InwIth the old - Gatehouse Media
Wise to the word
Food
Agedashi A Japanese dish of deep-fried tofu served with daikon, katsuobushi (dried bonito tuna flakes), ginger and a dipping sauce made of soy sauce and mirin. — Epicurious.com wikimedia
did you know? In case of a power outage, a closed refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about four hours. – FoodSafety.gov
Food for thought TIP OF THE WEEK
Conserve energy in the kitchen To help protect the environment for future generations, incorporate these simple, Earth-friendly tips at home: • Save energy (and potentially reduce your gas bill) by using smaller appliances when cooking small amounts of food. For example, heat water in an electric kettle rather than a teapot on the stove. Or cook smallor medium-sized portions in the microwave instead of the oven, which uses less energy. • For a cold beverage, keep a cool pitcher of water in the fridge instead of letting the tap run until water gets cold. Use the same glass or reusable bottle throughout the day. After eating, don’t rinse dishes – just scrape off the excess food and load directly into the dishwasher. Tests by Consumer Reports showed that pre-rinsing usually isn’t necessary, and skipping it can save 20 gallons of water per load. – Family Features
In with the old
Heirloom tomatoes come in many colors and shapes, but their unique flavors are what really set them apart for food lovers. WIKIMEDIA
would you buy it?
Heirloom vegetables offer variety of flavors, colors By Bob Wheaton GateHouse News Service
French Style Crepes/ publicity photo
Frieda’s French Style Crepes If you enjoy crepes but are too intimidated or unmotivated to make them, Frieda’s has you covered. The company’s new ready-to-use crepes come in a 5-ounce resealable pack that contains 10 crepes. They are perfect for rolling, folding or stacking into an array of sweet and savory dishes. Although the package says to enjoy them right out of the bag, I found this is not quite true. Rather, heat them in a skillet for about 20 seconds and the difference is night and day. I loved them filled with strawberries and topped with homemade whipped cream. Heat them for longer and you can use the crispy pieces for toppings on ice cream and pudding. Frieda’s offers numerous crepe recipes at www.friedas.com. – Jennifer Mastroianni, Canton (Ohio) Repository
M
ike Prochaska Jr. has grown purple tomatoes and peppers shaped like spaceships. The colors and shapes are neat, but the best part is the taste. “No doubt the flavor is what makes them marketable,” said the third-generation farmer from Prochaska Farms near Tecumseh, Mich. “That’s really nice – all the unique flavors.” He grows heirloom vegetables, which are becoming increasingly popular among farmers and gardeners – and food-lovers. Unlike the hybrid vegetables that most of us are more familiar with, heirloom vegetables are grown with decades-old seeds that are saved and reused year after year. “It’s not genetically modified, and it’s basically open-pollinated,” said Prochaska, 24, who has been growing heirlooms for more than five years. “That’s pretty much the only way that seed would have passed through the years, is by open pollination and no managed hands.”
Variety of taste, color Heirloom-lovers rave about the taste. At their best, heirlooms are bursting with juices and unique flavor. At their worst, they can be persnickety. Sometimes an heirloom seed doesn’t yield anything. Sometimes it produces a taste that’s more strange than delectable. “Believe it or not, I like the challenge of growing them,” Prochaska said. “They’re a different creature. Everything’s a little different. (With) the new hybrid, everything’s amade to be perfectly uniform.” Heirloom grower Royer Held, 60, of Saline, Mich., acknowledges that not all his
“You can have tomatoes that show up any color in the rainbow. Anywhere from red to purple to orange, anywhere in between, yellow, even black.” Mike Prochaska, farmer at Prochaska Farms
seeds produce good-tasting vegetables, but it’s all a matter of individual taste, he said. “There’s some I won’t grow again,” he said with a laugh. Tomatoes are perhaps the most popular heirloom. “You can have tomatoes that show up any color in the rainbow,” Prochaska said. “Anywhere from red to purple to orange, anywhere in between, yellow, even black.” Prochaska Farms grows about half heirlooms and half hybrids. In addition to numerous heirloom tomato varieties, Prochaska grows heirloom peppers, sweet corn, eggplants, lettuce, beans and peas. Prochaska said heirlooms generally sell for 10 percent to 20 percent more than hybrids because the yield per acre is lower. Prochaska Farms sells its heirloom produce at numerous local farmers markets, at roadside stands and to local restaurants. “Since we’ve been going for a while now, we have a lot of returning customers,” Prochaska said. “We get new ones all the time, especially lately. We’re getting more customers that have heard about it from the Food Network or something like that.”
Special care required So what are some of the challenges of
Mike Prochaska ties up 12-week-old heirloom tomato plants at Prochaska Farms near Tecumseh, Mich. Mike Dickie/GHNS
growing heirloom vegetables? They need lots of TLC. “You’ve got to pay attention to the way they’re growing, and adjust every day,” Prochaska Jr. said. “It starts in the greenhouse when they’re little seedlings. You’ve got to adjust the light they get and adjust the temperatures, compared to the hybrids, which will just self-adjust. “They’re definitely more susceptible to disease and bugs, so you’ve got to have a real good disease-management program in place.” If harvest time is nearing and rain is in the forecast, you’d better harvest before the bad weather arrives and causes the vegetables to split, he said. But any potential drawbacks of growing heirloom vegetables are worth it for growers like Held. He loves the flavor and variety. “It’s the kind of thing where all 300 varieties (of tomatoes) that I’ve grown, I would have to say are all different. They vary in texture and flavor and color,” he said.
Food
Agedashi A Japanese dish of deep-fried tofu served with daikon, katsuobushi (dried bonito tuna flakes), ginger and a dipping sauce made of soy sauce and mirin. — Epicurious.com wikimedia
did you know? In case of a power outage, a closed refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about four hours. – FoodSafety.gov
Food for thought TIP OF THE WEEK
Conserve energy in the kitchen To help protect the environment for future generations, incorporate these simple, Earth-friendly tips at home: • Save energy (and potentially reduce your gas bill) by using smaller appliances when cooking small amounts of food. For example, heat water in an electric kettle rather than a teapot on the stove. Or cook smallor medium-sized portions in the microwave instead of the oven, which uses less energy. • For a cold beverage, keep a cool pitcher of water in the fridge instead of letting the tap run until water gets cold. Use the same glass or reusable bottle throughout the day. After eating, don’t rinse dishes – just scrape off the excess food and load directly into the dishwasher. Tests by Consumer Reports showed that pre-rinsing usually isn’t necessary, and skipping it can save 20 gallons of water per load. – Family Features
In with the old
Heirloom tomatoes come in many colors and shapes, but their unique flavors are what really set them apart for food lovers. WIKIMEDIA
would you buy it?
Heirloom vegetables offer variety of flavors, colors By Bob Wheaton GateHouse News Service
French Style Crepes/ publicity photo
Frieda’s French Style Crepes If you enjoy crepes but are too intimidated or unmotivated to make them, Frieda’s has you covered. The company’s new ready-to-use crepes come in a 5-ounce resealable pack that contains 10 crepes. They are perfect for rolling, folding or stacking into an array of sweet and savory dishes. Although the package says to enjoy them right out of the bag, I found this is not quite true. Rather, heat them in a skillet for about 20 seconds and the difference is night and day. I loved them filled with strawberries and topped with homemade whipped cream. Heat them for longer and you can use the crispy pieces for toppings on ice cream and pudding. Frieda’s offers numerous crepe recipes at www.friedas.com. – Jennifer Mastroianni, Canton (Ohio) Repository
M
ike Prochaska Jr. has grown purple tomatoes and peppers shaped like spaceships. The colors and shapes are neat, but the best part is the taste. “No doubt the flavor is what makes them marketable,” said the third-generation farmer from Prochaska Farms near Tecumseh, Mich. “That’s really nice – all the unique flavors.” He grows heirloom vegetables, which are becoming increasingly popular among farmers and gardeners – and food-lovers. Unlike the hybrid vegetables that most of us are more familiar with, heirloom vegetables are grown with decades-old seeds that are saved and reused year after year. “It’s not genetically modified, and it’s basically open-pollinated,” said Prochaska, 24, who has been growing heirlooms for more than five years. “That’s pretty much the only way that seed would have passed through the years, is by open pollination and no managed hands.”
Variety of taste, color Heirloom-lovers rave about the taste. At their best, heirlooms are bursting with juices and unique flavor. At their worst, they can be persnickety. Sometimes an heirloom seed doesn’t yield anything. Sometimes it produces a taste that’s more strange than delectable. “Believe it or not, I like the challenge of growing them,” Prochaska said. “They’re a different creature. Everything’s a little different. (With) the new hybrid, everything’s amade to be perfectly uniform.” Heirloom grower Royer Held, 60, of Saline, Mich., acknowledges that not all his
“You can have tomatoes that show up any color in the rainbow. Anywhere from red to purple to orange, anywhere in between, yellow, even black.” Mike Prochaska, farmer at Prochaska Farms
seeds produce good-tasting vegetables, but it’s all a matter of individual taste, he said. “There’s some I won’t grow again,” he said with a laugh. Tomatoes are perhaps the most popular heirloom. “You can have tomatoes that show up any color in the rainbow,” Prochaska said. “Anywhere from red to purple to orange, anywhere in between, yellow, even black.” Prochaska Farms grows about half heirlooms and half hybrids. In addition to numerous heirloom tomato varieties, Prochaska grows heirloom peppers, sweet corn, eggplants, lettuce, beans and peas. Prochaska said heirlooms generally sell for 10 percent to 20 percent more than hybrids because the yield per acre is lower. Prochaska Farms sells its heirloom produce at numerous local farmers markets, at roadside stands and to local restaurants. “Since we’ve been going for a while now, we have a lot of returning customers,” Prochaska said. “We get new ones all the time, especially lately. We’re getting more customers that have heard about it from the Food Network or something like that.”
Special care required So what are some of the challenges of
Mike Prochaska ties up 12-week-old heirloom tomato plants at Prochaska Farms near Tecumseh, Mich. Mike Dickie/GHNS
growing heirloom vegetables? They need lots of TLC. “You’ve got to pay attention to the way they’re growing, and adjust every day,” Prochaska Jr. said. “It starts in the greenhouse when they’re little seedlings. You’ve got to adjust the light they get and adjust the temperatures, compared to the hybrids, which will just self-adjust. “They’re definitely more susceptible to disease and bugs, so you’ve got to have a real good disease-management program in place.” If harvest time is nearing and rain is in the forecast, you’d better harvest before the bad weather arrives and causes the vegetables to split, he said. But any potential drawbacks of growing heirloom vegetables are worth it for growers like Held. He loves the flavor and variety. “It’s the kind of thing where all 300 varieties (of tomatoes) that I’ve grown, I would have to say are all different. They vary in texture and flavor and color,” he said.
