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    Don’t know how to cook your new veggies? Google recipes for Market veggies. Then share your cooking experiences, and find new ones, on our Market Community Food Blog!

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    Market NOW Open - Jan. 11, 2016


    Ready To Order?

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    FIRST TIME CUSTOMERS You are invited to watch our Market Tutorial before you begin. If you do not receive an email confirmation immediately after you order, then you did not click the SUBMIT ORDER button and we did not receive an order from you. Call your Market Manager for help.

    So “WHAT’S NEW?” POTLUCK SOCIALS EVOLVING

    Active members of our Market have been enjoying monthly potluck socials for several years now and benefitting from networking with like-minded folks. This year we hope to change up the event a bit and we are open to your suggestions. So far we’ve come up with meeting in a local park on the water, meeting at someone else’s home instead of ours, and even changing up the time of day so that perhaps more people will participate, including children. January’s potluck will be in our backyard and February’s location is almost determined. Wondering if any of our Growers, Customers or Volunteers would like to host our potluck social at their propery or garden? Please let me know and we’ll get together to discuss. For Growers, this would be a great opportunity to attract volunteers you might be needing and customers will get a firsthand look at your beautiful produce!

    Message from Your Market Manager

    Beef & Pork Updates
    This is the last week to order beef for delivery the week of Jan. 25th. Beef ordered this week will appear on your invoice and be PRE-paid with the rest of your weekly order. Ground beef is the only beef that will be delivered to you this coming week. Cuts to prepay include stew meat, London broil, liver, chuck roast, delmonico steak, flatiron steaks, rib steaks, NY strip steaks, meaty soup bones, and short ribs. All pricing and weights listed are approximate and based on history of what we have purchased before from Lake Kersey Farms. Your final price will be adjusted (up or down) for actual weight prior to delivery and charged/credited to your account. If you’ve not cooked grassfed, grass finished beef before then you should know that this beef is as fat-free as a white chicken breast so it cannot be cooked like conventional beef. I tend to use my crockpot as it never fails to produce a tasty and tender result but many people have success cooking it otherwise. Please visit our Q&A page to get info and recipes on cooking this healthier choice of beef.

    Please pre-order your pork THIS WEEK so we can meet our $300 minimum purchase requirement and get you all some discounted pricing. We now have a full range of USDA inspected pork cuts available from pastured pigs, frozen and vaccuum packed, including pork loin, bone-in pork chops, Boston butt roast, picnic or shoulder roast, fresh ham roast, and ribs, with all hogs raised by Low Hills Cattle Company. This new “grower” also provides us with amazing UNCOOKED pork sausages that are MSG and nitrate-free with all natural ingredients. These are made at Geier’s Sausage Kitchen in Sarasota, Fl. (and don’t count towards the minimum purchase.) Pork cuts are PRE-paid just like the beef. THERE IS A CAVEAT: I won’t purchase until enough customers have ordered. Without enough response by mid-January, I was planning to refund any collected prepaid amounts and cancel the orders from this Grower. BEFORE I DO THAT, I will contact everyone who ordered and see if they are willing to wait any longer for their pork.

    Fab News on our Market’s Raw Dairy Products

    Pam Lunn of The Dancing Goat & distributor for JTB Jersey Farm of Duette, Fl announces that all of the raw COW milk products coming from JTB are now totally NON GMO Grass based. Not only that but JTB has expanded their herd and the abundance of product has already improved! Now there is more for our SPLG customers and over time the volume should continue to grow. If you’ve been missing out on these raw cow products, do try them now.

    Plants Galore on Our Market

    In case you haven’t noticed, our Market has expanded its realm to selling a pretty impressive collection of over 20 different locally grown plants. Mrs. Chippy’s Plant World has taken the lead in plant sales and you’ll want to investigate what kind of edible exotic abundance that her fruit, herbs, and flowers can bring to your homestead. Debra’s passionate dedication, her membership in the Tampa Bay Rare Fruit Council, and contacts with the University of Florida Extension Service in Pinellas County contribute to her success, especially with exotic plants. SPLG is SO grateful she has found us to distribute her fabulous fare! You can easily find her plants under the "P"s on our Market page and don’t miss her Pomegranite and Surinam Cherry trees under the "T"s.

    Abundant Veggies This Week & Why You Need Them

    • The health benefits of Bok Choy aka Pak Choi are many! Loaded with antioxidants and contributing to strong bones are just a few of it’s benefits. What Are the Health Benefits of Bok Choy covers it all AND links to a low carb recipe too.
    • “Did you know that the different parts of the broccoli plant each make their own unique contribution to its overall nutritional value?” “The surprising health benefits of broccoli leaves” contends that “the leaves actually are a richer source of beta-carotene than either the stems or florets.”
    • According to Health Properties of Tomatoes “Tomatoes contain all four major carotenoids: alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene. These carotenoids may have individual benefits, but also have synergy as a group (that is, they interact to provide health benefits)…” and there are so many ways to enjoy them!
    • There is lots of fiber in starfruit, better known as carambola. 7 Health Benefits of Starfruit offers insight into its uses for weightloss and digestive balance, among other things.

    SPLG’S FRUIT BASKET
    Calamondin (aka sour oranges), starfruit aka carambolas, papayas (ripe & green!), and Miracle Fruit (great for chemo patients) —all locally grown in St. Pete. Non-local: Braeburn apples from Washington State.

    ECONOMY SIZED PACKAGING
    FRESH picked greens in abundance this week: arugula, bok choy, broccoli greens, Lacinato kale, collard greens, turmeric, and Swiss chard. Tis the season to be green. Take advantage while the weather allows us these treasures!

    ON SALE THIS WEEK
    Local honey, scallops, coconut infused balsalmic vinegar, smoked Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, turmeric.

    PURCHASE DEADLINE 8PM TONIGHT for Geraldson Community Farm
    After 8pm, you will find that only the NOT-SOLD-OUT items are still available. You will still be able to shop all other Growers until Market closes Wednesday 8am.

    KITCHEN GARDEN INTERNATIONAL
    A critical part of KGI’s work is educating people about the positive role kitchen gardens are playing and will play in the future. This TED talk entitled “A subversive plot: how to grow a revolution in your own backyard” presents good reasons to join the “conspiracy”.

    MARKET MEMBERSHIP FEE is $60 when paid in January
    If you have never ordered from us, you should know that the membership fee doesn’t get charged until your SECOND order. Our Market Season fee started at $80 in November and each month it decreases by $10. Our Market Season lasts until the end of June.

    MARKET MANAGER NEEDS ADMIN HELP WEDNESDAY 8AM – 10AM
    Please call Tina at 727-515-9469 to get on the schedule for this Wednesday or an upcoming Wednesday. Your shift will be about 2 hours long. You will print reports and attend to customer orders. Computer literacy preferred.

    Upcoming Events

    All these and more are posted on our Calendar of Events

    WORKSHOPS & EVENTS

    • *"Monthly Potluck Social" for January 23rd is scheduled and Evites have been sent out to all qualifying Market members. Hope to see you!

    We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!