Bye Bye Summer Staff!

Jared, Hannah and Elizabeth really rocked it this year. They woke up really early. They drove large vehicles. They worked long days in the heat of the summer helping New Roots farmers pick and wash for market. They had good attitudes. We will miss them terribly!!! We are missing them already!!! Thanks for all your work, guys! Come back and see us next summer!

Hannah's last day driving our bus!

Elizabeth and Lay Htoo at the OP market. How beautiful is that stand!!?!!!?

Jared's last market day early am at the farm.

Red Noodle Beans

Right now we have a bumper crop of these gorgeous Red Noodle Beans and Im sure you all have had moments of "what do I do with these?"

Well...this Chinese long bean is really very delicious. Here are some recipes that you should try. We will have a hard copy at market this week to give you as well.

Red Noodle Beans with Cracked Black Pepper

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch red noodle beans
• 1/2 medium red or green bell pepper diced
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about three minutes. Add the red noodle beans and red pepper and stir-fry until the beans are slightly softened and browned in spots, about five minutes. Add the sugar and stir to coat. Add the water, cover and cook over medium heat until the water has evaporated and the beans are tender approximately five min. Add the soy sauce and cracked pepper and cook for one minute.

and another one...

Spicy stir-fried Red Noodle Beans with Peanuts

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch red noodle beans
• 1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2-3 small hot peppers or thai chiles
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 Tablespoons chopped garlic
• one small onion very thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions:

Cook red noodle beans in boiling salt water for 3-5 minutes until tender. Transfer into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking then drain and cut into 1 inch pieces. Grind the peanuts in food processor till half are finely ground and the remainder are in large pieces. Stir together soy sauce, chilies, and salt in a small bowl. Heat wok or skillet until oil is pretty hot, add garlic and stir-fry until golden, add peanuts and stir-fry about 30 more seconds. Add beans, and onions and stir-fry about 2 minutes. Remove wok from heat, stir in soy sauce, drizzle in lime juice and season with salt.

Try these out and let us know what you think...

Deposit!

Going to the bank is confusing. There are lots of forms that all look the same. There are many lines, many people. For new farmers, increasing financial literacy is an important step in establishing their business.

All New Roots farmers have opened a bank account. Until this point, staff have been making weekly deposits into their accounts. Each farmer saves 20% of all of their sales to pay for their farming. This week, we turned a corner. Many of our farmers will now be making their own bank deposits. We met with all of the farmers and explained how to fill out deposit slips and go to the teller's line.

Here is a video of our first meeting this morning with some of the Karen farmers.

At the end of the meeting, we took the farmers to the bank to practice what they had learned. Check out the photo below! Proudly showing our deposit reciepts!