Watermelons everywhere!

Lots of watermelons at the Beaver Farmers' Market yesterday ...... my first local watermelon of the season is a red seedless melon. Next I'll try the yellow melons. Will anyone bring an orange fleshed watermelon to market? Haven't seen those in W PA, but then again, I don't get to EVERY market ......... ;~)

Check out this site for recipes and even information for educators! http://www.watermelon.org/

Just for fun .......... http://www.snopes.com/photos/odd/watermelon.asp

They're not food (at least these ones weren't edible), but the flowers were really looking good at the market too. Sunflowers, zinnia, cockscomb, glads, and a whole variety from the market cut flower grower. More on the BCF&VGA cut flower grower when I can get some good shots of her flowers in afternoon lighting. AND the hardy fall mums have shown up in the last week or so ......... while parking, we saw several being carted off by their new owners.

You never know where Local Food will show up!

We stumbled upon this Local Food cowboy hat at the Canfield Fair on Friday. http://www.canfieldfair.com/index.html It was part of a display put on by the Ohio Farm Bureau. Each Ohio county Farm Bureau submitted an artistic version of a cowboy hat representing their county agricultural heritage. Fairgoers vote on their favorite hat. The Portage County entry headlined "Buy Local".

A couple of other sights that you're not likely to see often are the Grange competitions with their fresh & canned food displays and the local orchard apple variety classes. Look at the variety of apples available ...... beautiful! http://www.ohioapples.org/ohio_apple_orchards_by_county.php

Also, a nice detail shot of pepper varieties from the Grange display.

More Pics from Waynesburg

Here are a few more pictures from the Waynesburg Farmers' Market yesterday. The market, like most of the markets around here, is a "producer only" market. The vendors only sell what they grow or produce from materials on their own farm. In the case of food products, they are produced by the vendor who brings them to market, usually in the vendor's own state certified kitchen.

HINT: For those of you looking for farmers' markets, be aware that sometimes you will see vendors set up near a market on market day, but not in the market proper. There are those who will take advantage of the "following" culivated by the market and set up nearby on market days to attract some of the patrons. They do not contribute to the work of organizing the market and in some instances they are not selling in season produce that they've raised themselves. The choice is up to you, but I go to the vendors who've been there at the market week after week, rain or shine.

Waynesburg PA Farmers" Market Visit

We had a trip planned to the Waynesburg area, so I tied it in with the Wednesday farmers' market, of course. It was overcast today --- the first rain that we've had in nearly a month. The market vendors set up in the rain, but it cleared up until the market closed. The Waynesburg Farmer's Market is sponsored by Waynesburg Prosperous & Beautiful and is located on High Street in the First Baptist Church parking lot. This is one of the markets that I worked with in the past, so I knew Carol, the on-site market manager. She opens and closes the market by ringing a school bell. I got to ring the bell at closing today --- thanks Carol! Today was "Senior Day" so there were some added booths providing information, blood pressure checks, etc. Look closely at the picture of my market goodies and you'll see the tomato stress ball "squeezie" ...... today's featured freebie! The stuff you can pick up at the market, eh? I also bought a copy of the market "Recipe Collection" cookbook, available for $10 at the market or by ordering from WP&B. http://www.waynesburgpa.org/index.html

This is one of the markets in the area where you can purchase meats including pork and beef. The beef is from Strath an De' Farm --- they raise Scottish Highland beef cattle. http://www.strathande.com/

There were some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from Stewart's Farm. Couldn't resist picking up a piece of fudge .......

Here's a Local Foods Podcast

Here's an interesting podcast on local foods that I just stumbled upon. It's out of Oregon - just click on "Are You Gonna Eat That?". It's 52 minutes long and there's a thread to follow with some discussion from listeners. http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/posts/list/976609.page

Maybe now's the time for a little background on my interest in local foods and local farms. I've always shopped at farmers' markets and my parents used to go out to a local farm stand for sweet corn and other veggies when I was growing up. My grandfather had a farm and I can remember getting tomatoes from him. Of course, we had a garden in the backyard like a lot of folks in our neighborhood. In 2005, I had a great opportunity to take a position with Penn State Cooperative Extension as a "Community-Based Agricultural Development Educator". The local food movement was really taking hold nationwide. My work covered the 11 county Southwestern Pennsylvania region and there was a large demand for information on "value-added" agriculture ...... and farmers' markets, in particular. I got to interact and provide reference materials to many farmers' markets in the region. I also worked with other educators to provide more in-depth training & facilitation to several specific farmers' markets. The economic & community development angle kicked in when we received requests for assistance from Main Street managers. Main Street managers view farmers' markets as a component of a vibrant community and a way to bring people back downtown. They also see the benefit of providing access to fresh fruit & vegetables to a less mobile population in town. SO ...... that's how I got involved with local food and farmers' markets on a larger scale. I tell people that I became somewhat of a produce snob since I was constantly visiting and working with the markets. The fresh food was just great! I no longer work for PSCE, but the habit of swinging into farmers' markets & on-farm stands when I see them continues ...... you just never know what you'll find!

Anyway ---- I'll occasionally post other references, links, and research tidbits that I find as we blog on.

Local Farms Support the Fair!

Two of our local farms have been big supporters of the Hookstown Fair over the years. You can support these farms too and buy their products here in Beaver & Allegheny counties.

The first is Janoski's Farm in Clinton, PA. http://janoskis.com/ What a great display they had at the fair! There has to be a story behind that truck. If you visit their farm market & greenhouses on US Route 30, you'll see that they mark their own home grown veggies & fruit as "Our Own". They have also been big supporters of the 4H livestock aution over the years.

Another local farm with a nice display was Brunton Dairy. The cows were there too ..... http://bruntondairy.com/brunton_about_us.php Brunton Dairy still does home delivery in the Aliquippa area. You are likely to find their milk and ice cream in some of the local convenience stores. (I also saw their milk in the Kaufmann Family Marketplace on Rt 18 just outside of Burgettstown. http://www.kauffmanmarketplace.com/ <---- worth a stop for bulk foods and Amish meat & deli products from the Holmes County, Ohio area.)

Support our local farmers!

Back to the market!

Well, I missed the Ambridge market on Thursday since we were spending our evenings at the fair but ............. in Beaver County we are lucky to have 3 markets run by the Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association. The Saturday market is held from 10am - 1pm behind the Beaver County Courthouse. The BCF&VGA celebrated their 25 year anniversary last year and they present a great mix of vendors. I took a list, but forgot to get green peppers. There is just too much to look at in late August. "Sweet Apple" is the 1st apple we've gotten this season. Now that the plums are winding down, the apples are coming on ,with Rambo and other early apples leading the season.

We're trying a white sweet corn, although I prefer yellow & bi-color varieties. One of the biggest misconceptions still going is the quest for "Silver Queen". Virtually no one sells it anymore, but customers keep asking for it because it's the only name they know. Some vendors will even tell you that they have it, but they give you a new superior tasting variety that they're growing. Bottom line dear foodies ........ don't ask for Silver Queen. It's long ceased to be the white corn standard. My college classmate sweetcorn selling friends in eastern PA started to educate their customers about corn varieties back in the 80's. They made a big push pin graph with the daily varieties marked for everyone to see. Their customers learned about newer varieties way back then.

The Auction - hard work pays off!

Tonight was the 4H livestock auction at the Hookstown Fair. Here are a few pictures of the livestock that were auctioned and the crowd doing the bidding. The animals will be custom processsed to each buyer's specifications by local butchers. Livestock purchased for retail sales or restaurants must be slaughtered under USDA inspection, just like the meat in your grocery store. What a great way to buy local! We didn't buy this year ---- we're still finishing the pork from the hog that we purchased last year ........ We spotted several bidders who got together and divided up their steer between 2 to 4 families. Another interesting feature of the sale is that you can purchase an animal & "donate it back" to the scholarship fund. You pay the price you've bid - those $$$ go to the 4H member - and the proceeds from the 2nd bidder go to the scholarship fund. It's another way to support our youth if you don't want to fill your freezer.

More on 4H clubs

Local youth exhibiting their 4H market lamb projects at the fair tonight ..... you can see the hours of dedication that these young people put in on raising their lambs. All of the lambs were evaluated and judged based on their suitability for market. The judge gives oral "reasons" for placing all of the lambs in order and takes time to congratulate and encourage all of the participants.

A chance to bid on local food!

Something to think about ....... county fairs are in full swing and we have a great chance to buy local AND support youth 4H livestock projects! This is something that we have done consistently over the years:
1) Watch the 4H kids showing their livestock projects at the fair. They are judged 2 ways - once for the condition & finish of their animal, and once for their "showmanship" skills.
2) Go to the fair livestock auction, sign up for a bidders number, and bid on the animal of your choice. You could split this with family or a friend if it's too much meat for your freezer. There is help available to get you started if this is the first time you've tried this at the fairs.
3) Pick up your meat from the butcher cut, wrapped, & frozen. You'll satisfy your shopping needs for the next year!
4) Know that you've contributed to the development of youth in your community.

See you at the fair!

My haul from Ambridge this week!

This picture might really be notable for what I didn't buy. OK - I got sweet corn, cucumbers, green beans, new potatoes, the first carrots at market, plums, and anise biscotti. What didn't I get this week? Gorgeous red onions, summer squashes/zucchini, purple cabbage, sweet & hot peppers, the first acorn squashes, leeks, tomatoes (just got some yesterday, remember?), focacia bread, fudge, honey, peaches, Jersey-Mac apples, garlic, basil, dill, ........... not to mention cut flowers and perenials. All of this is available at the Ambridge Farmers' Market run by the Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association. Now that I'm working in Ambridge, this is my regular stop instead of the BCF&VGA market in Beaver, PA on Saturday mornings. The sweet corn from Douds-Floyd Farm was really great for dinner tonight. I'll be taking more pictures at market as the season goes on. This market is really the hub of activity in Ambridge on Thursday afternoons.

Tomato treats

It was a nice local dinner tonight with a treat of a "tiny tomato" salad courtesy of a friend at work. We had perfect yellow pear and cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, and chopped onion with vinegar + oil. Also finished the sweet corn from last week ---- amazing that it's still ok ---- remember years ago how you had to rush the ears from the stalk directly to the pot of boiling water? I still prefer a good old fashioned open pollinated variety. The kernal actually holds up and there's something to chew! I guess I'm in the minority and the new super sweet varieties hold up longer for the growers and buyers ..........

A few words about local foods

This is the perfect time to focus on local foods here in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The local farm stands and farmers' markets are in full swing. The traditional "peak of the season" veggies and fruits are available in abundance. As a tribute to the farmers and vendors who make this great local food available to all of us, this blog will feature what I find in and around Beaver County Pennsylvania. As I find myself in other areas, I'll try to add what I see and buy on my travels. Here is my latest haul from the Ambridge Farmers' Market on Thursday August 7th. More about the canvas bag and how it came about some other time. In the meantime, can you spot the typos on this bag from the proofing run? I've been told that I have a "collectors item" .......