Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from The Bolivia Brief Farmer's Market

We had our last market of the year last Tuesday, December 23rd in front of the complex cafeteria, complete with an ugly Christmas sweater contest.

Thank you to our two farmers - Mama Wyldwood's Farm and Veggie's By The Sea - for coming out to sell. They had lots of goodies from cabbage to collards, roasted peanuts to fresh eggs, honey, beeswax candles, grape vine wreaths and more! 

The sample this week was a sweet potato and apple bake. Cut up 3 large fresh sweet potatoes into small cubes and do the same with 2 large apples. Layer these into a glass baking dish. Sprinkle on 1/4 cup of raisins (or more if you prefer). Mix together 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and pour on top of sweet potatoes and apples. Cut up 1 tablespoon of margarine into small pieces and lay those on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until fruit is tender. Everyone enjoyed this delicious, healthy sample. Try it out for yourself and serve it as a side dish at dinner one night this week!

Our ugly Christmas sweater was also a success. The Cooperative Extension and Brunswick Health Services staff were in full swing with Mark wearing a red, velvet suit! (Not to be confused with a Santa suit, however.) We had a lot of others come out in their ugly sweaters and we actually had TWO winners (we just couldn't pick a favorite they all looked so good!)

We had a lot of fun at the market this year and we are already looking forward to more growth next year. As we get closer to the start day next year we will post updates so look out for the new dates! 

We hope everyone has a safe, happy, and healthy holiday! See you next year! 

Grapes and Pears and Peanuts, oh my!

Last week's market was our first monthly market and boy was it a success. We had six farmers come out and set up with a variety of fresh produce, delicious honey, boiled peanuts, and some beautiful mums. Three of these farmers were new to our market and we were so grateful to have them join our team! Welcome Jessica Wilson, the Browns, and Maters & Taters! 

The market was filled with lots of color and some Caribbean music this week to help brighten up a cloudy day. But the weather certainly didn't stop us from having a great time and selling lots of local goodies. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our farmers! 

The sample this week was Creamy Grape Salad with Candied Walnuts and we used yummy muscadine grapes grown right over in Wilmington! It doesn't get much better than that. If you were lucky enough to snag any of these delicious grapes we suggest you give this recipe a try for yourself. Maybe as a side dish at dinner this week or even as an appetizer or dessert to a party or event this weekend. You can find the recipe, and all other market recipes from this year, at http://go.ncsu.edu/2014marketrecipes. 

Part of Jessica's Table

Shelton Herb Farm

Maters & Taters

"T" Heirs 

Our next market will be Thursday, October 16th and we will be featuring apples, sweet potatoes, and mums. I've heard there will be more delicious honey and maybe a few other special goodies so make sure you stop by to see what these items are!

One Week Out

In just one week from today we will be back in front of the complex cafeteria for another great market! We have invited all of our farmers to come back out and even some new farmers to bring you all a variety of fresh, local produce and herbs. Featuring grapes, pears, and peanuts we will definitely have those on hand and will have some great samples using these foods. Recipes will be available as usual at http://go.ncsu.edu/2014marketrecipes and there will be a raffle prize. We are excited for another week of fun and food and we hope that you will join us from 11am-1pm. See you there!

New Market Schedule

As of September 4th, the market will be held monthly for the remainder of the year, continuing to provide farmers and families the opportunity to connect with fresh, locally-grown foods for healthy meals.

The market will be open to the public on Thursday, Sept. 25; Thursday, Oct. 16; Tuesday, Nov. 25 and Tuesday, Dec. 23. Farmers will continue to offer seasonal produce on these dates in front of the cafeteria at the Brunswick County Government Complex, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and we will continue to offer samples and raffle prizes.

Each market will focus on different seasonal foods, including samples of ways to cook those items. The Sept. 25 market will feature grapes, pears and peanuts, while the Oct. 16 market will feature apples, sweet potatoes and mums. The Nov. 25 market will feature collards and sweet potatoes, and the Dec. 23 market will feature greens, apples, sweet potatoes and Christmas herbs.

To view all the recipes provided at this year’s farmers market, visithttp://go.ncsu.edu/2014marketrecipes.

The Bolivia Brief will resume weekly operation early next spring, with an opening date announced closer to the time. All farmers wishing to participate in the market at no charge should contact the Cooperative Extension office (Morgan or Mark) 910-253-2610.

We'd like to thank all of our farmers and community members that came out at any point this past season and we look forward to seeing you all again on September 25th!

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

Yesterday's Market was HOT!

Recipes from the Market: http://go.ncsu.edu/2014marketrecipes

Literally! High 90s and very humid was our weather for the day but that didn't stop us from having another successful turnout! We were grateful to all of our seven farmers that came out again today and our eighty participants who came to support these farmers. As the summer continues on, more and more produce is coming in season and each week we look forward to seeing what the farmer's have to sell. This week there was lots to choose from: corn, shelled peas, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, honey, peaches, leafy greens, pears, and much more! We even had plants for sale!

This is John and his wife; they were a great new addition to the market this week. They brought baskets and baskets of tomatoes as well as shelled peas. He is a great salesman, gives great deals, and is a lot of fun to talk to about his growing. Stop by next week to meet this great team! 

Here is Breanna one of our awesome 4-H teens, posing with produce from her family's farm with Katie McKee our 4-H Agent. This was Breanna and her mom's second week to the market and they continue to bring great, fresh produce picked as early as the morning of the market. They always have a variety and yesterday they even had delicious blueberries!  

"T" Heirs is one of our regulars that has been coming every week since mid May. They have lots to choose from and are very nice to work with. Corn, tomatoes, honey, watermelon, and peaches are just a few of their biggest sellers. 

Zane was one of our new farmers pictured in last week's post. This week he brought his granddaughter Atlanta with him to help sell their pears, tomatoes, squash, and plants. They had pepper plants and tomato plants selling for a great price.  

Jim and Avis were back again this week to brave the heat and sell more gardenias and plants! 

Our food sample this week was baked sweet potato chips! They were so delicious that our basket was empty before the market was even over! We sliced up our sweet potatoes with a mandolin to make sure they were thin enough but you can just use a knife or even a peeler will work! We put just a little bit of olive oil on them and a little bit of sea salt and then baked them for 1 hour at 250 degrees. Oven times varied so it is good to check them often. Flip them halfway through and when they get to desired crispiness take them out and enjoy! Sweet potatoes are considered a super food and have many nutrients. One of the main nutrients in sweet potatoes is beta-carotene, which our body converts to vitamin A and helps with vision, bone growth, reproduction, and keeping lining in our digestive and respiratory tracts healthy. Sweet potatoes contain numerous vitamins and are also low in fat, loaded with potassium, and contain properties that help regulate blood sugar making this a good choice for diabetics. There are many ways to eat sweet potatoes: roasted, baked, grilled, and mashed are just a few. Our challenge for this weekend is to try a new sweet potato recipe or a new way of preparing them and let us know how it turns out by commenting down below!

Our raffle this week was a bundle that included a collapsible meal kit, a super cute dish towel, and a set of 3 cutting mats to help with food safety by having a different color mat for produce, meat, and cheeses. Congratulations to Sherry in the Register of Deeds office who won yesterday's raffle!

Each week our market is continuing to grow and we appreciate all the advertising, support, and feedback our consumers have! We'd love to hear from you if you have great ideas or would like to see something done as our sample one week. If you or someone you know is a small, local farmer and would like to sell at our market have them come out next Thursday or call the Brunswick County Cooperative Extension Office at 910-253-2610 for more information. We look forward to seeing everyone and their coworkers back next Thursday in front of the complex cafeteria from 11am-1pm for another great market.