About Nash’s Soft White Wheat Flour

Meet Nash’s soft white wheat flour: grown and milled here on the farm.

What? White flour that is really wheat?

Yes, this can be confusing sometimes, as we have thought about white bread versus wheat bread ever since milling really took off in the United States. We should really talk about these breads as being made with whole grains vs. processed/refined grains, as that refers to the process the grains undergo after they are harvested, and not just the color of the bread. All breads are made from wheat or other variety of grain. The difference is what is left of the seed after it undergoes processing.

When a grain is refined, it is stripped of the germ and bran and only the endosperm (starch) remains. This is great if you want your flour to be able to sit on the shelf for years and not go rancid. However, it removes the most valuable nutrients, such as protective oils, fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. These nutrients help to feed the seed as it germinates and grows. When we “enrich” refined grains, we add these nutrients back in. Why remove them in the first place?

Nash’s soft white wheat flour is a whole grain product, so when we grind the wheat seeds, all parts of the seed including the bran (which contains fiber), the germ (which contains valuable oils and nutrients) and the endosperm are all still there, creating a nourishing end product. At Nash’s, we grow and mill the grains at the farm, delivering a fresh product with a difference you can taste. Our soft white wheat flour is perfect for making pastries, cakes, cookies, cereals, flat breads and crackers.

Our flour is a living product. To maintain its freshness, we recommend storing it in the refrigerator or freezer.

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Posted on February 3, 2016

About Potatoes

We grow several kinds of potatoes here on the farm, including yellows, russets, reds, and purples. Which is your favorite? Have you tried them all?

We consider potatoes a “comfort food” and even the scientific name, solanum tuberosum, means “soothing tuber.” Potatoes can sooth and nourish us during the time of year when warmth transitions to cool.

Potatoes are a good source of vitamin B6, essential for the formation of all new cells in the body. They are also rich in vitamins C and B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium, copper, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, and dietary fiber. Most of these nutrients are right near the potato’s skin, so leave it on to take advantage of the humble potato’s great nutrient density.

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Posted on October 22, 2015

An Oat Education

Nash’s rolled oats – grown and rolled right here on the farm!

Local up your breakfast with Nash’s farm-raised and rolled oats! More nutty and flavorful than traditional rolled oats, ours make amazing oatmeal, granola, cookies and more. A thick rolled oat, we recommend a slightly longer cooking time for breakfast cereal. Keep an eye out for hulls that sneaked through our cleaner, and scoop them off of the top of your saucepan, as they float to the top when combined with water. Because of the fiber combination found in oats, they have been shown to lower cholesterol levels time and time again in research studies. They also offer a unique antioxidant family called avenanthramides (say that ten times fast!) that has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Nash’s oats are a bit different than what you find on the average grocery shelves, as they’re the least processed of the bunch, leaving a whole grain product just as nature intended. Because of the minimal processing, our oats will store in an air-tight container in a dimly lit space for months.

These are oat “groats,” which we put through our roller mill to make rolled oats.

An Oat Education

Oat groats—unflattened kernels that are good for using as a breakfast cereal or for stuffing.

Steel-cut oats—have a dense and chewy texture, and are produced by running the grain through steel blades that thinly slice them.

Old-fashioned oats—have a flatter shape that is the result of their being steamed and then rolled.

Quick-cooking oats—processed like old-fashioned oats, except they are cut finely before rolling.

Instant oatmeal—produced by partially cooking the grains and then rolling them very thin. Oftentimes, sugar, salt and other ingredients are added to the finished product.

Oat bran—the outer layer of the grain that resides under the hull. While oat bran is found in rolled oats and steel-cut oats, it may also be purchased as a separate product that can be added to recipes or cooked to make a hot cereal.

Oat flour—used in baking, it is oftentimes combined with wheat or other gluten-containing flours when making leavened bread.

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Posted on September 4, 2015

About Cucumbers

Got lots of cucumbers? It’s gazpacho time!

The cucumber is one of the earliest cultivated food crops. A cucumber contains over 90% water, which is why they are so refreshing on hot summer days. The water keeps the internal temperature cool, making them a cooling food that quenches thirst and is an effective diuretic.

Although cukes cannot boast tons of vitamin and mineral content, they do offer us benefits through the form of phytonutrients such as cucurbitacins, lignans, and flavonoids, which provide anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer benefits. They also have a unique combination of lignans that offer anti-cancer properties as well as cardiovascular protection.

Lastly, cucumbers are a superior source of the mineral silicon, often lacking in our diets, but an integral component of calcium absorption. It may also play a role in bone and collagen formation.

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Posted on August 10, 2015

About Nash’s Heirloom Tomatoes 2015

Don’t be afraid to be washed away by the waterfall of Pink Berkeley Tie Dye heirloom tomatoes in the top-center of this photo. Also grab some Sungold Cherry tomatoes while they last, which make an appearance in the bottom-left corner of the photo.

Heirloom tomatoes are soft and juicy when ripe, and extremely flavorful. Allowing them to ripen on your countertop for a few days until their color is bright and rich will bring out their fullest flavor.

Heirlooms are great where you want to showcase the tomato’s own flavor, such as bruschetta, salsa or sauce or homemade tomato soup. They are soft because of their higher juice content, which will require longer time to cook down, but their intense flavor makes it all worthwhile.

Heirloom Varieties

Black Krim: Near chocolate-colored, large heirloom with rich, balanced flavor.
Pink Berkeley Tie Dye: When ripe, this eye-catching tomato will be purple with green striping, with a softer flesh and juicy, mild flavor.
Katja: Pink heirloom tomato from Siberia. More irregular in shape and size. Great intense, rich flavor. Grower’s favorite pink.
German Johnson: Large, round pink tomato, less ribbing than Katja. Nice firm tomato with good flavor.

Slicing Varieties

Legend: Good old-fashioned red slicer tomato, sometimes a bit smaller. Good for salads and sandwiches.

Cherry Varieties

Sungold Cherry: Bright orange cherry tomato with sweet and tangy flavor. Eat them by the handful or dress up your salads with them.
Indigo Cherry Drops: Beautiful black and red cherry tomatoes with a full-sized tomato taste.
Gold Nugget: Bright yellow sweet/tart cherry tomato.
Washington Cherry: Red cherry tomato with good flavor.
Mixed Cherry Baskets: Fun and colorful cherry tomato medley, great for salads!

Meet our tomato greenhouse manager, Suzy Strom, in an interview on our Farm Shares blog.

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Posted on July 31, 2015

About Cauliflower

One cup cooked cauliflower florets provides 73% of your daily vitamin C needs! Along with other brassica family vegetables (i.e., cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts), cauliflower provides our bodies with a great package of nutrients to support the detoxification process.

Detoxification happens in the liver in a two-phase process, and we need nutrients to support both phases. Antioxidants, such as vitamin C, help to ensure that phase 1 happens. Sulfurous compounds, which cauliflower is rich in, help to ensure that phase 2 completes. Be sure to include cauliflower in your diet for regular detoxification support!

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Posted on July 30, 2015

About Beets

Beets are getting a lot of attention for being a unique source of ‘betalains’, phytonutrients that are known for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification supportive properties. To ensure that you get these benefits when enjoying your beets, keep your steaming times to 15 minutes or less and your roasting times to 1 hour or less, as the betalain concentration diminishes with heat exposure.

Beets are an excellent source of folate and a very good source of manganese, potassium, and copper. They are also a good source of dietary fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, iron, and vitamin B6.

Folate is a water soluble B vitamin, critical for the normal development and function of our brain. This is why foods like cereals are fortified with folic acid, the synthetic form. A folate deficiency has been associated with an increased risk in cardiovascular disease. Beets provide a sweet and natural source of folate.

Steam beets for 15 minutes to maximize their nutrition and flavor. Fill the bottom of the steamer with 2 inches of water and bring to a rapid boil. Add beets, cover, and steam for 15 minutes. Beets are cooked when you can easily insert a fork or the tip or knife into the beet. Serve on top of a salad or sprinkle balsamic on top and serve as a vegetable side dish.

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Posted on July 29, 2015

About Nash’s Baby Walla Walla Onions

These aren’t just your average green onions — these are baby Walla Wallas!

Onions have a whopping load of polyphenols, the largest phytonutrient family. Phytonutrients are plant chemicals that offer a whole host of benefits for human health.

Onions also have a rich history, as they have been cultivated for over 5,000 years. They were highly regarded by Egyptians, who used them as currency to pay the laborers building the pyramids, and were placed in the tombs of kings as gifts to be carried to the afterlife.

Walla Walla onions are known for being “sweet,” but it is actually a lack of pungency, due to the low-sulfur soils in that region of Washington state. According to the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Commission in Walla Walla, Washington:

“The story of the Walla Walla sweet onions began over a century ago on the Island of Corsica, off the west coast of Italy. It was there that a French soldier, Peter Pieri, found a sweet onion seed and brought it to the Walla Walla Valley.

“This sweet onion developed over generations through the process of carefully hand selecting onions from each year’s crop, ensuring exceptional sweetness, jumbo size, and round shape. Today’s growers realize they’re not just raising sweet onions, but cultivating a tradition.”

Even onions have their story!

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Posted on July 16, 2015

About Garlic Scapes

Check out these curly Q’s of mild garlicky goodness!

Garlic scapes only offer themselves to us for a couple weeks out of the year, making them very desirable. They are the flowering portion of the garlic plant, and they are like a mild-tasting garlic-flavored green bean. Use them to make a pesto or sauté them in oil for a simple side dish. They shine all on their own!

Garlic scapes offer similar health benefits to garlic bulbs, but are at the markets 2-3 weeks before the garlic bulbs are even ready for harvest, let alone cured and ready for sale and storage.

Garlic contains a phytochemical called allicin that is both antiviral and antibacterial. Allicin loses this potential once it is cooked, but even cooked garlic is still therapeutic for our cardiovascular system.

Garlic is one of the world’s oldest medicines, and the ancients believed it could eliminate toxins from the body. This has been proven in modern research to be true, because garlic contains sulfurous compounds that are beneficial to our liver’s detoxification system, helping to rid our bodies of environmental toxins that would otherwise accumulate in our fatty tissues.

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Posted on June 17, 2015

About Spinach

Spinach is extremely high in Vitamin K, which is an important nutrient for bone health. Vitamin K1 helps mitigate the cells that break bone down, and our intestines convert vitamin K1 to vitamin K2 which helps our bones to retain calcium.

Spinach also contains folate, which is essential for brain development and functioning. Low folate status is associated with cognitive decline in aging populations. Folate is also an important nutrient for detoxification, in that it supports the liver’s detoxification enzymes to help rid our bodies of environmental toxins.

Spinach also provides a number of phytochemicals that offer anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits for our bodies. Surprisingly, spinach is also rated as a good source of omega-3s, an anti-inflammatory fat.

Additionally, spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A, manganese, magnesium, iron, copper, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. Popeye was right on—spinach is a powerful nutritional package!

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Posted on June 5, 2015