The Top 5 Super Fruits to Look For This Season

The Bad Things Go Down:

• Decreased exposure to pesticides, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and other unhealthy additives (e.g., growth-hormones)
• Decreased total cholesterol levels, risk of certain cancers
• Up to 50% less consumption of fossil fuels
• Less damage to local ecosystems
• Less encroachment upon (and threat) to wild habitats

The Positives Go Up:

• Increased intake of vital vitamins and nutrients
• Increased colon function
• Improved soil health and longevity
• Animal by-products from healthier animals, and,
• Better living conditions for animals

In addition to these, there is the greater benefit of supporting sustainable agriculture.  Soil degradation has reached epic proportions (currently around 25% of all agricultural land is highly degraded, chiefly from over the intensification of industrial farming).  Sustainable farming, on the other hand, employs systems that are soil-restorative, are more resistant to droughts, and produce long-range benefits for local ecosystems, better conditions for farm labor, and an overall better-tasting product.

When you buy organic, you are supporting the enjoyment of great-tasting and nutritious food for this generation and generations to come.  At From the Farm.com, you get all the value of enjoying produce that’s been picked that day, without having to leave home.  Please visit our online “Farmers’ Market” to have fresh and in-season organic produce delivered straight to your door.

What is your favorite comfort food?

When I think of comfort food my mind goes back to my childhood and dinnertime. My mom used to make fried pork chops with a milk gravy. The pork chops were crispy but moist and tender and the milk gravy had bits of the crispy coating from the pork chops. My favorite part of the meal was the milk gravy over bread. I haven’t eaten this since I was a kid.

My kids would say their comfort food is macaroni and cheese. The most tasty and easiest recipe we have found comes from the America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. We altered the recipe to suit our tastes.

Mac n’ Cheese

16 ounces macaroni (4 cups) I prefer Rotelle pasta. I use the whole wheat from Trader Joe’s.

Salt

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, dissolved in a teaspoon of water

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco

Pepper

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

12 ounces grated cheddar cheese ( approx 3 cups)

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot for the macaroni. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and the macaroni and cook until almost tender but still a little firm to the bite.

While the pasta is cooking mix together the eggs, half of the evaporated milk, the mustard mixture, Tabasco, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Set the pot over low heat and stir in the butter until melted.

Stir in the egg mixture and half of the cheddar until the cheese is melted. Continue to cook over low heat, gradually stirring the remain milk and cheddar, until the mixture is hot and creamy, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Flavored olive oils have more uses than just as a dipping sauce for bread.

Try them with the following:

Use in the frying pan instead of butter when making scambled eggs. (Chipotle garlic gives the eggs a spicy kick.)

Heat up oil and drizzle over raw spinach for a barely wilted spinach salad.

Sprinkle over mixed greens.

Pour a tablespoon of flavored olive oil over steamed vegetables like broccoli or squash.

Drizzle over fresh tomatoes.

Toss 2 tablespoons of oil with raw veggies and cook on the grill or roast in the oven at 400 degrees until a fork inserts easily.

Brush on chicken, fish or steak before placing it on the grill.

Sierra Olive Oil Company creates award winning flavored olive oils without preservatives or chemicals. I have tried the Rosemary Garlic and the Chipotle Garlic( a little spicy but tasty). The flavors are bold but not overpowering. They are a good balance between seasoning, spice and oil.

This is a worry for any family especially if you have young children and elderly.  I recently read an article in the Washington Post by Carolyn Butler with some practical tips on how to increase the bodies immune function.

“It can be a challenge to boost immunity in this situation, it is possible, says Philip Tierno Jr., director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University’s Langone Medical Center. “People tend to . . . take special supplements figuring, ‘That will protect me,’ ” he says. “Well, no, your body is what you have to work on: You need to get your organ in perfect shape to be able to defend itself, because the normal body is well adapted to do that.”

“Experts agree that getting yourself into shape starts with good, balanced nutrition. That means avoiding processed foods, red meat and saturated fats; not overeating; and consuming produce and foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids, such as salmon, says Mullin, who is also a nutritionist.”

“It’s interesting that in the fall, root vegetables like yams and carrots, which are all very rich in Vitamin A and antioxidants, which play a huge role in immunity, come up in our diet,” he explains. “If you focus on eating seasonal fruits and vegetables, you’ll get all of the immune-boosting vitamins and minerals you need without having to think about supplements.” He adds that a wide variety of mushrooms, including shitakes and even plain old white buttons, have also been proven to improve immune function. And since, according to Mullin, it has now been firmly established that the gut is the center of immunity, he suggests regularly eating yogurt with probiotics, which help maintain healthy gut flora.”

What will you be grilling on the BBQ for Labor Day weekend?

My sister turned me on to the fabulous grilled fajita recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. Everything is cooked on the grill, right down to heating up the tortillas. This recipe saves clean up time and keeps the house from heating up.

The marinade is not spicy. If you prefer more heat add some jalapeno seeds. When grilling the tortillas have a large sheet of foil ready to wrap the tortillas in to keep them warm.

Chicken Fajitas for the Grill

I am familiar with this type of living because I grew up on a small ranch. I didn’t appreciate the simpleness of my upbringing until I had children of my own. When we would visit my parents, my dad would take the kids out to feed the cows with him every morning. He would let them sit on his lap and drive the tractor. It was thrilling for them. He would make a slide for them in the barn with stacks of hay. It was a amusement park of dirt, mud and livestock. They loved it. It was a rich, imaginative environment for them. They were farmers and cowboys.

My children are and were completely unaware of the education they were getting. To them understanding that what you eat comes from the animals or food you raise was common knowledge. Like me, they won’t appreciate the value of whole living until they have children of their own.

I love camping. We are going next week and I am looking forward to unplugging for a short time. Part of the excitement is the anticipation and planning for the trip. I have to plan our menu for our time away. I try to make and freeze meals beforehand so I don’t have to do a lot of cooking while I’m there. Part of the menu is something I like to call “camp food”.

“Camp food” usually requires that it be cooked on a open fire. Our best-loved camp food is banana boats. Banana boats are simple to make and easy for kids to prepare themselves. An extra bonus is that the kids get to place the banana boats in the coals of the fire. (with adult supervision of course.) Kids love to put stuff in the campfire. These can also be made on a grill or in a backyard fire pit.

Banana Boats

1 banana(with peel on) per person

1 bag of mini chocolate chips

1 bag of mini marshmallows

Optional add ins: coconut, chopped nuts

12 inch x 10 sheet of aluminum foil(one per banana)

Hold the banana curved side up. Take a sharp knife, shallowly split the peel down middle. Open the peel wide enough to stuff with chocolate chips and marshmallows. Make sure to push the chocolate chips and marshmallows down inside the banana. Close up the peel and wrap the banana in foil. Place the foil wrapped banana in the coals. Cook until chocolate chips and marshmallows are melted, approximately 5 minutes.

Remove from the fire and peel open foil carefully. The banana and the contents will be syrupy and hot. Use a spoon.

To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.  ~Helen Keller

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.  ~John Muir

What are you passionate about? What inspires you?

I’m inspired by what other food bloggers write. There are many opinions about what to write and how to write it. One comment I read stated that bloggers should write what they are passionate about; I agree. When I think about what I’m passionate about one thought comes to mind, my family. I know this may sound strange to some people but I get excited about preparing a meal for them. I want them to love the taste of real, whole foods. We do our children a disservice by feeding them processed foods pressed into shapes. How will they know what real food looks and tastes like if that’s all they are exposed to.

Sunday is the day I plan a big family meal. One of the most requested meals is pot roast and noodles. It’s satisfying to see excited faces run to the table and their plates scraped clean at the end of a meal with minimal leftovers. I look forward to the day when my children make these dishes for their families and the tradition continues to the next generation. They will never forget the feeling of affection and contentment we shared over a memorable meal. I know this because it is the example I remember my parents setting.

“A family is a unit composed not only of children, but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.” Ogden Nash

I’ve posted some photos of my process so you can see how easy it is.  I follow the recipe and directions in the Sure Jell package for cooked jam.

As you can see from my photos I don’t water bath process my jars of jam. I use the inversion method which is not recommended by the USDA. Sure Jell used to recommend this processing method for jams and jellies with high sugar content until a couple of years ago. This is the way I was taught to make jam and I haven’t had any problems.