Lloyd Craft Farms Fresh Produce, Locally Grown

Thanks to everyone that showed up on Thursday–I covered the cost of the produce, which is good and instrumental in continuing to bring the Organics in– 🙂  Following up with info on the produce you got–It is sight unseen until we get it Wednesday night.  

ENGLISH CUCUMBERS–we sent back 13#–poor quality…Because they are wrapped in cellophane they keep longer…because they are wrapped in cellophane they don’t breath and go soft and spoil–cucumbers are fragile and short-lived.  USE YOUR CUCUMBER FIRST!

Cukes can be grated and added to slaws and other raw salads.  They are great sliced and eaten as a snack, and perfect sliced or chopped into salads.  You can score the cukes lengthwise with a fork and then slice into pretty fluted flowers to beautify your salad.  (Check out Fruit/Veg Info tab  http://www.lloydcraftfarms.com to learn more of the unique nutritional value of cukes.)

BEEF TOMATOES–We are in the dead of winter–Most Tomatoes are hot-house raised in Mexico.  The Farmer found the white core to be slightly bitter. Let them ripen a couple of days on the counter–do not refrigerate tomatoes–and if still bitter, cut around the white core. Watch them closely–they will show small spoil spots.

A little historical background:  Tomato plants thrive in the warmer climates, outdoor is best, vine-ripened superior…nutrients in the soil, the amount of water, and type of light all effect the flavor and quality of a tomato. Hybrids have been developed with thicker skins for transportation to market and field harvest with machines–at the sacrifice of flavor.  That’s why Heirloom varieties have become so popular–but they are best in season and vine-ripened.  Roma’s and Cherry tomatoes naturally have thicker skins and many of the varieties raised for the packers are F1 hybrids which are one generation away from heirlooms. 

LETTUCE— Romaine and Red Leaf quality and condition were good this week…Butterheads were a little man-handled…oops, sorry guys!  Lettuce should be prepped as soon as possible. Run a cold sink of water, take the heads apart leaf-by-leaf, discarding the bruised or spoiled leaves.  Let them soak in the cold, cold water for a minute or two–we are removing any grit and letting the leaves pull the cold water into their veins.  Next, place them in the salad spinner to remove as much water as possible.  Do not over-fill the spinner or you will tear and bruise the leaves.  The whole leaves can be placed in zip-lock bags or other water-proof containers until you are ready for them.  For your salad, tear the leaves apart…cutting will be okay if you aren’t going to save the salad for another meal–Cut leaves ‘rust’ sooner than torn leaves.  Lettuce will keep a week or two if cared for and in a cold refrigerator.  If you don’t have a spinner, I have four left for $5.50 each–Ikea special:  simple and don’t take up as much space on your shelf!

The Green Swiss Chard and Red-Purple Curly Kale were super–young and tender, great flavor!  I only ordered 3 each–the order before they were on the more mature side–  🙁

Next Buyer’s Group and sales at Bee Healthy is February 18th–Eat healthy to Live Healthy!

The Farmer’s Wife