Weekly Farmer's Market Report

Hello everyone! I got back to the market this week. We're on the cusp of things disappearing (fewer cantelope to choose from, only a few vendors with blueberries) and new things appearing (plums were everywhere - yum!). Apples are next on the horizon, and then back around to cooler weather vegies.

For those of you who did Produce Box for the first time, what did you think? How much did you spend? How much variety was there? What was the quantity and quality like? Will you do it again next summer?

In culinary news, I made spaghetti sauce with a quart of my frozen tomatoes. Very tasty! Over and out!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

I am being bold and brave! I picked up two boxes of tomatoes to can tomorrow. It's the only thing we used to do at home that I haven't done as a wife and mom myself. I called my mom and asked her what her ratio of tomatoes was to quarts produced. She said she remembers getting 14 quarts out of a bushel. I went online to check how many pounds of tomatoes are in a bushel . 53! The boxes at the farmer's market are 20 pounders and I want to end up with 24 pints so I got two that were heaping. The lady thought they were 25-30 pounds each. I'll let you know how it turns out. I will be recovering from my knee surgery next week so there will be no report. I'm hoping Sweetie will do my hunting and gathering for me. I can't think of a better way to recover than with fresh fruit and veggies!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

I just realized I never reported back last week. Sorry about that! The purple and cream peppers were very pretty but tasted just like green peppers. They were great grilled. I found out more specific info about winblown peaches. They come on around the 4th of July and are available for a few weeks. I've noticed there are different varieties of peaches every couple of weeks. The peach lady told me all the peach trees blossom at the same time but they develop at different rates. Hence the changing varieties. The ones there right now are the softer, meatier peaches we always used to can. I also picked up a lavendar skinned eggplant last week. The lady told me the skin is much thinner. I cut it into 1/2 inch slices, salted and drizzled them with olive oil and red wine vinegar and grilled them for 2-3 minutes on each side. Wowsers! Even Mr. Eggplant Hater said they were okay. I thought they were fantastic. I also found the cutest little round zucchini called 8 balls. I'm going to carve out the insides, saute them with onion and basil, mix in bread crumbs made out of my whole wheat bread and a little parmesan cheese, and then bake them. Should be tasty! Over and out!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

It was a quick trip in and out today but here's the scoop. I picked up another case of blueberries to freeze. The vender said there is only a week or two left of prime blueberry picking so go and get 'em while you can. I also picked up a box of peaches to freeze. Pee Dee Orchards has winblown peaches, or a name close to that , which don't turn brown when you cut them. She said they would only have them another week or two as well. I picked up some of the purple and cream sweet peppers I talked about last week. I'm going to grill them. I'll report back. Happy eating everyone!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

I was so excited when I got home Thursday morning about what I'd found at the farmer's market, I wrote a note to myself so I wouldn't forget anything. Just found the note, which means I didn't write anything on our blog yet. I love being old! I forgot to mention last week that I found brussel sprouts. The vendor who had them said they usually only have them on the weekends, which is true. She didn't have any on Thursday. There were several varieties of vegetables I hadn't seen before. There were purple and creamy white sweet peppers. I'm going to plan a meal with them next week just to try them. There were all sorts of eggplant. It comes in a variety of shapes and colors. There was one called "pink tongue", or something like that, which looked just like a long skinny tongue. The skin is very thin and so my husband said he'd give eggplant another go (see note below). There were some beautiful heirloom tomatoes. I also bought fresh basil. My car smelled heavenly going home. The woman who sells herbs brings cilantro and dill on the weekends. She said she'd bring me a bunch of each next Thursday.

The big news of the week is that this is blueberry season. I was tipped off when I saw prices for flats of blueberries. Blueberries are so easy to freeze. Check for stems and bad berries, put in baggies and freeze. I put rounded cups of blueberries in ziploc sandwich baggies, lay four flat in a gallon size ziplog baggy, put two of those on a cookie sheet, and then put the whole thing in the freezer. Which reminds me - I need to go get my cookie sheets out of the freezer now that the berries are frozen.

As a follow up to last week's blog, I learned that I actually do like eggplant, but my husband does not. The recipe in "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" was really good. I think it needs to cook longer than she says, and it could be spiced up a little more. But I really liked it.

Farmer's Market Weekly Report

I was so excited when I got home from the Farmer's Market but just realized I never reported back! Eggplant is here! I tried cooking eggplant years ago but didn't like it enough to make it a regular part of our menus. They looked so pretty I decided to get two and make the eggplant recipe out of the Kingsolver book. I'll let you know what I think. There were also green peppers, and the peaches are freestone. We are having the same experience as Katie (see her 6/28 post). Everything is bursting with flavor! It's like fireworks in our mouths!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

I'm back! Here's the scoop on the market. The strawberries are gone but now there is cantelope. I also found some tasty nectarines. The peaches are semi-free stone (meaning some come away from the pit and some don't). The free stone peaches should be out in the next week or two. I was hoping to see some eggplant but I was in a hurry and wasn't able to nose around very much. The tomatoes are now from the field rather than greenhouses. I love summer!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

Sorry this is a little late this week. I know you could hardly wait to hear what was new at the market. Are you ready? Plums! There were several venders who had them. My husband is the plum guy and he said they were tasty. I will be out of town next week. Maybe it will be time for eggplant when I get back. I have several recipes I'm waiting to try. Over and out!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

Now that it is getting hot I've decided to go to the market in the morning hours if possible. Everything was looking a little wilty by 3:00 in the afternoon when the temperature was in the 80's last week. This morning everything looked so fresh and perky. There were blackberries today, and several vendors had corn already! That helped me not be sad that asparagus season is pretty much over.

Omnivore's Dilemna

As an Alaskan it has been a challenge for me to understand the growing season of all things, plants and animals. In Alaska there are 2 seasons, summer and winter. During the summer you eat as much veggies as you can as the veggies are available for about 3 months if you are lucky. The rest of the year, the ground is frozen. There aren't a lot of cows or chickens in Alaska, mostly moose and ptarmigan. However, now I know why hunting season for moose is in September! As I have been learning more about food, when it is grown and where it comes from I came across this passage from the book Omnivore's Dilemna, "We should eat red meat when it's cold, but people want chicken in the winter, when we don't have it...A global food market, which brings us New Zealand lamb in the spring, Chilean asparagus in December, and fresh tomatoes the year round, has smudged the bright colors of the seasonal food calendar we all once knew by heart. But for local food chains to succeed, people will have to relearn what it means to eat according to the seasons. This is especially true in the case of pastured animals, which can be harvested only after they've had several months on rapidly growing grass (this is when they are the fattest) Feeding animals corn in CAFO's has accustomed us to a year-round supply of fresh meats, many of which we forget were once eaten as seasonally as tomatoes or sweet corn: People would eat most of their beef and pork in late fall or winter, when the animals were fat, and eat chicken in the summer."

This shed a whole new light for me on the W of W. Doesn't this sound familiar? Heavenly Father has told us, in the season thereof. For me it helps me to partly understand why we eat red meat when it is cold...the meat is better for you! I have been trying to learn which farmers are at the farmers market and how they raise their animals so that I can get the best food for our family. I know the cost is a bit more, but I have come to realize that spending money on quality nutritionally dense food is important to me as I raise my family. I want what is best for us and if that means paying more for good quality, I am willing to do that. I went to the market today and bought from Maple View Farms which is a local dairy farm and you can get their milk at Harris Teeter or Whole Foods (the chocolate milk is to die for!). I also bought free range eggs from them.

Peaches were at the market today! Yummy! I can't wait to have some with my local milk. They are delicious. I love summer!

Has anyone else read Omnivore's Dilemna? I'd love to hear your thoughts. I wish I knew of a farm close by that operates like the Polyface farm. If you know of one, please let me know.

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

There really are peaches! And blueberries arrived this week! The vendor selling peaches is down on the end closest to the main road. My friend bought some Saturday and said she had to wait about four days for them to ripen, but then they were fantastic. Only two more days to wait! I also asked about sugar snap peas at my usual stop because the ones I'd seen around the market looked old. She said they were all gone from her field as of Monday so anything I was seeing was getting older by the minute. I was going to freeze some but missed my window. Now I'll know for next year.

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

Sorry this is so late! Good news! There is already zuchini and yellow squash this week. I am a very happy camper. The word on the street is certain vendors will have peaches starting this weekend. We don't have freestone here until after July 4, but these are the kind you bite into and juice dribbles down your chin. Oh yeah! It's like a preview of summer!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

I'm so excited I can hardly type! We have a new veggie - peas! I forget the names of the two kinds but there are the peas that need to be shelled, and the peas you eat pod and all. Everything else green is still there - asparagus, broccoli, lettuce. The lettuce from the hydroponic guy is amazing. I bought some for my sweetie two weeks ago to eat while I was in Houston. I opened the fridge Tuesday night to see what I had and there was a head of green leaf lettuce, still perfectly crisp and tasty. Two weeks! Just picked veggies - you gotta love 'em!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

Yee-haw! Today I found four different types of lettuce AND fresh broccoli! There is still asparagus and strawberries everywhere. I am really excited to try out the asparagus recipes (see posts below). Thanks ladies! I will be out of town next week so go do a little sleuthing on your own. Happy eating!

OK ladies. It is asparagus season. What is your favorite recipe? Please share with us how you like to cook your asparagus. Melisa Crane sent me a recipe last week that I tried over the weekend and LOVED it! I can't wait to make it again. Thank you Melisa! She wanted to make sure you all enjoyed it too and asked me to post it for you. You can clickie here to view the recipe. It is a fun site and I really enjoyed the chocolate cake too (a little too much!)

In other news there is a new farmers market opening up on May 2. You can read about it by clicking here. Maybe it will be closer for those of you who don't want to drive to Raleigh.

I went to the market on Thursday morning last week and enjoyed seeing all the plants and veggies that are arriving or have arrived! I found local free range eggs and local milk as well as meat. I learned that the farmer delivers on Wednesday afternoons so Thursday mornings are a good time to go. I was excited to be able to support the local people as well as buying products that haven't been shipped here, there and everywhere.

With the delivery of The Produce Box each week I am getting lots of veggies that I have to figure out what to do with. Anyone have a good recipe for collard greens, turnips, or cabbage?

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

I have one word for you - ASPARAGUS! It may have been there last week when I was out of town but everyone has it this week. And it's tasty! Enjoy!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

I am leaving town in the morning and didn't get a chance to get over to the farmer's market to see what was new. This is a big weekend though! It's the official opening of the Raleigh farmer's market (which means the seasonal venders will start operating again), and the Apex and Cary farmer's markets. I am including a link for each of them so you can get locations, and days and times of operation. I will be gone next week but will report back after Easter. Happy eating!

Raleigh Farmer's Market: www.ncagr.gov/markets/facilities/markets/raleigh/index.htm
Cary Farmer's Market: www.caryfarmersmarket.com
Apex Farmer's Market: There isn't a website. It's located at the old train depot, which is now the Apex Chamber of Commerce at the corner of S. Salem and Center Street in Apex. It will be open every Saturday from April 4-November 7 from 9 am to 2 pm.

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

Sorry this is so late. Nothing new to see food wise, but the flowers are starting to arrive. Yippee skippee!

Weekly Farmer's Market Report

Sorry this is so late! There wasn't anything new available so I will post a recipe I made Thursday with local spinach, green onions and pecans. I had pork in the freezer so I didn't go up to the pork place. It's a recipe that won first place in the NC Pork Producers Association Tar Heel Pork Challenge at the NC State Fair in 2004. Enjoy!

Weekly Report 3/11/09

I am so excited! Since it's going to be cold this weekend I went to the Farmer's Market today looking for butternut squash to make the Butternut Bean Soup found at the bottom of the recipes at www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/Recipes.html . There weren't any butternut left, but I found buttercup squash, a round squash that is one of the sweetest. I am going to cut it like a pumpkin, bake it, and serve the bean soup in that instead, a la Pumpkin Soup in its Own Shell. I also found baby collards. I found a very easy way to prepare collards in the Joy of Cooking. I will post that with a few other recipes. Oh joy!