions, and then toss with healthy olive oil and a smidgen of black pepper, garlic powder and onion salt (or onion powder and garlic salt).  The potatoes are wrapped in individual serving-sized foil packets, and then cooked on the upper rack as you cook your other items on the main rack.  (They should cook for about 20 minutes at 400-degrees, or until you can insert a fork through the potatoes).

You can try other grilled potato recipes from Taste of Home; some of these are healthier than others, but I think you can experiment to lower the fat and salt content.  Other healthy grilling recipes for meats and veggies can also be seen at Delish.com. (I want to try a few of those now!)

It was also easy and quick to throw together a colorful fruit salad -- we combined a mix of fresh berries (blue, raspberry, and strawberries), some orange sections, and peeled Empire apples, which don’t discolor quickly once sliced.  With a quick toss salad – a blend of greens (baby spinach, red and green leaf lettuces, and chicory), with sliced carrots, tomatoes, and cukes – we really had a delicious, easy-to-make meal. 

As we were enjoying our dinner with our guests, we spoke of their travels to Central America, where fruits are prevalent year-round and served in combinations that are surprising to the Yankee palate.  An easy dish is sliced cucumbers, splashed with lime juice and sprinkled with chili powder.  You can read more about this recipe at Give Recipe … this is another one I’ll venture to try! 

The author of that blog also has a post on the Central American origins of tomatoes and an oven-roasted tomato recipe -- another one to try during the upcoming tomato season.  Other simple and interesting recipes to explore include Agua Fresca de Pepino and Fruit Salsa, which might be cool and refreshing on hot, sunny days (if we ever get those!)

 

Until next time, think of ways to add more produce to your meals, and be adventurous!

 

Lori