Frost Free vegetables

I am writing this at 2:00 am this morning. I was a little concerned that it might hit the freezing point over night.

You know you live in Minnesota when you have 30's the first of June.

I put a calibrated freezer thermometer out on the picnic table and the temps were at 36 degrees and dropping.

So what to do...

Petersen's Market menu for Saturday, May 30, 2015

The harvest of spring greens is expanding. We will add spring mix, wild arugula, wild dandelion, baby spinach, kale, Charlie, and cress to the portfolio this week.

We still have Candy carrots with great flavor and sweetness. That might last until the new carrots are available. The new carrots are up in the garden.

Cilantro We Will Have at the Market. Photo Cred: Reed Petersen

We will have the following items at the Farmers Market for Saturday, May 30, 2015 (New items are in Bold Print)

Jumbo Pansies
Asparagus
Fresh Cut Herbs: Mint, Chocolate Mint, Oregano, Basil, Chives
Baby Spinach
Spring Mix
Baby Kale
Cress
Wild Arugula
Regular Arugula
Dandelion
Mint Plants - Chocolate, Orange, Spearmint
Herb Plants - Chives, Sage, French Tarragon, Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Epasote, Stevia, Oregano, Dill, Cilantro
New Crop Green Onions - Walla Walla Sweet
Green Garlic 
Pepper and Tomato Plants, Heirlooms
Melon Plants - Large Selection
Pumpkin Plants
Pea & Bean Plants
Heirloom Red Okra Plants
Cole Crop Plants: Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Cabbage,

Sweet Spanish Onions


Salsa: an array of different kinds
Pickles - Sweet, Dill and Relish

Candy Carrots
Parsnips

Shallots
Cipotle Smoked Peppers

Charcoal (home grown, home made)
Potting Mix with our compost

Steps For Getting Out of Debt

Getting out of debt is really pretty simple, yet can be one of the hardest things a family can tackle. The process works best when both husband and wife are working together.

1. Stop borrowing.
2. Save money.
3. Sell things to generate cash.
4. Work overtime or get a second job.
5. Prayer...this really works.

Gazelle Intensity

This is one of my favorite concepts in FPU. Proverbs 6:1-5 talks about “Deliver yourself like the gazelle from the lion...”. Getting out of debt is motivational not mathematical. If it was a matter of math, we wouldn't have gotten into debt in the first place.

Breaking the Chains of Debt

Farmers and their customers may not realize it, but debt is the most aggressively marketed product on the planet. Debt isn't just sold by banks and credit card companies. My reading has shown that many national retail chains make more money on the sale of credit than they do on the merchanise they sell.

If you spread a cultural perspective often enough, loud enough and long enough, the myth becomes accepted as normal. Debt has been marketed to the American cultural so pervasively since the 1970's that to envision living a debt free life requires a complete change in our perspective.

Getting Started on Your Emergency Fund

Getting Started

In FPU, we suggest a starter emergency fund of $1000 and want you to get this in place within a month. You can work overtime, sell things on CriagsList or have a garage sale, to generate cash.

After getting out of debt you then work hard to get the fully funded emergency fund in place.

Why You Need an Emergency Fund

Why You Need An Emergency Fund

It was 2:20 in the morning, and I awoke to a hissing sound. I went to investigate and found 300 gallons of water had leaked from a failed connection under the sink in the kitchen. Water had saturated everything in the kitchen and the basement of our home. We had insurance but our portion of the repair was over $30,000. We did not have an adequate emergency fund so the most of this repair was incorporated into a refinance of our mortgage, which was a major set back to getting our mortgage paid off.

Whether you are living in a rural or urban setting you need an emergency fund

Heroes

At church yesterday we honored our those that have served in our various branches of the military.

We didn't say this directly but these are our modern day heroes.

Thanks to all our military personnel for their service.

It is surely appreciated.

Super Heros

I was thinking of all the things that my wife does for the family and I was also thinking about the our military heros.

We undervalue the role of motherhood in our culture.

I think most moms deserve "super hero" status (especially my wife) and here is why.

Farm Heroes

Marvel comics has figured out that the American public is starved for heroes. They have had some interesting movie and TV shows recently.

There are some modern day heroes in Agriculture that may not be household names today but they should be.

Here are my top picks...

Asparagus. Wilted Spinach, Scallion and Black Bean Pasta (gluten Free)

The vegetables in the title of this post sounds like our market menu for this week. It is very nice to have a medley of vegetables that we can use in the kitchen once again.

This dish is heavy on the veggies and uses the black bean pasta to add interest. The pasta and vegetables are gluten free.

I boiled the pasta per instructions, added the asparagus and scallions to the boiling water about half way through. After straining the pasta and veggie mixture to drain off the water. I added the hot mix to the spinach and let it wilt down a bit.

Here is the recipe....