A Busy and Enjoyable Week

Hello everyone. My name is Alex Sanders and I am the Grow Appalachia Gardening Program Site Supervisor at Project Worth Outreach. We are located in Menifee County in northeastern Kentucky.

 
Today, I want to tell you about my past week. On Monday, I had a Grow Appalachia Gardening Program participants meeting in Menifee County. On Tuesday, I had a Grow Appalachia Gardening Program participants meeting in Rowan County. On Wednesday, I had a site visit with Candace Mullins and on Thursday, I had a class presentation at Rowan County Senior High School. It was a very busy week but rewarding. I enjoyed it very much.

 
During Monday’s Grow Appalachia Gardening Program participants meeting in Menifee County we had 32 people in attendance. The topic was heart healthy cooking and it was led by Michelle Brown, Menifee County Extension Office. She talked about the types of food you should consume to maintain a healthy heart. She also fixed a tasty vegetable of salsa. This salsa consisted of corn, green peppers, green onions, and a small amount of Italian dressing. It was served to all with tortilla chips. She also provided everyone in attendance with a plastic cutting board.

 

 

During Tuesday’s Grow Appalachia Gardening Program participants meeting in Rowan County we had 37 people in attendance. The topic was heart healthy cooking and it was led by Laura White-Brown, Rowan County Extension Office. She spoke on the value of eating fish to maintain a healthy heart. She cooked and provided a taste of salmon and tilapia for all the participants.

 
On Wednesday, Gail Mills and I had the pleasure of hosting Candace Mullins for a site visit. We started the visit with a tour of Project Worth Outreach. We showed her our clothing bank, food pantry, raised bed gardens, greenhouses, Learning Center and Community Center. Then we went on garden site visit to Phyllis and Virgil Cole’s garden and then to lunch at the Cornbread Cafe. After lunch, we went on to three more garden site visits to Lloyd and Doris Ballard, James and Patsy Maness and Willie Slone’s gardens.

 

 

On Thursday, I went to Rowan County Senior High School and spoke to a gardening class that is raising a community garden. I told them all about Grow Appalachia and Project Worth Outreach. I shared the mission and history of Grow Appalachia. I also told them about Project Worth Outreach’s involvement and success in the Grow Appalachia Gardening Program. I believe it went well.

 
So this was what my week was like. It was very busy but enjoyable. Please find this week’s recipe below. Hope everyone has a great week. Happy gardening.

 

 

Fresh Vegetable Soup
Weight Watchers Recipe
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 13 min
Other time: 0 min
Serves: 12
Some say this soup is the secret to their weight-loss success. It’s a great midday snack or dinner appetizer.
Ingredients
2 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
2 medium uncooked carrot(s), diced
2 small uncooked zucchini, diced
2 cup(s) (shredded) uncooked savoy cabbage, or other variety, shredded
2 cup(s) uncooked Swiss chard, chopped
2 cup(s) uncooked cauliflower, small florets
2 cup(s) uncooked broccoli, small florets
1 medium uncooked onion(s), diced
1 medium sweet red pepper(s), diced
1 rib(s) (medium) uncooked celery, diced
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
6 cup(s) reduced sodium vegetable broth
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, or chives, fresh, chopped
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, optional

Instructions
• Put garlic, vegetables, thyme and broth into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in parsley or chives; season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Louise Cooper