PSA

Good news. . . I'm not talking about Miley Cyrus or N*Sync today.
Today, we're talking about washing produce.  Always wash your produce.  No brainer, right?  I thought so too, but I can't tell you the number of times that I have seen people ask if produce is organic and then begin eating it without washing it.  Just because it doesn't have chemicals does not mean you can skip washing it.  You don't know what that produce has touched before it gets to you.  You don't know who has touched it before it got to you.  Take a U-Pick for example, it's organic, you're picking it, should be safe, right?  What if some other picker went to the bathroom, did not wash their hands, went to pick your fruit and then decided against it. . . now those dirty hands have touched the fruit you're about eat without washing.  I know this example seems extreme, but it could happen and the bottom line is you can avoid foodborne illness by using safe food preparation practices.  
Okay, time for me to step down from my soap box.  Before I get down though, I'm giving you a recipe for a produce spray that I found on, you guessed it, Pinterest.  The vinegar and lemon in this spray have natural anti-bacterial properties.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbsp baking soda

1/2 of a lemon

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a container and then put in a spray bottle.  **Do not put in a spray bottle and shake to mix.  Remember from school, baking soda+vinegar=volcano/blowing up balloons/chemical reaction?**  Spray mixture on produce and let sit for 5 minutes. Scrub and rinse.

**I've had weird reaction with peaches. . .I think it had something to do with the type of skin. . .but I have used this with cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, grapes (i.e., things with a waxier-type skin) without any weird reactions.**

Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Very Pinteresting. . .

I don't know about you, but I am a HUGE Pinterest fan.  If you are unfamiliar with it, Pinterest is an on-line cork (or pin) board.  You can either search for ideas/information as you would in any other search engine or you can find information via your friends, which you can then put into a category and save for later use.  

**A word of caution, time speeds up when you are using Pinterest.  You may sit down at three in the afternoon, just to quickly grab that recipe you saw, and BOOM! it's five in the evening and your husband is coming through the door wanting to know what's for dinner. Consider yourself warned -- this could happen to you.**

For those of you who are already on Pinterest and those of you who are willing to try Pinterest despite my warning, please "follow us." http://pinterest.com/wethammocknurse/  We will be pinning recipes for your fresh Wet Hammock produce, ideas and information for your own garden, and anything else we find pertinent or interesting.

We hope everyone is having a great week and we can't wait to see you on Pinterest!

  

Goals and the Small Farms Conference

Long time no post.  First and foremost, I wanted to let everyone know that our new goal for this blog is to post at least every Tuesday.  It becomes so easy to push things aside when you're busy, even when your excited to tell everyone about your adventures, so hopefully this will help everyone out in the long run.  You will know when to look for new posts and we will have a specific deadline we need to meet.

Now that we have to "business" stuff out of the way, let's talk about fun things!  At the beginning of August, Mr. Douglass and I attended the Florida Small Farms Conference.  It was my first time and I had no idea what to expect, but I was hoping that I was going to have a good time.  We arrived early Saturday morning and were greeted by a beautiful Florida farm to fork breakfast. We had quiche made with local eggs and produce, fresh watermelon, and local stone ground grits.  Unfortunately, they didn't say where the grits came from, just that they were local.

  After breakfast I walked the floor and looked at various exhibits, then it was time for class!  I took three ag business classes, so that I could better understand our growing business and help Mr. Douglass to the best of my ability.  Plus, attending those classes help add bonus points with the hubby! ;)  After the classes and shows had concluded, they had a meet and greet for the participants, exhibitors, and experts which was amazing!  They had local chefs from various restaurants in Central Florida who specialized in farm to fork cuisine.  It was all wonderful, but by far my favorite dish was the goat taco made by Chef Kevin Fonzo of K Restaurant.  I know, you're thinking what I was, "Goat tacos?  Sounds sketchy," but they were delicious.  Seriously, you must check them out (http://krestaurant.net/).

It's hard to top the food, but I also have to mention (as a proud wife) that Mr. Douglass spoke as a "local expert" at a class on blackberries.  I wasn't allowed to attend his session (per his request), but I did sneak in at the end and get a picture.  It was a good day for everyone.

Southern Fried Rice

 



I will never understand why some people are opposed to leftovers. . . I love them and frankly when it comes to dinner, leftovers mean one less thing to do.  In the spirit of eating and transforming leftovers I bring you 'Southern Fried Rice.'

• Whatever is left from your blackberry pork loin (you could also use ham or sausage)
• 3-4 cups cooked rice (I used brown, but white would be good too)
• 1 carrot diced
• 1/2 cups soy sauce (Put in a little at a time. . . put in more or less to taste
• 2-3 cups okra cut into rounds
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 of a Vidalia (sweet) onion diced
• 2 tablespoons oil (peanut, canola, or vegetable)

1. Heat a wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat.
2. Add oil to the pan. 
3. Add produce to the pan and stir fry to desired tenderness. . .I cooked mine for about 10 minutes.
4. Add rice and soy sauce to the pan and continue cooking for another five minutes. 
5. Give it a taste. . . make adjustments as necessary and remove from heat. 

**Please feel free to alter this recipe to taste.  I was taught to cook by taste, so most of the time (always) the measurements for ingredients are rough estimates.  I am trying to get better at measuring my ingredients, but if you have any questions in the meantime, please don't hesitate to contact me via comment.**

Blackberry Limeade

 

 

6 cups water

 

3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

 

1 cup sugar (or to taste)

 

2/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes) 

 

1. Place blackberries and about 2 cups of water into the blender; process until smooth.
2. OPTIONAL Press blackberry puree through sieve and discard seeds/pulp.
3. Add remaining water, sugar, and juice to pitcher.
4. Stir until sugar dissolves.

As blackberry season draws to a close, some of you may choose to freeze some of the berries you have bought or collected.  This is a great recipe because you have the option of using fresh or frozen. 

 

**Recipe from cookinglight.com** 

 

 

Grilled Okra

When selling okra, we often get the question, "how am I supposed to cook this?"  I often reply by giving my favorite way to eat okra -- with tomatoes.  Recently, we've had a TON of okra in the garden and I find myself asking, "how am I supposed to cook this now?"  After a quick search on Pinterest, I found grilled okra.  Looking at the picture only, because I hate following recipes, I gave it a whirl.  The result was pretty excellent. 

1.  Cut okra in half lengthwise.
2.  Thread okra onto skewers.
3.  Sprinkle with salt and creole seasoning (recipe to follow).
4:  Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side (until crispy, but not burned. . . just keep an eye on it).

**I liked dipping mine in ranch dressing like you would with fired okra. Yum!**

Mr. B's Creole Seasoning

1/3 cup paprika

3 tablespoons dried oregano

3 tablespoons ground black pepper

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoons cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon granulated onion

4 teaspoons dried thyme

4 teaspoons granulated garlic

Next time you're grilling give it a whirl. It's easy, it's delicious, and by grilling your entire meal, you keep that kitchen a little cleaner a little longer.

Hope y'all enjoy!

 

**Also pictured, pimento cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers.**



Crock Pot Blackberry Pork

 

You will need:

 

For the Pork

1 (2 pound) Pork Tenderloin

Salt

Pepper

3 Sprigs Rosemary

Poultry Seasoning

1 (16 ounce) Jar of Blackberry Preserves

1/2 Cup Red Wine

1 cup Blackberries (optional)

 

For the Sauce

1/2 cup Red Wine

2 Tablespoons Honey

1 Cup Blackberries

 

 

Directions:

1. Generously season the pork tenderloin on all sides with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Place the tenderloin, wine, blackberries, and rosemary into the crock pot. Set the cooker to high and cook for roughly 5 hours (until fork tender).
2. About 15 minutes before serving time, pour the wine, honey, and blackberries into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and some of the berries burst, about 15 minutes.
3. To serve, slice the tenderloin and spoon blackberry-wine sauce over slices.

Just for fun . . .the next time we make this we will be adding a tablespoon or two of "juice" from our whisky pickled jalapenos to give it a little heat.  You could add a jalapeno or two during the cooking process to do they same thing.  If you choose to try it, let us know how it turns out.

**Recipe adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-blackberry-pork-tenderloin/.**