Thursday, February 7, 2013

Tasty and Healthy - Feb 7, 2013

Valentine's Day is coming up. Bake a little goodie, or even a meal, share it with a loved one or friend, or even surprise a neighbor with a thoughtful side dish! Valentine's Day is an excuse for those syrupy sweet, corny sayings.

Everyone loves hearing them, and many don't hear them enough. So I've peppered this week's newsletter with little Valentine-y sentiments. Hope you enjoy them.

New Soup Recipe from Customer Gini Hayles! (photo above, recipe below)

My Heart is all aflutter with thoughts of wonderful You.

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 crafting endeavor.

Did you see our photos in the Hernando Today section of the Tampa Tribune? Customers Mary Streuer and Deborah Bonacki were featured in a very nice photo-article for our booth at Hernando County Farmers Market. The article explained the hopeful new alliance for the new store Rural King, who purchased the old K-Mart location, and the HCFM.

We are sorry to have to implement a new business procedure at Beasley Farm. We are no longer accepting checks unless prior arrangements have been made. "Bad Checks" have become a burdensome business expense. We appreciate your understanding.

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 (shown below) 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:

More Kale in about two weeks
More Swiss Chard in about two weeks
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.

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 Turnips

Pesticide-Free Collard Greens

Pesticide-Free Kale (phone to reserve)
Pesticide-Free Swiss Chard (phone to reserve)
Pesticide-free white radishes

Phone for fresh-frozen Black Eye Peas

From the Farmers Market:

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

Sweet Onions

Red Radish

Beets

Green Beans

Green Cabbage
Baby Bok Choy
Zucchini
Yellow Squash

Florida Romaine

Lemons

Limes (recipe below)
Bananas

Oranges
Pineapple

Apples
Mushrooms

As of February 1, 2013, we are no longer accepting checks unless prior arrangements have been made. "Bad Checks" have become a burdensome business expense.

We appreciate your understanding.

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!