A few weeks ago our oldest daughter, who is the undisputed Sauce Queen, gave me a bottle of Bar-B-Que sauce she purchased at a Farmer’s Market. She said it is the best and knew we would love it. Well, she was right.

About a week later, I was at the Excelsior Farmer’s Market and right between Mackenthun’s and Ridgeroll Farms, was the M&B Homemade Seasonings and Sauce stand. I was so surprised and pleased. It also gave me an opportunity to meet Brenda Snell, one of the owners. It is always great to see a successful family business and they show their pride in their product.

M&B Homemade Seasonings and Sauces offers a complete line of products. Their sauces

M&B Homemade Sauce

include Maple, Original, Sweet Garlic, Northwoods Hickory, Zesty, Fireworks and the Grand Finale. They also offer spices with a 14 All-U-Need Seasoning and a Cowboy’s Seasoning.

All of their sauces and seasonings are made with the highest quality ingredients, with no added chemicals, but a lot of love in their product. I am pretty picky about this stuff because I don’t like buying sauces with high fructose corn syrup as their first ingredient. Most ketchup already has that as an ingredient, so why add even more!

I know they are at the Excelsior, Minnetonka, Delano and Maple Grove Farmer’s Markets, but you can contact them if you want to know of other locations or they might offer a mail purchase.

Contact information: M&B Snell, Corcoran, MN – MBSnell2@comcast.net or call them at 763-221-6295.

I know they would love to hear from  you!

Take care,

Judy

My post last week discussed the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and their clean and dirty guides. Today, I have another link that discusses this guide in a conversation with Dr. Andrew Weil. His points are well taken and should be up for consideration in your eating and shopping.

Visit this link for Dr. Weil’s video on the EWG Dirty Dozen and Clean 15.

Another email from the EcoMetro Guide (a wonderful Entertainment coupon guide with a look to natural, local, and green resources) contained a new guide from the EWG that defined the pesticide levels in greater detail. This might address a couple of comments about vegetables and fruits.

Always good to have current information and resources to help you make the right food choices.

Eat healthy and take care,
Judy

Here in the Midwest, we are getting close to the wonderful part of the year with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables coming our way. I look forward to having a selection of local produce, as well as our favorite CSA, Crazy Daisy Farm

Now is a good time to consider the advantages of eating local and organic. The economy has dealt many of us a rough hand the past couple of years and I understand the need for having to carefully manage the grocery budget as well as anyone. However, there are a few areas where I won’t skimp and eating healthy food is one of them. It is a conscious decision on our part to spend a bit more on the best quality for our meals and not splurge on a meal out as often.

The Environmental Working Group developed a list and published a handy guide to help you make the best choices when it comes to pesticides on your food. The lists are known as the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15.

The Dirty Dozen are the conventionally grown vegetables that are the most contaminated with an average intake of 10 pesticides. The fruits and vegetables on this list should come from an organic resource. On the other hand, the Clean 15 are the fruits and vegetables with the least contamination from conventionally grown resource with an average intake of two pesticides.

Dirty Dozen – Purchase organic if possible
1. Peach
2. Apple
3. Bell Pepper
4. Celery
5. Nectarine
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes (Imported)
11. Carrot
12. Pear

As an addition, a friend of mine mentioned, after reading this post, that she thought potatoes were on the list and I also thought the same with spinach. I did a little more research and think this is a very valid list, but also found a couple of resources saying to add potatoes and spinach. It really doesn’t cost that much more to buy organic spinach and it is really worth not taking a chance. If you buy conventionally grown potatoes, scrub, scrub, scrub!

Clean 15 – Conventionally grown – lowest in pesticides
1. Onion
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet Peas
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Papaya
12. Watermelon
13. Broccoli
14. Tomato
15. Sweet Potato

Visit the Environmental Working Group website and download a free pdf pocket guide or an iPhone app with these lists so you can have them handy when you shop.

Take care,
Judy

http://www.localfoodconnections.com

We have a wonderful new market near our home… Fresh Seasons Market. Their philosophy is one of being a special place to shop, but providing quality and value. They have a superior produce department, their meat and seafood department carries only the best available. The deli and bakery sections are the same. Quality and value are the mandates of the store and when you throw in a caring, friendly staff – that is what it is about these days for us.


I noticed a flyer in the store last weekend promoting an Earth Day Celebration on Thursday, April 22 – 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. It will be a fun family affair with the local Victoria firefighters manning the grills, fun activities for the kids including planting a seed with a composted cup in composted soil and eco conscious gifts for adults. The donation for the meal is $2.00 max and the proceeds go to the Victoria Fire Department. If you bring your own bottle, they will fill it with water.

Being environmentally conscious is not a passing fad anymore, it is a necessity. We need to take care of our resources so they can provide for us. Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to offer solutions.

One information booth available that day that caught my attention immediately. Bobbi Stedman, a local Green Irene Consultant will be available to discuss recycling options and green solutions for your home and life.

I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Bobbi recently and was impressed by her enthusiasm and the Green Irene product line.
.

You might not be near Victoria, MN to visit Fresh Seasons Market and meet Bobbi on Thursday, but, at least, take a minute to visit her website, see the catalog and consider some steps to making your life greener on Earth Day.

Take care,
Judy

This is our 3rd year and we can’t imagine not having those baskets of wonderfulness each week from late June through October. I remember the first year we signed up for a CSA share that it took me some time to locate a CSA that offered half-shares and was still available and that was in April. We made it under the wire and now, in addition to the wonderful produce, we enjoy a friendship with a great family. Bonus!



If you are in Minnesota, visit the Land Stewardship Project website and learn more about their efforts and find a local resource for your CSA connection from their directory.

If you are located outside Minnesota, visit the Local Harvest website and check out all of the options they offer for information on CSA locations, Farmer’s Markets, and lots of other neat stuff.

Either way, make it a goal to eat local and fresh as much as possible. Your body will thank you!
Take care,
Judy

Spring is here – Yea – Woot Woot and all the other cheers I can think from this gal who wants some warmer weather. Spring means that the trees will be donning their finery and look green and luscious again. The flowers will start to bloom, veggies will be coming soon from Crazy Daisy CSA and I can feel the warmth of sun cheer my soul.

I’ve been away from my blog because of some hand surgery, but am back in writing mode again. I also think the change of seasons helps with the change in writing attitudes.

Another thing I like about the spring and summer seasons is the emphasis on eating healthy. It just feels like the thing to do with the change of seasons. I would like to share a special resource for you to consider for those healthy summer meals.

One of my cooking/writing activities is the honor of being a volunteer Food Editor for Taste of Home, Healthy Cooking magazine. It provides me opportunities to be more creative in the kitchen and also to learn more about cooking healthy. The magazine is wonderful because it offers sound nutritional advice, great ideas for eating healthy, and many of the recipes come from the everyday kitchens of real people, like you and me. You don’t need a professional kitchen, top of the line appliances, or a culinary degree to make the majority of these meals – just the desire to eat healthy and enjoy the taste of good food.

I will shamelessly plug my Green Bean Medley recipe published in Dec/Jan 2010 issue, as well as in the Annual 2010 Recipe volume. The recipe came about as a result of our grandson’s love of green beans and was fun to create and eat and even more fun to see in print. There are so many wonderful recipes and ideas like my simple recipe to get you started enjoying eating the right way.

So do yourself a favor, visit the Healthy Cooking Taste of Home website and take a look at what they are offering… a healthy way to cook from real people with tested recipes. Be sure to pick up a copy of Healthy Cooking Taste of Home from the magazine rack and try a few recipes. I bet you will be convinced it was a great choice.

Take care,
Judy

Wow…. I have been away from my blog for far too long. I hope the Thanksgiving holiday was a wonderful one for you. We were blessed to have a table filled with delicious food and family with us.

Finding ways to deal with leftover turkey isn’t that hard for me. I have lots of ideas and leftovers go pretty fast. What I did find in the refrigerator that puzzled me a bit was a bowl of cranberry sauce (the jelly type). This year, I didn’t make a from scratch recipe – time got a bit in the way with the other dishes I was preparing. So, I found myself staring at the dish thinking hmmm…. what to do with this?

Cranberries

I stirred all of the ingredients to blend well and added some Dry Sherry (about 4 -5 tablespoons). I wish I could tell you specific measurements, but I didn’t make this dish as exacting as some. Stir again and let it heat until thickened. Taste to add for more spice or sherry if too thick.

After using the sauce, I was thinking that a bit of orange zest (peel) would also have been another nice addition so I will try that next time.

This was a wonderful glaze for the baby back ribs we were having for dinner that evening. Just the right amount of sweet, heat, and flavor with that tartness that is so much a part of the cranberry. It would equally well on chicken, pork chops, or lamb chops. Try it – cranberries will take on a whole new dimension in your cooking and have more places than just the Thanksgiving dinner table.

Take care,
Judy

Zucchini season for sure! We’ve had an interesting summer (or some say lack of) here in MN. I think the cooler weather has caused some crops to go on overload. I have noticed an abundance of zucchini everywhere.

Take a minute to read my article on zucchini – it might help you use up some of the extras you have sitting around now!

Here a Zucchini… There a Zucchini… There a Zucchini – 5 Ways to Use Zucchini

Enjoy….
Take care,
Judy

It is summer and that means zucchini. I enjoy zucchini and summer squash, but sometimes I want to try something new and different.

This week, I will post a few different ideas to use the bountiful crop that summer brings.


Here is a fun recipe from the 2008 edition of Crazy Daisy Cooks (a cookbook from our favorite CSA).

Zucchini Patties
Serves 4
1-1/2 cup grated raw zucchini
2 Tablespoons minced onion
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs (an egg substitute will work well also)
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise ( you can use a low-fat mayo)
1/4 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons butter (margarine or olive oil would also work well)

Press excess moisture out of grated zucchini between paper towels. Mix together everything but
butter to make the batter.

Melt butter in skillet. Spoon the batter (about 2 heaping tablespoons per patty) into skillet. Flatten lightly with spatula. Cook over medium heat until nicely browned on both sides. Serve plain or top with tomato sauce and grated cheese.

This is a nice idea for a side dish with grilled or baked chicken. Salsa might also be a fun topping because I think salsa pretty much goes well with everything. Another possibility for a topping might be a greek style yogurt sauce, such as Tzatziki with some diced Roma tomatoes added to the sauce. As an option also is to serve it with pasta and a tomato sauce.

Let me know if you tried zucchini a new way this summer or if you tried this recipe and how you enjoyed it.

Take care,
Judy
Local Food Connections

Fresh from the Market

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 – 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 – 2 ribs celery, sliced thin
½ lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed and cut into pieces appropriate for a soup spoon.
6 – 8 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes (with liquid)
2 cartons (32 oz.) fat-free, low sodium chicken broth (can use vegetable broth if that is your preference)
1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried)
1-1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme ( or 1/2 tsp. dried)
½ small head cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
½ bunch fresh spinach, chopped
½ cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
½ cup bulgur (quick cooking preferred)
1 can (16 oz.) white beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (16 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
½ – 1 cup of your favorite pizza sauce
Sea Salt and Ground Pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Heat oil in stockpot (or 4 – 5 qt. saucepan) over medium high heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 4 – 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Don’t let the garlic brown or the soup can develop a bitter taste.

Add the tomatoes, broth, and herbs. Bring to a boil. Add the cabbage, spinach, lentils, and bulgur**. Stir to blend. Add the pizza sauce and stir again. Reduce the heat to a simmer stage.

Cook the ingredients for 30 – 40 minutes until the bulgur and lentils are tender. Add the drained beans. Stir gently and simmer another 5 – 10 minutes or until the flavors are blended.

Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and garnish with the fresh parsley.

Wonderful served with a crusty Artisan bread or a Parmesan Foccacio. You have plenty of protein from the beans and lentils and lots of fiber from the combo in the soup. This is really a meal that makes you feel good about eating. At the same time, it is not a heavy soup and is a perfect lazy evening in the summer dinner serving.

** To make the soup even a lighter meal, pass on the bulgur and reduce the lentils.

Take care and keep it local,

Judy