Category Archives: Farmer’s Markets

All Markets Are Not Created Equal

Posted on April 1, 2014 by AnnieRie

Some of them are truly awesome.

Like the market in Manheim Pa. We have been there once before, in the winter. Today, with great temperatures and lots of sunshine, we headed back north to look for a few things, and to enjoy the early spring weather.

I wish we had a market with 89 years of history. What started as a poultry market has evolved into a huge 200+ vendor flea market, auction, produce market and all around interesting slice of Americana.

You can still attend the poultry auction as well as a produce, flower, and shrub auction every Tuesday, year round. About 100 minutes away from Columbia. A good destination. Particularly for things like this.

That’s my pit beef sandwich from Hess BBQ.

When we were here a few months back, the outdoor vendors were closed. Today, vendors and flea market stalls were hopping.

I did end up buying a few Time Life Foods of the World books, on Middle Eastern and Latin American cooking, for a buck each, out on the flea market sites.

I almost splurged on the asparagus.

Yes, I know many of the vendors bring things up from the South, or even use wholesalers, but still, fresh produce is so great to see.

And, yes, I found some oatmeal raisin cookies, chewy, fresh baked.

Want to take a day trip and have market envy? Head up I-83 and east on US 30, then northeast to Manheim.

And wish we had something this much fun around here.

#hocofood

Missing My CSA

Posted on January 3, 2014 by AnnieRie

Two weeks ago. We ended the CSA pick ups. Not much left around here, except for what is in the freezer. And a few root vegetables.

A couple of parsnips, a turnip, carrots, an onion, all created the bed for a roast chicken. A chicken from the CSA, that fed us tonight. Gave us a chicken breast for a Chicken Caesar salad, a quart of chicken stock, plus enough shredded meat for a chicken noodle soup.

Did I take pictures? Nope. Too busy trying to deal with snow, ice, ripped down Christmas decorations, and a few downed evergreen tree limbs.

Still, the snow was pretty. Just hope it goes away. And the predicted six to twelve inches next week does not happen.

I am already so tired of snow. Where is global warming when you need it?

In other news. Howchow tells us Highland Inn will soon open. Nice of them to miss my birthday.

Crossing my fingers here. Hoping that the winter CSA over at MOM’s Jessup will get enough sign ups.

I need some veggies. I see Breezy Willow isn’t open tomorrow. Too much snow.

Should I run down to Silver Spring market? Or hit Roots for the chili fixings I need.

Stay warm, my friends here in the frigid temperatures.

hocofood@@@

5 Comments

Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Weather and tagged commentary, community, CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, Howard County, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

The Winter Locavore

Posted on December 30, 2013 by AnnieRie

I miss the Dark Days Challenge. Back two years ago when I thought it would be hard to find local foods to cook a meal.

These days, after learning how bountiful our area is, I miss the challenge as a way to connect to other bloggers, who value eating seasonally and locally.

It is simple to eat mostly local foods at every meal, here in the MidAtlantic.

Breezy Willow Eggs

Breakfast is simple, if you use local eggs, bacon, locally baked breads, butter, yogurt, milk.

Lunch, lots of simple salads with high tunnel greens. Sold at markets. Like the winter indoor Olney Market at the Sandy Spring Museum, or the Saturday Silver Spring Market. Things like potato salad. Beets. Spinach. Mock’s greenhouse tomatoes, arugula, basil, chard.

Fritattas. Chicken or turkey salad made with local meats.

We have a freezer full of local meats. Fruit picked at Larriland. Tomatoes from my garden. Pesto. Greens. Corn. Fava Beans.

I can easily use local food sources and my freezer to make meals most of the week. Saturday farm hours at Breezy Willow and Copper Penny. Saturday and Sunday at England Acres.

I just wish we still had that challenge to keep us interested in blogging about it. And, I am crossing my fingers that Mom’s in Jessup gets enough sign ups to make the winter CSA a go. We will know in about two weeks. CSA would start up again the week of the 20th.

As part of my resolution, I will cook a local meal most Sunday nights, and blog about it. Not a bad resolution.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in CSA, Dark Days, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Winter Eat Local and tagged CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Root’s

Posted on December 3, 2013 by AnnieRie

In Manheim. Pennsylvania.

Checking off items on my “resolution” when I turned 60. A new city in a surrounding state. A new market. Lunch at some locally owned family type place.

I found this market on an app on my iPad. Food Network on the Road. Every Tuesday a huge food market, auction, flea market, antique dealings, collectors, and who knows what else.

Including lots of locally produced items.

I was on a mission. See if anyone sold salsify. They didn’t. Find a reasonably priced butter for baking. Found one. Maple syrup. Yes. Ground coriander. Check.

Oh, and this. Which I did not buy!

As for my favorite item, it was this one.

Can’t wait to try out the yellow bell pepper pappardelle. I went on the web site when I got home and found out it is available locally. At Casual Gourmet in Glenwood, and at Secolari, the new shop in Columbia Mall.

I need to bookmark those locations, as these pastas may become my new standard. I plopped a little of the soup mix in my turkey soup. At $2 a package, it was a great bargain. Mix and match, it seems.

Oh, and of course, in Amish country, I couldn’t resist one of these.

What a lovely day we had today. Temps in the 50s. Nice lunch at Hahn’s in the market. Cookies in the car on the way home. And, the promise of some very good pasta this weekend.

hocofood@@@

1 Comment

Posted in Adventures, Day Trips, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Sixty@Sixty, Travel, Weather and tagged cooking, day trips, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, travel, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

The Markets Are Done for the Year

Posted on November 23, 2013 by AnnieRie

ALmost, but not quite, the end of the Howard County Market Season. Just tomorrow at Oakland Mills.

Today I did stop out at Glenwood, where three vendors were present. Getting to be somewhat slim pickings as the season winds down.

Lewis was having their customer appreciation sale, and tomorrow they will be at Oakland Mills to finish. Large baskets of apples at really great prices.

Besides Lewis, Stone House had people picking up their orders for the holiday meals. We got our parker house rolls to take to my brother’s for our Thanksgiving meal.

Stone House has a storefront up in Taneytown, for those who can’t wait until spring to get more of their freshly baked breads, pies, cakes and cupcakes.

I also put a couple of small breads in the freezer to save for when we aren’t getting CSA shares.

TLV had meat, potatoes, squash and eggs. They will still have many of their items at the farm when they open for Christmas tree season next week.

I ventured off to Breezy Willow to get yogurt and butter, and found the welcome surprise of the return of the Bowling Green Farm cheeses. Glad to see them back.

Breezy Willow farm store, besides being open on Saturdays year round, will be open this Tuesday for those who want a few last minute items for the holiday.

Finally, off to Roots to get beans, coconut milk creamer, a few baking supplies, and coconut so I could make this.

My first time making home made granola. Rolled oats, coconut, almonds, walnuts, dried cranberries. The secret to this granola. Honey and egg whites. Very little sugar. The egg whites do a good job instead of using lots of sugar and oil. Flavored with cinnamon.

I may never buy granola again. This was super easy to make.

Now, to get into the holiday baking soon. I have a few new recipes I want to try.

As for markets, there are still a few around. More on them in a future post.

Plus, a list of farms that have items available all winter.

hocofood@@@

3 Comments

Posted in Community, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Real Food and tagged community, cooking, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

My Better Half’s B’day

Posted on November 20, 2013 by AnnieRie

Yesterday my husband turned 63. We usually do a celebration meal on our birthdays. But, he was out playing radio (at a club meeting).

So, tonight we did the birthday meal.

Steak from Clark’s farm. Cauliflower from my CSA. Arugula from Love Dove Farm. And, cheese from Breezy Willow.

Served with a killer local wine.

RdV 2010 Lost Mountain. Close your eyes and you believe you went to Bordeaux. Big, yet balanced. Fruity, but not that California over the top style. Restrained, yet absolutely yummy.

Not something I say everyday about wine.

I have to admit, the wine was better than the dinner. The steak should have been pounded and marinated more. The cauliflower was a smidge too dry.

The salad did rock, though.

In a while, tonight, we will have a simple dessert. A glass of Late Harvest Vidal, and a few pieces of coconut chocolate.

Well, at least my dinners are a fraction of the cost of a luxury meal at a restaurant.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food and tagged cooking, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, Howard County, Locavore, real food, VA wine, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

“Meat” Some Local Farmers

Posted on November 16, 2013 by AnnieRie

Today I did a loop to three local farms that sell meat products produced from animals raised on their farms. I am doing some background work for upcoming Conservancy events, and getting some absolutely lovely products in my travels.

I don’t know which farm I have the longest history for buying their products. A toss up between Maple Lawn and Clark’s.

Turkey from Maple Lawn. Year round, did you know?

The fresh turkeys are available for Thanksgiving, but they also offer frozen items all year. Like these turkey drumsticks. My husband’s favorite part of the turkey, and perfect for soup.

Six in a package for $7. I brought them home, wrestled them apart with a boning knife and put them back in the freezer in two packs. Good for future stock making and soups. And, maybe roasting a couple on the grill on one of our warmer days.

We have already ordered a small (8-10 lb) fresh turkey to grill for our Thanksgiving celebration. We pick that up at Boarmans the day before Thanksgiving.

As for Clark’s, I went to find brisket. They are difficult to find around here. A limited cut when you are looking at small batch production of just a few animals at a time. I did get one.

Copper Penny is a new discovery for us. We have seen them advertised, but this morning I saw their Facebook page said they were going to be open on Saturday mornings since their farmer’s market over in Anne Arundel County has closed for the season.

I went looking for two things. Soup bones and kielbasa. We are on this quest for the best kielbo in Maryland (to rival my husband’s favorite from PA). I also found mini chorizo, and bacon ends.

Bacon ends are perfect to use, when cooking those CSA greens. Collards and bacon, for example.

All winter long, these farms and others in the area offer us an alternative to enjoy pasture raised and grass fed products.

I have some new places to add to my farm lists. My advice, though, go early if you don’t want to be disappointed. Clark’s was packed at 1220, and they were selling everything they had. Amazing following of locals coming there to purchase.

Copper Penny sold out of eggs before I got there, and the last of their chickens went too. Small farms. Nice to see that they have customers who support them all year.

My freezer now has just about all we need to get through the winter, until the markets and CSAs start up again next spring.

hocofood@@@

2 Comments

Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, Real Food, Winter Eat Local and tagged community, cooking, crock pot cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, foodie, grilling, Howard County, local businesses, Locavore, real food. Bookmark the permalink.

Market Futures

Posted on November 5, 2013 by AnnieRie

Farmers Markets, that is. I recently read an article in the Baltimore Sun that included the information about the future of two of the Howard County farmers markets.

Glenwood, and East Columbia. It seems the board may close these two markets next year.

Columbia has three markets. Thursdays in East Columbia. Fridays at the hospital and Sundays in Oakland Mills. The Thursday market does the worst business of the three in Columbia.

As for the Saturday market (our nearest market in Glenwood at the library), it never has been as popular as the others. The rural area has less people, and many of us have gardens.

There are lots of other sources for fresh veggies, too. Like the farms in the area.

I wondered last year if there were too many markets. Dilution of the customer base, as I believe the markets aren’t attracting new customers, just spreading out the current ones.

For us, if Glenwood is closed, we would just use the hospital market for fresh eggs, meats, breads and fruit.

Saturday is a great day for a market. If you could vote for where to move Saturday’s market, where would you put it? Elkridge? Maple Lawn?

hocofood@@@

7 Comments

Posted in Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Howard County, Local Businesses, Locavore, West HoCo and tagged commentary, community, farmer's markets, farms, Food, Howard County, West HoCo. Bookmark the permalink.

Summer CSA Wrap Up Week

Posted on October 31, 2013 by AnnieRie

The end of the 24 week CSA today. Fall season starts next Thursday. Appropriate for Halloween, my box included the escarole that ate New York.

It has to be one of the largest ones I have seen at any market. It looks like tomorrow I will be making escarole and white bean soup.

As for the rest, here is what our email said we were getting.

Leeks
Eggplant
Purple Viking Potatoes
Cylindra Beets
Escarole
Green Romaine
Mixed Sweet Potatoes
Bok Choy (it was bigger than the escarole, I swapped it)
Purple Mizuna (swapped as I bought some yesterday)
Garlic
Butternut Squash
Red Cabbage

We never got mizuna before today, so yesterday I bought some from Love Dove Farms at the Miller Library Market, since he didn’t have arugula. It figures we would get it once I bought some.

As for doing a wrap up, I am putting my collated list together to see what we got over the course of the 24 weeks. What we got most. What the total number will be for uniquely different items.

And, as for what I will be making. There will be hummus, from the squash and sweet potatoes. Eggplant caponata sounds good.

And, speaking of wrap ups, Larriland closes this weekend. Sunday is the last day the farm is open, until strawberry season begins in May. Pink Lady apples are ripe and only available Friday through Sunday.

I may have to go there just to buy a few quarts of cider. Their newsletter tells us that cider freezes well. Maybe I will try it as their cider is so good.

hocofood@@@

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Posted in CSA, Farmer's Markets, Farms, Food, Local Businesses, Locavore and tagged cooking, CSA, farmer's markets, farms, Food, local businesses, Locavore, value of CSA. Bookmark the permalink.

Making It Mine

Posted on September 29, 2013 by AnnieRie

I put together a mostly local dinner this evening. It started by tweaking a favorite recipe and making it the way I like it. After all these years of following recipes, I enjoy changing what is written into my own take, using the preferences that I have, and those of my husband.

This is Mario Batali’s Spaghetti with Green Tomatoes.

I know. No spaghetti. Not all the tomatoes are green. Where is the parmesan on top?

Even the pesto is different.

Here is what I did. I went into the garden and harvested as much arugula, basil and mint as I could find, to make about 3/4 cup. I came in and snipped off 1/4 cup of the curly parsley from the CSA, including some of the smaller stems. This gave me the cup of greens that I needed. I used 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan. And, 1/3 cup pine nuts, even though they aren’t called for in the recipe. Added a squirt of lemon juice and three roasted garlic cloves to the processor with the greens, parm and pine nuts. A teaspoon of salt. Half teaspoon of white pepper. Mixed it all while adding olive oil until it stopped clumping along the sides of the processor.

That’s the pesto on the left. On the right, in the pan, about a cup and a half of underripe cherry tomatoes from the farmer’s market. They would have become fully ripe within two or three days. I did have three small green tomatoes from my garden in there too. They were cooked down in a little olive oil, with about four ounces of the hot Italian sausage left over from that grilling of the Breezy Willow sausage a few days ago. And, a handful of scallion tops, sliced.

I added about half a cup of pesto to this mix. And, leftover goat cheese from the appetizer we had earlier. About two ounces of soft goat cheese, melted into the pesto and tomatoes.

I made a cup of small assorted pasta shapes, and added them to the skillet, with a ladle of pasta water to thin the pesto.

This is the skillet before I added the pasta. It coats the pasta well. I put a loaf of Stone House bread in the oven to warm up.

Served all of this with a lovely crisp Early Mountain Petit Manseng. We really like this wine. It cuts through the richness of that sauce. We had only tasted late harvest Petit Manseng before trying this one. Early Mountain has a winner with this grape. It has more body than a Pinot Grigio, but isn’t as heavy as a Chardonnay. A perfect dinner wine.

This dinner was so easy to put together. The pesto takes ten minutes, which included toasting the pine nuts. The pasta takes ten minutes to cook, while you are making the tomatoes in the skillet. Bread warmed in the oven while dinner was cooking.

Great Sunday dinner.

hocofood@@@

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