In this issue:
Spuds superb
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Spuds superb
Back in November, we
presented an article called "A fresh take on potatoes" (in
newsletter Issue # 47). In that
article, we described several new varieties of potatoes and
reviewed the impressive nutritional value of
organically-grown potatoes and their role in a healthy diet.
This week, we'd like to
revisit the subject of organic potatoes in a little more
detail. We're featuring some great potatoes ("spuds
superb") for you this week - you can find them at your
local organic market:
New crop
potatoes from TD Willey Farms
Fingerling potatoes from Cinacia
Russets from Newman's Own Organics
Local potatoes with the FamilyFarmed.org label
We'll describe each of
these in this issue of Organics for you and introduce
you to some of the growers whose incredible labors bring us
these superb spuds.
What's
a spud?
Before we get into the
details though, we have to answer a critically important
question. Why are potatoes called "spuds"? I
mean, tomatoes aren't call "studs" and carrots aren't called
"scuds", so why spuds?
Potatoes are tubers whose
"fruit" grows underground. To grow new potatoes, a
grower "plants" an existing seed potato underground.
The seed potato sprouts, providing stalks that grow above
ground with leaves and providing stems that grow new tubers
below ground. The new tubers, in their early stages,
are called "new potatoes" or "spudlings". As the new
tubers grow into full size potatoes, the are no longer
called spudlings but instead are called spuds.
New
crop potatoes from TD Willey Farms
 Tom
and Denisse Willey operate a 75+ acre certified organic farm
in Madera, California. Tom and Denisse are dedicated,
experienced growers and are pioneers in the organic
movement. Year after year, they provide us with an
incredible variety of high-quality organic produce
throughout the year.
This week, we have "first
of the season" or "new crop" red potatoes from Tom and
Denisse. To the left, you can see these
freshly-harvested red potatoes being prepared for shipment
in their packing shed on the farm.
We urge you to check out
their website (www.tdwilleyfarms.com)
to get a first hand feel for who these growers are, what
they stand for and what they produce. We guarantee
that you'll be impressed - as we have been for so many years
now!
Specialty potatoes from Cinacia
Cinacia is a certified
organic family farm located in the San Luis Valley of south
central Colorado. Operated by Cindy and Alicia Adkins,
daughters of long-time farmers Robert and Catherine Adkins,
Cinacia grows a variety of organic Fingerling potatoes.
This week, we are
featuring three unique varieties of superb specialty spuds
from Cinacia - organic Fingerlings:
Austrian
Crescent
Russian Banana
Ruby Crescent
These Fingerlings are
"small in size but big in flavor". Here's a quick
intro to Fingerlings from the Cinacia web site (www.cinacia.com):
Fingerlings are not large. They look more like
stubby fingers. Thus the name 'fingerling.'
And therein lies their unique appeal. Fingerlings
are known for their rich flavor, moist, waxy or dry
texture and striking colors. Fingerlings taste
great roasted, steamed, grilled, fried, sautéed, or
boiled. Named for their finger-like appearance, a
fingerling is typically 1 to 2 inches in diameter and 2
to 3 inches long.
If you visit the Cinacia
site, you'll get a message similar to that of the TD Willey
site mentioned above, which is a message of dedication to
growing quality produce using sustainable and organic
growing practices.
Russets
from Newman's Own Organics
Over the past year, we've
talked often about Newman's Own Organics, including a
special article in Issue # 22 of
Organics for you. Nell Newman and her team provide
us with tasty, nutritious organic produce in many varieties
and in many packages throughout the year.
 This
week, Newman's is providing us still another superb spud -
organic Russet potatoes in a 5 pound bag.
In addition to their
impressive product line, Newman's vocal support of the
organic movement and of the role of fresh organic produce as
a key to a healthy diet consistently stands out.
Visit the Fresh Produce
page of the Newman's Own Organic web site at:
http://www.newmansownorganics.com/freshproduce/index.php
Potatoes and FamilyFarmed.org
As we reported to you in
Issue # 29, Supporting Local Growers - A Progress Report,
Goodness Greeness is a founding partner of the
FamilyFarmed.org program.
This is a new and
exciting program that supports local and regional family farms growing organic
produce by connecting them with consumers and commercial
buyers. This program consists of a web site, a food
label, and a periodic exposition. Growers join this
program and their produce is labeled for increased
visibility at your market (you can see an example of this
label in the lower left hand corner of the Organic Spuddies,
below).
Goodness Greeness kicked off the
program by distributing organic potatoes from Igl Farms in
Wisconsin this spring.
It was very successful and we are now featuring fall
harvested potatoes from this Wisconsin grower.
Contact
us
You can find
a great selection of organic potatoes - along
with a broad selection of fresh organic
fruits and vegetables - from Goodness Greeness at your local market.
Email us
at
newsletter@goodnessgreeness.com if you can't find them and we'll help you
locate them.
Access
newsletters online
As you know if you've
been reading this weekly newsletter each week, there is a
lot of information provided on organic fruits and vegetables, their
nutritional qualities, availability, shopping and
preparation tips, as well as some recipes.
You can now access most of
the past issues of Organics for you on our web site (www.goodnessgreeness.com).
Click on the Newsletter link at the top of any page on the
site. There you'll find a quick index to most of the past
issues.
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