Sunshine and 99 Degree Weather

This post is coming a little late because of pictures having to be transferred but better late than never! Last week we had a great turnout for such a hot, hot day. The high was up in the 90's with a heat index in the 100's. Things were heating up. Literally.

Five of our farmers came out last week and brought lots of variety for their customers. They had beautiful produce, cut flowers, herbs, honey, eggs, and much more! Watermelons, peaches, cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash were just a few of the items being purchased.

    

Our food sample last week was corn and black bean dip which called for fresh corn, fresh tomatoes, and fresh peppers along with a few other simple ingredients. Dips can be a great addition to a summer barbecue or a family reunion or church event. They can also be used as an easy summer lunch. The problem with dips is when we start adding to much of the unhealthy stuff and not enough of the healthier stuff. I like to use the rule - the more colorful the dip the better. That way you know you've probably added more veggies and plant-based foods than all the other stuff. The recipe we used for Thursday did not originally use bell peppers and tomatoes or fresh corn but we thought it would taste even better with fresh corn and we could get more veggies in by adding the peppers and tomatoes. It definitely added color too! Adding vegetables to dips helps make the dip more filling so we eat less of it and most veggies are practically "free" calories. We also substituted the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt. So we want to challenge you! The next time you find a recipe for a delicious dip - or even make one you've made for years - try to add 1 or 2 veggie additions and substitute out 1 or 2 of the other "less healthy" options. You'd be surprised at how much better it tastes and how much more filling it is! 

This weeks raffle was an awesome yoga bundle that included a yoga mat, yoga dvd, and a core strength yoga exercise band. The winner was very excited to try some at home workouts as she is very busy working a full time job plus a job on the weekends! We are happy she got this great prize and are looking forward to hearing how she enjoys using it. We also gave away reusable shopping totes to everyone who completed our survey and if you didn't get a chance to do the survey and get a free bag make sure you stop by this week!

We are looking forward to another great week with even better weather and a great turnout of farmers! See you Thursday!

 

At It Again

We've missed being out with our farmers and customers the last couple of weeks because of the crazy weather! A hurricane and a thunderstorm were enough for us to have to shut down the market for a couple of weeks but we were back this Thursday and our farmers were ready to show off some great fresh produce. We had 4 farmers this week including one new farmer, The Melon Man! We were so excited to have him and the rest of our great farmers. We had lots of variety in produce including corn, tomatoes, beans, squash, apples, melons of course, eggplant, and much more! We also had some fresh homemade honey and lots of fresh herbs and beautiful flowers.

Our sample for Thursday was fresh homemade low sugar peach jam which was made at our canning class on June 30th. During our class we learned all about jams and jellies and got to make this peach jam with fresh peaches from Indigo Farms. We also served pindo palm jelly. Pindo palm is a type of single palm that has a blue-grey color and curves in towards the trunk. The palm grows slowly but can grow up to 20 feet when fully mature. During the summer the palm produces a yellow-orange juicy fruit that is about the size of a large date. The fruit is edible and is often used for making jams and jellies. The jam and jelly was served at the market on 5 grain flat bread and was a huge hit! We are holding another canning class at the end of July on pressure canning and if you are interested in this class or learning more about making jams and jellies contact the Extension office at 910-253-2610.

We had a great time at the market and are looking forward to another great week ahead!

Here are some pictures from all 4 of our farmers...
The Melon Man, "T" Heirs, Shelton Herb Farm, & Rosa Gardner