YOU SAY SPINACH! WE ALL SAY HURRAH!

The theme today is Spinach. To get a heads up, please go to: www.theorganicfarm.net. Look under farm notes, Week 11/ last Season to find a picture of Baby Eric Winters, with his baby food made from organic farm spinach. That was a year ago/ maybe we will have an update on Eric. Also, see Recipes for Spinach. In the recipe section, there is an essay on introducing a spinach/salad at a July 4th, bar-b-que in Tennessee, along with some recipes for salads and dips.

When each new veggie arrives, we have cause to celebrate. It reminds me of the church song of my youth. “Joy, Joy, Joy, Down in my heart.” Remember the first, fresh lettuce of the season! That first salad is a result of all of those tiny details, ordering seeds in January, seeding trays in February, moving transplants to larger cells in March, finally planting on the hillside in mid-April and covering with vegetable row cover to protect from early cold. We have visuals of lettuce planted on the hillside with snow on the ground, literally. These procedures are not different from the very sensitive horticulture involved in growing orchids in our Northern greenhouses. Mike and our son, Louis, have lettuce growing down to a science. We are producing around 150 - 200 bags of salad mix per week. There is much labour involved in weeding, to keep it clean and the picking procedure, so it doesn’t touch the surrounding soil. Then, comes the rinsing, weighing and packing. This takes two people/ pretty much full time/ four day a week, in addition, to the weeding which is done by woofers, local volunteers and two young women who live near-by. These are fourteen years old soccer players, who arrange their weeding schedule with Mike around their soccer games. Works well for them and for us. You should see the beautiful array of lettuce growing in raised beds on the hillside that goes into the salad mix. Mike feels that as the weather becomes warmer across North America, Newfoundland could become the lettuce capital of the Western Hemisphere. But I digress, the topic is spinach.

Spinach is seeded directly into soil. This year, Louis has the preparation of the spinach beds developed perfectly. The spinach is very vibrant and healthy, after the rain. He prepares the beds by first ploughing with the tractor, then raking, clearing of roots and rocks, adding soil amendments; after a few days, he grazes the area with a propane torch to discourage early weeds while seeds are germinating. He learned this method of weed control in the organic course, he took at the Nova Scotia School of Agriculture, a few years ago. Caring for and monitoring the spinach beds are just as intense or more as the strawberry beds or the lettuce beds. Thanks to Louis, this week or next week, the spinach will make it to the Farm Store and our Veggie Coop bags. There will never be enough, no matter how much we can grow, and right now, we only have a couple of long rows ready on the hillside..

SPINACH AND SPINACH SALAD FOR THE FAMILY BAR-B-QUE

All of our lives we have heard that spinach is a significant source of vitamins and iron. Now, we are learning that is also one of the vegetables and fruits, along with strawberries, peaches and nectarines that is most likely to hold pesticide if it is grown in non-organic conditions and that the pesticides remain, after washing. (See, Consumer Report Article, When it Pays to Buy Organic. Farm Website/ Fact Sheets and Articles). And, thus, eating organic and raw, gives us the best bang for the buck!. This is what I had in mind, when I introduced a strawberry, spinach salad, into our July 4th, family get together in Tennessee.

My mother, who died at the age of 90, in 2005, was one of nine children. The King Reunion is held every two years. My grandmother’s written will, included her wish that the Reunions would continue and that the spirit of togetherness would be sustained, no matter what. This was one of my mother’s commitment until she died and continues with the three sisters who are still living, their spouses and children. Around 120 uncles, aunts and cousins, in-laws and out laws, descended on Troy, Tennessee this year. Early July is a difficult time for us to leave the farm. I try to attend with my daughter, Toby, so she can stay in touch with the cousins her age, who are scattered from Florida to Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan to Georgia, North and South Carolina, Texas and Mississippi. It is an all day affair, opened at l1 a.m. with a prayer circle, led by one of the cousins in the profession of preaching, of which there are several. The meal always includes “pulled pork”, a new name for bar-b-que pulled from smoked pork shoulders. (In Tennessee, bar-b-que is always pork. No need to ask, although in Louisiana th standard have been dropped to include beef ribs. ) The six shoulders were bar-b-qued by Danny Smith, a friend of my brother just for the occasion. Others bring dishes according to their assignments - baked beans, cole slaw, broccoli salad, other salads and some of the traditional desserts passed down through the family, from mothers to daughters to grand daughters, i.e. pecan pies, German Chocolate cake and my mother’s recipes for busy day cookies, blonde brownies and peach cobbler.

Did I mention that the meeting hall is arranged a year in advance by my brother who is a member of the Troy Town Council, a 32nd Degree Shiner and a Mason. That’s why these are the extras we stack on the porch afterwards to await his trailer to return them, to their respective places. Did I also tell you that my brother is a member of a self-appointed group of elders who meet at the local café for coffee, around 6 o’clock, every morning, rain or shine,. His is the time and the place when all happenings which took place in the past 24 hrs. are reviewed carefully. A couple of the men, are my age and this leads into keeping up with my classmate’s over the years. Since my mother died, my brother is the main source of information about the town, “Sis, did you hear Bobby Vaughan died, so and so has cancer. X has moved back from Michigan and bought the old home place. I learn that Elsie, who was a bosom friend and tomboy, star basket ball player, even better than me, has long cancer , hardly goes out of the house, but the good news is that she qualified for a Habitat House. Toby and I went by to visit when we were there.

My brother reports as we make the 3 l/2 hr. drive from the Nashville airport to West Tennessee. We could fly to Memphis which is 2 hours away, but I would not be able to use my frequent flyer points on Air Canada/ from St. John’s to Nashville. “ Wait, until you hear this, Sis! Bruce has found his real mother. Apparently, he has three or four siste4s and they look exactly like him. They all still live in the mountains near Knoxville. (This is at the other end of the state, about 450 miles away. You know he was adopted there, when Joe and Lillian were in school (meaning college) there. Now, that his mother is dead, he finally started to look for his real mother. She has had the DNA test; they are sure she is his mother. But, don’t say I said anything. Let him tell you!”

Spinach-Strawberry Salad.

My choice for the family reunion buffet was spinach-strawberry salad, with baby spinach, sliced strawberries, green onions and Fetta cheese. I made it in a small dishpan, which seemed like the best choice from my mother’s kitchen. We have maintained the house pretty much the way it was when she left for the hospital/ in fact the calender, September, 2005, with appointments in her hand writing still hang on the wall. This may sound a bit strange, but it isn’t. It is a small two bedroom house, which is very comfortable and cozy for my visits. The grandchildren still visit to look at old pictures and poke about. They always come for extended visits and stories when I visit.

For a dressing, I used balsamic vinegar, and soy seed oil, which I bought on last trip when I couldn’t find olive oil at the local store. A touch of salt, and on this their first occasion of spinach/strawberry salad, I also added a teaspoon of sugar, to the oil/vinegar mixture, before I sprinkled and tossed. I entered the large hall and without a word, placed the dishpan of spinach salad, beside the three or four large bowls of varied cole slaws on the buffet made from three long folding tables. Then, I took my seat at the table with Toby, who was sitting with her cousin from Michigan and her family.

Over the course of the three hours the buffet was there, the interest in the spinach salad, picked up with each return to the table. The interest was mostly from the thirty - something women, who are my daughter’s age,. . Finally, my niece, Jesse, Manager of a National Park in Northern California came to find me. “ Who made this? Aunt Melba did you bring this? “ at the end of the afternoon, I packed away the remainder in a 2 Liter ice cream container and put it in the refrigerator at my brother’s house. That evening, while we were sitting around visiting, Jesse brought out the salad, shared it with Jane, her sister; they crunched, commenting with each bite, until it was gone. The last line, being, “Aunt Melba, will you make some more of this, tomorrow? “

I did/ the next day, I used kiwi, instead of strawberries because we used the rest of the strawberries in the English Trifle. The next day, we still had Fetta and spinach; canned mandarin oranges I had bought for the Trifle . We used those, added toasted pecans, which come from our own trees in my brother’s cow lot, and sprinkled with balamic and soil. On the last day, before I left, my sister-in-law asked for the recipe. Thus, began my search for a recipe on the Internet. I didn’t find a recipe exactly like the salad, I concocted, but here are some samples, which are close. Once you have made one or two, you will soon find that many combinations will work; however, I think the Fetta is an essential ingredient in any spinach salad. Any amount of spinach will work/ from 2 cups to 8 cups/ reduce other ingredients accordingly.

Strawberry, Kiwi and Spinach Salad from/ allrecipes.com
Please note: Add Fetta as desired. .

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar 8 cups spinach, rinsed and torn
2 ½ tablespoons raspberry jam l/2 cup chopped walnuts ( pine nuts or pecans)
l/3 cup vegetable Oil 8 Strawberries, quartered
2 Kiwis, peeled and sliced

Directions:
1. Mix together raspberry vinegar, raspberry jam and vegetable oil in small container.
2. Combine spinach, nuts, strawberries and kiwi in a salad bowl. Toss with raspberry dressing.


Apricot-Spinach Salad from Everyday Health.com/ recipes/viewrecipe.aspx

Ingredients:
1 can(s beans, black (15 ounces, rinsed and drained
l/2 cup apricots, dried, snipped
1 medium pepper, red, bell or yellow sweet, cut into strips
1 scallion/ green onions, thinly sliced
1 T. Cilantro, snipped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup. Apricot nectar or pineapple juice
2 tablespoon oil, salad
2 tablespoon vinegar, rice or other vinegar
teaspoon so sauce/ with reduced sodium
1 teaspoon ginger, fresh, grated
4 cups, spinach, shredded.

Recipe Tip: Chill 2 to 224 hours.

Preparation
1. In a medium bowl, combine black beans, apricots, sweet pepper, green onion, cilantro and garlic. In a screw-top jar, combined apricot nectar, oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and ginger. Cover and shake well. Pour over bean mixture; toss gently to coat. Cover and chill for 2 to 14 hours.

2. To serve, arrange spinach is a salad bowl. Top with black bean mixture.

Thai Spinach Dip/ from everyday health.com

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients;
1 dup spinach
8 ounces sour cream, light or fat free
8 ounces yogurt, low fat plain
l/4 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon spoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon pepper, red and crushed
l/4 cup mint, fresh
l/4 cups nuts, peanuts, finely chopped

Recipe Tip:
Chill 2 to 24 hours

Preparation

1. In a medium bowl, combine spinach, sour cream and yogurt. Stir in the snipped mint, the l/4 cup chopped peanuts, the peanut butter, honey, soy sauce and crushed red pepper. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. If desired, garnish with additional chopper peanuts and resh mint lees. Serve with vegetables dippers.