Huanong Eco-organic Farm

09/17/2021

Happy Friday everyone! Hope everyone had a great work week! We will have lots of bitter melon and eggplants for sale this weekend as well as radish greens!

Radish greens are mild with a slight bitter/peppery taste. Its a great source of vitamin C, potassium, iron, and calcium. Radish greens also contain glucosinolates which breaks down into metabolites that helps with repair cell damage and have anti-cancer potential. Other health benefits include regulate liver health and blood sugar.

As the weather have finally cooled down as we transition into fall, some vegetables and crops will grow and mature slower than before. We will have sugar tomatoes still but will be available in lesser quantities. The cooler weather is great for Asian greens! Look out for bak choy, yu choy, and napa coming out in the next few weeks!

A sadder new is pickleworms have emerged this week in our cucumbers. Last year's onset was mid-July, we thought we were fortunate to have missed it this year. Sadly our current batch of cucumbers will most likely be done. We'll have a few to sell but we took preventative actions for our next batch of cucumbers to hopefully control the pickleworms.

09/02/2021

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a great summer! Sorry we haven't posted too much lately, we've been busy planting our leafy greens and getting ready for the fall season! We want to provide some updates to what's coming in the fall and winter season!

In the recent weeks, we have started to sell winter melons and have received great feedback! A common recipe is the winter melon and shrimp or pork ribs soup and it's also great for braising.

Our beef and heirloom tomatoes season is over however our new batch of sugar tomatoes started producing! The quantity will be limited for now but will have more as the tomatoes mature. Our goal is to be able to provide everyone with sugar tomatoes all year round.

In the greens area, water spinach have been a big hit! This week we are start to sell baby yu choy, bok choy, and napa cabbage at the markets.

We have a new batch of delicious peppers and sweet peppers out now! Long hot peppers and spiral peppers' season will wrap up in a month or so but we will have wrinkled pepper all year round. We are also experimenting with a few other hot pepper varieties, look out for those in small quantities.

In other news, fruit cucumbers and large Chinese cucumbers are back! Our current batch should last into the middle of fall, enjoy the last bit of taste of cucumber before winter comes!

upcoming, we'll have long beans and various type of radishes in the winter season and we'll provide more updates as produces comes out!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us on Facebook, phone, or ask in person at the market!

07/04/2021

Happy 4th of July everyone! A lot of people have been asking about our luffa recently! Lots of people already know after drying, luffa can be used as a sponge. However, luffa before it becomes matured, can be eaten and it's very nutritious and tasty!

Luffa taste like a softer fleshed sweet zucchini. It is high in dietary fiber, vitamins C and B, magnesium, and iron! Similar to bitter melon, it also have anti-inflammatory properties, can help regulate blood sugar level, and remove toxic compounds. Compounds extracted from luffa have long been used in skin beauty products.

In Asian cooking, luffa is often used with scrambled eggs as a stir fry or in soup noodles. Here is a recipe that demonstrate the use of luffa in a luffa and egg stir fry with shrimp!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_hojiaBMlw

06/17/2021

We have a new produce that just came out this week called salad melon! It taste like a crispy and sweet cucumber! It's great in salads or quick sauté.

06/16/2021

Here is a great potato salad recipe using red potatoes and green onions!

10-12 red potatoes, washed (peeled if desired)
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 green onions, sliced
1-2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1-2 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Heat oven to 350F. Cut the potatoes into bite size chunks. Toss the potato chunks with olive oil to cover then add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Arrange on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven for ~40 min, turning once at the 20 min mark.

3. Dressing: juice 1 lemon and add 1-2 Tbsp of eaceh fresh herbs and sliced green onions. Add an additional Tbsp of olive oil and mix well. Adjust with salt and pepper to your liking.

4. Combine the roasted potatoes and dressing in a bowl. Check seasoning again and serve!

06/16/2021

We will be at the Durham Farmers' Market tomorrow from 3 to 6 PM!

We have:

*New*
- Salad melon
- Bottle squash

- Sugar tomatoes
- Beef tomatoes
- Cherry tomatoes
- Red potatoes
- Chinese zucchini
- Chinese cucumbers
- Fruit cucumbers
- Bitter melon
- Luffa
- Eggplants
- Spinach
- Water spinach
- You mai choy
- Red, yellow, and white onions
- Rainbow chard
- Sweet green pepper
- Delicious peppers (hot)
- Wrinkled peppers (mild)
- Spiral peppers (hot)
- long hot peppers (hot)
- Chinese yard long beans (red and green)
- Chinese butter beans
- Amaranth

06/03/2021

It's pepper season! We are currently selling sweet, shish*to (mild), screw (medium to hot), and long hot peppers (medium to hot). A very popular and easy Sichuan pepper dish is the tiger skin peppers!

Ingredients:
1. 10 to 12 peppers (Shish*to is great for this but any pepper will work)
2. Minced garlic
3. 1/2 tsp Sugar
4. 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
5. 1 tbsp Cooking oil
6. 2 tbsp Light soy sauce

Directions:
1. Cap, deseed, and half the peppers (Make sure to pat dry the peppers after washing).
2. Heat up 1 Tbsp cooking oil on medium heat in pan.
3. Add the peppers and saute until the skin of the peppers start to blister and turn dark (About 4 to 5 mins).
4. Add minced garlic and fry until aromatic.
5. Turn off heat. Add vinegar, light soy sauce, and sugar. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens and coat the peppers.
6. Serve hot and enjoy!

This can also be done on the grill! Just make the sauce and brush onto the peppers over the grill!

06/02/2021

05/28/2021

Tomatoes will be out soon thanks to the recent hot weather!