Weekly Weeder

Olin-Fox Farms Volume No. 11 Issue No. 3 February 4, 2009

www.olinfoxfarms.com Winter Season Week 3

STANDARD REMINDER

Please be sure to wash your weekly share thoroughly before serving. To preserve freshness, it is NOT ‘table ready’ (i.e., pre-washed). We deliver your Olin-Fox Farms’ produce right from the fields to ensure highest quality.

This is the Third week of the Winter 2009 Program.

Next Week is an OFF Week.

The remaining Winter Program pickup is:

February 18-21.

Schedules can be found on our website, www.olinfoxfarms.com.

This Week's News From The Farms

As you know, we have been experiencing a colder than normal winter. Some say it has not been this cold since more than 20 years ago, or when Jimmy Carter was our President.

This has resulted in crop failures for us as well as all of our growers in this region. Typically root vegetables and greens do survive and even thrive in our Zone 7 climate during the winter. Even though it has been very cold, very little snow has fallen, and snow is a good insulator. What has resulted is that the ground is literally freezing and even root vegetables are freezing and turning to mush. As one of our growers has stated, her fields are completely flattened.

Therefore, we are making an exception to our rule of providing only locally grown produce (except for organic Florida citrus). This week, some of the produce in your share is courtesy of Earthbound Organics and Farm Fresh Direct, LLC.

Also in your share is locally, naturally grown greenhouse lettuce from Holly Hill Organic Farm, as well as locally, naturally grown dried hot peppers from Olin-Fox Farms and Holly Hill.

We greatly appreciate you picking up your shares in a timely manner at your pick up location. These locations have kindly offered their limited space for our members to pick up shares, and we do not want to impose on their hospitality.

At the present time, we are contacting our Florida citrus growers to find out the feasibility of including citrus in the final Winter Share.

Thanks so much in advance for your understanding and for your support.

Recipes and Information

Dried Hot Peppers

Get your creative juices flowing to use this week's share of dried hot peppers. They can be crunched up and used as you do the commercial red pepper flakes – spaghetti sauce, pizza, and chili come to mind.

The dried hot peppers can be ground up in a spice mill into a powder and used for flavoring anywhere you'd like a little spice. Adding just a little touch of hot pepper to a soup or stew contributes a warming factor, even though one does not necessarily even taste the pepper. Very nice for these cold winter days!

Use a little crunched up hot pepper in your dip for chips or veggies (carrots). Try mixing sour cream with cumin, salt, lemon juice, and some hot pepper to taste for a dip or a creamy salad dressing.

Use these peppers with care as you would with any hot pepper, dried or fresh. Even though dried, if you touch them, they will leave very spicy residue on your fingers.

The spiciest part of the peppers is the seeds, so use them with care. Some folks carefully cut open the peppers, and discard the seeds entirely. But, if you enjoy hot food, be sure to eat the seeds, whether whole or ground up.

Salad Greens

At this time of year, it is especially wonderful to have fresh salad greens, and we are so thankful to Holly Hill Organic Farm for growing them in their greenhouse. Salad greens this time of year are often from far away places, so we are glad for this fresh local treat.

If you are looking for a little variety with salad greens, why not try a sauteed salad? They can be sauteed the same way as spinach, cooking them quickly in a little olive oil, minced garlic, and salt. This will complement a fine steak dinner.

A friend who has recently passed away in her mid-90s talked about wilted lettuce, one of her favorite dishes from her Arkansas heritage. Here's a recipe:

Bon Appetit!