Saving Some Green

N.B.  I hope you were able to click on to the highlighted phrase "Hatfield Dollar Dog Night" in yesterday's post.  It directed the reader to an entertaining and informative You Tube video of the creation of the hot dog launcher used at Phillies home games.  If you missed it, be sure to go back today and take a look.

     As I was preparing my grocery list for a trip to The Green Dragon in Ephrata this morning I took a look at the celery stalk I had purchased some time ago.  As we all know, a high percentage of celery is water and it can quickly wilt and discolor and is difficult to store for a long period of time.  But I found that after rinsing it and letting it dry if it is wrapped tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil it keeps for quite a while.  So you can save some green (celery) by storing it in foil in the vegetable keeper of the refrigerator.

     But did you know that celery was first considered a medicine before it was regarded as food?  It is so referenced in Homer's Odyssey way back in 850 BC.  Still today it has many beneficial medicinal characteristics.  Celery (from the French celeri) is known to reduce cold symptoms, relieve asthma, counteract osteoarthritis, and prevent heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.  It is also a healthful natural diuretic.  It contains phthalides (as do walnuts, hence their successful pairing in a Waldorf salad) that are responsible for relaxing the muscles around the arteries permitting the blood to flow at a lower pressure.  It also lowers cholesterol, too.
    
     Celery is a member of the Umbelliferae family as are carrots, fennel, parsley and dill and is often combined with carrots and onions in French cooking as mirepoix, or in Italian creations as soffrito.  Cajun cooking substitutes bell peppers for the carrots and terms it trinity.
    
     Before being domesticated, celery grew wild and was a diminutive stalked herb called smallage.  It was not until the 15th Century in the Mediterranean region of northern Africa and southern Europe that it was cultivated into the plant we are familiar with currently.  It is a good source of potassium, calcium, magnesium and Vitamin A, K, & C.  Here is the nutritional analysis of this familiar household staple:

Celery 2.00 tsp 101.00 grams 16.16 calories
Nutrient	Amount	DV (%)	Nutrient Density	World's Healthiest Foods Rating
vitamin K	29.59 mcg	37.0	41.2	excellent
folate	36.36 mcg	9.1	10.1	very good
vitamin A	453.49 IU	9.1	10.1	very good
potassium	262.60 mg	7.5	8.4	very good
molybdenum	5.05 mcg	6.7	7.5	very good
fiber	1.40 g	5.6	6.2	very good
vitamin C	3.13 mg	5.2	5.8	very good
manganese	0.10 mg	5.0	5.6	very good
calcium	40.40 mg	4.0	4.5	good
vitamin B2	0.06 mg	3.5	3.9	good
vitamin B6	0.07 mg	3.5	3.9	good
tryptophan	0.01 g	3.1	3.5	good
magnesium	11.11 mg	2.8	3.1	good
vitamin B5	0.25 mg	2.5	2.8	good