{"id":1712,"date":"2010-05-04T19:34:58","date_gmt":"2010-05-04T19:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=1712"},"modified":"2012-10-02T19:39:15","modified_gmt":"2012-10-02T19:39:15","slug":"time-to-enjoy-marylands-best-produce-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2010\/05\/04\/time-to-enjoy-marylands-best-produce-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to Enjoy ‘Maryland’s Best’ Produce"},"content":{"rendered":"

Strawberries Mark the Beginning of Maryland’s Growing Season<\/em> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 4, 2010) \u2013 Spring is in full swing and with the new season comes the availability of delicious Maryland fruits and vegetables. Some of the first Maryland-grown produce to be available are asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, salad greens and spinach and plump, juicy, bright red strawberries.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpring is a really exciting and satisfying time of year for farmers who grow fruits and vegetables and for consumers who like fresh, local produce,\u201d said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance.\u00a0 \u201cSpring marks the time when the first harvest of Maryland-grown, early season crops starts making its way to farmers\u2019 markets, groceries, roadside stands and restaurants. Once you\u2019ve tasted fresh local products, we hope you\u2019ll start asking for them where ever you shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

When selecting sweet Maryland strawberries, consumers should be sure to look for a full, red color, bright luster and firm, plump flesh. Strawberries do not ripen after being picked, so consumers should be sure to choose fully ripe berries. The caps should be bright green, fresh looking and fully attached.<\/p>\n

In 2007, Maryland farms harvested approximately 440 acres of strawberries valued at $2.3 million. Due to the warm weather this spring, strawberries are already being picked at farms around the state.\u00a0 Consumers can buy fresh, local, Maryland strawberries at farmers\u2019 markets, pick-your-own operations, farm stands, and grocery stores. To find a location near you, visit www.MarylandsBest.net.<\/a>
\nSpinach and Strawberry Salad Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, www.foodnetwork.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1 (10 to 12-ounce) package baby spinach, washed and dried<\/p>\n

1\/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted<\/p>\n

1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered<\/p>\n

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced<\/p>\n

Dressing:<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

1\/2 lemon, juiced<\/p>\n

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar<\/p>\n

1\/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon vegetable oil<\/p>\n

1 teaspoon poppy seeds<\/p>\n

Directions<\/strong><\/span>:<\/p>\n

In a large salad bowl, add the spinach, almonds, strawberries, and cucumber and toss together.<\/p>\n

For the dressing:<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

In a small glass bowl or jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, oil, and poppy seeds. Whisk together in the glass bowl or shake if using a jar.<\/p>\n

Dress the salad right before serving.<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

Follow MDA on Twitter @MdAgDept.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Strawberries Mark the Beginning of Maryland’s Growing Season ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 4, 2010) \u2013 Spring is in full swing and with the new season comes the availability of delicious Maryland fruits and vegetables. Some of the first Maryland-grown produce to be available are asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, salad greens and spinach and plump, juicy, bright red  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1712"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1714,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1712\/revisions\/1714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}