RebeccaT
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Posts posted by RebeccaT
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I tried to resist, but I failed. I am addicted to this thread!
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Deb Stephenson just called me back, and said that they actually will not be back at the T'afia farmer's market until May 29th. She said they should have around 100 chickens at that time (as well as eggs), but if you want to make sure you get one (or two, or three...) you can call and reserve them for pickup at the market.
Here's their information:
Stephenson Farms is a small family farm located about 12 miles south of Clear Lake City in Santa Fe, TX. Our goal is to provide the Houston/Galveston area with farm fresh Grassfed Beef and Pastured Poultry products of the highest quality available. We raise and process our livestock under clean, healthy, humane, and environmentally responsible conditions. We produce eggs and broilers from Pastured Poultry and much of our Grassfed Beef comes from naturally lean, Texas Longhorn cattle.All of our livestock are raised in the open air and sunshine. We routinely rotate them to fresh clean pastures to prevent the need for medicated feeds or antibiotics. Our chickens forage on grass and insects all day and are fed a mixture of grains, soybeans, and a kelp-based vitamin and mineral supplement.
The eggs are hand-gathered daily and are available year-round. Fresh broilers are available spring and fall. They are meticulously processed and picked up on the farm the same day. (Limited supply of frozen chicken is available summer and winter.) Grassfed Beef is processed late spring and fall at a local family-owned state-inspected processing facility. Beef is sold in hanging halves and quarters. Our beef production is limited. Call or write for availability.
Stephenson Farms, Deb and Steve Stephenson, 11607 29th St., Santa Fe TX 77510. (409) 925-1815. E-mail: SSFARMS@aol.com
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Hmm, that's good! I am a bit confused, though. When I spoke with Mr. Stephenson last Saturday, he said that he wouldn't have chickens every week. I called the farm and left a message to find out for sure; when they call me back I will let you know what they say they'll have at the market tomorrow.
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Elie, he did have eggs for sale, as did a couple of vendors upstairs. the folks upstairs were strictly egg outfits, no broilers or fryers, so I'll bet they will be back every week.
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For the past couple of years, I have been making a Chinese Cinnamon Beef Hot Pot. It just tastes so good when I'm sick! It's a long-simmering soup that makes the house smell amazing, and I serve it over udon noodles. I don't know about it's healing properties, but it certainly makes me feel better!
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I am intrigued by the chickens.
The farmer who brought the chickens won't be back every week. Apparently, he has specific processing days (Fridays, I believe, about every 6 weeks) and brings his chickens the following day. It's too small of an operation for him to have chickens every week! If you are interested in the chickens, it might be a good idea to call t'afia and see when he'll be back next.
I had heard about the farmer's market in Austin, but it opened up after we moved to Houston so I have never been. I simply do not understand why there are so few true farmer's markets in Texas... my mother has a great one in Decatur, AL, so why can't we have more of them here???
This is a great start, though, and I am thankful. Can't wait for the 'maters to start showing up.
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Blackberries, right off the prickly bush. One for my mouth, one for my bucket. One for my mouth, one for my bucket. The ones in the bucket (that make it all the home) getting made into a cobbler that night.
Haven't gotten to do that in a while, though. Growing up in N. GA, it was an annual thing in July, but here in SE TX, no luck. The ones I can get at Whole Foods are ok for my cereal, but they just don't hold a candle to the ones I gather while dodging brambles.
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I'm sorry, I did a search but I couldn't find the previous thread. My apologies!
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This weekend I paid a visit to T'fia, not to eat at the restaurant (although I plan to soon!), but to check out the farmer's market.
What a blast! Despite the rain, Monica had an excellent turnout of local growers and food artisans. The largest grower present had loads of Swiss Chard (mostly rainbow, some green), herbs, bok choi, dandelion greens, various lettuces, baby carrots, cauliflower, and a variety of kales. It was gorgeous! Her prices were excellent as well - I got two bunches (large!) of chard for $4, and I usually pay that for one bunch of organic chard at Central Market.
Inside, I met an artisan chocolate maker who specialized in unusual chocolate flavors - my favorite was a dark chocolate with tequila and ancho chile. My husband liked the dark chocolate with pistachios and dried cherries. There were a number of breads, scones, and pastries available, as well as cheese straws and ginger snaps from a non-profit producer whose proceeds all go to a home for those with mental retardation. I met a chicken farmer whose pastured chickens have access to grass and plenty of room to scratch... I bought a chicken from him that had just been processed the day before, and we roasted and ate it last night. It was SO moist and tender, and had great flavor! Monica was there selling scones, there was someone selling incense and someone else selling handmade purses - the atmosphere was so happy!
As an added bonus, we got there in time to attend a kitchen demo with Scott Tycer of Aries. We talked about local, seasonal produce and some of his efforts to incorporate more of it into his menus, and then we followed him into the kitchen where we watched him prepare the chard from outside and turn it into a lovely little munchable - a savory thyme pastry filled with the simplest braised greens with cream and bacon. Mmm.
I haven't been to Pope's market in the Heights, so I don't know how this one compares. But I do know that I will be back, regularly, to support this worthwhile venture!
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The Greek Festival Houston, at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral near Montrose, is always a lot of fun. The food is pretty standard issue Greek (pastisto, spanikopita, tiropita, soulvaki, Greek salad, dolmathes, etc.) but that doesn't stop it from being good! The pastries are awesome, the women of the church spend weeks making them. My favorite are the Kourambiedes, which are a sandy shortbread-type cookie dusted with powdered sugar
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Why not post a disaster as your very first post? Hi everyone, I'm Rebecca, and here's my biggest cooking disaster story...
It was my first cocktail party, at Christmas-time. I was expecting about 30 people. I had been cooking for a week, storing food in my fridge and freezer, and all was going like clockwork. Until around 2PM on the day of the party. Did I mention that it was Friday the 13th?
All is going fine until I decide that my super duper disposal can handle radish leaves. Wrong. I clogged my drain. Completely. My father-in-law had to come over and dismantle my sink, a process which took about 2 hours including the time it took to get to my house.
Meanwhile, I slice and bake the lime meltaways. Recipe says to let cool for 8 minutes, then toss with powdered sugar. These are fragile cookies, so I figure I should use a sifter and sift the sugar over them instead. Which goes very smoothly. Until I taste a broken one, and discover that I hav just sifted the entire batch of cookies with cake flour. I was able to rescue most of them by tapping the flour off, putting them back in the oven to warm up, and doing the sugar instead. Crisis averted, now onto the next disaster.
I knocked over the vase with my centerpiece in it not once, but twice. I had taken it off the table and put it somewhere where the kitties couldn't get to it and knock it over. I should have put it somewhere that I couldn't get to it.
And lest you think that bad things happen in 3's, no, in my world they happen in 4's. About 2 hours before guests start arriving, I am setting out bottles of wine, and I proceed to drop a bottle and spill it all over the counter, floors, and pale yellow walls.
I ended up just sitting crosslegged in the middle of my floor for about 30 minutes, afraid to touch anything lest in spontaneously combust. I finally got up the nerve to take a shower (less chance of drowning than in the bathtub) and was able to get the final setup done with the help of some friends who came over early. The party was a huge success, but I will never have a party on Friday the 13th again!
Houston- Midtown Organic Farmer's Market
in Texas: Cooking & Baking
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LDLee, where is the Onion Creek market? Sounds like it's worth checking out!
The chocolatier at T'afia is BrownBag Chocolates, as well. But I have never seen him bring truffles to T'afia; maybe he brings different stuff to the different markets?
Last time I was at T'afia, Gunderson farms had tiny Texas peaches. Poor guys - I talked to one of the sons, and he said it's driving him nuts because with all the rain the peach skins are just slipping right off when he picks them. The peaches were good, if a little small. But then again, I'm from Georgia, so I'm used to a whole different type of summer peach...