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Open: The Market Is?


This post expired on May 26, 2023.

Good Saturday to you, fellow Weekenders,
How nice, to have two Saturdays in one weekend. Two Saturdays = Something Awesome, like parsnips or blueberries. We hope you are having a solid Memorial Weekend at (A) the Lake, (B) Riverfest, or © Your Front Porch, Doing Nothing ( my choice! ). The Market is open, reminding you that, once the vacation day is over, you’ll still need groceries. Sure, Kroger has corn and watermelons, but they grew them on Mars.

Oh, one last thing. We done told all our tickets to our Southern Roots fundraiser, which has delighted and amazed us. The fundraiser is shaping up excellently. The food is going to be great, the beverages delicious (and effective), and we’ll be hearing from some of our beloved farmers, such as Kelly Carney of North Pulaski Farm, Tara Stainton of Rattle’s Garden, Sue and Rusty Nuffer of Armstead Mountain Farm, and Josh Hardin of Laughing Stock Farm. Each of them will be sharing their best stand-up comedy acts, NO, just kidding, don’t hold me to that.
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Down our tasty, tasty aisles…

  • In our Meat section, you’ll find Meatworks Butchery & Market: who are they? Actually, they’re our old friends Youngblood Grassfed Farm, but they’ve taken on a new name along with a new butchery and market out in Mena. With their newly opened market comes some delicious products, including sausages, cuts of beef, a few plate teasers, broiler chickens, and eggs. Keep an eye on these guys; my foodie senses tell me that more is yet to come.
  • We’re still well stocked with strawberries. Despite the weird season, we’re turning out to have one of our best strawberry crops; they’re becoming increasingly delicious, and the season is good and long. I also spy organic blueberries from Armstead Farm, frozen and vacuum sealed, though the availability is set at 0. Maybe that will change?
  • Some early cucumbers from Arkansas Natural Produce. Time for Cucumber Salad. How to you make your’s? I prefer apple cider vinegar, dill (find it under Herbs), red onion, and a pinch of sugar. It’s all about slicing the cuc’s impossibly thin, sprinkling them with salt, and letting the water leach out a little.
  • OK, I’m just going to say all this in one breath, because there are a lot of vegetables: KALE KALE KALE – Fava Beans – Salad Mixes n’ Lettuces galore – fresh dug Potatoes – Summer Squash and Zucchini, chemical free whoopee! – Turnips, yes, pickle them! – Cabbage – Broccoli glory aannnddd Sugar Snaps. Whew, that was a lot. There’s probably even more by the time you read this. Just eat your vegetables, OK kids?
  • I checked out some of New South Nursery’s plants yesterday at Food Club. Beautiful, healthy native plants. Tom’s coneflowers in particular looked great. I recommend ordering some. He also has plenty of fig trees!
  • We’re taking orders for ALFN t-shirts. They’re organic and quite fetching. Not to be too self-promotional. Gosh, I’m so embarrassed.
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Some foodie findings…

I obsess over food and don’t take eating at restaurants lightly, especially since I have to budget for them. I recently sampled the Root Cafe’s grits for Sunday brunch. It looks like they cook and then deep fry them. One bite crunched through the crispy exterior into a warm, buttery interior. It was delicious. I also recently visited Natchez Restaurant and was delighted by the food. The menu is pretty creative and bears the signs of being locally sourced. Highlights included a Moroccan Carrot Soup, a salad adorned with granola and pickled blueberries (it really worked), and the most delicious slow braised short ribs I’ve ever had. They’re worth a look.
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Our farmers’ social side…

From Meatworks Butchery & Market :
“First EPIC week behind us! Thank you to so many true blue friends, family and customers for carrying us through!! Blessings for a great Memorial Weekend!”

From Barnhill Ochards :
A little musing on… “Grubbin’ for Taters the old-fashioned way…a shovel, a five gallon bucket…and your momma helping!! We are digging daily for Red Pontiac new potatoes. We will begin harvesting our fingerling potatoes within a week to 10 days.”

Pictures that are awesome (if you can’t see them, check them out on the Weblog page