Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there! Hope you enjoyed the beautiful weather and time with your children – even if too many miles meant FaceTime!
Bennett Orchards pulled a fast one on us and brought some early peaches to the market this Sunday. Don’t get too excited as they are only trickling in right now, but they are starting to pick! However, the peak of blueberry season is upon us. Look for Draper blueberries next week which are great for freezing. Yes, it’s time to think about stocking up the freezer – easy instructions are available at their tent!
302 Aquaponics keeps growing and innovating! They are bringing beautiful packaged herbs, and vegetables – cucumbers are delicious, and of course grown aquaponically! Somehow, this all starts with tilapia, which is available most weeks, with plenty of recipes to share! Their use, reuse, and cleansing of water is pretty amazing. There is a whole bunch of science involved, and I cannot possibly do it justice. Stop at their tent sometime and get a proper education from Doug and Katie Wood – it is fascinating!
Our one Certified Organic farmer is Dave Wiley of Herbs, Spice, and Everything Nice. (The certification process is extensive and also expensive!) Dave uses many tunnels which is an effective deterrent to crop damage from the voracious deer population. Dave has heirloom tomatoes coming in, along with spring crops and, of course, a wide variety of herbs. Italian Oregano vs. Greek Oregano? They are actually quite different, and I have planted both in my small herb garden.
Harry Wimbrow, Wimbrow Farms, hopes to have sweet corn before too long. In the meantime, he has tons of produce, and some small finds such as blackberries, and Patty Pan squash that can be grilled with butter and brown sugar – always a winning combo!
Ficner Farms has their perhaps perfect broccoli coming in along with squash, kale, kohlrabi, beans, and beautiful potted zinnias! Justin tells me that my summer favorites, local corn, and tomatoes like the heat! With overnight temperatures still dipping, the ripening process slows, but that will surely change; and they are well worth the wait!
My husband’s favorite summer side is:
Tomato Cucumber Salad:
- 2 cucumbers, sliced
- 1 pt. grape/cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 c. feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
Toss ingredients, and chill for 1 hour.
Your sweet tooth will not go unsatisfied! Old World Breads and Honey Bee Lake Apiary are both baking at full force! My favorite purchase this week was a loaf of OWB Italian bread. Sound mundane? Hardly! First one must grab a hunk quickly and devour with a chunk of cheese or butter. Unless I have a houseful, I take Marylou Tietz’s advise, and slice half for the freezer. It keeps nicely, and it is always at the ready to sop up red gravy, clam broth, or cook up some pretty tasty French toast!
A shout out to our dedicated cadre of volunteers! Our shift spots are filled quickly with enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and down-right fun folks! Have a question about the Market? Need a tote bag for shopping? Maybe a new T-shirt to replace that ratty one your wife keeps complaining about? A kind soul to watch your precious pup? A band-aid? We aim to please! Thank you to all our volunteers for your dedication!
Come see us next Sunday! Sample fresh shucked oysters from Shuck It Oysters & Clams,blueberries, and whatever delectable breakfast treat Story Hill Farm might be serving up – personally I’m hoping for more of their scrumptious scrapple!
Garfield and Pennsylvania Avenues
8am – 12pm