Category Archives: papaya

Papaya tree

2016 CSA Fall December 3rd

2016 CSA Fall December 3rd

  • Baby Ginger
  • Green Papaya
  • Butternut Squash
  • Green Tomatoes
  • Potato Medley
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Sage
  • Chervil
  • Field Arugula
  • Field Tatsoi

Papaya: A very rare and special treat this week: papayas! This tropical fruit is grown in one of our greenhouses and is one of the first of papayas grown in Virginia. Papayas are known for being a healthy food and for containing unique digestive enzymes that help the body process proteins. Papayas contain vitamins C, A, E, K, several of the B vitamins and many minerals such as magnesium, calcium and potassium. As an excellent source of these nutrients, papaya can be helpful to our health in prevention of atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease. Being a good source of fiber, papaya can help lower high cholesterol levels and may be beneficial in prevention of colon cancer. Immune support and anti-inflammatory effects can assist in cases of asthma and arthritis.  Stephanie, pictured above by her Dad, Bob Jones, explained from her experiences in Africa that green papaya is used for special occasions as a desert where the peel is removed, the body shaved into strands resembling pasta and then cooked with coconut milk and cardamom. I can’t wait to try it like that! Many thanks and gratitude to our two newest additions to the farm art, Dan and Stephanie, for their hard work and dedication to producing the finest quality, best tasting and nutritious food. We are so grateful to have you aboard! Have a great week everybody
  

Papaya tree

2016 CSA Spring May 21st Papaya

2016 CSA Spring May 21st

  • Spinach
  • Squash Blossoms
  • Kale Flowers
  • Peppermint
  • Spearmint
  • Spring Onions
  • Green garlic
  • Oregano
  • Sage
  • Lemon Verbena
  • Papaya
  • Basil

Papaya:

Papaya cut

Papaya cut

A very rare and special treat this week: papayas! This tropical fruit is grown in one of our greenhouses and is one of the first of papayas grown in Virginia. Papayas are known for being a healthy food and for containing unique digestive enzymes that help the body process proteins. Papayas contain vitamins C, A, E, K, several of the B vitamins and many minerals such as magnesium, calcium and potassium. As an excellent source of these nutrients, papaya can be helpful to our health in prevention of atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease. Being a good source of fiber, papaya can help lower high cholesterol levels and may be beneficial in prevention of colon cancer. Immune support and anti-inflammatory effects can assist in cases of asthma and arthritis.  Papayas are well known for containing papain, a digestive enzyme which is extracted for making supplements.

The simplest way to enjoy the slightly sweet and musky flavor of the creamy flesh is to cut your papaya in half and clean out the insides of any seeds or coating, then scoop out bites with a spoon. The half can also be cut into slices like a cantaloupe. If cubing for a salad, salsa, roast or smoothie, then remove the outer skin before use in your recipe.

Recipes ranged from simple to intricate with suggestions to pair with lime juice and/or mint being common, as well as ideas for salads, salsas and chutney. One salsa recipe was simply chopped onion, lemon juice, chopped papaya, diced mint and seasoning of salt and pepper. Often paired with meats like fish and chicken, it was sometimes featured in a chicken stir fry or elegantly sliced atop a filet of fish. Consider a complementary papaya salsa this week taking advantage of the onion and mint in your CSA share.

To your health and pleasure!

milk Thistle

2015 CSA Fall December 19 Planet Earth Diversified

2015 CSA    Fall    December 19   Planet Earth Diversified

Final CSA for 2015 – 2016 Begins Jan 2

  • milk thistle pesto
  • arugula pesto
  • Mixed Field Greens
  • Rainbow Chard
  • Arugula Greens
  • Red Kale
  • Rosemary
  • Baby Sorrel
  • Poultry Herbs
  • Basil
  • Dill
  • Bay Laurel
  • Flat Parsley
  • Butternut Squash
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Papaya

2015 CSA    Fall    December 19 Planet Earth Diversified               

Both milk thistle and arugula pesto are included this week with your CSA share and some big Butternut Squash – they are not in the box get them separately!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3an71fzC9-o 11 minutes all about the green papaya and the ginger we have been providing as part of our research with Virginia State University.

milk Thistle

milk Thistle

Milk Thistle, which is included in your CSA share this week in the form of pesto. This plant has long been known to have healthy properties, containing silymarin, and “has no equivalent in the pharmaceutical drug world”; for over 2,000 years it has been revered as a protector of the liver. “In fact, in cases of poisoning with Amanita mushrooms, which destroy the liver, milk thistle is the only treatment option. It has been so dramatically effective that the treatment has never been disputed, even by the traditional medical community.” See the website http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-milk-thistle.html for the quoted material and more information. In the cyclical pattern that we make the pesto of milk thistle, which is generally in spring and in fall, it is savored as a seasonal tonic. You will find milk thistle in stores as high priced extracts, or supplement pills and tablets, especially of the seed, to economic dried preparation of the plant for tea. The same healing properties that the seeds are touted so much about are present throughout the entire plant. Then add the benefit of being able to include it in the diet as a freshly harvested herb by eating the pesto. If hiking or would like to nibble from environments that you consider clean to harvest from, the leaf can be folded along its spine, aligning up the thorns on the edges of the leaf and trimmed to be eaten; the leaf can be used as a rolled up treat or as a wrap in a meal. As a pesto, it can be incorporated into your diet in classic fashions such as topping pasta or spreading on pizza or tried as a sandwich spread for a new twist. Hope you all have a blessed week!

Green-Papaya-Recipe

Green-Papaya-Recipe

Kale Fruit Salad

Kale Fruit Salad

Green-Papaya-Wanda Johnson

Green-Papaya-Wanda Johnson