Monday, April 13, 2009

Local diet update - April 13, 2009

By the end of last week, I'd finally managed to eat my way through all those wonderful but leftover local veggies in the fridge. That left me a clean slate with which to start for Saturday's farmers' market. I could pick anything I wanted. Hmm. What sounds good?

As usual, the market vendors were out in droves (14 this week) with another amazing harvest. This week's bounty included:
Veggies: Beets, beet greens, turnips, collard greens, radishes, lettuce, red potatoes, white potatoes, red onions, yellow onions, green onions, carrots, mustard greens, cabbage, tomatoes, yellow squash (new this week), green peppers, swiss chard, kohlrabi, celery

Fruits: Strawberries, dried apples, dried cranberries

Baked Goods: pies, cookies, cakes, sweet breads, yeast breads, cornbread, bagel bites

Canned Goods: okra, green beans, jams and jellies, glazes, a variety of salsas, tomato juice

Dry Goods: Locally-roasted coffee, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, cornbread mix, egg noodles, trail mix

Misc: olive oil, eggs, locally roasted peanuts, doggie treats, ornamental plants, veggie plants

Crafts: dolls, journals, puzzles, easter baskets (both large and small), aprons, pot holders
Right. So I had to make my selections for the next week's fare. Actually, I was choosing for two weeks since next weekend I'll be hosting a booth at our local Earth Day Celebration and will miss the market. Knowing I would need to stock up a bit inspired me to go all out. Ok. Actually, I went a little overboard, but in my defense many of the items were actually given to me by a host of generous market vendors and a wonderful friend. How could I resist? I came home with carrots, an onion, kohlrabi, yellow squash, lettuce, mint, sage, whole wheat flour, dried cranberries, onion glaze, trail mix, fresh egg noodles, and a bag of homemade doggie treats. AND I got a CD from Joey McGee, a local musician that stopped by to meet me about providing a little mood music for a future market (his music ROCKS, so I was pretty excited about getting his CD). Local is awesome!

Of course, I still have lots of local strawberries, rice, and wheat berries in the freezer, a pantry full of local canned soups and stewed tomatoes, and lots of onions in the garden just waiting to be harvested; and with a whole new host of fresh veggies, who knows what I'll make next. Stay tuned for Thursday's "Market to Table" post to find out. 

Have a great week, everyone. And, as always, Happy (and mindful) eating! 

Now, what to eat first...

3 comments:

ttammylynn said...

I managed to purge my excess cabbage, spinach, garlic chives and bok choi from Vicki...those carrots were from my own garden;thanks Heather.
I bought coffee, broccoli, banana bread, cookies, tomatoes, purple peppers, banana nut muffins(organic), strawberry rhubarb jelly, eggs, and mixed sprouts.
I still have onions, herbs including rosemary, oregano, cilantro, garlic chives, mint and garlic growing. I have rainbow carrots, a few stray strawberries, and many gorgeous flowers. My tomatoes are starting to speckle my many plants, so it won't be long on that, either.

ttammylynn said...

I haven't seen a garden update in a while, Heather, you're slacking, lol.
I have a few peach blooms, flowers blooming everywhere(irises, pansies, petunias, hibiscus, roses, snapdragons, etc). The strawberries are doing good(love that rain yesterday), The pepper plants are coming up in the greenhouse. One of the fig trees is putting on baby figs, The green beans, corn(3 varieties-yellow, red and mini), cucumbers(1st round), butternut squash,yellow squash, zucchini, canteloupe and watermelon are sprouting in the garden. I put new asparagus in this year and it is beginning to come up.
Yesterday I planted some heatwave lettuce, more cukes, some beneficial flowers(nasturiums, marigolds, pyrethrum) in my main bed and some fun stuff in my flower bed--butterfly bush, morning glories, poppies, and luffa. Some of the seed was old, so I'm not sure if I'll get germination, but I'm trying.
My spaghetti squash did not come up in my main bed, so I am going to try again.
Also, I have several blueberries in pots, one of which is putting on babies.
If I tend it all reasonably well, I should have a bounty fit for a king. Time is a huge issue, but loving a garden is such a timeless adventure...wouldn't you agree?

hmd said...

Tammy - I don't know how you keep up with it all :) Everything sounds wonderful. I'm going to nibble on those carrots and some of the bok choy in today's lunch stir fry. Thanks again for all the goodies.

Re: the Garden post. Actually, it's scheduled for tomorrow, so you won't be waiting much longer. We've been REALLY busy and have increased our growing size by 1200% compared to that first tiny bed in Oct. Yikes!