What happens to a garden that contains rich soil, gets full sun from dawn to dusk  and receives tender-loving-care from a couple of member-owners? It produces an overwhelming abundance of veggies, that’s what!

Yes, our south-facing Valley Natural Foods Garden Classroom is in full swing now producing squash, cucumbers and hot peppers by the dozens, massive-sized zucchini, large heads of broccoli, kholrabi and cabbage, genereous bunches of bok choi, mustard greens, chard and lettuces, and basil plants that are almost hedges (in 4 varieties)!  Not to mention those 5 foot tall bushy tomato plants!

So you may be wondering what we do with all those fresh, nourishing veggies. Dakota Woodlands, the only short-term housing facility for homeless women and children in Dakota County, receives our fresh harvests. Dakota Woodlands is already a recipient of our usable perishable items, so we thought they would enjoy garden fresh produce too.

If you have an abundant garden yourself and end up with extra produce, consider donating to Dakota Woodlands too! Visit their current needs page for details.

The next time you enjoy a lunch or snack out on our patio, feel free to take a walk over to our Garden Classroom and enjoy the sights and sounds of birds, butterflys  and even our gardener darting about the beautiful veggie plants and flowers.

Produce Possibilities recipes for this week offer a refreshing spiciness to the taste buds.  Poblano peppers are a mild chili, and are roasted here to make it easier to remove the skins. Aji Amarillo is a dried chile, and is very unique with almost fruity overtones. Here we rehydrate and mince the Aji Amarillo to season the filled Poblano pepper. The package gives instructions for creating a very simple chili hot sauce which will keep for weeks in the fridge. Along with the Monterey Jack and St. Pete’s Blue cheese, this vegetarian Chile Relleno recipe brings several rich flavors together.

Bosc Pears are known for their subtle nutmeg-like flavor.  Here they are showcased in a salad that highlights this spiciness, including dried allspice in the dressing.

Click here to see this weeks Produce Possibilities recipe

Click here to see all the Produce Possibilities Menus

Harvests from backyard and community gardens must be in full swing because lately, we’ve been getting a lot of inquiries about canning salt! Since our co-op does not carry canning salt, below are a couple of tips and recommended substitutes. You can find 3 lb. boxes of Kosher salt in our meat department. 
 

pickling salt = canning salt = canning and pickling salt   

Canning or pickling salt is similar to table salt, but lacks the iodine and anti-caking additives that turn pickles dark and the pickling liquid cloudy. Pickles made with table salt would still be good to eat, but they wouldn’t look as appetizing. Pickling salt is available in large bags or boxes in some supermarkets, but sometimes hard to find in cities.   

Substitutes:

Kosher Salt (Since it’s not as dense as pickling salt, you’ll need to use more, but follow directions on package or use a recipe that has measurements for substitute salts.  For some brands,  it’s best to measure by weight rather than volume.

Table Salt (The iodine in table salt may turn your pickles dark, and the anti-caking agents may turn the pickling liquid cloudy but it won’t affect the flavor.)

Don’t substitute reduced-sodium salt for pickling salt when making pickles.

by Linda Miller, www.diabeticcookbooks.org

New information published for the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research suggests cashew seed extract may play an important role in preventing and treating diabetes. The cashew is a tree in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The plant is native to northeastern Brazil.

Scientists at the School of Montreal and the School of Yaoundé in Cameroon studied how cashew products affected the responses of rat liver cells to insulin. In Canada, over three million Canadians have diabetes and this number is likely to reach 3.7 million by 2020, based on the Canadian Diabetes Association.

In the U.S., according to the American Diabetes Association, from the 2007 National Diabetes Fact Sheet, there are total 23.6 million children and adults in the United States – 7.8% of the population – have diabetes. 1.6 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older each year. 

Scientists viewed cashew tree leaves, bark, seeds and apples. They found that the cashew seed extract increased the absorption of blood sugar by the cells. Extracts of other plant parts had no such effect, indicating that cashew seed extract likely contains active compounds, which may have potential anti-diabetic properties.

In certain people who have diabetes, a disorder called insulin resistance prevents the body from processing the hormone, which regulates energy and also the processing of sugars in the body. Not enough insulin can result in heart or kidney diseases with time.

The cashew nut is a popular snack, and its rich flavor means it’s often eaten on its own, lightly salted or sugared. Cashews are a staple in vegan diets. They are used as a base in sauces and gravies, and can take on sweet properties for frostings and cookies. They are rich in protein and a raw, natural way to obtain energy.

The fats and oils in cashew nuts are 54% monounsaturated fat, 18% polyunsaturated fat, and 16% saturated fats (9% palmitic acid and 7% stearic acid). With no cholesterol cashew nuts are a healthy fat food for heart patients too. And because of their high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids, additionally, they help support healthy levels of good (HDL) cholesterol.

Click here for a delicious Cashew Curry Recipe 

About the author - Linda Miller writes for www.diabeticcookbooks.org, her personal hobby blog site targeted on cooking tricks to help individuals eat healthy to prevent or control type II diabetes.

Scientific references:
www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2010/Jul/cashew-seeds-can-help-fight-against-diabetes-94654599.html
www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117935711/grouphome/home.html

Our Valley Natural Foods Garden Classroom is coming along beautifully and Bobby Jensen and Belinda Jensen from KARE 11 were  here to see it! Our marketing and communications manager Charli Mills talked to them about what is fresh, local and seasonal here at our co-op. Then it was out to our garden classroom where member-owner and gardener Gary Johnson was interviewed about what the co-op has learned so far.

Click here to view the KARE 11 segment.

A big thank you goes out to member-owner Kara Loyd, who advises us on the process of setting up and planting the garden and to Gary Johnson, who has been planting, maintaining  and harvesting in the garden classroom.

 Click here to watch Matt from our produce department prepare White Nectarine and Tomato Salsa on FOX 9. Then, stop by our Valley Natural Foods demo kiosk on Saturday July 24, anytime between 3:00-5:00 where Matt will present a demo and free taste experience of that recipe!

“Savoring the Season” is a phrase often used here at Valley Natural Foods. In fact, some kind of seasonal language is used every day in the produce department. This week’s recipe features some local produce but what we tend to forget about is that the local season doesn’t always run together with what we think should be in season right now.

For example, there is no local season for white nectarines here in Minnesota but some of us don’t want to miss out on this delicious fruit. The best way to take advantage of our produce department is to ask the broader question of “what tastes good and is fresh?” Certainly the peak of the California watermelon season rivals that of Minnesota’s, so why wait for great quality when one can have it multiple times.

One example of using the local season as an advantage for better taste comes in tomatoes. For local tomatoes, the amount of time between being picked and coming to your table can be as little as one or two days, yet it may be a few weeks for California or Mexican tomatos. Some of our local tomato varieties are vine-ripened which adds even more flavor and nutrients to the tomatoes. Because of the high quality in both nutrition and flavor of all our organic produce, one can never go wrong with what’s local and in season.

Click here to see this weeks Produce Possibilities recipe

Click here to see all the Produce Possibilities Menus

Be on the look out for local and delicious, organic sweet corn from Gardens of Eagan to arrive in our produce department this week!

Stop by the Valley Natural Foods demo kiosk on Sunday July 25, anytime between 12:00-3:00 p.m. for a delicious Corn Salad Food Demo, created by Gardens of Eagan. Jennifer Nelson will share techniques,  the recipe and free samples! Take home the recipe and give it a shot with added ingredients from your own garden!

Want more? Sign up now for the Easy Peezy Freezing Class with Gardens of Eagan taught in the Valley Natural Foods classroom on Wednesday July 28, from 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

You will learn easy peezy freezing techniques for sweet corn, roasted peppers, kale, broccoli and even tomatoes. You can have your garden-fresh veggies all winter long with these simple techniques. Linda Halley and Jennifer Nelson of Gardens of Eagan are here to show you how with a few Ziploc bags and a little freezer space. The cost is $12/$10 members (Registration is required.) You can register at the Valley Natural Foods customer service counter or by calling 952-891-1212, ext. 221.

If you have any spare garden materials that need a place to go, why not donate them where they will be put to good use! Here’s a ”wish list” of items to help International Outreach Church Community Garden implement a permaculture garden on site.

Materials Needed:
Woodchips
Compost
Top Soil
Straw

Hardware Needed:
2×3 Welded Wire, 250 feet
Cages for Perennial Plants
Chicken Wire Fencing For Spider Crop Field
Flags
Twine
Ribbon
Wood Stakes and Poles
Hoses and big sprinkler stand
Seeder for new hill crop (www.earthway-outlet.com/1001b.htm)
A High Wheel Cultivator for weeding (www.earthway-outlet.com/65001.htm)

Please visit IOC Community Garden’s contact page,
send an email to info@ioccommunitygarden.org,
or call 952-882-7729 if you have items you would like to donate. 

There’s another way you can support our community garden partner! Simply save your green stamps. All proceeds generated by our Valley Natural Foods Green Stamp Program for the months of July through Septemeber 2010 will go to IOC Community Garden. Click here for details.

This week’s recipes celebrate 2 of the harvests of high summer. Blueberries and summer squash are abundant this time of year, and there’s no better time to eat them than right now! Like most produce, the vitamin content of these items decreases dramatically when they are not used fresh!

In northern MN, late July means berry-picking time. Blueberries start to ripen about now, dotting the forest floor with tiny blue delectable treats. Blueberries are a very good source of vitamin C and fiber. Added to wild rice– another native crop of northern MN—blueberries make this week’s salad a stand-out addition to any summer meal. Top the salad with a refreshing orange vinaigrette dressing, either pre-bottled or that you make yourself!

As any gardener knows, summer squash plants produce an abundant harvest. We are getting in new local varieties everyday. Try the standard green zucchini, or mix it up with little yellow Patty-Pans or multi-colored Zephyrs. While they vary in color and size, most summer squash carries a similar mild slightly-sweet flavor. (Even the tender squash blossoms are edible. If you’re lucky enough to have some, toss a couple on top of the sauté). Summer squash are notable sources of B-vitamins and folate. This weeks’ recipe is a simple summer favorite that pairs well with almost any summer meal.

Click here to see this week’s Produce Possibilities recipe!

Click here to see all the Produce Possibilities Menus!

Summer is around the corner and what better way to celebrate than with great food from the co-op? The Co-op Advantage coupon book offers big savings on your favorite brands including Amy’s Kitchen, Muir Glen and Organic Valley!

This coupon book is just one small way for us to say “thanks” to you, our co-op member-owners. Your continued support makes our co-op more than just another grocery store. Your investment, patronage and input help us better serve you, support our local community and build connections with other communities across the country and around the world.

Look for the coupon books at Valley Natural Foods throughout July. Coupons are valid through August 31, 2010.