Produce	Heavens Harvest Farm Newsletter
August 4, 2008	Volume 7
Blueberries Carrots Collards Mustard Greens Yellow Beans Pickling Cukes Cucumbers Corn Peppers Eggplant Cherry Tomato Grape Tomato Tomatoes Yellow Squash Scallions Thyme Basil Chives Due to availability not all shares will have the exact same contents.	Greetings to all CSA members from the mother ship! As we have closed down for the season and are now on our way to Alaska or Costa Rica..or New Zeland…he.he.he…Hopefully the pattern of unrelenting torrential rain will be broken this week. The best part of the summer is upon us with the addition of eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and all of their succulent varieties. We have provided more fruit this year than in the past. Hopefully it meets with your approval. We expect a few weeks of peaches soon and then some apples to finish out the season. We are asking for your help in spreading the word so that we might become a CSA of 1,000 plus members for next year. In order for there to be some full time additional workers, we need to increase our numbers in order to become properly profitable. We are still looking for new sites to deliver to, specifically South Shore, Bellingham, Foxboro areas. As well as another site north of Boston, possibly Medford…We also would be interested in a site in Southboro, Westboro, or the Grafton area that is underserved at this time. The variety of vegetables for this week is our most extensive ever. Yahoo!!! Hope you enjoy! -Ashley & Ethel MUSTARD GREENS Peppery mustard greens put the zip and soul in the mixed greens traditionally used for Southern American soul food cooking. Pungent mustard is often mixed with hearty collards and flavorful turnip greens, tossed in the pot with some ham hocks and gently simmered for an hour or two, until the mix is meltingly tender. It is this “mess o’ greens” that is featured at many, if not most, Southern celebrations and large family dinners. The pot-likker at the bottom – the vitamin-rich, green broth that results from the long simmering – is highly prized and is sopped up with a piece of fresh cornbread. In addition to being a key element in Southern cooking, Chinese, Japanese and Indian cuisines also use mustard greens. The mustard plant that gives us greens also can produce the seeds from which Dijon mustard is made, hence the peppery flavor. Disease Fighting Food Mustard greens are packed with nutrients, providing good to excellent amounts of 9 vitamins, 7 minerals, dietary fiber and protein. They also sport lots of phytonutrients (think fight-o-nutrients), like other brassicas such as collards, kale and turnip greens. Mustards can also help with a number of health concerns: · Lung health: You’ll breathe easier with mustard as part of your diet because the greens are a good source of magnesium, which helps lungs stay relaxed. Their vitamin A content lends a hand in reducing inflammation and emphysema. · Antioxidant protection: Mustard greens are an excellent source of three notable antioxidants – vitamin E, vitamin C and vitamin A – which team up to scavenge free radicals (these cause damage to the molecules with which they interact and have been linked to a host of different diseases and health conditions). Mustard greens may benefit those with conditions ranging from asthma to heart disease to menopausal symptoms. · Heart health: The concentrated antioxidants, vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, magnesium, vitamin B6 and folic acid can help keep your heart healthy by reducing atherosclerosis and platelet clumping. · Cancer fighter: The phytonutrients in mustard seem able to dismantle carcinogens in the liver, breast and colon. · The mind: Eating 2-3 servings of green leafy vegetables such as mustard greens has been linked with lessening of age-related cognitive decline like memory.