Roasting Fruits and Veggies for the Holidays

For a delightful holiday treat, let me suggest roasting fruits and veggies. The key here is to be adventuresome and not be afraid to mix and match! A favorite combination of mine is to combine chunks of sweet potatoes, apples and turnips. Dump the mixture into an oiled pan; sprinkle with nutmeg and ginger; spray with buttered flavored spray; and then bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. The natural carmelization makes everything sweet.

Almost any combination works, so you can use whatever you have on hand. Cranberries added to this mixture adds extra zing and pears give more complexity.

You might like asparagus and shiitake mushrooms roasted with seasonings of thyme and crushed black pepper.  Another favorite is sliced eggplant with chopped tomatoes sprinkled with mixed Italian herbs and parmesan cheese.  Check out my videos at www.theproducelady.org for more roasting ideas!

The key is to use your imagination and whatever seasonal produce you can get your hands on. Another helpful hint is to line your baking pan with aluminum foil for easier clean-up!

Experiment and play with your food—what a treat! Let me know what tantalizing combinations you come up with.  Remember to be thankful for wonderful local foods and the farmers who provide them for us.

Ready for Fall Treats

Cooler temperatures bring us delicious fall veggie treats. On Sunday, I was treated to Mae’s Homemade Sweet Potato Pie. This is an easy recipe sure to please your family.

Mix together these ingredients and pour into a pie shell:

• 1 1/2 cups hot cooked mashed sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 large egg beaten
• 1 small box french vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 tbsp. vanilla (or butternut flavoring).

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 30 minutes.

You can find more sweet potato ideas and see my sweet potato video at www.theproducelady.org.

In addition to your traditional carved pumpkins, consider veggie art with other fall veggies. My chef friend, Joy, taught me how to make this great vase with a butternut squash that is filled with veggie flowers. For nutritious tips on winter squash,  see The Produce Lady video.

Joy is also creator of “pantry ingredient” pet treats.” Let’s take better care of our pets, as well as our families, as we are enjoying more simple foods prepared at home.

Late Summer Goodness

Those last tomatoes and okra in the garden make for some  rich, delicious dishes.  Last Saturday at the N.C. Farm Fresh Family Day at the N.C. Museum of Natural History, I cooked up some onions, peppers, okra, tomatoes and corn. Seasoned with thyme, red pepper and basil—this combination had folks begging for more!  Check out this recipe and more at www.theproducelady.org.

Last week, The Produce Lady was also the featured lunch speaker at the N.C. State Grange Convention.  The audience was interested in learning about The Program for Value-Added & Alternative Agriculture and our efforts to help farmers and consumers learn more about local foods.

Be sure to check out our new videos at www.theproducelady.org. We have goat cheese and grass fed beef, as well as Fresh Produce Safety to complement the wide range of produce ideas.

Enjoy the videos and enjoy all these late summer goodies!

Farm Visits by The Produce Lady

Have you visited a farm recently?  That’s one of my favorite things to do as The Produce Lady!  The past few weeks I’ve had opportunities to catch some great local farm happenings.

Anna Micciulla was gracious to host a group of kids at her Pennwood Farm.  Everyone was able to visit her friendly goats and then make felted fabric from their fleece to carry home.

That same day we visited Infinity Acres.  We were introduced to lots of animals and even got to feed the pond fish.

It’s always great to visit my friends at Massey Creek Farms.  We love the sheep, but their new chickens with their two fancy chicken trailers are amazing!

I encourage you to get out and visit farms near you.  The experiences can’t be beat!

Kids Cooking Good Food

It’s a fact that most families need to eat more meals at home, and children can benefit from helping prepare good food.  Most folks are more willing to try new foods if they have participated in the preparation.

Recently I had the opportunity to teach grandparents and their grandchildren how to prepare a healthy, economical lunch that included a fritatta and fruit crisp.  Working together to cook the meal and then to eat together is an experience that can be beneficial in many ways. 

Another annual summer event is our Chef and Child series.  We partner with our migrant school program to provide cooking school opportunities for children with volunteer chefs.   What fun for kids to learn new kitchen skills with a real chef!

Of course, what I really love is getting families to farmers markets so children can learn to choose great locally grown foods to enjoy at home.  It is also a good opportunity to give kids lots of fun, educational materials to carry home, too–especially the great pieces donated by Channing Bete Company.   Hopefully, new habits are being cultivated that will help all families live healthier.

Sustainable Living

Yesterday we had a Sustainability Festival that featured vendors, demonstrations, music and speakers.  The purpose of our festival was to share information with folks that would help them in their personal and collective quest to live greener, simpler and more supportive of each other and the earth.

One of our outstanding 4-H members, Katy Drews, taught children and their parents about worm composting.

Kids were able to carry home their own worms to help them get started. 

Of course, The Produce Lady (that’s me!) was on hand to talk with folks about the wonders of good, local foods and

share easy recipes for these hot dog days! Rockingham County Cooperative Extension volunteers were on hand to sell raffle tickets for the beautiful, handmade quilt they have been making this year.  Proceeds from the quilt sales are used to pay for scholarships for county students.  Now that’s sustainable living!

Stephen Price of Carolina Organic Depot was one of the featured speakers and vendors.  Stephen is an excellent resource for information and resources for both homeowners and professionals.  We were excited to have him as one of our special guests at the festival.

Let me invite you to try cool cantaloupe recipes on our Web site at www.theproducelady.org.  Next Saturday, I’ll be at the Rockingham County Farmers Market making watermelon smoothies.  Hope you’ll come out and join us!

Sharing Local Foods

What a delight to share local foods and get the entire community involved!  Backstreet Buzz is a local business that not only uses local products, but also has this cool sign right by their door so that every customer can know the farmers that are growing foods Chef Linda is using every day.

Yancey House in Yanceyville, N.C. is well known for their use of local produce, meats, and cheese.   The seasonal menu reflects what is available locally.  My husband and I had a fun evening recently at a murder mystery dinner at Yancey House.  Chef Lucindy is happy for you to come help weed the vegetable and herb gardens on the grounds, too!

This is the second year that Betsy Jeff Penn 4-H Camp has made a commitment to support local farmers by purchasing and preparing local foods.  This afternoon Lee Jennings was delighted with fresh peaches and blueberries.

You know, it takes a little effort and planning for these folks to support local farmers and give their customers the finest seasonal foods, but nothing tastes better!  As The Produce Lady I am able to share my passion for good, local healthy foods.   Make a point this week to meet a farmer who helps put food on your plate – and then mindfully enjoy that food while you are being thankful for such goodness!

Farmers Markets in Full Swing

The Produce Lady has been out visiting farmers markets and providing cooking demos. We’re taking advantage of the abundance of seasonal foods and preparing Summer Squash Vegetable Medley. You can find the recipe at www.theproducelady.org Also check out my Summer Squash video on the site.

Market Featuring The Produce Lady

The Eden Farmers Market was a success on its second market day.  This is a new Friday afternoon market.  Customers were happy to try samples of our recipe and then purchase the ingredients from local farmers to prepare at home.

Customers in Eden sample delicious summer squash

The Saturday morning market in Davidson, North Carolina, was a delight! There were a variety of produce vendors, along with meats, breads, flowers, and many other goodies. Leah Chester-Davis, producer of my videos, was helpful as we greeted customers and encouraged them to try our squash recipe that included cumin. Children especially enjoyed this recipe. Just when you think you’ve tried zucchini every way possible, you learn something new!

Leah helping The Produce Lady with samples at Davidson Farmers Market

The Zucchini 500 Race at the North Carolina Research Campus Farmers Market in Kannapolis this week was a hit! It was sponsored by N.C. State University and N.C. Cooperative Extension. It’s sure to be an annual event!  Even The Produce Lady got in on the action. Leah made The Produce Lady zucchini car to use in TV interviews to promote the event.  The car was also showcased at the event as part of The Produce Lady table where zucchini recipes were distributed.

The Produce Lady is racing her Zucchini Car!

Get out this week and support your local farmers by eating wonderful local foods.  What greater way to celebrate our Independence Day!

Visiting around N.C.

Last week, we took twenty folks down to Rutherford County to learn about the Farmers Fresh project. We even visited Always Somethin’ Farm. Rich Davis was good enough to show us around his farm and tell us about his extended season hoophouse operation.

Always Somethin’  is a great example of sustainable farming and was an inspiration to the visiting farmers.

I have been  hitting farmers markets doing cooking demo’s using fresh, local seasonal produce. The North Carolina Research Campus Farmers Market was such fun. The local paper (Salisbury Post) ran a cool article with good pictures. The most rewarding part of this afternoon was a young adult who called herself “cooking challenged.” After watching carefully as I prepared a simple broccoli frittata, she declared that she was going home to do the same!

Even Davis' chickens were hospitable.

Last week, I enjoyed cooking at a new farmers market in our county, the Eden Farmers Market. Despite a day of downpours, the rain abated just in time for the ribbon cutting. Customers enjoyed sampling and shopping.

At my regular haunt on Saturdays, the Rockingham County Farmers Market at Historic Chinqua Penn, I was tickled to learn that YouTube is such an educator. I heard that a customer is now washing cantaloupes before cutting just like she learned on my video. She said that it just never occurred to her before that this food safety tip was so important.

A most exciting event is happening this week–we are giving away food! That’s right. Free fruits and veggies will be given to the first 40 students who show up at the market with a parent or guardian. This unique advertising tactic not only brings customers to the market, but ensures that children have opportunities to eat this local goodness.

Let me encourage you to get out this week and visit a local farmes market and enjoy some good healthy food!

Promoting Local Food

Last week I was energized by the Farm-to-Fork Summit in Raleigh.  This was sponsored by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems.  It’s really a dream come true for folks to value local foods and the farm families who make our good food possible.  My Daddy was always so proud when he could boast that he grew all the food that was on our dinner table, and that attitude has driven my work with North Carolina Cooperative Extension.  I encourage you to join the movement–it’s a win-win for us all!

The opening of farmers markets all over North Carolina is exciting for every local foodie.  I’m having a ball at my home market, the Rockingham County Farmers Market.  Many Saturdays I’m at the market demonstrating how to prepare the foods that are for sale that day.  On opening day, we started the market with a scrumptious lamb roast from Massey Creek Farm that I had cooked in a crock pot.  Yummy fritatta samples have been a weekly standard using farm fresh eggs, seasonal veggies and goat cheese from Sleepy Goat Farm.

On Thursday, May 21 from 4 to 7 p.m., I’ll be at the North Carolina Research Campus Farmers Market in Kannapolis making broccoli frittatas.  If you’re in the area, come by for a taste test and pick up the recipe! We’ll also be posting it to our Web site soon at www.theproducelady.org.

We’re really finding that more folks are interested in learning simple cooking techniques and developing the skill of preparing meals with available seasonal foods versus shopping for specific ingredients to make rigid recipes.  This concept is the basis for a new curriculum Eat Smart-Cook Smart.  Family and consumer science agents with North Carolina Cooperative Extension received this wonderful new resource at a training last week.  I’m so pleased for families to be concerned again with eating meals together and with making healthier menu choices.  Of course, our videos on www.theproducelady.org are all about easy preparation of fresh local foods.

I encourage you to take advantage of this Memorial Day weekend to visit a farmers market near you and enjoy a family outing choosing lots of fresh foods for your picnics, cookouts and family meals.  You can visit the Web site for links to search for local markets.

Let me hear from you! Tell me about your market shopping adventures and your great food preparation creations.