Easter was a terrific day for planting tubers

A potato with many sprouts

 Easter morning was full of sunshine and the soil was slightly muddy but workable. We decided to take the morning to plant potatoes. We planted over 100 potatoes in just a few hours. Each "seed" potato is supposed to produce about 5-8 potatoes in about 90-120 days, so we are hopefully going to have 500+ potatoes. The process of growing potatoes is different than most plants. As the plant sends up its taproots, we will mound the dirt up higher and higher around each plant. In each of those mounds, that's where the potato will grow.

Damian putting 3" of soil on top of the planted potatoes

Vietnamese pho soup with lots of veggies

One of our favorite types of food is Vietnamese food. It's light; it's fresh and usually has a lot of vegetables. The other night we made Vietnamese soup with lots of vegetables. It turned out great. We wanted to share the recipe with you. Don't be scared off by all the ingredients; it really can be cooked rather quickly. Also, it can be adapted for vegetarians easily.

1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of ground chili paste
1 teaspoon of red chile sauce
1 tablespoon of chopped dried cilantro  1 teaspoon of pepper
1 tablespoons of olive oil
5 cups of low sodium chicken stock
1/3 pound of medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
4oz of rice vermicelli noodles
2 + cups of assorted vegetables (pac choi, radish, carrot, mushroom, tomato, onion)
1 tablespoon of lemongrass
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger
2 tablespoons of  lemon juice
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
Fresh cilantro & basil for garnish

Heat oil on medium in a soup pot and add spice mixture to the pot until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add chicken stock and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add lemongrass, ginger, lemon juice, fish sauce, & brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Add vermicelli noodles. 4 minutes later add vegetables. Boil for 4 more minutes and add shrimp. Take off heat and add garnish. Enjoy!

1500+ Transplants and Growing

While the cold rain and sleet mixture was happening outside today, we planted more cabbages, herbs, and lettuces indoors. After adding it all up, we calculated that we currently have about 1500+ plants growing indoors under lights. We are officially maxed out of space under our lights. We are ready to get these plants in the ground at the farm and under the sun, but we have to wait for the risk of frost to decrease. In St. Louis, the last frost date is around April 11th-20th. It can't come soon enough!

We are also excited to announce that we officially have several CSA members already signed up for our 2013 season. It feels good to be adding a CSA this year and watching our farm business grow. We look forward to sharing the harvest with our CSA members and building a community of people who love fresh, organic veggies!  We have more CSA memberships available, so pass on the word to friends and neighbors.

We are now the proud owners of a 6'x8' Greenhouse!

We found an amazing deal on greenhouses and decided to purchase our very own green house. We are so excited! Now, our baby plants will have somewhere to transition after their time under the grow lights and before going to the farm. We still have to wait for this snow to melt in order to assemble it, but we hope to build it soon.

It's amazing what a little light can do!

We started a few transplants in our basement during January and February and wanted to show you the progress of these baby plants. Now, if only the snow would melt so we can plant them at the farm.

Brussel Sprouts, lettuces, kale, chard, tomatoes, etc.

Healthy baby tomato plants

Damian makes the craziest faces while he waters the plants!

Are you ready for some ARUGULA?

We are getting ready to plant some arugula and we wanted to do a little shout out to this leaf with a spicy kick. Arugula is a dark green, peppery leaf that works equally well in salads or as a cooked green. If you have purchased the Spring Salad Mix at the grocery store, then you have probably already tried arugula without even realizing it. Like most salad greens, arugula is very low in calories and is high in vitamins A and C. A 1/2 cup serving is two calories.

Different Arugula Leaves For Different Recipes

 

Photo © Molly Watson

Smaller arugula leaves tend to be milder, while larger leaves tend to have a more aggressive, peppery kick. It's perfect for using as a garnish, since just a few leaves give plenty of kick, and other raw preparations where its intense flavor can be appreciated. Since larger arugula leaves tend to have a stronger flavor, they can be cooked successfully without losing all their flavor.

Arugula Salad Recipes

Photo © Molly Watson

Arugula adds a peppery kick to salads of all sorts, pairing particularly well with sweet mild lettuces like Boston (a.k.a. butter lettuce) and Bibb lettuces. Dressings made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar highlight the assertive flavors of arugula, as do lemon juice-based dressings.

• Arugula Salad with Broiled Lemons
• Arugula Persimmon Salad
• Lentil Arugula Salad
• Arugula Salad Rolls

Cooked Arugula Recipes

Photo © Molly Watson

Arugula also works lightly cooked. Use it as you would spinach - in sautes, stir-frys, or added to soups - cooking it quickly. Be warned that it has a stronger flavor and tougher, more fibrous texture than spinach.

• Roast Chicken with Arugula
• Mushrom Arugula Soba Soup

Arugula as a Garnish

Photo © Molly Watson

Small or wild arugula leaves – with their bright, peppery kick – make pretty and delicious garnishes. A small handful on top of a plate of pasta or wilting gently into a bowl of soup adds flavor, texture, and color to a dish.

The connection between salt cravings, stress, and leafy greens

It is normal to crave salt from time to time. Salt is important to your body and your taste buds. In fact, your body needs salt to survive. The cells in our body float in a salty fluid and sodium helps balance the electrolytes in our body. In addition, food without salt can be almost unbearably bland and salt helps intensifies the flavor of food. Often, people crave salty foods when they are tired, stressed, or have a diet deficient in essential minerals. Other times, we reach for salty foods simply our of habit.

If you are craving salt as a result of being accustomed to consuming a lot of salt with your foods or enjoying lots of salty foods like potato chips, salted nuts etc., slowly cut back on your salt intake and replace it with herbs and spices to give you lots of flavor without the salt. An excellent way to get the salt taste you crave as well as  necessary minerals is to use unprocessed sea salt.

If stress and exhaustion are causing your salt cravings, you may notice that you can consume a lot of salty foods and never feel satisfied. Yes, it could be emotional eating, but stress can also deplete essential minerals in our body and our cravings can indicate that we should replace those essential nutrients rather than reach for junk food. Interestingly enough, stress can deplete our levels of magnesium in our body which can actually make us crave salty foods. Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in your body, a necessary co-factor for hundreds of enzymes, and the most critical mineral of all for coping with stress.
 
 In order to replace diminished magnesium levels and help ourselves stave off salt cravings when stressed, it is best to increase food rich in magnesium in your diet. Did you know that the chlorophyll in green veggies contains magnesium? So, stock up on spinach, kale, chard, seaweed, and other leafy greens. The best food sources of magnesium are  buckwheat,  lima beans, navy beans, kidney beans, green beans, edamame, blackeyed peas, broccoli, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, oats, whole barley, millet, bananas, blackberries, dates, dried figs, mangoes, watermelon, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazel nuts, shrimp, and tuna.