It’s lettuce time… try Kenny’s all time favorite salad. He would eat this everyday if I would make it for him. This is a recipe his mom used to make and the same dressing my grandmother used on her German potato salad. It is so good!
1 /2 pound bag lettuce (Black Simpson is best) washed but leaves left in large pieces
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
4-5 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
2 green onions, sliced
Make a cooked dressing of: 1/3 c. honey, 1/3 c. cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until this comes to a boil and thickens. To be authentic, cook this in bacon drippings. Pour dressing over lettuce and toss; add sliced hard boiled eggs, green onions and crumbled bacon. The hot dressing will wilt the lettuce. Serve immediately.
Tags: bacon, cider vinegar, Eggs, green onions, honey, Lettuce
If growing your own calorie-free, natural sweetener sounds too good to be true, it’s time to get to know stevia. Native to Paraguay and other tropical areas of the Americas, the stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) produces leaves packed with super-sweet compounds that remain stable even after the leaves have been dried. Stevia leaves have been used to sweeten teas and beverages throughout South America for centuries. More recently, diabetics and dieters alike have turned to stevia to reduce their sugar intake because, unlike honey, maple syrup, agave or molasses, this natural sweetener has zero calories and is not metabolized by the body. Stevia is especially well-suited to sweetening drinks, fruits, salad dressings, yogurt and most creamy desserts. Stevia can substitute for some, but not all, of the sugar used when baking, because it does not provide all of the multiple functions that sugar does.
Growing Stevia Plants
Growing stevia is easy in well-drained beds or large containers, and the leaves can be dried for winter use like any other herb. Stevia grows best in warm conditions similar to those preferred by basil. Plants grown in warm climates will grow to 24 inches tall and wide. Where summers are cool, expect stevia plants to grow up to 16 inches. Choose a well-drained site, and set out the plants 2 feet apart after your last frost. Be sure to choose an accessible spot, because you will need to gather stems often. Where summers are extremely hot, stevia benefits from slight afternoon shade. Elsewhere, grow stevia in full sun. Left unpruned, stevia will grow into a lanky, upright plant that produces tiny white flowers in late summer. To maximize leaf production, you must trim back the plants several times to induce branching, first when plants are about 8 inches tall, and again in early summer.
How to Harvest Stevia In most areas, you can harvest stevia in midsummer by cutting back the plants by half their size, and again in early fall when new growth slows to a standstill. Stevia can be dried in bunches like other herbs, but you will get better quality by drying it in a dehydrator or a 150-degree- Fahrenheit oven until crisp. Store dried stevia leaves in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. Wait until you’re ready to use stevia leaves to crush them.
In the Kitchen You can use the leaves of this healthy sugar substitute fresh or dried, but many people find the flavor improves if the sweet compounds have first been extracted in water or alcohol. With stevia, slightly under-sweetening drinks or fruit desserts tends to taste better than using too much. Too much stevia may impart a bitter or medicinal flavor. Learn how to use stevia leaves as a versatile, low-calorie sugar substitute with the methods below…
Stevia Tea… Fill a metal tea ball with 1 rounded tablespoon of dried, lightly crushed stevia leaves. Place in a clean pint canning jar, and cover with almost-boiling water. Steep 10 minutes before removing the stevia. Screw on the lid and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Yield: 2 cups (16 ounces), sweetness equivalent to about 2 cups sugar.
Stevia Extract… Bring 1 cup water to almost-boiling, add one-half cup lightly crushed stevia leaves. Remove from heat, cover with lid, and steep 40 minutes. Strain through a coffee filter, and pour into a dark-colored container. Store in the refrigerator 1 to 2 weeks. Yield: 3/4 cup (6 ounces), equivalent to 3 cups sugar.
Stevia Tincture… Place one-half cup dried, lightly crushed stevia leaves in a clean glass jar. Add 3/4 cup 100-proof vodka or rum. Screw on the lid and shake. Place in a cool, dark place for two days, shaking the jar twice a day. Strain through cheesecloth or a jelly bag, and place the liquid in a small saucepan. Heat on low until steam rises, and maintain that temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, (do not boil). This creates a more concentrated tincture while removing most of the alcohol’s taste and smell. Pour the cooled tincture into a dark-colored container such as a medicine bottle with a dropper to add it to drinks or prepared dishes by the drop. Store in the refrigerator up to 3 months. Yield: About 1/4 cup (2 ounces), equivalent to 6 cups sugar.
Information gathered from… Mother Earth News and Consider Me Fit.
This year’s market is off to a great start… thanks for everyone who braved the rainy weather and visited us this past Saturday.
This week we will have more greens available… spinach, kale and mixed baby lettuce. Kenny will have asparagus, rhubarb and may even more radishes this week. We are cutting fresh mint too. Just a reminder that we have been selling out early… so come early or pre-order to make sure you get the items you need. Don’t forget to pick up your farm-fresh, free-range eggs as well.
Thanks to the great response to herbs we will have a limited amount of tarragon and parsley available this week. We still have plenty of other fresh herbs and garden plants available. We will have basil, dill, cilantro, oregano, sage, thyme, rosemary, stevia and mint. Kenny also has a nice variety of heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and pepper plants.
Thanks for supporting us with your purchases, and remember to visit other Floyd County vendors while at the market. Have a great week and we will see you on Saturday,
Val & Kenny
Our daughter-in-law, Deanna, makes Manicotti for her family often and was sharing her recipe a couple weeks ago. It sounded great and was definitely something I had never tried to make before, so I tried my hand at it this week. I tweaked her recipe a bit, mine is a meatless version but you could add ground beef, sausage (for an added spice version) or ground turkey. She uses meat in her sauce and would never use spinach in her cheese filling, but that’s how I wanted to try it. Kenny thought it was wonderful, but then he always says that. He knows the right thing to say to keep the meals coming. I served it with a small garden salad and fresh baked bread.
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped or (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup onion, minced
1 egg
2 teaspoons fresh parsley, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce (I used our homemade pasta sauce)
1 cup water
1 (8 ounce) package manicotti shells
Fresh basil for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, onion, garlic and egg. Season with parsley and pepper. Mix in 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan. In a separate bowl, stir together spaghetti sauce and water.
Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Stuff uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture, and arrange in a single layer in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until noodles are soft.
Tags: egg, Garlic, manicotti shells, mozzarella cheese, onion, Parmesan cheese, parsley, pasta sauce, ricotta cheese, spinach
It’s finally here… opening day of the 2014 Farmer’s Market! Located on the corner of Bank and Market Streets in beautiful downtown New Albany. We are so excited to begin the growing season. Kenny has been plowing, rotor tilling and planting every day for weeks now, things are looking wonderful. He has everything in the ground except the eggplants (they are taking their sweet time growing.) It won’t be long before the strawberries will be ready!
This week we will be taking orders for the greens we have available… spinach, kale and mixed baby lettuce. Kenny will have asparagus, rhubarb and may even have some radishes this week. Just a reminder that we have been selling out early… so come early or pre-order to make sure you get the items you need.
We will have plenty of fresh herbs and garden plants available this weekend. We have basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, oregano, thyme, sage, tarragon, Stevia and rosemary. Kenny also has a nice variety of heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and peppers.
Don’t forget to pick up your farm-fresh, free-range eggs at the market.
Thanks for supporting us with your purchases at the market,
Val & Kenny
I found this recipe in a Walgreen’s magazine ~ heart health & you. Since it sounded so good and we have plenty of kale I decide to fix it for Kenny this week. We thought it was delicious, I used oranges since Kenny can’t have grapefruit, I think it would be great either way. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
7 cups coarsely chopped kale, large stems removed
2 medium carrots shredded
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1 medium red grapefruit or 2 blood oranges or 2 regular oranges
2 tablespoons plain rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons citrus juice (retained from cutting fruit)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, roasted
In a large bowl, toss together kale, carrots, raisins and green onions.
Put the grapefruit or oranges on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife slice off the top and bottom of the fruit. Holding the knife blade horizontally, carefully cut downward, following the contour of the fruit, to remove the peel, the bitter white pith and the outer membrane(a little of the flesh will be removed, too). Holding the fruit over a medium bowl to catch any juice, cut between the membrane and the flesh of each segment to release the segment from the membrane. Discard any seeds. Add the fruit segments to the salad, toss gently.
Squeeze the membrane and any peel with flesh into the medium bowl (you should get about 2 tablespoons of juice). Discard the membrane and peel.
Whisk the remaining ingredients except the walnuts into the juice. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with the walnuts.
Tags: golden raisins, grapefruit, green onions, kale, oranges, rice vinegar, walnuts
It’s hard to believe this will be our last “Egg Drop” of the season. Winter is over and the summer market is about to begin, May 10th is opening day! But this Saturday, I will be downtown from 10:30 – noon… under the Pavilion in our regular spot~ at the corner of Market and Bank streets.
We will have eggs, kale, spinach and baby lettuce. We have been selling out so please be sure and get your orders to me early. Let me know what your needs are and I will have your order ready when you arrive.
Rumor has it… that if the weather is nice, there may be a few other vendors there with goodies for sale… Shealy’s Honey, Family Spirits Homestead, Rattlesnake Hill Farm and more. E-mail me for any additional information ~ val@russellveggies.com.
Thanks for your patronage and hope to see you there,
Val & Kenny
I will be downtown this Saturday from 10:30 – noon… under the Pavilion in our regular spot~ at the corner of Market and Bank streets. I will have our Russell Veggies signs posted and will be in our “Alien” green KIA.
This Saturday we will have plenty of eggs as well as greens… kale, spinach and baby lettuce. I will also have Shealy’s Honey available. Let me know what your needs are and I will have your order ready when you arrive. I heard thru the rumor vine… that if the weather is nice there may be a few other vendors there as well. E-mail me for any additional information ~ val@russellveggies.com.
Thanks for your patronage and hope to see you there,
Val & Kenny
Shealy Farms ~ Floyds Knobs, Indiana
I will be downtown this Saturday from 10:30 – noon… under the Pavilion in our regular spot~ at the corner of Market and Bank streets. I will have our Russell Veggies signs posted and will be in our “Alien” green KIA.
This Saturday we will have plenty of eggs as well as greens… kale, spinach and baby lettuce. I will also have Shealy’s Honey available. Let me know what your needs are and I will have your order ready when you arrive. I heard thru the rumor vine… that if the weather is nice there may be a few other vendors there as well. E-mail me for any additional information ~ val@russellveggies.com.
Thanks for your patronage and hope to see you there,
Val & Kenny
Shealy Farms ~ Floyds Knobs, Indiana
I will be downtown this Saturday from 10:30 – noon… under the Pavilion in our regular spot~ at the corner of Market and Bank streets. I will have our Russell Veggies sign posted , and be in our “Alien” green KIA.
This Saturday we will have plenty of eggs as well as greens… kale, spinach and baby lettuce. I will also have Shealy’s Honey available. Let me know what your needs are and I will have your order ready when you arrive. E-mail me for any additional information ~ val@russellveggies.com
Thanks for your patronage and hope to see you there,
Val & Kenny
Shealy Farms ~ Floyds Knobs, Indiana
