Baba’s Kapusta Soup      Serves 10-12

From the Kitchen of Anna Milchanosky as remembered by Mary Ann Godlewski

Ingredients-Soup

2 lb BAG of sauerkraut-rinsed once

2-4 cups shredded cabbage [Angel Cole Slaw]

2 lb fresh or frozen baby butter beans [CAFFM]

2 cup diced onions

4-5 cloves minced garlic or 1 T crystalized garlic

3-4 qt water or Vegetable Stock/Broth

4 T Oil [not Olive] or butter

1C dried mushrooms [hydrated,drained & chopped]

  {could use fresh mushrooms but not as flavorful}

Salt & Pepper fresh ground to taste

Zapraska [Roux] – may use less of below if volume less keep ratio same

10 T oil [or butter] Olive oil is too strong a taste

18 T flour

Directions:

1.    Place sauerkraut, BB beans, cabbage, stock, salt & pepper in a large stockpot. Simmer for 1 hour

2.    Saute onions, garlic, & hydrated mushrooms in 4 T oil [or butter] until light golden brown. Add to stockpot.  Cover & simmer x 30 minutes or until beans are as soft as desired.

3.    Make Zapraska-heat 10T oil [butter] at medium heat in frying pan. Sprinkle flour in gradually stirring constantly until brown & smooth.

4.    Add 1 cup of liquid to Zapraska stirring constantly to thinner & smooth.

5.    Return contents of frying pan to stockpot stirring constantly.

6.    Simmer on low for 10 minutes [or all day or place in crockpot on low for up to 8 hours].

7.    Serve with Rye Bread

Cook’s notes:

My Grandmother [Baba-Anna Milchanosky] was a first generation Ukrainian Polish immigrant. When my brothers & I were little & visited her, this soup was often on the menu, especially after we went sledding in her neighborhood. Her stove was woodfired in the 40’s & her furnace was coal-fired.  She was a great gardener & often our family benefitted from her skills.

This soup if meatless was a traditional dish for Lent & Christmas Eve Holy Supper. In Lent there was an abstention from dairy products, witness the oil vs butter.

I have tried making this soup using dried beans, but the Baby Butter Beans from the Coastal Alabama Farmers Market are much sweeter.  I have purchased from several of the farms, but it must be the Alabama in them that makes the current version wonderful.  -MA

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

Follow Me To The Market

I can still remember the first time I had Baba Ganoush, a Lebanese appetizer made with
eggplant. It was at the Almontaser Restaurant on Court Street in the Cobble Hill section of
Brooklyn in the late 1970’s. The Amontaser has long been closed but the fond memories of
some of the best Mediterranean food I have ever had linger on.
The base recipe for Baba Ganoush consists of roasted eggplant, tahini paste, garlic, lemon juice,
and salt. From there it is easy to get creative. Our go to recipe comes from a very old Sunday
New York Times magazine and is a family favorite. Thanks go to George Watkins for the
beautiful eggplant, Knievil Farms for the Shishito peppers and Rosetta Bakes for the Naan.

Mediterranean Eggplant Dip
2 pounds eggplant
2 cloves of garlic pressed
¼ cup tahini
¼ cup lemon juice
1 cup chopped tomatoes
10 red and/or green mini peppers diced
5 green onions sliced
¼ chopped parsley
1 tablespoon seasoned salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spear the eggplants with knife or fork so that they don’t explode in the oven. Bake until
a knife goes into them with no resistance.
3. Slice the eggplants in half and remove the flesh from the skin and puree in a food
processor.
4. When the puree has cooled, add the remaining ingredients and refrigerate for about an
hour to let the flavors meld.
5. Serve the dip with toasted wedges of pita bread or naan.
6. Enjoy!

Buy Local and Eat Fresh!
JJG

Follow Me To The Market

I could never resist a farmers’ market. I enjoy checking out what the local vendors have brought
to market, taking some time to meet them and then planning a menu. Right here in our own
backyard, Baldwin County has a real gem in the Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermen’s
Market in Foley.
 

It’s Summertime and the living is supposed to be easy. So, something easy that doesn’t require a lot of prep time is high on the list. Four vendors helped create the dinner menu tonight: SHRIMP on the GO, Forland Family Farm, Sweet Bee Farm, and Mood Rock Baking.

On the Menu:
Sesame Seared Tuna (SHRIMP on the GO and Sweet Bee Farm)
Sweet Corn (Forland Family Farm)
Curried Brown Rice
Grilled Peaches (Forland Family Farm)
Lemon French Macarons (Gluten-Free) (Mood Rock Baking)

The tuna, sweet corn and peaches can all go on the outdoor grill.

Sesame Seared Tuna
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Up to four Tuna steaks
½ cup sesame seeds
1. In a bowl, stir together the soy sauce, honey and sesame oil. Divide into two equal parts. Stir the rice vinegar into one part and set aside as a dipping sauce.
2. Spread the sesame seeds out on a plate. Coat the tuna steaks with the remaining soy sauce mixture, then press down into the sesame seeds to coat.
3. Spray grill grates with a cooking spray such as PAM and bring the grill to high heat. Place the tuna steaks on the grill and sear for about 30 - 60 seconds on each side. Serve with the dipping sauce and if you like, wasabi paste.

Buy Local and Eat Fresh!
JJG

Instead of joining the hoards of parents who are helping make their children connoisseurs of fast food, why not get your children started early on becoming fruit and veggie experts instead. According to the author of Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser, Americans spent around $6 billion on fast food in the 70s, and today that figure has climbed to well over $100 billion. We’re now spending more money on fast food then we do on higher education or a new car. In fact, he reports that we’re “eating ourselves to death” as we’ve spent more money on junk food than books, magazines, newspapers, videos and music combined.

As parents, you can prevent the cycle that’s leading to the nation’s obesity crisis by teaching your child healthy eating habits. According to the study Influences on the Development of Children's Eating Behaviours: From Infancy to Adolescence, our eating behaviors are formed during the early years; that is when we learn, “what, when, and how much” to eat. 

To help your child develop a love for fruits and veggies you may need to lean on a little bit of creative thinking. Let’s face it, not all kids see the joy in selecting a juicy, soft peach over a crispy, warm French fry.

Here are a few effective ways to get your child to be fruit and veggie connoisseurs.

Visit A Local Farmers Market

Visiting a farmers market gives children a chance to meet local growers and see the kinds of fruits and veggies they’re growing. Help them learn how to identify the different fruits and veggies and share recipes. Also, give them a wallet or a purse and let them shop for which new, unique types of produce they want to try.

Get Them In The Kitchen

After they’ve shopped for their healthy choices, set up time in the kitchen where you can work on recipes or preparations that include what they’ve chosen. For example, if they chose peaches, teach them how to make peach cobbler. Or, have them husk corn on the cob for dinner. They become more invested in the end product when they help buy and prepare it. And teaching children to cook may help them become healthier eaters.

Experiment With Recipes

Once you’ve introduced your child to cooking, take it to the next level and work together to find fun and flavorful recipes that include fruits or vegetables. Teach them how to make chocolate chip zucchini bread, blueberry muffins, a yummy stir fry, fun colorful shish kabobs, fruit smoothies or a creative fruit dip.

Make Food Fun

Sure you may not be keen on letting your child play with their food, but allowing them time to make artwork with colorful fruits and vegetables just might get them more interested in eating them.

Have Some Online Fun
Every parent knows children love time on a tablet or a computer playing games and exploring. Take time to show them the educational side of the internet by visiting sites that teach about certain subjects such as healthy eating. Fruits & Veggies More Matters is a great website designed by Produce for Better Health Foundation to encourage the consumption of healthy fruits and veggies.

Don’t Give Up

As easy as it is to just want to throw in the towel when your child turns their nose up, research shows that if you stick with it eight to 10 times by insisting they try one or two bites, eventually they’ll accept that food.

Instead of “eating yourself to death” like Schlosser suggests we’re doing, work with your children to help them “eat themselves healthy.” Form a foundation early for understanding the health benefits of eating a nutritious diet. Explain how it staves off disease, how it improves their mood, how it keeps their weight in check, and even how it helps them learn better. And remember, if you teach them to be healthy eaters, they’ll also be modeling healthy eating for their children. It’s a legacy we can all afford to pass along.

Author: Kristin Louis

Photo Credit: Pexels

Our planet provides us with soil, water, and other natural resources we need to grow food and create useful products for health and beauty. In the pursuit of healthy eating, don’t forget to keep the earth healthy too. 

The best way to keep Earth healthy is to buy from your local farmer’s market. Food and products there have fewer or no harmful chemicals because they were grown locally. Food traveling a long way to get to your table has chemicals added to it to keep it fresh. It also has to be packaged to protect it along the way. All the extra packaging ends up in landfills emitting chemicals that pollute the soil and eventually water as it slowly decomposes. Traveling long distances increases foods’ chances of being contaminated along the way. 

Vendors at local markets can answer any questions you have about how a food was grown and how animals and seafood were raised. This is true of handcrafted and homemade products too. Craftsmen and women can tell you what materials and ingredients are in their products. 

The Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermen's Market celebrates Earth Day every Tuesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. by offering a variety of items that will keep the earth healthy. 

-Liz tetley-

Want to get a head start on your “summer body”?                                                                                             

Spring into action now by visiting Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermen's Market where you can start building that summer body from the inside.

Fresh food contains more and better nutrients that help your body combat common health woes like seasonal allergies and digestive issues. Since the veggies and seafood come from local sources, nothing needs to be added to keep the food fresh. The fresher the food, the better it tastes. Your taste buds will be happy. Your cells will be happy to get the best nutrients to use for their jobs. You’ll be happy with the results of looking and feeling better.

Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermen's Market is stocked with a variety of veggies, fruits, seafood, and treats Stop by the market Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

-Liz Tetley

You can get everything you need for a healthy heart at the Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fisherman’s Market. The American Heart Association recommends shopping local farmers markets for seasonal fruits and veggies, eating foods in all colors, and being physically active. At Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fisherman’s Market, you can find leafy green vegetables, fresh fruits, and seafood, along with other healthy foods. Don’t forget to add some dark chocolate to your basket. You don’t even have to wait for Valentine’s Day to indulge because dark chocolate has health benefits.

Just as filling your plate with healthy, locally grown, fresh produce will boost your heart health, so will the actual shopping for those foods. You’ll enjoy fresh air, a little physical activity, and interact with awesome vendors and other shoppers. Preparing your foods will add even more activity. You’ll feel better than ever and want another trip to the Coastal Alabama Farmers’ and Fisherman’s Market.

Find serving recommendations here: https://healthyforgood.heart.org/eat-smart/infographics/what-is-a-healthy-diet-recommended-serving-infographic

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
A colorful heart
Makes a healthier you.

-Liz Tetley-

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-

What Exactly Are Microgreens?

Statement about Microgreens from Heather Pritchard:  Part of what a farmers’ market can do for farms or other businesses is product introduction. With direct access to the public, vendors can “test” an item and quickly learn what the public likes, which also helps diversify market products.  Microgreens have only recently been introduced to consumers at Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermens Market and the response is amazing. Knowing how super nutritious they are coupled with the many flavors and uses, it is no wonder they are popular. Furthermore, it is an example of alternate ways of growing in the home or small spaces.  With all of the stress and uncertainty in folks’ lives, I believe that purchasing and feeding yourself something like this is a reward that most can afford and enjoy.

What are Microgreens?

Microgreens are tiny edible plants with an intense flavor, usually vegetable garden plants, that are grown in quantity and harvested while they are still juvenile plants, generally around 10 days.  (www.growingmicrogreens.com) Popular microgreens are red cabbage, cilantro, radish, sunflower, kale, broccoli, amaranth, Bok choy, arugula, and basil. (from a Wikipedia article)

Are they healthy?

As reported by WebMD.com, in a research study conducted by the University of Maryland – College Park, microgreens were found to be anywhere between four to 40 times more concentrated in nutrients than a fully grown plant. 

How are microgreens grown?

The advantage of microgreens is that they can be grown in small spaces, even in container gardens.  Microgreens can be grown in soil or hydroponically.  By harvesting microgreens after only ten to fourteen days after sprouting, microgreens can be intensely planted in a small space.  A 10 x 10 feet space can easily supply a fine-dining restaurant, for instance, of all the microgreens needed.  (Wikipedia)

Disadvantages?

Microgreens tend to have a short shelf life.  Commercial microgreens are most often stored in plastic clamshell containers for viewing and for a quick sale.  Farmers’ markets are the ideal venue for microgreen farmers to sell their product as the microgreens can be purchased by a consumer looking for something fresh and nutritious that will be consumed quickly rather than stored for later use.  www.growingmicrogreens.com

How to Use?

Microgreens can be used almost anyway that a person’s imagination can create.  Salads, toppings for meat or vegetables, pasta, smoothies, stir fry, and steaming.  Many fine dining restaurant chefs use microgreens because of the intense flavor as well as making a great food presentation on the plate.

Are microgreens available at the Market?

Currently, at least two vendors sell microgreens at Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermens Market with others exploring the possibility. In addition, Forland Family Market often has microgreens in their weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box.

Recipe of the Week:  Chicken Alfredo Farmers’ Market Style

My oldest granddaughter loves Chicken Alfredo and she says it is her favorite Italian food.  Of course, Chicken Alfredo is as authentic an Italian dish as Chicken Chow Mein in Chinese … neither are an authentic anything.  However, I offer this recipe as a means of using microgreens and spoiling my grandchild.

Ingredients:

Chicken tenders (I use Publix Green Wise) about three per person

Butter (Forland Family Market)

Olive Oil

Half and Half (most recipes you can find call for heavy cream but ½ & ½ cuts fat and calories)

Farmers’ Cheese (Forland Family Market) shredded, about ¼ cup per person

½ tablespoon of drained capers per person

Parsley (from a plant I purchased at the Market)

White wine

Fettuccine

Sea salt

White pepper

Basil microgreens (available at the Market)

Directions:

1. Over medium heat, warm a pan.  Add olive oil and chicken.  Sprinkle salt lightly.  Brown and cook thoroughly.  Just before the chicken gets brown, add a splash of white wine to the pan and continue cooking until the wine is reduced by ¾’s. 
2. In a separate pot, cook fettuccine.
3. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
4. Deglaze pan with half and half milk making sure you get all the debris (i.e. flavor) from the bottom of the pan but do not burn the milk. 
5. Add shredded Farmers’ Cheese and stir as it melts
6. Remove from heat.  Add capers and parsley.  Stir.
7. Add chicken back to the sauce and coat thoroughly.
8. In a pasta bowl, add cooked fettuccine and sauce with chicken.  Top with a sprinkling of microgreens.

For my granddaughter, she gets a soft drink (grandparents have a license to spoil) and a green salad with ingredients from the Market.  For me, I have a glass of white wine and a green salad.

Enjoy and I’ll see you at the Market.