The Market Is Open!

Good Morning All Y’all,
The Market is open. This weekend, I’m in Pennsylvania, and I’m surprised how much it reminds me of Arkansas. Everything is green and lush, and hills abound. Even the humidity is here, which makes me wonder why I flew so far North for the same heat. The view from Mount Washington of Downtown Pittsburgh and its rivers actually tops Little Rock’s, sad to say.
I haven’t, however, had a chance to visit a Pennsylvania farmers’ market. I’m always a little curious to see a market in a different region. I imagine that these poor folk are still waiting on their tomatoes, considering how much rain just got dumped here. I was, however, just handed a quart of locally grown sour cherries. Tradeoffs.

What done come up from the earth…

MeatWorks 25# Bulk Ground Beef, for about $5.81 a pound. A good deal for locally raised, pasture fed ground beef!
Meatworks also put up their pasture-raised lamb to the mix, including a sirloin cut.

Chicken from three different farms. Chicken tends to be our more seasonal meat, so I recommend ordering them over the next few weeks.

Sweet Onions galore, from Bussey-Scott, Barnhill, Kornegay, and Armstead. Armstead has two version of sweet onions, a “Candy” and “Pumba” variety. Local, fresh onions tend to be so mild and sweet that you can eat them raw. Another fantastic way to enjoy their superior flavor is a simple roasting, in wedges with olive oil, salt, & pepper.

Fresh Purple Hull Peas from Hardin Farms. No chemical spray yay! These peas are an Arkansas classic and come best prepared with a good hamhock or some local bacon.

When it comes having to so many pepper varieties: Banana, Chile, Cayenne, Bell, Anaheim, Jalapeño, Romanian Sweet, the question is how best to use them. I recommend buying a little variety and hosting a salsa night, with a variety of salsas utilizing your different peppers.

Yellow and Zephyr Squash. Ok, this is an important announcement: I finally found a recipe for yellow squash that I really like. My issue with yellow squash is that its flavor tends to get washed out by its high water content. The trick is to get as much moisture out as possible and let the squash flavor come through. I’ve been toying with a recipe for a Squash Soup, and the one I’ve landed on is so good I’ve added it to our Recipe Page. Check it out! The trick is roasting the squash with onion, thereby cooking the water out before adding it to the soup.

Fresh Raspberries from Ratchford Farms. Only a few this week, so snatch them up! Ratchford is up in the Ozarks near Missouri, where raspberries grow best!

Fresh Melons and Watermelon: Hardin Farms has their infamous melons, and Barnhill has cantaloupe!

Tips and Market Tricks….

For those who choose to pay for their orders with a card: I’d like to offer a little transparency. Despite how its described on the checkout page, we do not immediately charge your card for your order. We use Stripe, an online service, and wait until after Saturday pickup to charge cards. That allows us to make the adjustment we need to, should extras be purchased or items not delivered.

Did you know you can search for items on the market by farm? At the bottom of the left sidebar, there is an option to “Show Specific Growers”. Try it!
The online model makes knowing your growers a little tricky compared to an open-air market, but we encourage you to shop by grower. When you get a particularly fantastic product, note which grower it came from and seek them out next time you order. After a few years of using this market, there are growers that I feel I know well just through their produce. Pay attention to what came from which farm, and don’t forget our Growers Page, a great way to learn more about your farmer.

Sincerely,
Sam Hedges