Our goal in starting this business was to build a reliable, sustainable company. We wanted to deliver high-quality frozen fruit products while creating long-term value for our partners and community. We are direct producers - from the farm to the table.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), all ground meat, as well as poultry (even those with longer expiration dates) should be used or frozen within the first 48 hours of coming home from the store. Raw steaks, pork chops, and roasts can go a bit longer, at three to five days.
Moisture is your best bet for keeping green garlic fresh and crisp long enough to elevate your dishes throughout the week. Just wrap it in a damp paper towel before placing it in a plastic bag for fridge storage (the crisper drawer should work). These steps should last it for about five to seven days.
Seedlings are ambitious and will germinate and start growing once pressed into damp soil, shooting toward the nearest light source. However, if they remain in small containers without natural light, they can become root-bound and leggy, eventually collapsing under their own weight.
Rice water doesn't have any additional nutrients that plants need to grow - for example, the nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus found in conventional fertilizers - and the starchy residue doesn't necessarily "fertilize" your plant. However, it is still water that would otherwise just be dumped down the sink, so if you're not saving your rice water for cooking, you might as well use it to hydrate your plants.
Instead of running to the store every time you need a handful of fresh basil (and inevitably letting the rest go to waste in your fridge), having an herb garden of your own allows you to only take what you need. While this in itself is a great sustainable practice, try taking it a step further by starting an herb garden in old plastic fruit containers.
To an unimaginable eye, a seed looks inert. Yet they are packed with genetic information and biological processes poised to unfold. All it takes is the right configuration of signals and stimuli from the environment to let them know it's time to dare to grow.
This crucial one-two step not only alters kale's texture but also causes the assertively bitter compounds to release, so when you eat it, the bitterness is milder and you get more of an earthy flavor. "The second rinse and massaging make a huge difference," says nutrition-based private holistic chef Jane Olivia. "Massaging kale breaks down the tough cellulose fibers, which softens the leaves and reduces bitterness," she explains. "It transforms kale from something chewy and aggressive into something tender and slightly sweet."
Lentils are an inexpensive source of protein, and they can take on many flavor profiles easily and without much effort. The tiny legumes are great in salads, but they really come alive when simmered with alliums, vegetables, spices, and a flavorful broth. Lentil soups and stews can be simple or extravagant, depending on how you garnish the soup, but they always make for a hearty, satisfying meal.
Grocery stores that offer the best produce know it's crucial to nail a few key factors. First, produce needs to be fresh - that feeling when you get home and open a packet of cucumbers only to find that they're soggy and covered in slime is not a good one. Second, fruits and vegetables need to be priced right. While shoppers can expect to pay a premium of about 50 percent more for organically grown vegetables, anything more than that starts to feel unreasonable.
People grow asparagus from crowns because it shortens the long wait times for harvesting. From seed, you'll need to wait three years before harvesting asparagus. Some people consider that a waste of time. The tradeoff is that you can keep harvesting every spring for up to 15 years or more. If you plant crowns, you get a one-year jump on things. However, those crowns may have soil-borne diseases you don't know about, so there is a risk involved. Seeds remove that problem.
Late winter is when keen gardeners can get a little restless. The weather is still cold, and spring still feels far away. Thankfully, you don't need to wait until the weather warms to start your growing season. There are plenty of fruits and vegetables that can be started in the late winter, ready for a bountiful harvest in the coming months. Each of these plants needs unique care in order to thrive, but thankfully, I can guide you through exactly the right steps.
Growing your own vegetables is a fun and rewarding activity. Not only will you ensure they are at their freshest when you eat them, but you will also know how they are grown, especially if you care about pesticides and other harmful chemicals found in commercially grown produce. If you don't have an outdoor garden space, you can still grow some tasty veggies indoors - and some of the simplest (and fastest-growing) are radishes.
Onions may not be the prettiest vegetable to grow, but they're certainly one of the most useful. Figuring which items you eat most often is the first thing to consider before planting a vegetable garden, and as a fundamental part of soups, sauces, and salads, who couldn't use more of these easy-to-grow alliums? The only tricky part is that location really matters, as different varieties of onions require different day lengths in order to thrive.