May 2015

Welcome to May's edition of The Slice, Minnie's Dried Fruits & Vegetables newsletter.

This month we are focusing on drying peaches and nectarines. We are sourcing  our fruit from an orchard in Sadat City which exports its fruit to England and we are guaranteed the export quality of their fruit. We are expecting to have dried peaches and nectarines available by mid- May.

Papaya is also coming into season and we are looking for a reliable source. I met a lovely young lady at the CSA Food Fest in April and she promised to provide the papaya from her trees. Dried papaya is delicious, almost like mango. So we hope to have a steady supply.

We are on our last batch of drying balaika bananas. Our stock is not as large as usual this year due to adverse weather conditions this past winter that has affected the banana supply. But we think our stock will last until October when the new banana season will begin.

We have stocked up on white sweet onions  to dry this month as well. These onions are delicious in soups, salads and in making 'koshari' and 'keshk' too. Of course they go into our soup mix which is really more of a dried vegetable mix. Minnie's soup mix is made of zucchini and celery bought from the farmer next door, so we trust the source, carrots, kale, thyme, marjoram from our garden. You can add a tablespoon or two to any tomato based sauce, this will enhance the flavor and thicken the sauce a little, and your kids or grandkids will have the benefit of some vegetables.

As to where will we be during the month of May?  Well we will be at Nun Farmer's Market on May 2 and May 23. Then at Arkan Mall on May 30. So if you are in the neighborhood, come by and say hello. Would love to see you!