This corn chowder recipe is such a perfect blend of sweet corn nostalgia and winter comfort that I can get a craving for this soup just about any season… but it feels especially fitting during that ‘hungry gap’ when many of the frozen veggies are gone and we’re down to sprouting potatoes and mason jars from the pantry.

This recipe can skew simple or a little more involved depending on how you’re feeling, but on way or another, make this while it is still soup season!

My latest version included the last of a batch of ‘corn and vegetable stock’ from the summer. This simple seeming stock is rather magical in my opinion. You make it from the leftover cobs after canning the sweet corn this past summer. This just pulls all the deliciousness out of every cob of corn.

After you cut off the corn kernels off the cob, just toss cobs, and onion peelings, celery leaves, carrots (or just their peelings), garlic and a bay leaf into a pot and simmer for at least 4 hours, strain off the stock and either freeze (leaving a good inch of headroom in the jar) or pressure can with the cans of corn.

Like all my recipes, especially soups, there is a lot of leeway to use up veggies and ingredients that you have on hand. If you have zucchini but not celery, go for it- or parsnips instead of carrots- OK! Make this corn chowder recipe yours, you are in control in hte kitchen!

Corn Chowder Recipe

Ingredients

½ lb Bacon cooked, drained, crumbled
1 yellow onion, diced
1-3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 medium carrots, shredded or diced
2 stalks of celery finely diced (using frozen is fine)
1 tsp Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
*Optional Pepper (see note below)
4-6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
(or the amazing corn cob and veggie stock)
½ lb potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces (Yukon Gold or whatever least starchy potatoes you have)
1 quart of canned sweet corn (or roughly 8 fresh ears)
Note: If you have any creamed corn, you can sub in up to half of that for the corn kernels.
Salt and White Pepper to Taste

Directions

Cook bacon, reserving 3 tablespoons of fat (at least) in the pan. Set bacon aside and crumble once cooled.

Sauté onions, garlic, carrots, and celery in bacon fat until onion is translucent.
Add in thyme and bay leaf.

*You can also add in some heat with a ‘hot’ pepper such as; jalapeno, poblano, black Hungarian, or even a milder Alma Paprika. I often use frozen peppers in soups and love their flavors. This can add a nice depth of flavor. Leave whole and add in with spices, sautéing just enough to release the oils before adding the stock. Be sure to scoop pepper out of soup before serving.

Add in potatoes and stock, simmer roughly 20 minutes.

Take off heat.

Using your stick blender, puree about half of the contents of the pot. Stir in and take off heat. (If you like a chunkier soup, skip this step).

Add whole milk, half and half or a little cream and taste test.

Confession: I have started liking to finish this soup off with both butter and lemon juice… Hear me out:

The butter at the end is a chef secret, thanks to Chef Matt of Browns + Blues, and the lemon juice adds a layer of brightness and might be needed to help balance out the soup depending on just how “sweet” your sweet corn is.

And then of course, add those bacon crumbles, some nice cheddar, and if you happen to have any green onion or chives- they freshen up the whole bowl as well. Nothing beats a crusty loaf of sourdough to accompany this soup.

This is such a perfect example of simple foods becoming elevated when together.

I really hope you give it a try.

…And of course let me know what you think!

Dig In,
Michelle

The post Corn Chowder Recipe appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

On Our Suburban Homestead

I love how our chickens help keep us in tune with nature’s cycles. If you’ve been interested in starting a backyard flock of your own, or want to learn where you can buy local farm fresh eggs, I’ve got you covered. This is a family favorite for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Especially when the boys go and collect the eggs then crack them right into the mixing bowl!

Fresh (or Frozen) from the Backyard

This is also a great recipe to incorporate typical garden fresh veggies, or those patiently waiting in the freezer… I’ve added frozen asparagus, beet greens, kale, spinach, chard, zucchini and peppers to this recipe. If frozen you can just chop and mix in leafy greens, but if fresh you’ll need to at least wilt them. Another reason this is a family favorite, I can make it different every time we have it.

A quick word on Eggs in general. They are a solid source of protein, and extremely ecologically friendly as well. But not all eggs are created equally. The more outdoor foraging a hen can do for a varied diet, the healthy she – and her eggs will be! Typically, a pasture-raised egg contains twice as much omega-3, three times as much vitamin D, four times the vitamin E and seven times the beta-carotene then hens fed on traditional feed.

We’re happy they have lots of space and greens to scratch at all summer long. We also work hard on collecting garden ‘forage’ for our hens to keep them happy over our long winters. During our hens’ winter ‘slow down’ (chickens naturally slow down laying when there is less light) we buy from local farmers that do their best to keep happy hens too!

Strata or Frittata

Since this recipe technically straddles the strata / frittata boundaries I’ll go over both definitions. The Frittata was born in Italy, and means simple ‘Fried’. So this dish is traditionally baked on the stove top, the whole thing flipped once. Basically a very thick, non-folded omelette with all the fixings.

A Strata is American and baked, with some kind of bread (*but we’re skipping the bread so we can also skip the ‘let stand in the refrigerator overnight step), though potatoes can be added as well. An egg casserole (or hot dish for my Midwestern friends) containing protein, starch and veggies.

A Frittata is usually served with a starch, a strata served with fruit or salad. I have found adding potatoes in place of bread fits our family (and my staying away from gluten) much better. But this recipe is easy to play with and can be suited to your family’s tastes.

Homestead Strata Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Coconut oil to coat baking dish
• 1/2-1 lb cooked breakfast meat of choice (sausage, ham, bacon…)
• 1-2 Potatoes Peeled, diced and cooked
• 2+ Cups chopped veggies (see above for my favorites)
• ½-1 Onion diced (leeks and shallots work too)
• 10 eggs
• 1 tsp each S+P
• ½ tsp paprika or cayenne
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp celery salt if have
• 1 Tbsp parsley
• 1 Cup milk
• 1 Cup shredded cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, Gruyere depending on veggies)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Prepare potatoes – I either use an already cooked/baked potato or microwave the dices in water for a few minutes to start the cooking process.
• Fully cook sausage or bacon if adding.
• Sauté the onions in the fat, wilt the kale or greens, or sauté firmer veggies in the pan too.
• Mix the eggs and the rest of the ingredients, then pour mixture into pie pan over potatoes.
• Chop/crumble sausage or bacon when cool.
• Grease bottom of pan (9″ pie, up to a 9″X12″, or a cast iron skillet) with coconut oil (I really like how eggs and potatoes bake with this oil!) Place potatoes in bottom of pie pan, lightly salt the potatoes.

Bake for 50 minutes to a full hour, checking the center is set by inserting a knife. Let sit and cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
*****

This is true comfort food, with a hint of spring added in…

We love this with dill pickled carrots, lots of microgreens on top or a light + lemony salad on the side.

*Leftovers the next day are always better. So if you want to, you could make this a day ahead and reheat for an easy brunch option as there’s no pastry crust to get soggy.

Dig In,
Michelle

The post Homestead Strata Recipe: Gluten Free appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

I distinctly remember my grandma’s attic stairs around the holidays. She kept them there to keep them cool in what she referred to as her ‘extra ice box’.

A full stairwell full of all the baked goods she’d made with love. Each step held its own treasure; pumpkin chiffon, lemon meringue or apple pie, brownies, apricot strudel, lemon bars.

But my favorite Thanksgiving dessert was the pumpkin spice cake! My Grandma was quite the baker.

Recipe Updates

I hope Grandma would still be proud of the recipe as I make it today. I’ve swapped and altered (quite) a few things. I make my own pumpkin puree, but there are decent organic canned versions out there now too! I use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. And I swap half of the regular flour with oat flour, which is simply whole rolled oats that I’ve pulverized in my Nutribullet until flour-like. I’ve also doubled the spices, so know that you can make this recipe your own as well.

I’ve tried to get this to an all-gluten-free version, but because my taste buds are locked into all the other things associated with this dessert, half GF is as close as I can get. This is a splurge anyways, and worth every bite!

The recipe is also quite versatile. I’ve made it as bars, bread, muffins, a two-layer cake and most recently even a ‘roll’. Delicious whatever the form takes.

A Note on Pumpkin Puree

Making your own pumpkin puree is not hard, but you do have to plan ahead. The process is easy; cut a pie pumpkin in half and scoop out guts, roast cut side up (some people roast whole and scoop out after baking- I’ve never tried that!) at 350F for 1.5 – 2 hours. Let cool, scoop out chunks, and puree. It tastes AMAZING!

Find my Roasted Pumpkin + Squash Seeds Recipes HERE

With either homemade or purchased pumpkin puree, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe:

• 4 eggs
• 1C Coconut Oil
• 1.5 C Sugar (I use raw)
• 2 C Pumpkin Puree
• Thoroughly blend
  

• In a separate Bowl MIX
• 1 C Oat Flour (pulverize whole oats)
• 1 C White Whole Wheat Flour (or flour of choice)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 T Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 tsp Cloves
• 1 tsp Ginger
  (Or sub all spices with 2 T pumpkin spice blend)

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, mix well. Pour into greased pan of choice (options listed below).

I used to add chopped nuts before my boys outlawed them…you can certainly add pecans or walnuts!

Bake at 350F on center rack until that toothpick comes out clean for 25-50 minutes depending on what kind of pan you’re using.

25 minutes- cupcakes.
30 minutes for 5 small 3″x5″ loaf pans.
35 minutes for 1 deep or 2 thin 9” rounds.
50 minutes for 2 large 5″x9″loaf pans.

Cream Cheese Frosting!

• 8 oz pkg of cream cheese
• 1 T milk
• 1-2 tsp vanilla
• 1 C + powdered sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• adjust milk to make as think or thin as you like.

In case you’re looking for more healthy recipes for your winter squash varieties, I’ve got you covered with my “Winter Squash Lasagna.”

Can’t wait for you to dig into this recipe with family and friends this season! Just try to save some for the guests.

Michelle

The post Pumpkin Spice Cake appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

Kale really is the QUEEN of the late Fall garden. It is by far one of the easiest plants to grow and it just keeps giving. Easier to grow than many other superfoods, this stuff was made for Minnesota gardeners.

Growing Kale

Kale can happily grow with only 6 hours of sunlight, and will still produce tender leaves – making it a great option for those of us struggling with the shady side of the garden. Like most leafy things, it likes a healthy dose of Nitrogen, my best practice is to add homegrown compost to the top before planting.

There are quite a few different varieties out there and they are not all created equally.

Kale Variety Role Call

Seed Savers Exchange Dwarf Blue Curled Scotch Kale has consistently tender leaves, and stay roughly one and half feet tall. One of my all time favorites.

The Westlander Kale from High Mowing Organic Seeds was a show stopper this season, producing the ‘Kale Trees’ loved by vegetable gardeners.

I prefer any kind of curly kale to Lacinato (aka Dino) Kale about 1000 : 1. So when I am raving about kale, keep in mind I do NOT mean the stuff pictured above. I mean nothing is 100% perfect, right…

Red Russian is a striking beauty that had a more leathery texture than the others I’ve grown, so I suggest using these in cooked form. Still very much worthy of a spot in the garden.

A single glorious Scarlet Kale from that OVERWINTERED (yes through last years insane polar-vortex temps) and is happily living its best life towards the back of my garden, partly shaded and loving it. I’ve now overwintered plants from the seeds of this kale.

I may have saved the best for last- this is for sure my new favorite for late season harvests and the fact that it is a true perennial in my Zone 4b Minnesota garden.

Homesteader’s Kaleidoscopic Perennial Kale Grex

Not only is this a perennial, but the variety of leaves coming from that single seed packet, from flat to curly, darkest green to purples- but all with the best kale flavor I’ve grown. This is also my go-to variety for blanching and freezing to use all winter long. The only company selling these amazing seeds is Experimental Farm Network.

Cold Hardy

Most kale varieties can easily handle temperatures down to 10F. So even up here in Minnesota we can keep these beauties growing into November. A few years back they lasted until our Christmas meal! Because of their size and ability to take the cold I have never grown these with any season extension covers or hoops.

After the first few frosts you’ll fall even more in love with this veggie. They get sweeter with each passing frost!

HARVESTING TRICK

Snap off those bottom leaves first working your way up the stalk as you go. This is a key to not being stuck with big, tough leaves! This is especially important if you want to keep enjoying all season long.

You can always snap off a few leaves and freeze them rather than having to eat tough leaves a few weeks later! This will also leave you with adorable kale trees at the end of the season.

Meet the Kalettes!

Kalettes are kale’s hipster little sister. They’re a mix of kale and Brussel Sprouts. These are gorgeous to grow, with intense purple stems, and purple coloring into the base of the leaf clusters.

They take up a huge space like Brussel Sprouts, and produce a lot of fluff – but the taste is pretty awesome! I’ll grow two or three plants next year instead of six.

Kale Recipes

We grow a LOT of kale, so here’s some of our favorite (kid approved) ways we eat it.
Kale + Collard Gratin Recipe

Sausage , Potato + Kale Potage

Fresh Eating

Chopped and ‘massaged’ (when you run olive oil into the leaves to tenderize them) salads, Here’s one of my favorite chopped kale salad combos as highlighted on my website‘s recipe page.

Kale Chopped Salad
Ingredients
3-4 Cups Kale, torn
Drizzles of EVOO, honey, 
1/2 Lemon juiced
S&P
A few Craisins
Directions
Toss into blender of choice and just barely pulse.
Can add fresh berries, parmesan cheese and nuts after blending 

Crispy

Kale chips are such a great way to sneak in ALL those Vitamins, minerals and Protein! We just tear and massage in EVOO, bake on a sheet pan for 5-10 minutes at 350F. You can use whatever seasonings you feel like that day- chili powder, cumin, onion powder, or go for an Asian taste and add in Aminos and red pepper flakes. One note; garlic powder tends to burn for me on these.

Steamed + Sautéed

Warm Squash and Crisped Kale Salad!

Have you ever cooked up a pan of kale and red onions? If not, this needs to be one of the next things you try. I’ll add a simple mix of kale greens, onions + garlic with chick peas and roasted squash and boom you’ve got your self a perfect fall salad. This recipe is included in my Market Meals post from last winter.
Add kale, onions and tomatoes to your egg scramble in the morning to boost flavors and nutrients.

Preserving Kale

Since we grow so much kale it is one of the veggies we preserve a lot of as well. I used to just wash tear and freeze kale. But I’ve found that it holds both its flavor and its texture better if I blanche it before freezing.

Also, steam blanching is better for greens that regular blanching directly into the boiling water as it helps retain more of the nutrients, plus you can skip the ‘ice water bath’ step! Letting it cool on some paper towels also helps it dry out a bit.

I then pack the blanched kale leaves into muffin tins and freeze overnight. *Someday I will upgrade to the Souper Cubes* but my muffin tins work well, too.

Then remove the ‘pucks’ which equal roughly 2 cups of fresh kale into freezer bags. With the air removed from the bag, its also a great space saving way to store kale. We use frozen kale in recipes all winter long.  Frozen kale is perfect for adding into soups and stews, you can also eat it just like steamed/creamed spinach – YUM.

*If your main use of frozen kale is in smoothies, I’ll suggest you DO NOT blanche it before freezing. There is something magical about the way kale crumbles and loses some of its toughness when frozen raw. If you’ve never liked kale in smoothies, I challenge you try frozen kale and let me know!

So, are there any Kale Nay Sayers left out there? What can I do to convince you of kale’s abundant awesomeness?

Tell me, which recipes are you going to dig into first?

Michelle

The post Kale Yeah! appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

It IS dreamy, but let’s not over-romanticize it.  

The food did grow somewhere, seeds were moved about and then nestled into soil. Or underground runners ran and sprouted up at just the right spot. When you find food growing wild, take note- because you are witnessing that plant’s ideal growing conditions. What a gift!

You know I love growing my own good food, but when Mother Nature does it for you, why not join the good food party!

Forage Responsibly

In order to forage or harvest responsibly from an area and not kill the remaining plants (or yourself) you need to do a little research before you start ripping food from the earth. Thank you internet!

Know Before You Go

Know what variety you’re looking for, where they typically grow and when. Unless you stumble upon a field of ferns or a cattail dell you’ll have to get out, hike around and for your food- which is part of the appeal!  But knowing the habitat of the plant you’re after goes a long way!

Also- did you know you can help our local plant communities by pulling up (and then eating) Garlic Mustard! Foraging for nature in new ways.

the native plants thank you!

Know the land you’re harvesting from. Is the land you’re planning to peruse public or private. Do you have permission to be there? Who can you ask you verify there haven’t been any pesticides/herbicides sprayed? Determining how far back you want a clean record is something to figure out before you jump out of the car!

Know how you’ll use the food when you get home! Food waste is food waste whether you bought it at the store, or found it growing in the wild. It helps me to remember that some animal could have eaten what you foraged, or the plant would have been stronger next year- so make use of what the earth grew for you! Search out recipes before you start foraging!

Local Food Line Up

Ramps:  

These are truly the first of the first to emerge in my neck of the woods. Their mild garlic taste screams spring to me. From eggs to soups and breads, these add a depth to whatever dish they’re in.

Please gather these sustainably, as Minnesota ramp flushes are dwindling with the uptick in foragers. I go into details about ramp harvesting in this earlier blog post but basically, don’t take many from each stand, and try to cut above the bulbous root so it can recover and grow back the following year.

Stinging Nettles:

A solid source of iron and a natural spring tonic to help flush toxins, there are so many reasons to eat your nettles!

Yes, they sting- or some say burn, so I always wear gloves and use tongs when working with these.

Blanching and drying do take the sting out, as does pureeing the heck out it, I still recommend blanching before pureeing as the BRIGHT fresh green holds longer after blanching.

Fiddleheads:

Tasting of mild asparagus , all kinds of ferns start as these adorable fiddleheads. Ostrich ferns are the gold standard for springtime delicacy as far as I’m concerned- this is one that you’ll have to scope out the year before- to see what the ferns turn into after unfurling they’re deliciousness.

Cattails:

Who knew the shoots tasted like cucumber! These are one of the easiest items to forage as they can be seen a mile away, and there’s not really anything else that looks like them  These are simple, fresh + delicious, especially early in the season (like right now)! Do make sure they’re coming from a clean water source as they are a natural water purifier and accumulate toxins. You basically eat the heart of the stalk or shoot, and can also be pickled.

Mushrooms:

This is where it can tricky! Confessed MN Mushroom Newbie! I’ve only foraged for mushrooms in Sweden with experts, so I’m hesitant to dive into this. That and my kids don’t really enjoy them (but my hubby and I do, so…) It is best to go with knowledgeable friends or guides.

Some of my favorite LOCAL guides:
Sam Thayer of Forager’s Harvest
(Gorgeous new Field Guide book)
Alan Bergo of Forager Chef
Tim Clemens of Ironwood Foraging
Jamie of Chick of the Woods

For now I mostly buy them as a treat from my local mushroom farmer, Finney and the Fungi or at Forest to Fork at Keg + Case. However, a few favorites I’ll be keeping my eyes open for are Chanterelle and chicken of the woods.

I love that there’s always more to learn about the natural world growing all around us!

Lambs’ Quarters

The one non-native MN plant I always like to mention for early Spring foraging: lamb’s quarters. You’re going to find this beauty in disturbed soils. Most people think it is a weed, and it an aggressive little bugger, but I deal with it because I love the flavor and huge mineral stores it possesses. Well worth the space. Similar to spinach it often shows up before and lasts longer than my bolted spinach.

Spring Foraging Recipe Ideas

What’s tastier than foraged nettle + ramp pesto… Eating it with foraged cattail hearts and early harvests from the garden.

I am at best a half-hearted recipe follower, so if you’d like a specific recipe, please google any of the following ideas that tempt you. Bonus: most of these are easy to make with your own spin by substituting ingredients and altering to your taste preferences.

Ramp Salt:
Dried ramp leaves- dehydrate and crush/pulse with sea salt for a sublime seasoning for soups and stews, fish and chicken.
I’ve done ramp butter, but the salt, and just dehydrated leaves work better for my kitchen.

Nettle Pesto:

I blanched the stinging nettles before blending with ramps, pine nuts, cheese and EVOO for a fresh green powerhouse pesto.

Nettle Soup:
Scandinavian Nasselsoppa sounds so much better that stinging nettle soup, right! This is a basic ‘boiled with potatoes and broth’ kind of pureed soup to get you all caught up on your greens!

Nettle Tea:
Simply hang and dry. I mix with other leaves, such as raspberry, lemon balm or mint as I find it too strong on its own.

Cattails:

You’ll peel off over half of the outer layers of leaves to get to the white hearts. I always say I’m going to gather enough to pickle, guess its good to have goals really these are divine just eaten raw with some nettle pesto, or chopped on salads!

Add perennial vegetables/herbs like Rhubarb, chives and Asparagus into the mix and you could be eating flavorful, healthful and delicious meals after taking a walk. Spring in Minnesota is truly a bounty of good wild food!

What will you be foraging?

What other questions do you have about Foraging in Minnesota?

I love Digging into local food with you!

Michelle

The post Foraging + Feasting appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

These women just had to be my first ‘full on’ farmer interview. They have helped my kids fall deeper in love with many veggies, they’re the only certified organic farmer at our local White Bear Lake Farmer’s Market and they are a great example of giving back and educating their own community.

Let’s back up, shall we so you too can fall head over heels with Mhonpaj’s Garden (pronounced mon-pahs).

May is the head farmer, and Mhonpaj, her daughter is the farm manager; their care and love for each other is mirrored in the farm. “She’s my shining star,” Mhonpaj says of her mother.

When I walked into their greenhouse up in Marine on the St. Croix I was hit by two things; May’s smile and the amazing smell.

May at her greenhouse

May’s smile is positively contagious, and the smell of warm earth was heaven after the cold snap mother nature had thrown at us. ( fingers crossed for no more frost!). If you’ve ever taken a stroll through a commercial vegetable greenhouse, or even a floral greenhouse, you’ll remember the smell of chemical fertilizers clinging to you.

In May’s greenhouse, only rich, pleasant organic soil smells wafted by…

May came to Minnesota in 1981, a refugee from Laos. She spent many years picking produce in the summers and assisting farms. Then she watched her mother, who had picked in fields while pesticides were being sprayed the next row over, lose her battle with cancer. At one point the doctors asked if May’s mother had eaten pesticides the cancer in her intestines was so bad.  Deeply affected by the loss, both May and Mhonpaj were determined to do things differently moving forward.

Mhonpaj’s experiences around food lead her to a degree in Health Education/Health Fitness. It was during a college trip to Thailand where she saw their practices of sustainable agriculture that she became hooked.

Around the same time Mhonpaj’s fiancé (now husband) took a position as the SE Asian coordinator at the Minnesota Food Association (MFA). He suggested her parents look at MFA because of their love of farming. May enrolled and took the 4-year organic farming program. The program included everything you need to know to become a certified organic farmer in Minnesota. They teach hands-on techniques, technical support, record keeping and marketing.

starting a second planting of green onions

10 years later they are organically farming 6 acres and *almost* making their livings from farming. They rent 4 acres at MFA, and feel lucky to have access to that certified organic land with irrigation, deer fencing and available tillage – all the costly infrastructure pieces that constrain many other farmers from getting started. They also rent and farm a 2-acre parcel in Stillwater.

I got a chance to speak with Laura Hedeen, programs manager at MFA about May. “Everyone values her expertise so much, her knowledge is evident when she teaches,” Laura said. May has been mentoring farmers informally for years, and now is in her third season as an official staff member of MFA, teaching organic farming to immigrant farmers.   “She teaches visually, and her techniques are really efficient, we’re lucky to have her help,” Laura added. Then Laura filled me in on a long and impressive list of speaking and teaching engagements ( MOSES Organic Farming Conference speaker, Keynote Speaker at the Immigrant and Minority Farmers Conference, children’s groups, farmers groups etc) that, of course, May didn’t see the need to share.

“Organic farming and gardening, it’s not just a technique, it’s a lifestyle,” was Mhonpaj’s immediate response to my asking if the organic piece was really ‘that’ important to her. Next she said, “what you’re putting into your body matters; what the vegetable comes with, I mean what they put on them, is just as important as the nutrition inside the veggies.”  So yes, people- this family is ‘all in’ on growing organic.

When I asked about the organic certification paperwork she said, “it keeps us accountable, and is a great way to build relationships. They were like consultants, they helped us set up tracking paperwork and our overall business structure.” 

“With our greenhouse and land we grow about 30 varieties of annual produce, and many Asian vegetables: like bok choi, mustard greens and lemon grass.” They supply fresh, organic produce to three farmer’s markets participants and a few restaurants in the area. The full list of where and when to buy from them can be found on the  Mhonpaj’s Garden webpage.

“We also take the time to harvest and donate our excess produce to different food assistance groups in the area,“ Mhonpaj proudly mentioned.

But, even farmers can get overwhelmed with the onslaught of ripe produce coming at them late in the season. Attempting to make the most of the harvest they work to preserve for themselves too: freezing, canning and drying food for the winter. Farmers who take on lowering food waste- my new heroes!

May enjoys sharing the love of food with her grandchildren. They each can plant seeds into their own flats and watch them grow over the season. “They get so excited seeing how much the seedlings grow in a week,” said May. Teaching a love of farming to the next generation comes naturally to this family. 

Their dream (and so many others) is to find affordable land to both farm and live on. So far they haven’t found the right spot or a sustainable business model. The high market value of land available to farm was mentioned in a recent Star Tribune article  and Mhonpaj was interviewed there as well.

“You’ll start seeing us at farmer’s markets in June. What is ready to harvest always depends on the weather. Please be patient- Spring is an emotional time of year for Minnesota farmers!” May reminded me.

One of the first things to come to market will be mustard greens. Here’s a simple warming  healthy Hmong recipe to try with some of our local flavors! I can’t wait to  find the first batch of mustard greens at market!

Mhonpaj’s tip for starting down a path to eating healthier; make a date with your local farmer’s market. “Schedule it in your calendar if you have to, but get yourself in front of fresh, in season food and the rest will take care of itself,” she says. Mhonpaj’s market stand will be featuring veggie cards that highlight nutritional values that each veggie specializes in. That turns a trip to the farmer’s market into a field trip for the kids.

She also suggests composting for those that can and I couldn’t agree more! Here’s my dot.com.post all about my love of the compost pile.

Let’s Dig In!

Michelle

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