Tag Archives: farmers markets

Enjoying the Fall Bounty

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photo credit: www.farmfoodieandfitness.comAs the seasons change new fruits and vegetables come into play. Going to the local farmers market is always exciting and so much fun for my family and I. My three-year old asks every week if it’s farmers market day just so she can pick out her pasture raised eggs, fresh kale, golden beets, of course she hits up the home-baked good table, and most times she cons the local farmers into giving her a few flowers for her room. (At 3 she already knows how to flirt her way into getting what she wants-I may be in trouble in the years ahead)  :)

Now that fall is full swing and the more familiar vegetables of summer are gone. She will often ask “What is this?” or “Can we try to cook this at home?” I love that she gets so excited about her veggies! Even my husband this past weekend went to Wegman’s with me for our first time experience together. He bounded around the store, snatching up celery root, Italian black photo credit: www.thetravelcreatives.comtruffles, burdock root, and even asking about romanesco. Often my clients ask about different vegetables and how to prepare them. So here’s a little mini guide to all the yummy fall produce.

  • Romanesco- A broccoli and cauliflower hybrid- Great for steaming, mashing like potatoes, add it to dips, salads, soups, even saute it. Great way to get your greens in if you don’t like broccoli and great for the kids!
  • Sweet Potatoes- We all know what these are. But have you ever eaten one for breakfast. Guaranteed to keep you feeling full longer. Just bake it, cut it open add some walnuts or almonds, rolled oats, olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Healthy, hearty, and a great source of vitamins and fiber.
  • Greens- Tis the season for these guys! And there are so many we don’t know where to start! Kale, collards, watercress, Swiss chard, spinach, mustard greens, cabbage, and bok choy. So good for you and so many ways to prepare them. Make raw kale slaw, saute spinach with tomatoes, watercress-add to salads for a peppery bite, bok choy is prefect for stir fry, and cabbage is great for soups, steamed, even raw.
  • Root Vegetables- These are some of my favorites! Beets, turnips, radishes, burdock root, celery root, parsnips, carrots, Brussel sprouts, and rutabagas. Mix them together and roast them with fresh herbs, add them to soups, salads, burdock root is great for asian dishes, Brussel sprouts so good sautéed with sea salt, ground pepper and olive oil.
  • Mushrooms- Love these because of they’re wide variety of tastes! Mushrooms are huge cancer fighters too so include them into as many meals as you can. Oysters, portabellas, creminis, morels, hen of the woods, shiitake, and truffles.
  • Fruits- This time of year is great for fruits and even better the more exotic fruits! Pomegranates, blood oranges, clementines, Meyer lemons, pears, apples, grapes, and of course cranberries. All these can be eaten alone, added to salads for color and sweetness, desserts,  breakfast, even incorporate them into side dishes for dinner!photo credit: www.aliveandwell.tv

Hope this little guide helps on your next trip to the grocery store or farmers market. Enjoy and reap the benefits from the fall bounty.

Planting Garlic for the Fall

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Garlic is one of my favorite things to grow in the fall. Probably because it is so easy to do and then you can just forget about it for the winter and go on about your business. Then in the spring the stems start shooting up as the soil begins to warm and then by the end of June to the middle of July you can harvest! It’s probably the lowest maintenance vegetable I grow all year. After it’s harvested as long as you hang it to let it dry and store it in a cool dark place you’ll have garlic for up to a year or longer depending on how much you grow and how much you use!

Garlic is packed with anti-inflammatory agents; it’s an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal. It’s great for the skin, helps fight infection, prevents cancer, boosts the immune system, and helps with ear aches, coughs, and sore throats. It’s loaded with Vitamin-C, helps with fatigue and digestive problems, while it detoxifies your entire system.

Garlic is great to naturally add incredible flavors to spice up your food. I think the best way to enjoy it is to roast it with some olive oil until the cloves soften and then spread it across crusty bread. It’s so good you could possibly eat the whole thing! But hopefully the next day you won’t be going anywhere because garlic’s only downfall is that it can leave you smelling pretty ripe! But if you have garlic coming from your pores you know it’s doing what it’s supposed to!

Here’s how to add it to your garden and then forget about it till next spring!

  1. Prepare your soil with some good compost or soil.
  2. Dig 1 ½” or 2” holes and space them about 3” apart.
  3. Take your bulb of garlic, (don’t get it from the grocery store-they’re sprayed so they won’t sprout-so make sure you buy from a seed/plant company-see some companies below.) break the bulb into smaller cloves
  4. Place root down into soil and then cover with soil.
  5. Cover soil with organic or “clean” straw, pine shats, or anything organic to keep the soil as warm as possible throughout the winter.
  6. Water, just to moisten the soil.
  7. In about 2 weeks you should see little green sprouts. Then you can pretty much leave it till the soil warms back up in the spring.

I check on mine once a month to make sure they’re still covered up and if we go through a dry spell and the ground hasn’t frozen I’ll continue to water until we get a freeze. Then in the spring when it’s time to start gardening again just give them some more compost and some organic fertilizer and they should be good to harvest by late June into mid July for zones 6 and 7!

Where to buy garlic:

www.cooksgarden.com

www.burpee.com

www.territorialseed.com

Start A Container Garden

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With all this rain the east coast has been pummeled with at the end of August, it’s left us with damaged gardens and soggy yards. My local area received 10.5 inches in 12 hours and I live in a coastal area where we’re pretty much below sea level and the water table is super high so it left us under water for well over a week which contributed to losing 80% of my garden. :( But with that being said, now that we’re into fall you can pretty much start anew and plant cool weather crops such as beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions, garlic, lettuce, micro-greens, even cool weather beans like favas or if you’re in the warmer zones you can start another round of green beans.

I wasn’t able to clean up my garden because of standing water for almost 3 weeks after the numerous days of storms, So my daughter who loves to help me in the garden and is now obsessed with making a video for everything, decided since we couldn’t get into our raised beds and show you how to plant fall veggies we could show you by starting a container garden.

This is perfect for people who don’t get as much sun now as the angle has begun to get lower with the end of summer. Container gardens are great for people who live in the city or don’t have a yard or a lot of growing room. All you need is a few pots or tubs, lettuce or greens seeds. You can even do radishes, beans, even next spring grow your tomatoes and peppers in containers. Here is our little video on how to start a container garden and grow your own lettuce this fall. Hope you love it! Let us know if you try it out yourself!

Celebrate the Summer Solstice

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It’s officially summer! That means warm days, starry nights, sand between your toes, blazing grills, and sun brewed tea on the front porch. Farmers markets spill over with all our favorites, vine ripened tomatoes, sweet corn, juicy watermelons, and fresh picked berries. Flower and home gardens burst with a rainbow of color, while herbs fill the air with sweet and pungent aromas. There is no better excuse to throw a party and celebrate summer!

Stock up on every thing local! Bypass the grocery store and run, don’t walk to your nearest farm or market.  Visit your local creamery, butcher shop, or roadside seafood stand for all their fresh goodies. And don’t forget your small-town vineyards and breweries! Why not support local? Eat things that are fresh, tastier, and good for you. Grab some friends for the biggest bash you can throw together!

String up some garden lights, light the torches, turn up the music, and gather some Hydrangeas and wild daisies in a vase. Slice warm tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, garden grown basil, and drown them in the best balsamic vinegar and olive oil you can find. A pinch of sea salt and cracked black pepper and you have heaven on a plate! Cut watermelon, crumble feta cheese, and add some mint and you have a healthy, rich, and sweet dessert. Steam local clams or mussels, then coat them in white wine, butter, garlic, shallots, and parsley. Don’t forget to sop up all that yummy broth with crusty bread and wash it down with an ice-cold microbrew.

 Soak in the cool summer night, while you search for Orion in the night’s sky, and watch the kids chase fireflies in the darkness of the new moon. Enjoy and relax in the company of family and friends, while indulging in summer’s bounty. It can’t get any better than this!

What’s In Your CSA & How Do You Cook It!- Spring

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Even with my huge garden, I decided to join a CSA from a local organic farm this year for the extras that I don’t have enough room for or that I can’t get to grow before the squirrels and raccoons steal it from me. (Believe me I am beyond frustrated when it comes to those furry thieves!) Every Monday I help with the CSA drop and see all the smiling, excited faces that rush to the door to collect their bag of goodies. I watch intently as most members dig through their bags and look up completely puzzled and ask “What is this? Or how do I cook and eat this?” So this inspired post is for everyone that has joined a CSA or gone to a farmers market and had no idea what to do with what is staring back you.

Spring is filled with all the good for you greens and root vegetables that usually make it a little harder for us to think up of recipes or different ways to cook or incorporate them into our everyday diet. These yummy veggies are loaded with nutrients, vitamins, fiber, and  antioxidants. Dark leafy greens are actually the number one vegetable for fighting and cancer prevention. So load up on them!!

So in my big brown bag of goodies for the past couple of weeks I’ve had Swiss Chard, Curly Kale, Luciano Kale (Italian), Turnips, Squash, Zucchini, Carrots, Radishes, and  Spinach. Lets start with Turnips! Turnips seem to baffle a lot of people but they are super simple to cook and since they are a root vegetable they tend to be on the sweet side so they pair well with carrots, beets, and parsnips.If you’re not big on vegetables but want to start incorporating them into your diet, start with the sweeter root vegetables. You can bake them in the oven, just add salt and pepper and any kind of herbs, fresh or dried you like. You can also roast them on the grill in some foil with olive oil. Add them to soups, bake them, or puree them down like mashed potatoes. If you’re looking for a good root vegetable recipe, here is my recipe that was published in “Charleston Home Magazine”  in 2009, page 113.

Here come the greens! Swiss Chard, Curly Kale, Luciano Kale, and Spinach. A lot of people are turned off by greens but they can be prepared in so many ways and the benefits are endless. Saute them, add them to soups, make green juice, use them in salads or slaws, even steam them. Mix greens with other vegetables, smother them on top of quinoa, wheat berries, or lentils for a filling and healthy meal. Juicing and including greens in soups can mask the taste if you’re not too fond of them but still want to get all the nutrients and minerals from them. Check out my Green Juice Recipe.

Squash, Zucchini, Carrots add them to salads, soups, roast, bake, saute, grill, mix them together, throw in some onions and garlic, even enjoy them raw! Keep checking back for other seasonal vegetable recipes throughout the summer, fall, and winter. If you have any questions about any vegetables, how to cook them or you want to share your recipes, experiences, or comments. I’d love to hear from you! Eat Local & Happy Cooking!

Become a Locavore!

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So what is a “Locavore?” People are using this term and vowing to stand by what it means more and more these days .A Locavore is a person who represents or takes part in the growing local food movement. A revolution that seems to be taking this country by storm, people are finally getting fed up, taking a stand, and fighting back for what they belive in. Whether it’s about what our children and families are consuming, how factory farm animals are being treated and raised, or about the artificial preservatives and chemicals that are being put into our everyday foods. Americans want to know why this country has so much chronic disease, diabetes, obesity, and the stigma of being unhealthy. We need to look more at what we’re buying and consuming, even questioning the labels, and marketing ploys we put our trust in into. (But this is a whole other post. I’ll get off my soap box for now!) :)

Locavores are a collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant or food economies,” states www.wikipedia.org. Or in other words people who are committed to eating food that is grown and produced within their local community or region. This usually means within 100 miles of your home or if you live in a more rural area up to 250 miles.

Locavores buy most of their products such as fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, fish, eggs, honey, and other products from their local farmers markets or by joining a CSA.(community supported agriculture) It also provides support to your local farmers and small businesses. Most local farmers will grow organic or use less chemicals on their farms, this reduces air, soil, and water pollution. Buying local also allows you to consume foods that are fresher, better tasting, and more nutritious. Instead of factory farm raised, smothered with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and also trucked for over thousands of miles to get to your grocery stores. Buying local allows you, the consumer to try new seasonal foods and less processed store-bought products.

Summer is finally here and in full force. there is no better time to visit your local farmer markets and stock up on all their incredible fruits and vegetables. You can even purchase home-made breads and baked good, preserves, skin care and beauty products, home-made gifts, fresh cuts flower, and unique annuals and perennials for your yard. I bought two perennial hibiscus plants 3 years ago and every summer I get so excited to see the giant pale pink and fuchsia blooms! It’s extra bonus because I know they’ll come back up and I don’t have to replant them! :)

If you live anywhere on the coast of Maryland or Delaware, here is a list of farmers markets for the local area that are open from now until late September to early October. Berlin’s farmers market stays open all year-long as well as Asbury’s Organic Farmers Market in Salisbury.

Worcester County:

  • Berlin- Open all year on Fridays 10-3, Wednesdays 2-6 during the summer
  • Ocean City- Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays 8-1
  • Pocomoke- Fridays and Saturdays starting at 8:00 am
  • Snow Hill-Tuesdays 2-6
  • Ocean Pines- Saturdays 8-12

Wicomico County:

  • Camden/Asbury Church- All Organic and Open all Year on Tuesdays 3-6 (This is a great one!)
  • Salisbury- Wednesdays and Saturdays 7-12

Delaware Beaches:

  • Fenwick-Mondays and Fridays 8-12
  • Bethany Beach-Sundays and Wednesdays 8-12
  • Rehoboth Beach-Tuesdays 12-4
  • Historic Lewes-MY FAVORITE! (We go at least once a month thru the summer-that’s about 80 miles from my house to go to this farmers market-but the trip is so worth it because it’s sooo good! They also have lots of events and festivals, fun for the whole family!) Saturdays-8-12
  • Selbyville-Saturdays 9-2
  • Millsboro Thursdays 8-12

I hope this post helps you find and support your local farmers markets, find healthier options for your families, while also saving you money, and trying new products and recipe ideas. Well, I’m off to my local market for fresh kale, salad turnips, and fresh cage-free eggs for the week. Happy Hunting and Enjoy!