I love our local farmer’s markets. I try to show my support for our farmers by purchasing the vegetables they have available. This also allows me to eat more seasonally.
Sometimes what I buy doesn’t work with any of the recipes I was in the mood for. Or is something I’m not sure how to prepare. Or is something I’m the only one willing to try eating.
Last week I was in the mood for a salad but didn’t find any lettuce at the farmer’s market. Instead I found some Zucchini and Summer Squash.
I was on The Kitchn looking for a new and novel way to prepare the veggies when I came across a recipe that suggested that the squashes be eaten raw and in salad form. I used this recipe, Summer Salad Recipe: Squash Ribbon, as inspiration.
Salad Ingredients:
1 whole Zucchini
1 whole Summer squash
2 Green Onions
1/2 Cup Crumbled or Cubed Feta Cheese
1/2 Cup Golden Raisins.
- Create lengthwise ribbons out of Zucchini and Summer squash. I used a vegetable peeler.
- Sliver the Green onion
- Mix Salad ingredients together.
As a salad dressing I would use any kind of Balsamic vinegrette dressing you have on hand but I made my own using equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar, some Italian seasoning, garlic powder and a pinch of sugar.
It’s a wonderfully crisp fresh tasting salad. And would be fantastic for someone like my mom who is allergic to lettuce but eats it anyways because she likes salad.
I recently came upon Kraft foods’ home farming community sponsored by Triscuit. I actually liked the site, it’s a very good primer to growing vegetables at home. And here’s my more detailed review.
They have vegetable profiles. Basic, cartoony, but simple enough to make growing broccoli seem easy.
My only complaint, very little variety. The Crop guide only includes Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, Beets, Carrots, Onions, Scallions, Radishes, Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Peas, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Arugula, Collard Greens, Lettuce, Spinach, Swiss Chard and a variety of Basic Herbs. That seems like a lot right?
There’s no mention of Squashes, of Pumpkins, of Fruit, of Kohlrabi, of Potatoes, of Asparagus. And the cute little profiles don’t talk about different varieties of the vegetables, the heirloom varieties. Carrots, tomatoes, peppers, all come in a rainbow of colours. Some varieties of heirloom plants do better in different climates. The guide does not mention varieties at all. It’s very much a simple caricature of very basic simplified vegetables.
Growing your vegetables at home seems to have a great deal more information. Resident expert Paul James has various videos as well as texts on various topics including Preparing your Home Farm, Planting your Home Farm, Harvesting and Planting Schedules, Using and Storing your Harvest and Nurturing your Home Farm.
These sections are full of information that the new gardener will find incredibly useful and that the experienced gardener may have opinions on. For example, in Pests/Diseases, he recommends using fresh-bagged soil to avoid diseases instead of soil from your yard or last vegetable garden. I don’t necessarily like the reliance on fresh bagged soil. I do like that he recommends home organic recipes for getting rid of pests though.
There is even a recommendation section for those looking to start a home farm. Input your location (sadly it only takes US Zip codes), how much space you have available with at least 6 hours a day of direct sunlight, and how much time you are willing to devote to your garden.
The following suggested vegetables were offered for someone looking to grow in my zip code on a small balcony willing to devote as little time as possible (See the saved link here).
The following suggested vegetables were offered for someone looking to grow in my zip code with room for two large raised beds willing to devote as much time as necessary (See the saved link here). And the recommendations seem to be almost identical in terms of plants recommended. I’m quite sure that plants are chosen based on location rather than space. At least in my zip code.
My overall impression of the site: Great for Beginners.
Get people growing. Then, once they have some momentum, lets educate them about heirloom varieties and organic methods.
What are your favorite Gardening Websites?
Library
The Manchester Library is selling off some of their old stock on Thursday June 25th, 2009 from 2:30 pm to 6:30pm.
For $5.00, you will receive a paper grocery bag, at the entrance of the Winchell Room. You can fill the bag with as many items that you can fit into the bag from the materials available in the Winchell Room. Additional bags can be purchased at $5.00 per bag.
Farmer’s Markets
- Downtown Manchester’s Farmer’s Market starts Thursday June 18th, 2009
- The Seacoast Growers Association’s markets are open. (Durham: Mondays 2:15—5:30, Kingston: Tuesdays, 2:15—5:30, Hampton: Tuesdays, 3:00—6:00, Dover: (new location) Wednesdays, 2:15—6:00, Exeter: Thursdays, 2:15—6:00, and Portsmouth: Saturdays, 8:00—1:00)
- Deerfield’s Farmer’s Market website still lists opening day as TBD, but last year they opened Friday June 20th.
State Fairs
The first two fairs of the season are July 22nd – July 26th for the North Haverhill Fair and July 23 – July 26th for the Stratham Fair. Those who want to enter pictures or arts and crafts should get their entries in by July 15th.
On Sunday I bribed my husband into going to the New Hampshire Maple Producers open house with me. We went to Folsom’s Sugar House in Chester. How did I bribe him? Maple Syrup Sundays… YUM.
We listened to the owner talk a little about how he produces the maple syrup but the place was packed so we didn’t stay long. I guess they had a good weekend because they were sold out of bottled syrup and packaged treats by the time we got there.
I did find the steam coming off the boiler to be a fun photography subject. I probably took 10 or 15 pictures of the ceiling. The owners probably thought I was crazy.
I really liked the rustic looking sugar house. It reminded me of stories my grandfather used to tell me about when he was a kid growing up in Gaspesie.
You may wonder why my husband is dressed so funny. Well it has to do with why I had to bribe him. I got him to agree to stop at the sugar house on our way home from the Eastern States 20-mile Race.
He ran 20 miles in the pouring rain along the cold coast on New Hampshire breaking his personal best. It was a little difficult for me to take pictures of him though. Between the wind and the rain I had a hard time keeping my camera safe. It’s usually such a fun race for the spectators because you can hop in your car from beach to beach waiting for your runner to come by. But it was a miserable day, and I wasn’t running around. But I’m so proud of him so I put up with it. I am glad that he finished almost 1/2 hour faster than last year.
So I’m still waiting for my seeds to get here so I can start more Tomatoes and Eggplants. I’ve even already filled the peet pods to plant them.
I figure I would remind those in New England that this weekend is the New Hampshire Maple Producers Open House. You can go to their website to find out what different maple houses are offering. Some are offering tours, serving maple sundays, crafts, wagon rides and other products. Don’t tell the kids it might be educational.
So I’m big into supporting local farmers that practice sustainable agriculture and who treat their meat animals with respect before they become steak, so I try to buy some of my food from local farmer’s markets. My favorite is the Deerfield Farmer’s Market. Last year we got AMAZING strawberries there from a tiny little vendor and I was very impressed with the heirloom turkey I got for thanksgiving from Beausoleil Farm in Deerfield, NH.
Cultivate has a Farmer’s market finder for all over the country. It’s currently missing the Deerfield Market and I’m not sure why that is but it is a great resource for a start to a local food search.
Allow me to go on a brief tangent on Heritage Turkeys now. Over 95% of turkeys are of the same breed, bred for their huge turkey breasts. They are so unhealthy that they cannot even reproduce naturally. I find their flavor uninteresting as well, at least now that I’ve had a delicious full breasted tender heritage breed.
“Simply by virtue of having a flavor, this represented a completely different order of turkey. Now I understood what turkey was like before the triumph of the Broad Breasted White, and why eating turkey had once been considered a great treat”
-Michael Pollan
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