YAY!!! We're finally
transitioning from snow season to mud season! Things will be busy over the next
few weeks between work, home, school and community events, so isn't it good to
know that Pathfinder Produce, our weekly fresh fruit and veggie market, is here
to help you eat better?
Our online
ordering systems for both Edmeston and Morris pick-up are now open from
Friday at mid-day through Wednesday at noon; order pick-up is on Thursdays: in
Edmeston from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Pathfinder Village Commons; and in Morris,
from 3 to 6 p.m. at the UMC (our 5210 partner), at 17 Church St. We've had some
positive feedback on this new option, and we're pleased to offer this new
service to our friends and neighbors.
I want to give our
Pathfinder Produce and Pathfinder Adult Day Service Members a big shout out
too, as they prepare to take part in the 2018 Living
Healthier Expo, organized by Matt Johnson at the
Otsego County Dept. of Public Health. This free event will be
taking place at the Foothills Performing Arts Center on Friday, April 6 and
Saturday, April 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pathfinder Produce will be there
handing out some healthy treats, selling yummy produce, and talking about our
innovative program that serves our home communities and creates meaningful
pre-vocational opportunities for people with developmental disabilities.
The Living Healthier Expo is
another way we're celebrating our fifth anniversary of Pathfinder Produce …
what an incredible five years it has been. I think I speak for the entire
Pathfinder community and our 5-2-1-0 partners in saying that we're very proud
of this sustainable, replicable, and meaningful program that has added value to
our communities and helped families eat healthier, fresher foods.
Below, my colleague Sally
Trosset shares thoughts on Season Eating. YUM!
***
I
had the good fortune to spend last weekend in Boston visiting family and
friends. While there were still snow banks at street corners and no
visible signs of life on the bare trees, there were a few surprises -- green
leaves pushing up through the earth, showing what soon will be blooming yellow
daffodils. Spring is coming! I could feel it in the air. The
clouds didn't look as thick and the sun felt closer trying to peak through the
thinned out clouds.
I
love the start of spring. Fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, colorful
and plentiful, slowly become available as we move into the summer months.
Eating seasonally is important and carries many benefits to your health, the
planet, and your wallet. One of biggest benefits I find is the money I
save. When buying in season, food is at the peak of its supply and costs
less to get to your local market. The best part about eating seasonally
is you get the best tasting and healthiest food available. Ideally, we
are buying foods that have not had time to lose their flavor or their health
benefits through long shipping times.
It's
very easy to learn what's seasonal where you live. The easiest place to learn
is at your grocery store (or better yet, Pathfinder Produce!). Take a
look at the produce section and pay attention to prices and appearance.
If something is very expensive, is not plentiful and doesn't look as good as it
should, then it’s probably out-of-season and has been shipped from far
away. If you notice an abundance of something specific, it looks fresh
and the price is good, it is usually an indicator that it is an in-season item
and readily available. For more information about seasonal eating and to
find a chart of seasonal foods in your area, check out The Seasonal Food
Guide.
Some
of my favorite spring vegetables are arugula, sugar snap peas, asparagus, and
fiddleheads. Fiddleheads
are not easy to get and they have a very small window of availability, but they
are delicious. (They should be cooked before eating). The nice thing
about the seasonal vegetables that I've mentioned is that each can be served
and enjoyed relatively fast and easy with nothing more than olive oil, sea
salt, and pepper.
An
arugula salad is my spring go-to salad. Mixed with quinoa, goat cheese,
craisins and a tiny bit of olive oil, lemon juice and salt, it filling and
healthy! Asparagus and fiddleheads at our house are usually prepared
directly on the grill with just olive oil, salt, and pepper. Either are
good on their own or toss them into a pasta salad. Sugar snap peas are
best eaten raw as a snack or on a crudité
platter. For more spring recipes, that showcase the bounty of spring,
check out the website of The
Spruce.
Eating
seasonally isn't a new phenomenon, although it has become trendier with the
popularity of farmers’ markets, CSA's and new fresh food delivery
services. Long ago before the modern convenience of food preservation and
shipping and transportation, eating
seasonally was just something everyone did. Maybe it’s time to go
back to the basics and eat seasonally!
Spring
is here, enjoy the season!
Sally
(and Lori)
