Thursday, January 31, 2013

Tasty and Healthy - January 31, 2013

Our best wishes for an enjoyable week. Hope you and yours are doing well and taking pleasure in the little things.

Sometimes we are in such a hurry, we forgot to stop for one minute to admire a bird or a flower or a child's latest endeavor. It's a fascinating world if we take the time to appreciate it.

Isn't the Kale GORGEOUS! I'm smitten with the Beasley Farm Kale!

Red and White Swiss Chard!

Pesticide-free Swiss Chard is now being harvested!

Please phone to special order pesticide-free Swiss Chard.

We do not want to over cut this wonderful plant, because we like to keep our greens as fresh as possible.

They are nutritionally poweer-packed so we prefer bringing you freshly-cut produce.

Winter Salads are delicious!

I've been enjoying salads consisting of romaine, swiss chard, baby bok choy and kale, and all the accompanying goodies. Add a little Feta or Goat cheese, olives and olive oil, or your favorite dressing - mmmm! Yummy! Recipe below

Now is the time to freeze the pesticide-free leafy greens for use all year long. Add them to stews, soups, pasta dishes, and other sides.

NOTE: Many of the winter crops on the farm are struggling with unseasonably warm temperatures. We may have a short season if these very warm temperatures continue.

To see which Winter Crops are currently being harvested on Beasley Farm, please see the highlighted areas below.

How about freezing our pesticide-free greens while they are in season so they can be enjoyed all year long? See our web page for more information on how to freeze greens.

Collards belong to the Cruciferous Family. They are extremely healthful and versatile, full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Please click here for information about Greens.

Because Greens are extremely perishable, we ask our customers to special order them if picking up at a satellite location. At the farm, we keep them in children's swimming pools of water.

Currently planted on the farm, but not yet ready for harvest:

Broccoli
Spinach
Beets

If interested in fresh-frozen SHELLED black-eye peas please phone the farm to place an order. Peas are in our standard two pound bag. $8 per bag.

Are you seeing Red?

Tomatoes are nutritional, flavorful wonders - more so than most of us realize - both in their raw state, and when cooked.

Tips about Tomatoes:

Choose ripe tomatoes for maximum vitamins.
For the most antioxidants, including lycopene and beta-carotene, choose the red tomatoes.
Cooking tomatoes releases lycopene, which has a powerhouse of cancer-fighting properties. Because Lycopene is fat-soluble, try using olive oil, or foods rich in omega 3 fats like avocados to more easily absorb lycopene.
Eating several tomato-based meals each week is a healthy gift for your heart and circulatory system.
Try using a tomato sauce over other raw and steamed vegetables for maximum nutritional absorption of both veggies and tomatoes!
Tomatoes are one of the few fruits which can become more nutritionally beneficial after being heated.

For more information, please see our web page here.

As always, please feel free to phone the farm for special requests or special orders. We'll do everything we can to accommodate you. If you need something from the Farmers Market in Plant City, it is best to phone by Wednesday afternoon.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services visits to our farm regularly to test our soil and plants. For more information about our farming techniques,

and the testing we undergo, please click here.

A big thanks from Gran'ma Angie for recycling your shopping bags with us. Please keep them coming!

We Support Our Troops

Being Harvested on the Farm:

Pesticide-Free Turnip roots

Pesticide-Free Collard Greens

Pesticide-Free Kale

Phone for fresh-frozen Black Eye Peas

From the Farmers Market:

**new** mushrooms!

Florida Tomatoes

Florida Green Tomatoes
Grape Tomatoes
Eggplant

Cucumbers

Green and Red Bell Peppers

Cubanella Sweet Peppers
Jalapenos (be sure to remove the seeds!)

Carrots

Sweet Potatoes

Baking Potatoes

Red Skin Potatoes

White Skin Potatoes

Yellow Onions

Red Radish

Beets

Green Beans

Green Cabbage
Baby Bok Choy
Zucchini
Yellow Squash

Florida Romaine

Lemons

Limes (recipe below)
Bananas

Mangos

Tangelos
Pineapple Oranges

Apples - Green and Red
Honey Dew Melons
Cantaloup Melons
Pineapple

Everyday - until 6PM Gran'ma Angie, Nana Phyllis, Joann and Rolo will man the Produce Barn.

Monday - 9AM - 2PM We are now serving our north Brooksville customers in the Cloverleaf Farm Mobile Home Park - just off Hwy 41, across from the Hernando County School Compound and south of Croom Road in North Brooksville. Turn into Cloverleaf Farm's main entrance, on the right side by the golf driving range.

Friday - 7:30AM - 5PM Rolo will be at our Spring Hill Drive location next to the Chevron location. Be sure to phone the farm for any special orders!

Saturday - 10AM-3PM Joann and Rolo will be at the Hernando County Farmers Market on Hwy 19 with 40 other vendors! Enjoy live entertainment, wonderful food, browse, shop, and visit with your neighbors - it's an all 'round enjoyable time. You'll also be supporting local businesses by visiting their booths. Be sure to phone the farm for any special orders!

Sunday - 9AM-2PM Rolo will be at The Tarpon Springs Sunday Morning Farmers Market in downtown Tarpon Springs (Corner of Alt 19 and Tarpon Ave). A great Pinellas County addition to our satellite locations. Be sure to phone the farm for any special orders!