Lindhem Stuga
I met this wonderful woman, Ms Vicki Lingdren, while working at The Y a few years ago. During some of our farmer’s market conversations, I learned of her family heritage and her desire to become part of our local farmer’s market.
Her late husband, Bert, was born in Sweden; and his lifelong dream was to start a business in this country selling Swedish style quality items. Vicki is doing her best to fulfill his dream. Her business is Lindhem Stuga, Inc., which includes homemade children’s clothing, diaper bags, blankets, soaps, breads, woven items and photography greeting cards which are all either Swedish or Swedish inspired.
Vicki will be bringing her famous Swedish rye bread, Swedish rusks and homemade bread bags this weekend to our winter market. Please stop by and visit with her and try some of her wonderful products.
Note: This is the playhouse Bert built for their children here in New Albany. She had this print commissioned by a local artist and owns all rights to the photos and art work. She now uses this for her business insignia.
I’ve been busy the past week making phone calls and getting in contact with some of our local vendors from the market. I told the of the great weekend we had on the 28th. I was successful in convincing some of them to get their wares back to the market. Rookie’s Cookies will be back with fresh hot coffee and wonderful baked goods. Rookie’s will also have some special Valentine’s Day treats available. Patticakes Pies and Cafe will be back with her baked goods as well as bringing a great lunch item to serve (rumor has it…Chicken’n dumplings). 3D Vally Beef will be bringing their meats and will be offering some sale items. Hillview Farms will be back with their Honey products and Goat Milk Soap. Lois will be there with her homemade aprons and textiles. Goldie returns with dried herbs, seasonings, dried soup & rice mixes too!! Of course there will be other vendors there as well.
Come out and support your local vendors and BUY LOCAL! Check them out on Facebook or the web…
http://www.rookiescookies.net/, http://www.3dvalleybeef.com/, www.hillviewfarmonline.com, http://patticakesandpiescafe.weebly.com/, http://www.russellveggies.com/
Of course we, Russell Veggies,will be there;I will be posting again on Wednesday with a complete list of produce that we will have available. Have a great week and look forward to seeing many of you again at the market.
New Albany Farmer’s Market
Saturday Winter Hours
January 14, 2012 thru May 2012 (every other weekend)
10 am to 1pm
Firehouse Headquarters Station
316 E Spring Street
Russell Veggies
Mixed baby lettuce
What strange weather we are having thus far in 2012. The birds and plants are really confused… I saw a huge red breasted robin the other morning… not sure if they haven’t flown south yet or already returned. We have wrens nesting in bird houses on the front porch too.
I was walking around our mini-farm today and saw crocus and daffodils already through the ground…the generally don’t bloom until late March early April and late April early May respectively. I’m hoping they don’t get frozen out, but of course they will… old man winter is sure to make an appearance again soon.
Kenny has been busy the past two weeks in the greenhouse, we have broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Chinese cabbage already up several inches. Some tomato seeds are coming up, but he has lots more to get planted. He also planted green onions this week, they will be ready in about six weeks or so.
Our greens are still looking awesome, our Swiss chard is slow growing but we will have a small amount available. Our kale and spinach is great right now as well as our lettuces. Several varieties will be available.
Don’t forget to pick up your farm-fresh, free-range eggs at the market. Just a reminder that we have been selling out early each week so come early or pre-order to make sure you get what you need.
If anyone needs produce and would like me to have ready, just e-mail me and let me know early in the day Friday. I will have your order ready when you arrive on Saturday morning.
Thanks for supporting us with your purchases at the market,
Val & Kenny
Daffodils today
Crocus today
Raspberry Spinach Salad
This is a great tasting salad I like to make when raspberries are in season, but I do purchase raspberries out of season to make this when we have fresh spinach available. I use my homemade raspberry vinegar when available, but often use Marzetti’s Raspberry vinaigrette in place of making it fresh. This picture is of the salad Kenny and I had for lunch today. I used our candy onions in place of the red onion this time because we still have some and they are so sweet and delicious.
Ingredients:
6 oz spinach
½ medium sized red onion, sliced
1 ½ cup raspberries
½ cup feta, crumbled (I’m not a blue cheese fan, but it would be good as well)
1 cup honey roasted pecans (walnuts could also be used)
2 tbs red raspberry vinegar
3 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Combine the spinach, sliced red onion, raspberries, crumbled feta and honey roasted walnuts in a salad bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the raspberry vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper until well blended. Add the raspberry vinaigrette to the salad and toss well. Serve immediately.
Honey Roasted Pecans
I made these especially for this salad and wanted something slightly different than the standard candied pecans; they are also great in other salads or simply served as a snack. This recipe makes plenty, you can reduce this recipe in half and still have plenty for your salad.
Ingredients:
1 cup pecans
2 tbs honey
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Mix the pecans and honey together until the pecans are all covered with honey. Mix the sugar, chili powder and salt. Toss the pecans with the sugar mix and place the pecans on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, turning the pecans at least once during that time.
Tags: candy onion, Feta Cheese, honey, pecans, raspberries, spinach
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
This is an absolutely wonderful fresh tomato soup, however it’s kind of hard to make this soup fresh in the winter when the tomatoes and peppers are gone for the season. This is one of my Mom’s favorite soups and she asked me to post it for her and her friends. So here is a quick way to have this flavorful soup all winter.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped (I use our “Candy”)
1 carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (roasted fresh when in season-6)
1 (12-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped (roasted fresh when in season-1)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons sugar, optional
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat; add onions and carrots and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until just fragrant. Season with salt and pepper, add tomato paste and cook about 1 more minute.
Next add tomatoes, red peppers, and chicken broth and let simmer for 25 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have melded together. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, and the sugar, if needed. Add half-and-half and basil, and puree using a hand held immersion blender until smooth.
Serve with fresh basil and croutons.
Tags: Basil, candy onion, Garlic, red pepper, Tomatoes
Carolina Christmas 2011
You might say we were quite busy during our four week break from the market. This year for the holidays we traveled to North Carolina, we visited family in Liberty, NC on Christmas eve then celebrated Christmas at a beautiful resort nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina. We stayed in a great log cabin were we enjoyed wonderful days full of laughter, cooking and fun with family. Later in the week we ventured to Charlotte, NC to take in a great football game featuring our favorite team at the 2011 Belk Bowl. Thanks Ms Vicky for the tickets!
We are back from our holiday break and ready to get back to the market. The weather has been great for our lettuce and greens so we should have plenty for the market this weekend. Our greens this week will be Swiss chard, spinach, kale and four different varieties of lettuce. We will have some “Candy” onions, potatoes, turnips and turnip greens too.
Don’t forget to pick up your farm-fresh, free-range eggs at the market. Just a reminder that we have been selling out early each week so come early or pre-order to make sure you get what you need.
If anyone needs produce and would like me to have ready, just e-mail me and let me know early in the day Friday. I will have your order ready when you arrive on Saturday morning.
Thanks for supporting us with your purchases at the market,
Val & Kenny
Belk Bowl 2011
www.fontanavillage.com
Swiss Chard
We now have Swiss Chard available and thought I would share a little more information about this beautiful vegetable.
Swiss chard is a vegetable that is often overlooked. It is worth a try, however. Colorful and tasty, Swiss chard is full of nutritional goodness. Swiss chard is related to the beet, and comes in a variety of colors. The leafy portion is always a nice green, while the stalk can be white, bright yellow, or a Christmas red. If you buy it from us at the farmer’s market, it is not unusual to see all three colors packaged together as ‘Rainbow Chard’. A very colorful salad or vegetable dish can be made using all three colors together. The edible portion is the leaf and stalk. The stalk needs to cook longer than the leaf, so it can be treated as two separate vegetables.
The younger, sweeter leaves can be put raw in salads, providing color, nutrition, and a spinach-like taste. Larger leaves can be chopped and cooked. The leafy portions cook quickly like spinach; the stalks should be chopped into bite-size pieces and can be sautéed or steamed for a longer period of time than the leaves.
I found this video on line today and thought I would share the link with you. It has a lot of good information about chard and a great roasted chard stem recipe. It’s one I will diffidently try soon for Kenny and myself. Enjoy!
http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/swiss-chard-1
Tags: Swiss Chard
Red Chard, Potato and White Bean Stew
This comforting stew makes a hearty meal when served with a salad and crusty bread. This is much like my Rustic Cabbage Soup; both are delicious and well worth trying.
2 cans white beans (rinsed & drained)
32 oz of vegetable broth or (low sodium chicken broth for you non-vegetarians)
1 bay leaf
1 generous bunch red chard (3/4 to 1 pound)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), sliced
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Rinse and drain the beans and combine with 1 quart of chicken broth and bay leaf in a casserole or Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, stem and clean the red chard leaves in 2 changes of water. Rinse the stems and dice. Set aside. Cut the leaves in ribbons, or coarsely chop, and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the onion and chard stems. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes, add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the potatoes and stir together, then transfer to the pot with the beans. Bring back to a simmer, cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and beans are tender. Remove bay leaf then add the chard and thyme leaves to the pot, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. The chard should be very tender. Stir in freshly ground pepper and salt to taste. Fresh grated Parmesan sprinkled on the top.
Tags: candy onion, Chard, chicken broth, Garlic, Potatoes, Vegetarian, white beans
Winter Squash
Well it’s finally here…the end of the tomatoes; all that we had leftover last Saturday we happily made into salsa, forty-two pints in fact! We will have some at the market this weekend if you care to try some for yourself. They make great gifts too.
We will have some cabbage, onions, white and red potatoes, winter squashes, both acorn and butternut. Our fresh baby lettuce will be cut and ready this weekend… we have a few different blends, Rocky Top, Wildfire Mix and European Mix varieties this week. We are going to have greens (kale and spinach) this week and will have some turnips and mustard & turnip greens too.
Don’t forget to pick up your farm-fresh, free-range eggs at the market . We have chicken, quail and now duck eggs available. Just a reminder that we have been selling out early each week so come early or pre-order to make sure you get them.
If anyone needs produce and would like me to have ready, just e-mail me and let me know early in the day Friday. I will have your order ready when you arrive on Saturday morning. This is our last Saturday of the year, but we will return on the 14th of January 2012.
Thanks for supporting us with your purchases at the market this year. Wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday season.
Val & Kenny
New Year's Day Soup
“Good luck will be yours when you enjoy a warm bowl of this hearty, spicy soup on New Year’s Day!”
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound dry black-eyed peas (I used fresh peas we shelled this fall)
3 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced (I preferred adding this for the last 30 minutes)
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies, drained
Fresh black pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
In a large saucepan with enough water to cover, soak the black-eyed peas 8 hours, or overnight. Drain and rinse the soaked black-eyed peas, and return to the saucepan. Mix in the beef broth, dry onion soup mix, sausage, rice, carrots and green chilies, season with pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Add water as necessary to keep the ingredients covered with liquid.
I have made this for a few years now and I have found that the sausage keeps it great flavor if you add in the last thirty minutes. Enjoy! The peas I used this time were Purple Hull Peas that my mom, sister and I shelled this fall while at Lake Barkley. It took us a couple of hours to shell two bushels but they sure are worth it, especially on cold winter nights.
shelling Purple Hull Peas
Tags: beef broth, black eyed peas, carrots, green chilies, rice, Soup
