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online farmers market

When Virginia Farmers Markets close for winter…

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…where do the farmers go?

– By the Veggie Fairy Team

With the warm days of summer behind us, many Virginia farmers markets are folding up their tents for the winter. It’s not because farmers have nothing more to sell. It’s because most of us shoppers would rather stay inside where it’s warm and snug when it gets cold and blustery outside!

And when it gets really cold, farmers have to keep their harvested produce from freezing while they’re shivering out there, trying to sell it to the few hardy souls willing to come out and shop. So, many markets close for the winter.

But winter has its advantages

Frosty temps are what give Virginia-grown carrots, beets, and other root veggies their sweetness. Arugula, too, is at its best in the chilly fall. Local cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, winter squashes, kale, spinach, and other greens are all just getting started as autumn leaves are falling.

Many herbs happily grow here year-round. And just about anything can grow in greenhouses like the ones at Sion House Farm in Farnham and Victory Farms in Henrico. Plus, local hens are still laying, local cows are still giving milk, and local food artisans are still making delicious creations.

Farmers need us and we need farmers… year-round!

That’s why our online farmers market is open year-round. Now more than ever, our local farmers and food artisans depend on the members of the Seasonal Roots family… just as much as we depend on them for food that helps us eat better and live better any time of year!!

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

local food benefits local community

Local food benefits local community

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Restaurant fire leaves workers jobless, so Seasonal Roots steps up!

– By Kristin Henderson, Chief Veggie Conversationalist

Early on a Saturday morning, a fire broke out in the kitchen area of a taco restaurant called Don’t Look Back, which is located in the Carytown section of Richmond.

Good news, bad news

The good news is, the restaurant owner is determined to reopen. The bad news – it’s going to take at least six months to make that happen.

That means six months of unemployment for Don’t Look Back’s crew of workers. But the restaurant owner told the local newspaper, “In a tremendous show of support, some local businesses have been reaching out offering employment opportunities for our crew.”

One of the businesses reaching out to help is us!

So the Seasonal Roots packing facility is in Richmond. We call our packing facility the Hub, because that’s where our local farmers and food artisans drop off their fresh, local food, our veggie fairies pack it up for our members, and then send it back out on its way to each of your doorsteps.

(By the way, see those hoodies in the picture of the packing line? The temps inside the Hub are on the chilly side to keep fresh fruits and vegetables happy… so the veggie fairies who do the packing bundle up!)

There’s lots of work that needs to get done at the Hub. According to your Farmer Connector, Sam, “We have now hired four of the restaurant’s staff at the Hub for packing, to help them get through this tough time. Two great local companies helping each other out!”

This is just another example of how local food benefits our local community!

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

Local food helps local community

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EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / September 6, 2017

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

RESTAURANT FIRE LEAVES WORKERS JOBLESS… SO SEASONAL ROOTS STEPS UP!
Local food helps local community

Early on a Saturday morning, a fire broke out in the kitchen area of a taco restaurant called Don’t Look Back, which is located in the Carytown section of Richmond. The good news is, the restaurant owner is determined to reopen. The bad news – it’s going to take at least six months to make that happen. That means six months of unemployment for Don’t Look Back’s crew…

Continue reading about how Seasonal Roots stepped in, below, or view this issue as a PDF with clickable links.

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Fire It Up!

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EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / August 30-31, 2017

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

THE LABOR DAY GRILLING ISSUE
HOW TO THROW JUST ABOUT ALL YOUR LOCAL FOOD ON THE BARBIE!

You can cook a whole Labor Day meal on the grill, even if the food you’re making varies in how it should be cooked. The key is to create two zones, one for direct heat and one for indirect heat. So in a gas grill with two burners, turn one to medium high, the other to medium low; in charcoal grills, heap the coals to one side. The hotter side is your direct heat zone – the rest of the grill is…

Continue reading about grilling your local food, below, or view this issue as a PDF with clickable links.

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Labor Day grill local food

Labor Day ideas: Grill local food!

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How to throw just about all your local food on the barbie

– By the Veggie Fairy Team

You can cook a whole Labor Day meal on the grill, even if the food you’re making varies in how it should be cooked.

The secret

The secret to doing it is to create two zones, one for direct heat and one for indirect heat. So in a gas grill with two burners, turn one to medium high, the other to medium low; in charcoal grills, heap the coals to one side. The hotter side is your direct heat zone – the rest of the grill is the indirect heat zone.

Direct heat

This is ideal for small, tender foods that cook quickly. Things like sliced vegetables and fruits, corn on the cob, burgers, steaks, chops, boneless chicken, fish fillets, and shellfish. Direct heat sears the surface – developing flavors, textures, and caramelization – while cooking through to the center.

Indirect heat

This is better for larger, tougher foods that require longer cooking times. Think whole potatoes wrapped in foil, other dense root vegetables like turnips, and whole chickens, roasts, and racks of ribs. It’s also the best way to finish whole potatoes cooked without foil and bone-in cuts that are seared first over direct heat. Or vice versa for bone-in, skin-on chicken legs where you want crispy skin: Roast them first over indirect heat, then crisp the skin over direct heat.

Resource guides

Here are a few resources for grilling veggies, fruit, and meat:
A guide to grilling vegetables
A guide to grilling fruit
A guide to grilling meat

Naked or dressed?

Some things, like peppers, are perfect when you grill them “naked”, with nothing but some olive oil and salt. Other things are great when marinated. Here are some suggestions for marinating and combining your fresh local food on the grill this Labor Day. The marinades work just as well on veggies as on meat; marinate veggies or meat for at least an hour and then fire it up! You can find more ideas on our Pinterest page. Speaking of which, look at the old pin we found on our peach board!

HERB-GRILLED ELEPHANT GARLIC
Ingredients:
1 head elephant garlic, separated into cloves, sliced to desired thickness
1½ T olive oil
2 t fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 t fresh sage, finely chopped
½ t sugar, plus salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Toss garlic slices with oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, sugar.
2. Place on preheated grill for about 3 minutes each side.
3. Remove and cover with foil to continue cooking and keep warm.
4. Eat on freshly baked local bread, garnish grilled meat or veggies, or eat it straight up!

GRILLED GREENS & FRUIT with FETA
Ingredients:
1 bag Tuscan kale, washed, torn into bite-size pieces
4 peaches, halved
¼ c Greek feta cheese spread
¼ c olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder, to taste
1-2 T lemon juice
Optional: ¼ lb ground sage sausage
Directions:
1. Prepare ingredients while grill heats up.
2. Toss kale in a bowl with salt, pepper, garlic powder. Place it on foil and fold up to make an airtight pouch that’s still loose enough that kale can steam inside.
3. Toss peaches in bowl with oil.
4. Optional: form sausage into patties.
5. Place kale pouch, peaches, and optional sausage on heated grill. Peaches should be cut side down. Leave kale on grill for 10 – 12 minutes. Leave peaches until they’re thoroughly caramelized. If using sausage, cook it until it’s cooked through and through.
6. Make a bed of the kale. Top with peaches and crumbled sausage. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with feta.

MUSHROOM & SWISS BURGER
Also delish with pastured ground turkey or brats as a substitute for beef
TIP: If you go for handmade local brats, they’re delicate, so simmer them in beer in a saucepan on the stove until they’re cooked through, then finish them on the grill over direct heat.
Ingredients:
1¼ lbs grassfed ground beef
8 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
¼ c onion chives, diced, or 1 small onion, thinly sliced
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 buns or 8 pieces of Bibb lettuce to wrap
2 T oil or butter
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Prep grill for medium heat. Divide ground beef into 4 patties. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Heat oil or butter in a medium pan. If using onions, add to pan and saute for about 2-4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until tender, about 4 additional minutes. If using chives, add once mushrooms are done.
3. Grill patties about 5 min per side, until cooked to desired doneness. Toward end, add buns, cut side down, to toast.
4. Remove buns. Divide mushroom mixture among burgers, top with cheese. Cover grill for about 1 min to melt cheese.
5. Top with lettuce, or if you’re not using buns, use the lettuce to wrap the burgers in place of buns.

CITRUS MARINADE
Works on fresh local veggies just as well as on local pasture-raised chicken
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c lime juice
1/4 c olive oil
1 T orange zest
1 T fresh rosemary
1 T fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t salt

SWEET & SOUR MARINADE
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c ALFREDO’S BEEHIVE honey
1/4 c vinegar
1 T cornstarch
1 T water
1-1/2 t fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 t black pepper

SAVORY GARLIC MARINADE
1/2 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c soy sauce
3 T minced garlic
2 T honey
2 T olive oil
2 t black pepper
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t onion powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t liquid smoke flavoring
pinch cayenne pepper

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

Fight Food Waste

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EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / August 23-24, 2017

Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR KITCHEN CAN HELP CHANGE THE WORLD – HERE’S HOW

Adapted from Sherri Brooks Vinton’s EcoCentric blog post “Taste it, don’t waste it”:

In the peak of the season, your online farmers’ market has tomatoes of all shapes and sizes, colors, and nuanced flavors. Grocery store tomatoes, on the other hand, are grown by Industrial Ag with a list of characteristics in mind – good looking and tough enough to travel. (Flavor’s not on the list.) Tomatoes that aren’t pretty enough for the industrial system are thrown away.

Over all, in America we throw away 40% of our food supply every year.

Its a crazy system that needs to change…

Continue reading how to fight food waste, below, or view this issue as a PDF with clickable links.

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fight food waste eat raw food

Why you should eat raw food & keep it on hand…

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…even if sometimes it goes bad before you can eat it!

– By the Veggie Fairy Team

Your body needs the live enzymes found in fresh fruits and vegetables. Enzymes activate and carry out all your body’s biological processes, including digestion and nerve impulses – and it’s theorized that those enzymes need to be replenished regularly for you to stay healthy.

So what’s the #1 way to replenish enzymes?

Eat raw food.

Actually, for overall good health, you should eat a mix of raw and cooked food — cooking makes some nutrients more accessible to our bodies while killing other nutrients. Spinach is good example of the unexpected pros and cons. So a mix of raw and cooked covers all your bases.

Anyway, keeping fresh fruits and vegetables on hand is worth it for the live enzymes, not to mention antioxidants, vitamins, and other fragile things that are good for us… even if those fruits and veggies go bad occasionally before you can eat them all.

Still, why let any fresh produce go to waste?

To avoid wasting produce, prioritize it. Eat the stuff that goes bad the fastest first, like salad greens or green beans. Once they’re eaten, the more long-lived produce will be waiting for you, with most of the nutrients still intact. Asian pears, for example, store well: 2-3 weeks at room temp, several months in the fridge. That should give you plenty of time to:

  • Serve Asian pears on a cheese platter (skip the crackers).
  • Add thin slices to sandwiches.
  • Add chunks to salads.
  • Make Asian pear slaw. (Scroll down to the bottom of the link for the recipe.)

    • Fight food waste and save money… and the world!

    When you don’t waste food, you’re saving yourself some money. But you’re also helping change our world for the better — you’re blooming where you’re planted. Because the fact is, in America we throw away 40% of our food supply every year!

    We’ve talked about ugly food before, and why we love it (as long as it’s fresh and local!) — it just tastes better. For example, in the peak of the season, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has tomatoes of all shapes and sizes and colors because they’re grown for their nuanced flavors, not their looks. Grocery store tomatoes, on the other hand, are grown by Industrial Agriculture with a list of other characteristics in mind – good looking is one, tough enough to travel is another. (Flavor’s not on the list.) Tomatoes that aren’t pretty enough for the industrial system are thrown away.

    In a country where many go hungry, it’s unconscionable to discard nutritious food simply because it isn’t cute enough. It’s a crazy system that needs to change. As a Member of Seasonal Roots, you’re already helping to bring sanity to our nation’s food system.

    But even so, this time of year it’s easy to wind up with more fresh local tomatoes than you can eat raw all at once, even if they are loaded with live enzymes and other good things.

    More ways to fight food waste

    Here’s how you can get those fresh local tomatoes (and other veggies) eaten, with most of their nutritious benefits still intact:

  • Drizzle with olive oil, roast, and use them to top a salad, bruschetta, or pasta.
  • Simmer into sauce and can or freeze. (Check out our 3-part series on maxing nutritional value by freezing, along with other tricks.
  • Skin, seed, and simmer to a paste.
  • Bake into a tomato pie or tart.
  • Make tomato jam.
  • Add to fruit salad.

    • Bottom line: Eat fresh and local

    So… eat ugly food. Eat raw food. Eat cooked food. Just make sure it’s fresh local food! If it’s fresh and local, it’s so good for you that it’s worth it to always have plenty on hand… even if it goes bad now and then.

    But there’s no need to let that happen. If you can’t eat it all fast enough, just throw it in the freezer. When you defrost it later, if it’s not as appetizing to eat raw, it’ll still be great cooked… and just about as nutritious as it would have been if you’d cooked it instead of freezing it in the first place.

    Parts of this post were adapted from Sherri Brooks Vinton’s EcoCentric blog post “Taste it, don’t waste it: Tomatoes”.

    ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

    Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

    avoid junk food shop local food

    Use this simple trick to avoid junk food

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    The solution is online

    – By the Veggie Fairy Team

    That candy in the checkout line – is it calling to you? Do those processed foods in the supermarket aisles have the power to turn your good intentions to mush?

    Apparently, the best way to stay strong, reduce impulse purchases, and keep junk food out of your life is to shop online.

    Impulsive much?

    In a new study, 60 college students filled out questionnaires that assessed their levels of impulsiveness. The questionnaires also probed how they respond to the presence of food.

    Previous research had shown that people who are more impulsive may be less healthy than less impulsive people. In a grocery store, impulsiveness could lead to a shopping cart filled with junk food.

    So after filling out the questionnaires, the students were told they had $48.50 for grocery shopping, and were asked to fill an online shopping cart with nutritious, affordable, and tasty foods.

    When they were done, researchers calculated the nutritional value of all the food in each student’s online shopping cart. The result: There was no link between the foods a student chose and how impulsive the student was.

    But if they’d been shopping in a grocery store, the impulsive students probably would have gone home with more junk food than they’d planned on. Shopping online seemed to help them make better choices.

    The findings are preliminary, and more research is needed to confirm the results, but the study suggests that online grocery shopping can help you stick to a healthy diet.

    Not all online shopping is created equal

    Shopping at your online farmers market boosts the health benefit even more. That’s because local food is fresher than the produce you can typically get from supermarkets and grocery stores, whether you’re shopping those supermarkets in person or online.

    The grocery store system takes at least a week to deliver produce from the farm to the store. The Seasonal Roots system takes just a couple days from Dirt to Doorstep®. The fresher the food, the more nutrients (and flavor) it still has. When it comes to healthy eating, you just can’t beat it! Get more details here.

    ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

    Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

    Use this simple trick to avoid junk food

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    EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / August 16-17, 2017

    Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

    THE SOLUTION IS ONLINE

    That candy in the checkout line – is it calling to you? Do those processed foods in the supermarket aisles have the power to turn your good intentions to mush? According to a new study, the best way to stay strong, reduce impulse purchases, and keep junk food out of your life is to go online and…

    Continue reading how to avoid junk food, below, or view this issue as a PDF with clickable links.

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    It’s National Farmers Market Week!

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    EAT BETTER LIVE BETTER NEWSLETTER / August 9-10, 2017

    Tips, hacks, recipes, stories, and the weekly special all help you eat better live better with fresh local food!

    4 REASONS WHY FARMERS MARKETS ARE WORTH CELEBRATING EVERY WEEK

    Whether online or in-person, make a point of shopping at a farmers market this week to support local family farmers! Eating local is a win-win for everyone – for the farmers, for you, and for our community. And since Seasonal Roots farmers and food artisans all use sustainable, humane methods, you get the added benefit of knowing you’re helping the environment and being kind to animals when you shop Seasonal Roots…

    Continue reading about farmers market week, below, or view this issue as a PDF with clickable links.

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