Urban Garden Magazine
STRAWBERRIES
Crop Biography- You’ve gotta love strawberries! Even mountain ranges and municipalities have been named after this highly sought-after fruit! Just as well, then, that strawberries grow very well in a wide range of temperate settings: from seaside areas to the woods and mountains in both hemispheres. You might not be so familiar with their Lain name, “Fragaris” – the more formal term for the genus of fruiting plants within the rose family. The popular name “strawberry” actually comes from early market packaging 500 years ago on the streets of London. The plants, grown in mulched with straw, were the sold on the streets by children who threaded the ripe berries on a mulch straw.
The Latin word “Fragaria” reveals further insights into the fruit: the word means “fragrant” – an apt, if incomplete, description of this fabulous, even erotic fruit. Serving the object of you affection strawberries and champagne is known as a sure way to heat up a private and intimate evening (add chocolate to induce flaming). Even the indigenous Americans realized the amorous and lusty qualities of the strawberry. All you need to do is check out some sacred Cherokee texts: the credit for strawberry creation was the forthright thinking of the Great Apportioner, or The Sun. The Cherokee teach that strawberries were made to melt the first woman’s hardener heart and repair her relationship with the first man after a quarrel. Obviously, The Sun is a very wise dude for a deity.
Things were a bit different in Europe, where the earliest record of strawberries is found in 200 BC Rome. Originally, they only had medicinal uses. A 12th Century saint deemed the berry to be unfit to eat, claiming they were contaminated by the toads and snakes as they grew on the ground. France began cultivating strawberries in the early 1500s when Cartier brought plans back from Quebec. King Louis XIV declared them his favorite fruit, launching a poetry contest for the purpose of composing rhyme on its many wonders.
No improvements to strawberries were attempted until the 18th century. Before then, strawberries were all the small-yet-tasty little morsels you still find growing wild. The first US hybrid, “Hudson” was introduced in 1783. However, it was the English who became scientific and systematic about the hybridizing of the strawberry in the 1820s. To them we owe thanks for the huge, beautiful berries we so enjoy today. The first cold shipment of commercial strawberries took place in Ohio of 1843. This colossal concept evolved in Cincinnati when some ingenious berry farmers had the brainstorm of making ice on box tops to refrigerate their perishable cargo in transit.
Alas, the impressive looking berries you buy in the grocery store aren’t chosen for flavor, but appearance. After all, the majority of us are suckers for looks and few care for what lies beneath the skin. Retail berries are selected for long storage and huge fruits born in much abundance. They lack sweetness, juice, and are devoid of that hauntingly beautiful strawberry fragrance and flavor.
The amount of chemicals used in the commercial production of strawberries is phenomenal. We can sympathize with soft fruit producers the their plight as the attempt to earn a dependable living with this perishable crop against the odds of Mother Nature, but the alarming use of methyl bromie and chlopopicrin is only the tip of the chemical iceberg when it comes to the methods employed to bringing globe-trotting strawberries to your local food markets. So what’s a conscientious strawberry-lover to do? Simple! GROW YOUR OWN!
Garden and Greenhouse By: Amy Ambrosius
Spinach has experienced a boom of popularity in the past several years. It’s gone from being a perennial dislike for picky eaters to a must-have ingredient in everything from salads to omelets to pizzas. Its abundant vitamins and fiber along the ease of growing spinach put it square at the top of a long list of beloved vegetables.
Spinach types are differentiated based on the shape of their leaves. There are several types, which can mainly be covered by describing Savory and semi-Savory varieties, as well as flat leaf types. This would obviously result in a less than appealing texture while eating; however, planting in containers or indoors can eliminate most of this problem. Additionally, soaking and rinsing crinkly Savory types will remove any remaining media from the leaves.
Proper washing of any fruit or vegetable is important, but spinach can require a little more time than most. Place the leaves in a basin, large bowl or a very clean sink and cover with cold water to the depth of an inch or two. As the leaves soak, they will release the fine dirt than cling, which then sinks to the bottom of the container. A change of water to two may be required to clean spinach thoroughly, especially if it’s been spattered heavily by rain and mud.
Spinach has a place in an untold number of dishes. On sandwiches raw, and either crisp in a salad, or slightly wilted by a hot dressing, it can provide substance to a light snack. A handful of leaves in the bottom of a soup bowl is a welcome addition to a chicken soup, or something more exotic like albondigas or Italian wedding soup. Chopped, it thickens tomato sauces, enlivens quiche, along with a host of other dishes in which spinach is the main star, as opposed to a key player. The following dish is one version of a popular Indian dish. It’s rich, comforting and satisfying enough to serve as a light dinner, with warm flatbreads like paratha, roti or thick pita, of course.
Recipe and directions:
PALAK PANEER STYLE SPINACH
You will need:
---2 large heads of spinach, or the equivalent in leaves, chopped roughly
---7 to 14 ounces of paneer (an Indian cheese, similar cheese are: feta, dry farmer cheese or queso fresco)
---1 small to medium yellow onion, diced large
---1 clove garlic
---1/2 tsp ground ginger
---1 tsp cumin
---dash cinnamon
---salt as needed
---oil and butter
---plain yogurt, for texture
Directions:
Heat 1 tsp oil and 1 tsp butter in saucepan (or any pan wider than it is deep) over moderate to high heat. Cut cheese into ½ to 1 inch cubes, and fry in the saucepan until the cubes develop a light brown exterior. Remove to a plate for later use. Add the onion to the saucepan, and add oil or butter if necessary. Stir onion frequently, and let it turn clear, then star to caramelize. Add garlic, ginger and cumin, stirring. Be careful not to burn these aromatics. Once the spices begin to release rich smells, add chopped spinach, stirring to wilt the spinach. Stir cheese cubes back in and add yogurt to desire texture. Warm until yogurt sauce is starting to bubble and add dash of cinnamon and salt, if desired. Yields one family sized side dish or a couple’s dinner.
‘Buy local’ poses paradox for growers, buyers By: Dick LehnertVegetable Grower News
Will the “buy local” trend grow and prosper, or will it decline and pass as just another fad?
No doubt, it has support in high places. On Sept. 15, USDA launched a new program call “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food,” and kicked it off with $65 million in funding. That has a dual message, suggesting that people ought to know their food isn’t invented in the supermarket and that they ought to make direct contact with their food source.
But today, only 1 percent of the country’s food is bought and sold by people who care about the concept or express it by purchasing at farm markets and farmers’ markets.
For U.S. growers, it resolves into issues of north vs. south, warm vs. cold, east vs. west and large vs. small, but it’s still early in the game.
What is local? There are many definitions. Buying locally is not new, of course. That is the way it was before transport and trade altered attitudes about fresh vs. preserved food and local vs. exotic foods.
“While for many, buying local is a desirable goal, for others, buying local has become a way of life.
Anatomy of … Beets By: Chloe Thompson
Before passing on that bowl of borscht, consider the health benefits of its main ingredient: beets. This often unloved veggie contains fiber and potassium and beets provides 17% of the recommended daily folate intake-and like vegetables, has no saturated fats or cholesterol. Researchers believe the red pigment (called betacynin) in beets could protect reducing the inflammation associated with heart disease. Traditionally known for their dark red hue, these root veggies also come in shades of gold and white. Napoleon made the vegetable famous in 19th-century France by capitalizing on the beets’ high sugar content- among the highest of all vegetables- and creating hundreds of refined sugar mills. Beets can be steamed, boiled, pickled, roasted, or eaten raw, but because they contain more natural sugar then starch, they particularly delicious oven-roasted, which concentrates the sugar rather than leaching it into cooking liquid. – Chloe Thompson
Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter By: Susan B. Roberts
9 Smart Seasonal Substitutions [9 of 9 ]
9. RING IN A NEW OLD TRADITION!
Instead of leftover holiday treats and hangover remedies, start the New Year right by reviving the old tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. Black-eyed peas are also a favorite “soul food” you can serve for Kwanazaa.
One version of the association of black-eyed peas and good fortune, especially in the American South, dates of the Civil War, when these humble “cowpeas” were the only crops left uneaten by rampaging Union troops. But else where the tradition was long popular among Jewish peoples, dating back some 2,500 years.
Perhaps they knew that black-eyed peas are a low-calorie (130 per cup) source of dietary fiber (7g), vitamin A (24% of DV), folate (61%) and other B vitamins, and magnesium (18%). You can negate some of this nutritional goodness by cooking the peas with pork fat, as is traditional, but Roberts suggests substituting prosciutto: Sauté some onion and garlic in a little oil, add the prosciutto and cook briefly, then add a can of black-eyed peas – drain and rinsed – and a quarter-cup of low sodium chicken or vegetable broth. Simmer for about 20 minutes and serve, for a healthy start to 2010!