Farmers' Markets 2021—

[gulfporter]

Not technically a Farmers' Market, but the young disabled man who collects parking fees at a pop-up lot on weekends was selling ciruelas that he and his brother plucked out of the plum trees on our street.  

 

For 10 pesos (50 cents, US) I got a large container.  They were a mix of ripe and green; the green ones are turning nicely. 

 

These are not cultivated plums, though we wonder if there was an orchard here long ago.  Across the street from my house is a large former hacienda named La Ciruela and the plum trees are in neat rows on our street and 2 adjacent streets. 

 

The fruit is extremely sweet--surprise!  Not much edible fruit as the pit is about 75% of each plum.  Most of the trees are quite tall, though locals manage to pick them using make-shift baskets on bamboo poles, some use swimming pool skimmers.  Many stand on the roofs of their cars to pick, have seen some horseman stand on their saddles!

 

 

[heidih]

4 minutes ago, gulfporter said:

Not technically a Farmers' Market, but the young disabled man who collects parking fees at a pop-up lot on weekends was selling ciruelas that he and his brother plucked out of the plum trees on our street.  

 

For 10 pesos (50 cents, US) I got a large container.  They were a mix of ripe and green; the green ones are turning nicely. 

 

These are not cultivated plums, though we wonder if there was an orchard here long ago.  Across the street from my house is a large former hacienda named La Ciruela and the plum trees are in neat rows on our street and 2 adjacent streets. 

 

The fruit is extremely sweet--surprise!  Not much edible fruit as the pit is about 75% of each plum.  Most of the trees are quite tall, though locals manage to pick them using make-shift baskets on bamboo poles, some use swimming pool skimmers.  Many stand on the roofs of their cars to pick, have seen some horseman stand on their saddles!

 

 

And doesn't natural found fruit like that always seem to taste better? When we got huge pit ones like that as kids we'd keep the pit in out=r mouths and and keep sort of sucking on them - we looked like juvenile delinquents with wads of chewing tobacco in cheeks. 

[blue_dolphin]

Lovely day for the farmers market today. Sunny but not hot or windy. Should have taken some photos but it's just a shopping mall parking lot.  Here's the haul:

From 12 o'clock, we have eggs, an oro blanco grapefruit (yes, still green, very early in the season but I have a recipe that calls for grapefruit zest so I got one), a nice hunk o pork (labeled side slab rather than belly, but similar, I think, some will be ground and mixed with ground pork for chorizo), Meyer lemons, four small blood oranges plus two larger cara cara oranges, holiday wurst from the German sausage peeps (I'm told they are seasoned with nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon and should be excellent cooked with sauerkraut, that's a 1 lb pack of 3 links), three small-ish heirloom tomatoes, two watermelon radishes, a bag of baby kale mix (nice as it can be used in salads or cooked), a massive bunch of flat-leaf parsley, a generous, but more normal-sized bunch of cilantro, sage & thyme and a jar of buckwheat honey. 

[blue_dolphin]

I go to the local market pretty much every week but obviously don't post about it all that often.  Here's today's haul:

Going clockwise from the eggs in the middle, we have beets, avocados, cilantro, parsley, mint, mizen, dill, dandelion greens and red romaine.  The basket of citrus contains Eureka and Meyer lemons, pink grapefruit and Cara Cara oranges. 

A local sausage seller was offering these German-style pork roasts.  I was very tempted but resisted. 

Edited April 15, 2022 by blue_dolphin (log)

[kayb]

Went to my first farmers market of the season today. Sadly, I had put everything away before it occurred to me to take a photo. Nevertheless, there were early peas, bagged lettuces, tomatoes, strawberries, and the lady in front of me in line got the last of the asparagus. 🥲oh, and broccoli. I think tonight’s dinner plans may include a big salad of early peas, some green beans from the crisper, broccoli and artichoke hearts.

 

 

[BeeZee]

I would kill for some fresh young peas in the pod, I like to eat them raw. I tried to get my gardening co-worker to plant some for me, but he said they are too difficult to grow since they need particular temps to flourish, so if Mother Nature doesn't cooperate in early Spring (which she rarely does around here), no go.

[Shelby]

33 minutes ago, BeeZee said:

I would kill for some fresh young peas in the pod, I like to eat them raw. I tried to get my gardening co-worker to plant some for me, but he said they are too difficult to grow since they need particular temps to flourish, so if Mother Nature doesn't cooperate in early Spring (which she rarely does around here), no go.

I grew  tried to grow peas for a lot of years.  I love 'em too.  SO good just raw out of the garden, but they didn't do well here, either.  I was lucky to get a handful out of the whole thing lol.

[AlaMoi]

@Shelby

the 'heat tolerance' of pea varieties varies wildly.  "Early Frosty" does well for me here (mid-PA) but they peter out quickly if the weather goes unusually warm.  basically, some years it's a bounty, sometimes it's a near bust....

 

https://morningchores.com/best-pea-varieties/

lists varieties and where/how they do best . . .

 

a day's picking...

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, AlaMoi said:

@Shelby

the 'heat tolerance' of pea varieties varies wildly.  "Early Frosty" does well for me here (mid-PA) but they peter out quickly if the weather goes unusually warm.  basically, some years it's a bounty, sometimes it's a near bust....

 

https://morningchores.com/best-pea-varieties/

lists varieties and where/how they do best . . .

 

a day's picking...

That looks heavenly.  

[Smithy]

On 5/14/2022 at 10:28 AM, kayb said:

I think tonight’s dinner plans may include a big salad of early peas, some green beans from the crisper, broccoli and artichoke hearts.

 

My first thought was to wonder how you came by artichoke hearts out there, this early! I think you listed them from your pantry items? At any rate...if you cooked this dinner, I'd love to see how it came out. The elements sound delicious.

[kayb]

10 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

My first thought was to wonder how you came by artichoke hearts out there, this early! I think you listed them from your pantry items? At any rate...if you cooked this dinner, I'd love to see how it came out. The elements sound delicious.

I didn’t. Dinner consisted of liquid fruit. 
 

Salad did not get made because the green beans had gone south. Some of the peas made it into the broccoli and cauliflower salad. The jarred artichoke hearts did not.

 

[chileheadmike]

Got these yesterday.  They're gone. So good, we just ate them straight out of the container. 

 

Also got a very good cantaloupe and half runner beans.

[Smithy]

I do miss good, truly good, fresh strawberries. We may get them during a 2-week window in northeastern Minnesota, but it isn't a sure thing.

[kayb]

We’ve had really good strawberries this spring. I’ve taken to buying two quarts a week for the two of us.

[Kim Shook]

Our first visit to our favorite produce stand this year:

Both the peaches and the plums are from the stand.  The lone nectarine is from Food Lion, and it smells better than any of the others.  I don’t know how they do it, but our Food Lion provides the best stone fruit every summer and has for the past 20 years. 

[Smithy]

On 5/23/2022 at 10:22 PM, Smithy said:

I do miss good, truly good, fresh strawberries. We may get them during a 2-week window in northeastern Minnesota, but it isn't a sure thing.

 

They're here!!! I got a spur-of-the-moment note on the NextDoor app that a local farmer had strawberries available. The local farmers' market had decided to cancel because of storms, but he'd already picked quarts and quarts of strawberries. They are perfuming the house now...and the refrigerator. 

 

When I asked, I learned that he also had eggs. I usually buy them elsewhere, but I took the opportunity. While I was waiting for all the, his partner came in with garlic scapes!  Yay!

 

 

 

The eggs aren't in the photo. Some of those scapes went into tonight's dinner. Some of those strawberries will be tomorrow's breakfast. I'm in heaven.

[nonblonde007]

@Smithy  Please tell me how you use the scapes, I grabbed a hand full at the market as well, with No clue.

[FauxPas]

8 minutes ago, nonblonde007 said:

@Smithy  Please tell me how you use the scapes, I grabbed a hand full at the market as well, with No clue.

 

 

I'm not @Smithyand I'd also like to know how she used her scapes, but I often make a pesto with them - cut the scapes up a bit, add olive oil and then I use my immersion blender to blend. Add basil (if you wish, I usually do), nuts (I use walnuts these days as pine nuts are getting so pricey) and grated Parm cheese and continue to blend. Add a splash of lemon juice if you like and I usually add a bit of salt. Freezes well. 

 

I've been getting a lot of scapes in my CSA boxes this year and even after freezing a couple of batches of pesto, I still have scapes to spare. I might try pickling them similar to this recipe at Serious Eats. I like dilly beans and this is similar. 

 

I've always been told to use the scapes anywhere you might like a bit of garlic flavour - sautéed with greens, etc. 

[FauxPas]

I posted this recipe in the Dinner thread for a salad dressing using green garlic a while back, but I'm sure you could use garlic scapes as well. 

 

Green Garlic Salad Dressing 

3 stalks green garlic (white and green parts) chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 

1 teaspoon mustard (I use The Mustard Lady’s honey garlic mustard)

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

Salt and pepper to taste

 

*Blend until dressing is smooth and emulsified (like a smoothy). Refrigerate. 

Drizzle green garlic dressing on anything to add a sweet, intense garlic flavor. From salads to pasta, to bruschetta and roasted vegetables.

[chromedome]

42 minutes ago, nonblonde007 said:

@Smithy  Please tell me how you use the scapes, I grabbed a hand full at the market as well, with No clue.

I've just harvested mine, as well, and have lots to work with for the next couple of days.

I generally make pesto with about half of my batch. I like them steamed (which mellows them) as a side vegetable, or in stir fries as well. Whatever I have left over after the first few days I'll usually puree with a bit of oil (just enough to make them come together as a paste) and then pack it into Ziploc bags and freeze it flat. When I want to use some in a sauce, scrambled eggs or whatever, I just pull out the bag, break off a piece and drop it in the pan.

I haven't tried pickling them yet, but it's on my "to do" list. Probably won't happen this year, unfortunately, because we're moving and I just don't have the time.

[heidih]

on garlic scapes - I think it was @liuzhou just cut them in one or two bite lengths and use in stir-fries, When they are piled up at my Korean market and I ask about prep the ladies usually say that and also describe a panchan prep like this  https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/maneuljjong-bokkeum

[FauxPas]

2 hours ago, chromedome said:

I haven't tried pickling them yet, but it's on my "to do" list.

 

I just now made a small batch of refrigerator pickled scapes. Basically used the Marisa McClellan (Serious Eats) recipe but used a bit of fresh dill in place of dill seeds and added a Thai chili pepper and a tiny bit of sugar. Loaded the jar with scapes, dill and pepper and poured hot vinegar brine over. Will leave in fridge for a week or two before sampling. 

 

 

I have a couple of preserving books by Marisa, some good recipes in them. 

 

[Smithy]

21 hours ago, nonblonde007 said:

@Smithy  Please tell me how you use the scapes, I grabbed a hand full at the market as well, with No clue.

 

There are some great ideas listed between when you posted and this response, and given the bagful I bought I'm sure I'll be trying them all! I tend to simply cut and cook them, just enough to soften, in skillet dinners and sauces. But I bought a LOT.

 

I used a handful in this dinner salad on the first night. I sliced them finely and sauteed along with the onions and peppers, just as I'd have done with garlic except that I've have cooked garlic for a much shorter time. These do have some garlic punch to them, and they can be crunchy! You can see them in this picture of the untossed dinner salad, looking like chunks of green onions or giant chives.

 

[Kim Shook]

Blackberries and cherries.  The blackberries were enormous and very, very good:

 

 

Made blackberry shortcake:

[TicTac]

@Kim ShookThose blackberries are amazing.

 

Re: Scapes - I would suggest grilling them and then use a mortar and pestle to turn into a paste (forget the food processor, diff end result), often with other options (varying between parm, chili, citrus, roasted veg, etc) and olive oil.