SELLMEYER FARM NEWSLETTER

CSA box day again today! Yeah! The full shares are getting eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumber, zucchini, okra, blackberries and peaches. The half shares are getting eggs, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, okra and mini cabbage.

The blackberries are winding down, and the peach trees are dieing so the peaches are not going to amount to a hill of beans! Most of them have brown rot and have fallen off the trees! Too many wet Springs for too long a time. So the next fruit to look forward to will be apples. And I'm happy to say they are loaded!! You may have apples coming out of your ears!

The beans are looking good. Greg sprayed them again last night with his home made deer repellent. So keep your fingers crossed that the deer stay out and nothing else happens to them!

The okra is really putting out, so you are all going to get it again this week. So here are some Okra facts & tips. Okra is related to cotton. It is native to Africa & is popular in the South. Large tough okra pods can be dried and ground into a protein-rich flour. One pound serves 4 people. Okra seeds are pressed for edible oil in some parts of the world. They can also be roasted and ground for use as a coffee substitute. Okra is generally cooked for soups and stews. It has a mucilaginous, or thickening, property. It can be coated with cornmeal and deep-fat fried. Sliced raw okra adds attractive stars to salads. Okra is also processed for commercial uses such as vegetables soups and is sometimes used to thicken ketchup. Okra contains vitamins A, B-complex and C. It is a good source of calcium and contains phosphorus, potassium, and other trace minerals. The fat content is minimal. Fresh okra does not store well and should be used within 3-5 days. Keep pods wrapped in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. Blanch & freeze them for long-term storage. This information comes from "Whole Food Facts" The complete reference guide by Evelyn Roehl.

If you click on the highlighted okra word at the begining of this paragraph it will take you to a web site with more infromation about okra and recipes! Enjoy!