Summer Fun: Farmers' Market Fun

We've been to our local farmers' market a few times this season, though we mainly go for things other than what grows on a farm.  We've gotten maple sugar candy, honey, Italian ice (by the pint!), candles, soap, homemade granola, pulled pork, apple cider doughnuts, and some other fun things, like face painting (or hand painting.)  Today we did even get some locally-grown vegetables--squash, green beans, potatoes, and corn.

A few friends run booths there and we always run into still other friends, including our very favorite swim teacher, Mrs. M.  Did you notice that the kids aren't taking swim lessons this year?  That's mainly because our teacher is helping with her grandkids more and because the kids really can swim well enough on their own to manage.  It was a long, not-getting-my-whole-head-much-less-my-face-wet-until-Pop-gives-me-$20 road, from ages 4 (after first year of preschool) to 9 (last year), but eventually they could both do each of the basic strokes and swim underwater and even dive, somewhat, in.  They never do recognize Mrs. M on land in clothes right away, especially if she is without sunglasses, because she was always in glasses, visor, and swimsuit (I had the same trouble recognizing her husband in a suit once!)  But we're always happy to see her.

It was a dreadfully hot day at the market today so we didn't stay long.  We're looking forward to a few more, hopefully less hot, trips before it's all over.

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: Looking Back and Forward

It's been four years since our big CSA heyday, in 2009 and 2010, before my back injury.  And, while we aren't returning to that farm (which was wonderful but is almost an hour round-trip), we are returning to a weekly CSA box.  This time, through an aggregator of local farms, so that we get not only fruits and vegetables but also eggs, meat, and a weekly cheese.  It's going to be glorious!  And we are so excited to play with our CSA share again.

And so I looked back over those two years of CSA posts, always titled "Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share" with the label "CSA."  The first thing that struck me is how limited my recipe repertoire was compared to what we got in the box--no mention of how I prepared or ate so many items, such as kohlrabi, dandelion greens, radishes, beets.  Sure, I didn't post about tomatoes, because I gave them all away, and I didn't need to post about potatoes or green beans or garlic or onions because those are very familiar. Instead, I wrote a lot about greens, from kale to escarole to collards.  Lots of squashes, too.

Here are some of those posts, in alphabetical order:

Bok choi
Collards
Corn
Eggplant
Escarole (and here, though it can be almost any green; also here)
Garlic Scapes (with other recipes for kale and bell peppers; also here)
Kale (here, though it says eggplant, and here and here for soup and here for stir fry)

Spaghetti Squash

Zucchini and summer squash (also here cookies and here for joke and here for even more recipes)

Sis's Vegetable Soup

I also wrote about the lessons we learned, our challenges, and even a sample menu or two.  I even wrote a love letter to our farm.  And in case readers didn't have a CSA, I wrote up some farmer's market tips.

Reading all of this has me rearing to go in a few weeks.  I've relocated all of my old CSA-inspired vegetable cookbooks--Greens, Glorious Greens, From the Kitchen Garden,  More from the Kitchen Garden,  Vegetables Every day,  Farmer John's Cookbook,  Classic Zucchini Cookbook, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, The Roasted Vegetable, From Asparagus to Zucchini (plus my vegetarian cookbook collection, from Bloodroot to Claire's Corner Copia and Mollie Katzen)--and pulled out my special Tupperware produce boxes.

And we've even forewarned the kiddos!  (Who didn't exactly groan . . . but they don't remember the last CSA either.)

So, stay tuned for "Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share" part three.

A Karat of Carrots

We went to the farmer's market today and had a delightful time wandering among the vendors. Even though we have more than enough vegetables from our CSA box, I told the kids they could each choose something. No surprise that Bud chose strawberries, even though we just got 13 lbs last week, and Sis, our bunny-lover, chose these little carrots with grassy tops as long as she is. I picked up some zucchini and yellow squash (to saute for a pasta topping tonight), plus some Japanese Ginger salad dressing and some new soap. We also each got a cookie, predictably chocolate chip (Sis) and M&M (Bud), plus a delicious maple walnut for me. We touched a truck, met a giant tooth, checked out a book from the library table calledThe Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook, and had fun visiting with playgroup buddies and church friends. I was almost tempted to buy a few more herbs because we put in a new vegetable bed--right around our mailbox in the front yard because it gets the most sun in the whole yard and our squash were starting to languish on the same spot in a pot--and even looked for a sunflower to replace the ones the mowers weedwhacked (because everytime Bud or Sis had looked over at their vacant spot, they said it made them sad), but decided not to buy any new herbs (we get new ones each week from our CSA) and couldn't find a sunflower.

When we got home, Bud went after his strawberries right away, small, bright red, sweet berries. It just doesn't matter that he ate a ton last week. Sis, too, was very interested in her little carrots: she cut the tops off, rinsed them in water, scrubbed them with my vegetable brush, and then watched while I peeled one. She had two and shared one with me. They were amazing! Truth be told, I'm not sure I've ever had a carrot right off the farm like that. So much better than any grocery store carrot, even the organic ones, that I've eaten. But I shouldn't be surprised. It's good to eat right out of the ground. And I'm glad my kids like it, too.

And so I'm glad we had a successful trip to the farmer's market, which I hope we remember to visit regularly, even with our steady supply of CSA veggies. Here are some tips for visiting the farmer's market, some I remembered and some I forgot:

• Bring your own reusable bag or two for carrying all your goodies and helping out the earth (whoops, forgot)
• Bring small bills and a check as back up to make paying easier for you and the vendor (though, one vendor, when given the choice, preferred breaking a large bill to taking a check, so this tip is iffy.)
• Bring water to drink (we drank a full 20 oz of water between the 3 of us in under an hour)
• Don't forget the sunscreen if your market is in the afternoon or in a unshady spot--it's hot and bright out there (note: last year's sunscreen that has been in the car all year is not good anymore)
• Asks questions of the growers (I learned that "local" honey, often used to treat allergies, is relative, as beekeepers keep hives in several places--apparently, as long as it's within about 100 miles or so, it counts).
• Try something new (mmm, that maple walnut cookie. And of course, that carrot!)
• Have fun! (even if there isn't a truck to touch or a giant tooth every week)