Orange of summer….
I am in favor of a revolution. Let it begin with small steps, culinary ones. For example, we can declare that orange soup is actually a summer food, not a winter food. What could be wrong with this delicious soup eaten cold? I realize that pumpkin is believed to be a winter vegetable – pumpkin gratin, pumpkin soup, mashed pumpkin are all comforting and filling foods that are fun to eat in winter. Even Halloween is in the winter, but pumpkins grow in summer, really! Not only that, but in order for it to survive the winter and wait until you decide to make the famous orange soup out of it, it must go through a certain process called "curing." To last, the pumpkin must be cured. It is left out in the field to absorb more and more pleasant rays of sun until it gets its fill and won’t miss it in the winter. As a result of this curing, the organic gourd ceases to be soft and sensitive, and develops a thick skin like an elephant! It gets harder and the peel gets thicker. It can then linger around with us in the kitchen until the right moment that we wish to eat it.
Also the organic sweet potatoes, which are the other half of the famous wintery orange soup, are already filling the store and filling it with different colors, not only the classic orange, but also somewhat reddish and even purple. Anyone who wants to make antipasti out of these will have a celebration of colors, and anyone who enjoys mashed potatoes can get a gorgeous purple puree.
The sweet potatoes that have just come out of the ground are sometimes dotted with scabs where the peel has been injured. A certain pest also recognizes the sweet and nutritious sweet potatoes and of course gives them a nibble. Actually, these yams are really healthy and excellent to eat. The skin is able to heal and the yam is now stronger, nourishing and tastier than ever.
The orange of the organic pumpkin and the organic sweet potato suggests a massive presence of beta carotene. To the Chinese the color orange implies that it is a "warming" vegetable that is best eaten in the winter, and we know that if we eat it we’ll get a good dose of vitamin A. The potato is happy about the orange color because it is protected from oxidation damage, and we are happy about it for neutralizing the free radicals and reducing the risk of heart disease and the risk of cancer. Besides vitamin A, it is also rich in vitamin C (and therefore our immune system is happy with its presence), vitamin B6, magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. In short, it is a complex of health. Most of the vitamins are in the peel, so wash it thoroughly, rub well, but do not peel it.
The sweet potato is very easy to digest and it is also considered dietetic – so it is sometimes recommended for babies who do not yet have teeth.
In the summer, for those days when you want to make something quick, simple and can be eaten along with a vegetable salad in tahini, you can make baked sweet potato: stab it with a fork from all directions and put it in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes. After the potato has cooled a bit, cut in half, drizzle olive oil, pepper, salt, and enjoy.
For more information and recipes, see our organic sweet potato archive (Link)
May it be an orange day!
For health!
Yours,
Maggie and the garden staff
In our organic vegetable baskets, we will only get a draft:
Amuro Squash (Orange Kabucha)
Potatoes
Purslane
Thai spinach
parsley
lettuce
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Beets
Peppers
In the big vegetable baskets, also:
Leeks
Sweet potatoes
Hot Pepper
basil
Organic fruit baskets:
A personal watermelon
Bananas
Grapes
In the large organic fruit baskets, also:
Papaya
And apples
