Fresh and Local Produce at the Viroqua Food Co-op- It's June!

Local Strawberries from Hoch Orchards – get them while you can as their season doesn’t last long!  Pair with fresh cream & shortbread, Greek yogurt & honey, or just eat them all on the way home.  Buy extra & freeze them on cookie sheets, then pour into ziplock bags for easy retrieval after their season is over.

Local Curly Green Kale from Keewaydin Organics – tender, early kale full of antioxidant vitamins & phytonutrients.  Chop or slice thin to add raw to salads or coleslaw (remove tough stems first).  If you cook it, just barely cook it for maximum nutrition & flavor retention – quick sauté, steam, or add to stir-fries, pasta sauce, soups, etc. right at the last minute.
Garlic Scapes (from Ridgeland Harvest & Harmony Valley) are the flowering stem of a garlic plant, only available for a short time less than a month before garlic bulb harvest. The whole stem & flower bud is edible (best to cut off the pointy tip right above the bud – it’s too tough to eat) & is a great local alternative to imported bulbs of garlic this time of year.  Full of fresh garlic flavor, mince them up & use them anywhere you would cloves of garlic, raw or cooked.  And the best part?  You don’t have to peel them!