Happy New Year!

We hope that everyone will join us on Tuesday for our next Pathfinder Produce market at the Village Commons, from 1 to 5 p.m., to stock up on all their New Year’s produce needs.  If you are having a party or informal get together, we encourage you to serve a selection of healthy fresh fruit and veggie items to your guests.   There are many festive ways to serve healthy snacks, and recent excursions on the internet have provided images of:

Trains:

Sesame Street Friends and other Characters (for the kids):

Holiday Wreaths, Turkeys:

Some football themed trays:

And even some festive trees:

Be inventive and enjoy your observance of the New Year!

We wish everyone, a safe and healthy 2016!

Lori, Martha, and the entire Pathfinder Produce Staff

P.S.  Starting in January, our markets will return to Thursdays, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Special Markets on Tuesdays during these last few weeks of 2015!

Dear Friends & Loyal Patrons,

Please note our weekly market at Pathfinder Produce will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, December 22, 2015, at the Village Commons from 1 to 5 p.m.  We hope that everyone will join us for the produce items they’ll need for festive dinners and tempting snacks. 

Thank you for your wonderful support for our homegrown market.  We wish everyone a joyous and happy holiday, spent with loved ones, enveloped in warmth and good cheer.

All the best!

Lori, Martha, & the Pathfinder Produce Staff

Remember the Hungry during the Holidays!

We hope everyone will join us for our next fresh Pathfinder Produce market, this Thursday, December 17, from 1 to 5 p.m.  We’re here to help as you plan your menus for family get-togethers and celebrations, offering a wide variety of tasty fruits and veggies. 

Following up on our successful “Thanks For Giving” Food Drive last month, Pathfinder Produce will be accepting donations of canned goods and other non-perishables through the rest of the year, and will distribute these to our area food banks.  Our remaining markets are set for Tuesdays, December 22 and 29, from 1 to 5 p.m. 

***

When I was a 20-something, the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas” was released by Band Aid, a group that included pop musicians and was spearheaded by Bob Geldorf of The Boomtown Rats.  Released to combat the widespread famine in Ethiopia from 1983-1985, the song was a huge hit, making $24 million in support of famine relief.  Subsequent versions were released in 1989, 2004, and 2014, to further humanitarian efforts in Africa.

I heard the original song during my drive to work recently, and it reminded me that hunger is a specter that haunts us still.  Ethiopia and many parts of the Sub-Sahara Africa are contending with erratic rainfall, and although numbers aren’t as bad as they were in the 1980s, they are bad enough … about one-in-four persons living there is undernourished, according to Global Hunger Relief.

Here in America, our friends and neighbors are going hungry too.  According to 2014 reports from Hunger in America, in the U.S. about one-in-six struggles with hunger and one-in-seven accesses food banks to meet their regular food needs.  About 48.1 million Americans live in food-insecure households, according to the US Department of Agriculture.  Many of these people are active military or vets, working families, the elderly, or are households with children.

That’s too many and shouldn’t be happening.

This holiday season, as you are finishing up your plans and shopping, I encourage you to make a donation to your favorite global or local hunger charity; your places of worship or social organizations that support hunger programs; or your neighborhood food bank, to help fight this cruel and pernicious drain on humanity.  A list of regional food bank organizations is available at the New York State Department of Health Website.   More information can be found at www.foodbank.cny.org www.foodbankst.org, and regionalfoodbank.net.

In closing, I offer these lyrics:

It's Christmas time; there's no need to be afraid

At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade 

And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy 

Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time.

Until next time, be well.

Lori

Luscious Latkes

We hope everyone will join us this Thursday, December 10, from 1 to 5 p.m. for another delicious Pathfinder Produce market.  We’ve got all your produce items for holiday get-togethers, football games, and healthy snacks, and our friendly staff members are here to share the latest holiday news and greetings.

Just a reminder, our remaining Pathfinder Produce markets in 2015 will be on Thursday, December 17, Tuesday, December 22, and Tuesday, December 29, all from 1 to 5 p.m.  Thank you all for making our market such a successful program!

***

This week, many of our friends are celebrating Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, and one of the staples for family celebrations is potato latkes.  While these traditional pancakes are fried in oil to a golden delicious crisp, there are some other veggie-based options for you to try during this holiday season. 

According to Wikipedia, latkes commemorate Hanukkah, as the cooking oil used to make them symbolizes the lamp oil that kept the Second Temple of Jerusalem lit with a long-lasting flame.  Hanukkah offers a glimpse of the Middle East’s history, as it commemorates a battle victory during 165 BC of the Maccabees, who were revolting against the Syrian king, Antiochus IV.  (Antiochus IV was the heir of one of Alexander the Great’s generals, Seleucus I Nictator, who had ruled Babylon about 315 BCE.)

According to the food blogger Tori Avey, who writes the “The Shiksa in the Kitchen” column, potato latkes became standard fare in Eastern Europe during the mid-1800s, when a series of crop failures led to the mass planting of potatoes.  (Before that time, ricotta cheese latkes were common for the celebration; these were made popular by Rabbi Kalonymus in Italy during the late Middle Ages.  The cheese connection celebrates the story of the Jewish heroine Judith, who cunningly used her culinary wiles to inebriate and decapitate the Babylonian general, Holofernes).

A basic recipe for potato latkes can be found at Delish.com, and a more colorful, purple potato variation can be found at Ecurry.com.  (Purple historically has been the color of royalty; that tradition also emanates from the Ancient Middle East.  Purple dye was made in the Phoenician city of Tyre from a rare sea snail, and was incredibly expensive to produce.  Royal babies would be dressed in purple cloth, hence the saying “born in the purple.”)

Veggie based latke varieties may be found at these sites, and you may want to try them to sample different combinations of flavors:

•  Delish.com – Vegetable Latkes:  A recipe that adds carrots and parsnips to the basic latke formula.
  
• Healthy Recipes Blog – Spinach Pancakes:  These sound very easy to make, and use frozen spinach.  I would think they could be made with fresh spinach or kale too.
  
•  Delish.com – Beet & Potato latkes with thyme:  This is another basic recipe (I think it fails to instruct that you should grate the raw potatoes and beets by hand or machine before mixing).  If you work with raw beets, be aware that they may stain your hands.
  
• My Name is Yeh – Brussels Sprout Latkes with Balsamic Dijon Sour Cream:  This recipe calls for canola oil to fry the latkes, and also uses sour cream as the basis for a Dijon dressing.  I would think you could substitute healthier Greek-style yogurt instead without any difference in taste.
  
• Food and Style.com – Butternut Squash & Leek Latkes with pan-roasted cumin:  These rely on winter squash for the pancake base and are fried in olive oil.
   
• Rodale's Organic Life - Celery Root Latkes & Fennel Pear Relish:  This recipe uses grape seed oil and other more exotic ingredients.

Until next time, enjoy the lights of the season and eat well!

Lori

Holiday Excess & How to Avoid Overload

We hope everyone will join us tomorrow, Thursday, December 3, from 1 to 5 p.m. for our next delicious Pathfinder Produce market.  Our friendly market staff is ready to help you with your purchases, and as it’s the official holiday season, there are plenty of items to stock up on.  We hope to see you here!

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First a few reminders:

• The Pathfinder Village Holiday Show and Tree Lighting is scheduled for tomorrow evening, Thursday, Dec. 3, starting at Pathfinder Gym at 7 p.m.  Following the residents’ comedic skits, we will feature a presentation by the Oneonta-based vocal group, “Eight is Enough.”  It promises to be another delightful and heartwarming evening!
  
• The Sidney Community Band also will be presenting a holiday concert at Pathfinder Gym, on Sunday, December 6 at 3 p.m.  These talented musicians representing many of our local communities always put on a great show, and I’m sure they will be playing some of your seasonal favorites.
  
• Finally, here’s a reminder for Pathfinder Produce hours during the last weeks of the month.  In as much as Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on Thursdays, we will be hosting our Pathfinder Produce markets on Tuesdays, December 22 & 29, from 1 to 5 p.m.  As always, the “Little Market that Could” is here to make the holidays a little less hectic!

***

The holidays are upon us, and again we will be tempted by absolutely delicious, high calorie foods that are really hard to pass by.  And it’s always been that way, for as long as people have gathered during the winter solstice season.  (The Romans had their Saturnalia, the Norse and Germanic pagans had their Yule celebrations).  On the web, there are plenty of write-ups of cooks pulling out all the culinary stops, dating back to the Middle Ages in Europe and on up through 20^th century America.

One of my favorite descriptions of holiday meals in literature comes from Otsego County’s own novelist, James Fenimore Cooper, in The Pioneers, which recalls the settlement days of Cooperstown and its environs.  This fictional Christmas feast takes place in Judge Marmaduke Templeton’s home in the late 1780s; the characters of Elizabeth and Judge Templeton were based on Cooper’s sister, Hannah, and his father, William Cooper, who founded the village in 1786:

Before Elizabeth was placed an enormous roasted turkey, and before Richard (the Sheriff) one boiled, in the center of the table stood a pair of heavy silver casters, surrounded by four dishes: one a fricassee that consisted of gray squirrels; another of fish fried; a third of fish boiled; the last was a venison steak.  Between these dishes and the turkeys stood, on the one side, a prodigious chine of roasted bear's meat, and on the other a boiled leg of delicious mutton. Interspersed among this load of meats was every species of vegetables that the season and country afforded.

The four corners were garnished with plates of cake. On one was piled certain curiously twisted and complicated figures, called "nut-cakes," On another were heaps of a black-looking substance, which, receiving its hue from molasses, was properly termed "sweet-cake;" a wonderful favorite in the coterie of Remarkable (the name of the housekeeper).  A third was filled, to use the language of the housekeeper, with "cards of gingerbread;" and the last held a "plum-cake," so called from the number of large raisins that were showing their black heads in a substance of suspiciously similar color.  At each corner of the table stood saucers, filled with a thick fluid of somewhat equivocal color and consistence, variegated with small dark lumps of a substance that resembled nothing but itself, which Remarkable termed her "sweetmeats."

At the side of each plate, which was placed bottom upward, with its knife and fork most accurately crossed above it, stood another, of smaller size, containing a motley-looking pie, composed of triangular slices of apple, mince, pump kin, cranberry, and custard so arranged as to form an entire whole, Decanters of brandy, rum, gin, and wine, with sundry pitchers of cider, beer, and one hissing vessel of "flip," were put wherever an opening would admit of their introduction. Notwithstanding the size of the tables, there was scarcely a spot where the rich damask could be seen, so crowded were the dishes, with their associated bottles, plates, and saucers. The object seemed to be profusion, and it was obtained entirely at the expense of order and elegance.

So, even as we will be tempted this holiday season, at least we may breathe a sigh of relief that we don’t need to contend with Judge Templeton’s heavy meal!  As you forge ahead through your holiday season, try to implement strategies to prevent yourself from loading up on high fat, high sugar foods.  Here are a few links that may be of use as you maneuver through the next few weeks.

How to Avoid Overeating at Parties: These eight tactical tips offered from Canadian Living are simple ways to prevent overeating at holiday gatherings, and include focusing on vegetables, standing away from the buffet table, and even eating a small healthy snack before you leave the house so you aren’t starving when you arrive.

Webmd.com, Ten Ways to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain:  WebMD.com offers another series of tips to keep you mindful of how much you are eating, and offers in its last suggestion the idea of creating new holiday traditions that help burn off calories.  There are plenty of ways to change up your holiday schedules to add walks, play active Wii Games, or plan a family basketball game to help counter the calorie overloads.

How to Avoid Overeating during the Holidays:  This Prevention Magazine article examines some of the more deep-seated concerns and issues that are at the root of binge eating.  While the holidays can be a wonderful time to catch-up with friends and relatives, it’s also a time of high stress for some, and that can trigger poor eating habits.

Until next time, eat smart and enjoy!

Lori

Market Updates and Sweetness Strategies

We hope that everyone will join us for another delicious Pathfinder Produce fresh fruits and vegetable market, this Thursday, November 19, from 1 to 5 p.m.  We look forward to seeing you!

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This week, we’ll start by sharing a few important reminders:

First, our staff members and residents will host a free THANKS-FOR-GIVING gathering for community members, friends and families at the Pathfinder Village Gym on Thursday, November 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.  We invite all our regular Pathfinder Produce patrons to join in the fun and bring a non-perishable food item or gently used/new toy for local distribution during the holidays.

Secondly, in as much as next Thursday is Thanksgiving and we want our market staff to be home with their families, we will hold our weekly Pathfinder Produce market on Tuesday, November 24, from 1 to 5 p.m.  This is a great time to stock up on your Thanksgiving staples at our friendly and convenient market.  The market will also be open on Tuesdays during the year-end holidays too, as both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on Thursdays. 

***

During the holidays, we all try to keep from over-eating, although it is challenging when tables and sideboards are packed with tempting fare, lovingly created by our moms, spouses, and other talented family members and friends who love to cook.

So perhaps it is good timing to share that the Food & Drug Administration has in the past week come out with guidelines about sugar consumption.  Many health advocates have long said that America eats far too much sugar; our national sweet tooth has been a chief contributor to our current endemic rates of diabetes and obesity.

According to a recent Wellness post at the New York Times by Roni Caryn Rabin, the FDA’s recommended goal is “for Americans to limit added sugar to no more than 10 percent of daily calories, according to the proposed guidelines. For someone older than 3, that means eating no more than 12.5 teaspoons, or 50 grams, of it a day.”

That limit is for total added sugars, not just the sugar you may add to your coffee or breakfast cereal.  This means consumers need to start tracking how much sugar is added in the manufacturing process of commercial foods they eat.  The FDA is proposing to change food labels to make this easier to track, but the Food Industries and lobbyists are already creating a fuss, so it is unknown if or when this additional information will be added.

So, what’s a health-concerned consumer to do?  An earlier Times’ Wellness Blog about a study that NIH carried out on obese children offers some helpful suggestions, but again focuses on knowing added amounts of sugar.  So, for what it’s worth, here are my two cents and five suggestions:

• Adopt a different guideline:  Earlier in 2015, the UN’s World Health Organization recommended that no more than 10 percent of one’s daily calorie intake be derived from sugar (added or naturally occurring sugars).  They state that if you can work down towards five percent (25 grams or 6 tsp.) that health benefits increase.
  
• Stop drinking sugar-laden beverages, like sodas, sugar-rich teas, energy drinks, and juices.  This is one of the most concentrated forms of sugar in our diets. (In 5-2-1-0 programs, the 0 means zero sugary drinks.) Likewise, learn to like lightly or unsweetened cups of hot beverages.
  
• Learn names the industry uses to denote sugar: Review this Prevention slideshow on how sugar is hidden on food labels.  If it ends in “-ose,” it’s sugar.  Also names like corn syrup, cane juice, dextrin, barley malt, carob syrup, malt syrup, etc. mean sugar.
  
• Reduce sugar content in home baked items and cooking.  I generally trim back the amounts of sugar in cakes and cookies to 2/3 or ¾ of what the recipe states. It may taste a bit off at first, but you will get used to it.
  
• Eat natural, unprocessed foods:  Although natural fruits and veggies have sugar, the amounts are known, and fruits and veggies offer other benefits to offset their sugar content.  So, instead of reaching for that gooey luscious corporate-baked cookie, grab a crisp, bright apple instead.

Until next time, savor the sweet things in life, but not the added sweeteners.

Lori

Lessons in Gratitude

Hello!  We hope everyone will come down to our next Pathfinder Produce market at the Village Commons, this Thursday, November 12, from 1 to 5 p.m.  We have the freshest produce and the friendliest staff … a winning combination!  We hope to see you there!

***

Here at Pathfinder Village, we are mindful of the tremendous support we have from our friends, neighbors, families, board members and donors.  We know, during this season of reflection, that it is good to give thanks and to share in the bounty of camaraderie and good will that is found here.

To that end, our staff members and residents will be hosting a new THANKS FOR GIVING gathering for community members, friends and families at the Pathfinder Village Gym on next Thursday, November 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.  We invite all our regular Pathfinder Produce patrons to join in the fun!

There is no cost for this event, which will offer an evening of friendship and light refreshments.  In the spirit of giving and gratitude, we ask that guests bring a non-perishable food item or gently-used/new toy to be donated to share, either by our friends at the area’s food banks, or through the Edmeston Rotary’s annual gift program, which brightens the holidays for many families.

Speaking of giving thanks, everyone at Pathfinder Village is grateful to see the opening this week of the new $1.2 million William F. Streck Health Center at Pathfinder Village, which culminates several years of planning, fund raising, and really hard work by the dedicated folks at the Village and Bassett Healthcare Network.  For those who are hoping to see what a beautiful facility it is, there will be a special Open House at the Streck Health Center this Friday, November 13, from 4 to 6 p.m.

During a recent preview for key donors, the need for the new Health Center for our region was underscored by several speakers, including Senator Seward, NYCM President & CEO Dan Robinson, and Dr. Vance Brown, the current President & CEO of Bassett Healthcare Network.  There were also many expressions of thanks to our tremendous donors, who helped make this new facility a reality.  And during that event, there was a resounding expression of gratitude to Bill Streck, who for 30 years, aptly led Bassett Healthcare and expanded its reach into the community, and who served (and continues to serve) as the Chair of the Pathfinder Village Board of Directors.

Perhaps our Board of Director’s Vice Chair Doug Willies said it best when he indicated that the new health center represents the full circle of Dr. Streck’s love of Pathfinder and his advocacy for expanded healthcare.  He said, “Bill Streck has given his life to Bassett, but his heart and soul has been with his family and his professional family at Pathfinder. So I believe this is such an appropriate way to honor him, by building the successor to Bassett’s first health center, the cornerstone of the community network, here at Pathfinder.  It couldn’t be any more appropriate than to join these two very important aspects of Bill’s life.”

I guess, the upshot of all this, despite all the ill will and bad news we may hear, we must train ourselves to look for life’s gifts, to emulate the selfless, and to remember that we are not alone in working for the greater good.  Give thanks, and use that gratitude to color your world.

Gratefully yours,

Lori