[CHANGES] Veggies Where and What

[Sandra Ahten]

CHANGES -- A newsletter about living a healthy lifestyle from Sandra Ahten

This issue contains:
1) Info on the Tunnel Hill State Bike Trail
2) A lite salad dressing that tastes just like Olive Garden
3) Urbana/Champaign -- Where To Get Your Veggies
4) What to Do With Them Once You Get Them (Salsa, Grilled Veggies and Veggie 
Burgers & More)


1) Many of you were interested in the bike path that I discovered in 
southern Illinois. To get more info you can go to the website 
http://dnr.state.il.us/OREP/PLANNING/th_info.htm or you can type Tunnel Hill 
State Trail into a search engine. The trail is 45 miles long. I would 
especially recommend any of the 35- mile stretch south of New Burnside, 
which is actually through the forest. This is a smooth, very-well-maintained 
trail with a lot of wildlife on it. It is refreshing and beautiful.

2) A reader recommended Ken's Steak House Lite Northern Italian salad 
dressing. It really does taste just like Olive Garden. I have found it at 
several local grocers, including County Market.  It is great for a marinade 
when grilling veggies (see below).

3) Urbana-Champaign -- Where to Get Your Veggies:

PCSA
This year I purchased a share in Prairieland Community Supported 
Agriculture. PCSA shareholders sign agreements with local farmers who agree 
to grow crops and bring them to neighborhood locations each week during the 
growing season. Shareholders receive an average of dollar amount of produce 
each week. However, the volume of their produce resembles a bell curve. In 
the past three weeks that my produce has been coming I've received an 
abundance of greens for salads, broccoli, sugar snap peas, carrots, fava 
beans, chard, kale, onions, blueberries, beets, potatoes, summer squash, 
zucchini, green beans, basil, and more. I am thrilled with being part of 
this project. I get all-organic food, I'm supporting a small farmer, and it 
propels me to try new things.

You pay up-front, and the per-week price equals about $13. I'm finding that 
it is plenty of veggies to get two veggie-loving adults through a week of 
meals. You can still purchase shares and they will be pro-rated. Here is the 
web address for more information: http://www.prairienet.org/pcsa/pcsa.htm.

CORN
There are many roadside stands selling sweet corn. Usually there is a truck 
on University Avenue between 5th and 6th streets selling corn from Missouri. 
The Pontius Farm in White Heath will have corn ready on Saturday (see 
below).

SELDOM HOME FARM STAND
These local growers have a stand set up in their yard on Windsor Road in 
Urbana, just 1/2 mile east of Rte 130 The prices are right, and the 
vegetables are often just picked that morning.

PONTIUS FARM
This is a U-pick farm located 15 miles west of Champaign in White Heath. The 
phone number (for directions and current picking information) is 762-8814. 
They will  have blueberries through the first of August. They also have a 
rhubarb patch that is good for harvesting. They will have sweet corn 
starting this coming Saturday (7/19/03) and red raspberries in late July. 
Tomatoes and peppers will be available in August.

Their hours are Monday-Thursday 8-2;  Friday-Saturday 8-5; and Sunday 9-5. 
They have activities for kids at their farm also.

FARMERS MARKET
In addition to the large farmers market at Lincoln Square in Urbana every 
Saturday morning, there is a smaller market on Wednesday mornings at 
Champaign's Country Fair Shopping Center (Mattis and Springfield).

COMMON GROUND FOOD COOP
Located at the Illinois Disciples Foundation at the corner of Springfield 
and Wright, CGFC is a non-profit grocery store owned and operated by its 
members. They work to provide wholesome food at a fair price. I love 
shopping here for veggies, cereal, tofu, pasta, spices, juices, and more. I 
buy farm-fresh eggs here also. To shop regularly you do have to be a member, 
which is a one-time fee of $40. You do not have to be a member to try it out 
for a couple of visits. You can get more details from their website: 
http://www.commongroundcoop.org/


MORE LOCALLY GROWN FOOD SOURCES
http://co-op.champaign.il.us/fp/localfood/directory.html

----------
4) What to Do with the Veggies

SALSA
Each August I make a huge batch of salsa. I include a lot of cilantro as the 
key herb, and it is coming into season right now. I've just bought a big bag 
of it and put it in my freezer so that I have it ready when the peppers and 
tomatoes are ready. I don't have a recipe, but basically I buy locally grown 
tomatoes, peppers, and onions. I put them and the cilantro through the food 
processor and then bag them in pint Ziploc bags and freeze. The results are 
often very juicy, so for salsa I drain off the excess juice and just serve 
the pulp. I then use the juice in soups or as a basis for bloody-mary type 
drinks. Or, without draining, I use the salsa as a basis for vegetable soup 
or swiss steak.  I have never measured any ingredients. I use what is 
available. I use many different types of peppers, including green and yellow 
bell peppers, banana, jalapeno, and others. I do try to take care to get it 
hot--without making it inedible. Tips: Use rubber gloves when handling the 
hot peppers. Seldom Home Farm Stand grows both tomatoes and peppers in 
abundance and sells at great prices.

GRILLED VEGGIES
Last night after I got my produce from PCSA, I lit the grill and came up 
with this combination of veggies: First I parboiled the green beans and 
potatoes. While these were cooking and the grill was getting hot, I cut up 
zucchini, summer squash, an onion, and basil. I added some sun-dried 
tomatoes and a pear. I tossed the vegetables with a combination of about 2 
tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons honey, salt, and pepper. I lined the 
grill with aluminum foil, sprayed the foil with cooking spray, and grilled 
the whole mess. Yummy. Often I use fat-free Italian dressing as the marinade 
to save a few calories.

PEARS
Yes, I did say pears in my veggie recipe above. Grilled pears are delicious 
even alone. Cut 2 pears into 6 to 8 pieces each. Toss with 1 tsp. olive oil 
and 1 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt. Table salt can be substituted, but I 
like the coarser grains of sea or kosher salt for grilling.

CORN
As sweet corn comes into season think about replacing the butter with 
balsamic vinegar. I also use balsamic vinegar as a no-calories, no-fat salad 
dressing.

VEGGIE BURGERS FOR 35 OF YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS
2 points each (total 76 points divided by about 35 burgers equals 2.17 
points per burger)

I adapted this recipe from the WW "Great Cooking Everyday" cookbook: the 
original recipe makes 4 burgers.

I have included the points per item [in brackets] - if you decide to change 
the recipe, you can do that. I used a very basic recipe and then added and 
subtracted according to what was in season, what sounded good, and what was 
on sale.

2 lbs carrots  (7 cups shredded) [7]
5 stalks celery
1 pound mushrooms
2 green peppers
1 large white onion
1 medium red onion
15 or more fresh basil leaves
15 cilantro leaves
1 lb. tofu [10]
3 Tbsp. dried thyme
10 cloves garlic
-------
Chop the above ingredients in a food processor until fine.  Drain the 
mixture slightly.
-------
2 cups matzo meal (found with the kosher foods--not matzo soup mix) [16]
1 cup walnuts [20]  (after measuring, chop nuts finely)
2-1/2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp pepper
6 eggs, slightly beaten [12]
1 C. dry oatmeal [5]
1/4 C. matzo meal for dredging [6]
------
Use a 1/4 cup measure or an ice cream scoop to make your patties. Scoop the 
mixture, then turn it into the matzo meal for dredging. Turn it over for 
dredging on the other side. If your mixture has too much liquid for this, 
try draining again--or you may need to add more oatmeal. But try to handle 
the patties without getting rid of too much moisture so they are not dry 
when you cook them.

Bake on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray at 475 degrees for 9-12 
minutes. I found that I really didn't need to turn them (though the original 
recipe says you should).

You can freeze these individually on a cookie sheet and then put into 
plastic storage bags for single use later.

	Enjoy!

Sandra

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