Adding large, bright pink watermelon radishes look and taste great here.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons country-style Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups fresh fava beans (from about 2 pounds fresh pods) or frozen double-peeled, thawed
10 medium radishes, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon, basil, thyme, and parsley
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 5- to 7-ounce filet mignon steaks
1/3 cup crumbled goat’s milk feta cheese
Preparation
Whisk vinegar and mustard in small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
Cook fava beans in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain and peel (if using fresh). Transfer to paper towels to dry. Place fava beans, radishes, herbs, and dressing in medium bowl; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Let salad stand at room temperature at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Melt butter with canola oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Add steaks to skillet and cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to cutting board; let stand 10 minutes. Cut each steak into 3 slices.
Divide salad among 4 plates. Arrange 1 sliced steak atop each salad. Sprinkle some of cheese over each and serve.
Chances are, if you’re planning to grow a garden this summer, you are anxious get your plants into the ground. Some plants will survive a spring (or fall) freeze better than others. According to the folks at Bonnie Plants, some hardy plants, tolerating a frost of 25-28° F, are broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, English peas, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, mustard greens, parsley, radish, spinach, and turnip. Less hardy, but still tolerating a frost of 29-32° F, are beets, carrot, cauliflower, celery, endive, Irish potatoes, lettuce, rutabaga, and Swiss chard.
10% chance for a spring freeze after these dates
Using data from the High Plains Regional Climate Center, UNL Cropwatch has released a set of three maps detailing the chance of a spring freeze in various parts of Nebraska. Based upon thirty years of data, the map at right shows the dates after which there would be a 10% chance for a freeze of 32°F. The full details can be found at Cropwatch.
If there is a prediction for frost after plants are in the garden, one way to provide some protection is to cover them with sheets or blankets, making sure to prop up the covering so it does not damage the young plants. Be sure to remove the coverings soon after the frost threat has passed to allow for air circulation and sunlight.
WORKSHOP — Would you like to grow produce year round to supply not only your family but expand into new markets, like schools, restaurants, retail stores, farmers’ markets, and NFC customers?
Being held in Nebraska for the first time, this Fall, Winter, Spring Produce Workshop teaches a greenhouse method that doesn’t necessarily require auxilliary heating! Presented by Roger and Beth Matson, founders of Never Ending Harvest, this family owned and operated, sustainable farming business is a long-time grower of winter produce in Iowa.
The workshop will be held on Wednesday, April 23 from 1:00-4:00 PM in Hastings, Nebraska. It includes three hours of detailed group instruction, plus the winter greenhouse set of three DVDs. Cost is $85.00.
Winter vegetable production
Registerno later than Saturday, April 19 — limited seating available — by mailing payment and contact information (name, email, address, and phone) to:
NFC General Manager
45150 State Hwy. 52
Belgrade, NE 68623
For questions, contact Caryl Guisinger, NFC General Manager:
308.357.1000 (home)
gm@nebraskafood.org
This workshop is co-sponsored by the Nebraska Food Cooperative and Buy Fresh / Buy Local Nebraska.
The Nebraska Food Coop is growing, plain and simple. That’s great news! And that means more opportunities for both customers and producers.
Most shoppers prefer to purchase food more frequently than just monthly. As the local food movement grows, conscientious shoppers prefer more options on a more frequent basis. With NFC’s commitment to an “every other week” cycle, more consistent buying habits will follow.
Just think! You now only have to remember that everySunday is an order day…by 6 pm, of course!
Running a four-week cycle, NFC found that an increasing number of orders often maxed out the delivery truck’s capacity, which caused additional juggling of product in and out of the truck.
By going to an “every other week” cycle, the delivery driver doesn’t have to go through needless and time-consuming gyrations to get all of the products to fit and properly sorted into the appropriate pick-up site containers. So logistically, it makes better sense to open up a second cycle in a given month so that products can be properly sorted and stored until the driver reaches the appropriate pick-up/delivery site.
Once we move into the vegetable season, it gets even more complicated. Perishables typically don’t keep so well for a month at a time, especially those delicious cucumbers!
Think about it…..
Likewise, laying hens don’t have on and off switches. And customers typically don’t like eggs that have a pick date older than two or three weeks.
So by increasing the frequency of deliveries, you are reaping the benefits of fresher produce, eggs, and fewer number of lost products!
Shopping NFC every other week also reduces stress. How so, you may wonder? To determine all of your shopping needs a full month ahead can be stressful. You never know when you need to plan that special meal to impress someone, and you might not have a whole month to plan ahead. By opening up the cycle to every other week, one only has to plan for two weeks instead of four weeks at a time.
More and more of our vegetable producers are not raising produce as a hobby… it is their livelihood. Timely harvesting – for the freshest possible fruits and vegetables - requires frequent cycles. Unlike the grocery store where produce is maintained via ethylene inhibitors for months, NFC farmers know that you want your tomatoes, cantaloupes, zucchini, etc, as fresh from the ground as possible.
Fresh from the farm
Many NFC vegetable producers have invested in greenhouses and hothouses to extend their growing season and meet the increasing demand. This means that NFC producers may have local produce available before area farmers markets ramp up in May. What a boon for NFC customers!
NFC has been blessed with our current delivery driver, Kevin. As tight as the job market is these days, how can NFC ask our driver to commit to driving only one week out of a month? NFC needs to maintain enough job stability so that the products you ordered are assured of being properly delivered in a timely fashion on a consistent basis.
As NFC grows through increased volume for both the coop and our family of producers, we will eventually be able to offer discounts for certain products. But until then, we continue to expand our market of producers in order to meet the new demand for emerging farm-to-customer activities. Two new initiatives that are taking shape are the farm-to-chef and the farm-to-schools opportunities. More information will be forthcoming soon about these programs as they are just getting off the ground.
Look forward to more news about our growing cooperative that you helped us grow with every single local product that you ordered. So thank you, for your continued support of the Nebraska Food Cooperative.
WORKSHOP — Would you like to grow produce year round to supply not only your family but expand into new markets, like schools, restaurants, retail stores, farmers’ markets, and NFC customers?
