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• Ain’t it awful? convenience food that is... Try the Recipe of the Week: Summer Vegetable Stir Fry with Pasta

  Ain’t it awful?   Something interesting with a disturbing purpose is going on with refrigerators.  Have you looked at new refrigerators lately?  Do so and you will see that all new refrigerators come with an expanded freezer section and a smaller refrigeration section.  Have you noticed that grocery stores are adding more freezer space?  Also, have you noticed that grocery stores are stocking less frozen produce like fruit and vegetables and are stocking more frozen ready-made meals and frozen meal packages?  Refrigerators are changing in order to hold stacks of frozen ready-made meals purchased from grocery stores that are expanding their inventory of frozen meals.   The Norman Rockwell scene of an All-American family having dinner together is all changed.  Mother, Father, Sister, Brother come into the kitchen, pick out what they want for supper from the freezer, microwave it, and sit down for their particularly selected meal, often straight from the package rather than from a plate.  I’m not making up some fantasy, it’s real.  The worst part of all this is what’s on the back of the packages from which they ...

• More Than Food on Display

  

  Follow Me To The Market!   More Than Food on Display There is more to the Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermens Market than a bounty of locally sourced fruit, vegetables, seafood, and baked goods.  Visit the market and take in what local artisans have to offer. ARTISAN:  A person skilled in an applied art; a craftsperson. A person or company that makes a high-quality or distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods. From Dictionary.com I think there is one word missing from that definition…Creativity.  I am amazed at the level of creativity displayed by the local artisans.  If you are looking for unique items to decorate your home, condo, beach house, or apartment or searching for unique gifts for someone special or even yourself, stop by the market and check it out.  You won’t be disappointed! You can make so many people happy when you buy local.   JJG

• Fresh Year, Fresh Food

  Many people find it easier to start a new diet plan as part of the fresh start a new year offers. Stocking your kitchen with locally grown produce will set you on the road to a healthier year. At the Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermen’s Market, you will find this month:Cabbage, Napa cabbage, turnip greens, collards, mustards, kale, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, bok choy, carrots, radishes, rutabagas, and other green, leafy vegetables and those with edible roots. Fruits include beets, strawberries, and satsumas. Fill your basket, then your kitchen (here is a link for vegetable storage tips http://www.popsugar.com/…/How-Keep-Fruits-Vegetables-Fresh-…), then your belly with delicious and healthy foods.  -Liz Tetley-

• Slow Money - Recipe of the Week: Sweet Potato, Corn, Black beans, Tomato

  Slow Money   Are you familiar with the Slow Money movement?  The movement focuses mainly on the benefits to our economy based on farmers’ markets and similar venues.  Quoting from their website: “Today, people are hungry for real alternatives to faster and faster, bigger and bigger, more and more global. Investing in local food systems is a way to begin fixing our economy and our culture from the ground up.”  “We are building a movement of individuals who … are choosing a constructive, hopeful course of action. Slow Money … is built on the premise that … we need not only new technologies and new policies, but also new sensibilities and new behavior, without which the words sustainable and transparent and accountable and socially responsible and metrics and impact will mean little in the end.”   Principles of Slow Money We must bring money back down to earth. There is such a thing as money that is too fast, companies that are too big, finance that is too complex. Therefore, we must slow our money down — not all of it, of course, ...

• Fourth of July Brunswick Stew

  Overwhelming Information and a 4th of July Recipe Do you feel overwhelmed with information about “healthy eating?”  In spite of all the advice we receive about healthy eating, Americans still suffer from higher rates of obesity and chronic diseases caused by poor eating habits more so than ever before.  One major problem, in my opinion, is that over the years we have received so much contradictory information that we tend to quit listening.  Fats are bad.  No, wait, we need good fats.  We need high carbohydrate diets.  No, wait, carbs are bad.  High protein diets.  No, wait, meat is bad.  Lots of seafood.  No, wait, heavy metals in fish are bad.  So, we give up and go through the fast food drive-in. What we really should be doing is following relatively simple advice: eat a variety of foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables; whole grains; and farm fresh eggs and meats.  Get more exercise.  And watch how much we eat (guilty).  Stripping away some of the advice that I find difficult to believe, I have found some advice along the way that ...

• Saturday Night Farmers’ Market Pizza

  Why a Farmers’ Market? Farmers' markets are one of the oldest forms of direct marketing by small farmers. From the traditional "mercados" in the Peruvian Andes to the unique street markets in Asia, growers all over the world gather weekly to sell their produce directly to the public. In the last decade farmers’ markets have become a favorite method for many farmers throughout the United States, and a weekly ritual for many shoppers.  Shopping at a farmers' market is a great way to meet local farmers and get fresh, flavorful produce. [Paraphrased from Wikipedia] While the reasons to shop at a farmers’ market are numerous, one of the most important is what happens to our local economy.  When you purchase from a local farmer at a farmers’ market, approximately 90% of the money stays in the community.  By contrast, when you shop at a well-known chain box store, approximately 7% stays in the community.  That is not a typo, only 7¢ out of every dollar remains in the South Baldwin County communities when you shop at that big, impersonal store that ...