Test your food knowledge.

Here are some interesting tidbits about some of the items you'll find in your share this week: 

• Collard greens were grown by the ancient Greeks and Romans (USDA, 2012). 

• A southern tradition in the United States, collard greens are eaten on New Year’s Day to ensure wealth in the coming year because their leaves resemble folded money (USDA, 2012). 

• Superstition in the United Kingdom holds that blackberries should not be picked after September 29th as the devil has claimed them, having left a mark on the leaves by urinating on them.

• The worlds only blackberry store is in Michigan, but it only sells the phone, not the fruit.

• Florida is the leading state for squash production in the country and New Jersey is nationally ranked the 4th (USDA, 2010).

• Nobody is certain where parsley originated, though it is said by some to have originated in Sardinia.

• It is said that parsley goes seven times to the Devil and back before it germinates due to the long time it takes to grow. Because of the difficulty in growing it, it is said that only witches or evil people can grow it.

• Tomatoes are technically fruit because a fruit is generally defined as the edible part of a plant containing the seeds, while a vegetable is the edible stems, leaves, or plant roots.  Confusion exists because it is often sold as a vegetable.  Arkansas took both sides in the debate by declaring the tomato both the official fruit and the official vegetable (The Telegraph, 2010). 

• Sugar snap peas were developed in the seventeenth century but did not become commonly available in the United States until the 1970’s (USDA, 2012). 

• A 100-calorie serving of sugar snap peas contains more protein than a whole egg or tablespoon of peanut butter (USDA, 2012).

Kale + Blackberry Smoothie: Delicious.

Wondering what to do with all of the delicious kale and juicy blackberries in last week's share?  Try out this delicious Kale + Blackberry Smoothie (adjusted from The Best of this Life). 

Week 2 - More greens!

You say toe-may-toe, I say toe-mah-toe.

Tomatoes originated in South America and were consequently spread all over the world by Spanish explorers. Many regional cuisines use them in their dishes, ranging from Southeast Asia to the Middle East. Imagine Italy without tomatoes... life as we now know it could have been entirely different without this amazing fruit (yes, fruit). 

Its relatives are potatoes and eggplant, though all of them are distant relatives to night-shade. This is how people thought tomatoes were poisonous at first. Good thing that tomatoes weren’t. Packed with vitamin C, A, and K, this fruit is also low in calories; one cup of a raw, ripe tomato contains 37 calories and 2 grams of dietary fiber! It is also a great source for lycopene, a known antioxidant.

Nightshade is known for having a diverse range of alkaloids. As far as humans are concerned, these alkaloids can be desirable, toxic, or both.

The interesting part is that if the tomato is cooked, it increases the bioavailability of the lycopene.  In other words, the body can use the antioxidant better when cooked tomato dishes are eaten.  Raw or cooked, tomatoes are great for you. 

Storing Tomatoes 

Tomatoes that are grown locally will always be superior in both texture and flavor when compared to tomatoes sold at the grocery store.  Store tomatoes are frequently bought when they are still green (i.e., unripe) so that they last long enough to be transported to the store, while locally grown tomatoes are picked far later in the ripening process. 

If purchased from a retail outlet, most ripe tomatoes retain best eating quality for 2 to 3 days if stored at room temperature. Store fruit away from direct sunlight with the stem scar facing up to reduce softening and darkening of the fruit. You can hold under ripe tomatoes from a retail outlet for as long as 5 days. For short-term storage, it is best to keep the tomatoes in a well-vented ripening dome or a paper bag at the coolest room temperature possible. Be sure to keep the fruit out of direct sunlight as it will warm the fruit and cause more rapid softening (University of California, 2004). 

Many tomato varieties have been bred to enhance traits that extend the fruit’s storage life, including some large-fruited “vine-ripe” types, cluster tomatoes, and many cherry and Roma types. They may be held at room temperature for up to 5 days (University of California, 2004). 

One of the most common food storage mistakes, made by a large number of people, is storing tomatoes in the refrigerator. Refrigeration is not usually recommended for fresh tomatoes as it can cause flavor loss. You can, however, delay softening of “just-ripe” tomatoes by holding them for a short time in refrigerated storage. Flavor loss will be minimal if cold storage lasts less than 3 days. If you need to refrigerate tomatoes, place them in the crisper section in their plastic clamshell container (if that is how they were pack- aged in the store), a paper bag, or a plastic bag with a few slits, to reduce water loss. This is most important for cherry and grape tomatoes. Excessive water loss is first noticeable as wrinkling or puckering of the fruit’s skin. It is best to remove the fruit from the refrigerator 1 hour before eating to help it regain some of its original flavor (University of California, 2004). 

With a rainbow of colors to choose from, 

it is hard to resist them!

Week 1 - Lettuce galore!

Spring is here and so is the lettuce!

Lettuce is widely popular throughout the world and is readily available in supermarkets year round with hundreds of varieties to choose from (such as arugula, little gem, lambs' lettuce, mesclun, mizuna, oak leaf lettuce, romaine hearts, watercress, bibb lettuce, and batavian... just to name a few).  Iceberg used to dominate the selections but other varieties are now catching on. Most domestic varieties are from California and imported lettuce typically arrives from Europe with quite the carbon footprint.  Locally, lettuces are abundant in May and June, when the days aren’t so hot. The best part is that once you cut the leaves, they grow back so there isn’t much time in between harvestings. 

This vegetable is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K. Generally speaking, the darker the leaf, the more nutrients it has. For example, one cup of iceberg lettuce contains 7% of your daily value of vitamin A and 22% of vitamin C. One cup of green lettuce has 53% of vitamin A and 78% of vitamin K.

Spinach contains an impressive range of active substances:  mineral salts (sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, iron, zinc, manganese, iodine, copper), vitamins (C, B1, B2, B6, PP, E, K, folic acid, vitamin A), amino acids (such as arginine and lysine), but also lipids and fiber. With only 17 calories, 100 grams of spinach supplies the body with 5 mg of iron, 500 mg of potassium, 170 mg of calcium, 23 mg of vitamin C, 2 mg of vitamin E, 150 micrograms of folic acid, 3500 micrograms of beta-carotene and 7 grams of alimentary fibers (Live and Feel, 2012). Very impressive.

For storage, wash and drip-dry your lettuce. Put it in a plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator. It likes the cold and high humidity.

A plastic bag is the simplest (and easiest) way to store lettuce in the fridge.

Another trick of the trade:  wash and dry all the lettuce at once, then putting it nicely in the bottom fridge drawer lined with towels. For the lazy among us, this means that now there is nothing separating you from a salad.  

All you do is fill a sink with cold water, then submerge the leaves, spin them in a salad spinner (or in a dish towel), then stick them in the drawer.  Once they're nestled in, salad means reaching in for a handful, spooning some vinaigrette and maybe a shaving of Parmesan, and putting on the plate (this tip courtesy of The Paupered Chef, 2010).

For some great ways to use lettuce that doesn't involve a salad, visit EatDrinkBetter. 

Enjoy!

Introducing Fresh Gatherings' Harvest!

           We are pleased to announce that we are starting the third season of Fresh Gatherings’ Harvest! This is a community supported agriculture (CSA) program that will partner with local farmers to supply you with quality, local produce. For those of you who are not familiar with Fresh Gatherings', it is a sustainable café located in the Allied Health Professional Building on the Medical campus of Saint Louis University. We are run by the Nutrition and Dietetics department within the Doisy College of Health Sciences. Our goal is to support local farmers, run our café in an eco-friendly way, and provide you with the best of what St. Louis offers. The mission is to eat locally and impact globally.

          Fresh Gatherings is offering you the opportunity to support local farmers through purchasing a share of fresh local and sustainable produce. This means we will source produce grown within a 150 mile radius from SLU and grown in an environmentally friendly manner that is beneficial for the earth and consumers. A share consists of a crate of produce harvested weekly by local farmers. The variety and amount available each week depends on seasonality and the farmers’ yield. For example, a crate in May might contain produce such as asparagus and spinach, but they may not be in the crate during August.  Keep in mind that the idea of this program is to support local farmers who practice agriculturally sustainable methods.

          New this year is the Fresh Gatherings Market. The market will be open on Fridays during the CSA season from 11 am to 6 pm. It will feature local produce, milk, eggs, bread as well as recipes for utilizing the available produce. Each market will include a tasting. Be sure to stop by and visit!  You do not need to be a member of the CSA to patronize the Fresh Gatherings Market.

          We look forward to seeing you at the meeting and offering you the opportunity to support your local farmers and share in the bounty of the local harvest!