Flurries At Market!

What a morning at the Beaver Farmers' Market.  If you weren't in the mood for the holidays, the snow flurries should have fixed that!  We got our wreaths for the cemetaries, and by the looks of things, everyone else wanted wreaths and swags too.  The Volkars have lots of wreaths ready to go, or they will even do some customizing for you.  We have our wreaths wired firmly to the stands before we take them. 
Pat was braving the weather with her baked goods ..... here she is behind her sunglasses! 

Pat's Pastries - look at the Holiday packaging!

The last thing that LFLF picked up was a gallon of apple cider from Oak Spring Farm .... last pressing of the season ??????  We couldn't take the chance and wait until next weekend.

Beaver Market - Christmas Greens!

Customers Lined Up At Enon Country Gardens

It was an overcast morning for the Beaver Farmers' Market today, but there were still plenty of people there.  It seemed that everyone was after potatoes and apples for sure ..... in preparation for Thanksgiving?   LFLF got Jonagold apples for our pie selection.   We also saw one young woman snapping up bags of kale.  I bet it's just perfect at this time of the season!

Just around the corner from this group of customers were the Christmas wreaths and swags ..... more pictures next week.  Here are some of the squash that we picked up and the tomatoes that have now ripened at home from our last visit.  Enjoying salads & BLT's! 

Beaver County Farmers' Markets Still Going!

Here are some of the dedicated shoppers at the Beaver Farmers' Market on Saturday.  LFLF got there a little late - "noonish"- after doing some other errands.  The number of vendors is shrinking as the season continues, but there is still a TON of produce available. The last of the tomatoes are ready for you to ripen at home.   A nice butternut squash, red potatoes, 4 tomatoes, and 5 lbs of apples came home with us. 

Pat had some nice nutrolls for sale and we know how much effort it takes to make them, so LFLF says why do it yourself????  Just get one at the market!  :)

Beaver Farmers' Market Cool & Breezy

Colder weather brings out the root crops like these turnips!
Let's just say that no one had their tents set up Saturday morning at the Beaver Farmers' Market .... it was a bit cool when the sun went in and the wind picked up.  LFLF found our usual cookies, cider, onions, and we also picked up some "personal sized" winter squashes.  Douds-Floyd Farm has a great selection of squashes including smaller versions of the standard acorn, butternut, etc. that are just right for one serving.  We had ours tonight baked & with a little applebutter mixed in .........
Speaking of cold weather, here's a chance to stock up for your squirrel friends ........ 

Ear Corn for the Squirrels!



Fall at the Market

What a beautiful day last Saturday at the Beaver Farmers' Market!  The trick-or-treaters were running all around the streets and parks of Beaver getting goodies from the businesses & merchants.   Meanwhile, LFLF headed to the market for our goodies.  Peanut butter cookies from Pat's Pastries were a good start for the day.  Then we picked up apples, onions, sweet peppers for stuffing, apple cider, and potatoes. 
We even picked up a Rosemary plant for our winter windowsill pot.  Our 3 year old plant just suddenly "up and died" this summer, so we needed a new one. 
We forgot to pick up our fence post mini pumpkins, so it looks like we'll have to get them this week.  After Halloween, interest in pumpkins falls off until just before Thanksgiving.  We definitely need to get our decorative gourds and Indian corn soon! 

Herbs & Hydroponics

LFLF promised this "next day post" 3 days ago, so what happened?  Some PC troubles ..... isn't it always something?  Anyway, during our visit to the market at Yarnick's Farm, we checked out  the small attached greenhouse at the back of the market.   Here they grow fresh herbs in a  vertical "clip your own" type of arrangement.  This is a neat way to provide herbs outside of the traditional growing season.  There are specific varieties & quite a bit of science behind what grows well under these conditions!   A customer just ahead of us was clipping her own bunch of parsley.  Have any of the blog readers seen this type of set up at that big theme park in Orlando, FL?
On the other side of the greenhouse were rows of hydroponic lettuce.  We're not sure of what the cutting or picking rules were for the lettuce, but they looked like they'd be ready soon.   Here's a local grower who's made a season extending high value use of their greenhouses with hydroponic vegetables.



Yarnick's Hydroponic Lettuce

Check out this article from 2007 in the American Vegetable Grower magazine & plan to stop in if you're in the area! 
Check out this Penn State horticulture web-site for info & vegetable crop growing tips & news.

Yarnick's Farm Visit

Monday's mission for LFLF included a drive to Indiana County to pick up B&B Serbian Spruce trees at Musser Forests , a large regional grower.  We have been buying trees & shrubs at Musser for years, but usually they're seedlings purchased in lots of 50 - 100 & shipped in the spring for planting.  After we picked out a couple of trees and had them loaded up, we headed for home.  It was a beautiful warm October day, perfect for leaf peeping, and LFLF had one more stop in mind!  

Yes, Yarnick's Farm still has sweet corn!  We picked up half a dozen ears of corn and a quart of tomatoes.  We also grabbed some other veggies .......... everything looked really great and fresh in the market.  The half bushel specials were nice looking for anyone interested in canning or baking pies!

 Unfortunately,we had to pass on the meats and cheeses since we didin't bring our cooler.  We'll know better next time.   Just as we were leaving the market, a local chef stopped in and began his shopping with a selection of tomatoes ..... that's a testimony to the quality & variety available, wouldn't you say?  Tomorrow we'll show you what was going on in the greenhouse behind the market.  For now, here is a parting shot of the fields near the market in their fall glory!

Ohio Farm Market

LFLF made a trip into Ohio today and took the opportunity to stop at VanPelt's Farm Market on the return trip.  This market is full of goodies!   The vegetable & herb selection was really nice.  They still have sweet corn and tons of watermelons and cantalopes.  The lady in front of us in line bought 4 bushels of canning tomatoes & loaded them into her truck. 
There were at least 10 varieties of apples for sale, but not Winesap today ..... "They're not ripe yet" we heard the owner tell one customer who inquired.
The market carries eggs, cheeses, meats, bacon, milk etc, from local farms and from the Ohio Amish country in the counties to the west of the market.
VanPelts has a line of baked goods and there is a full selection of jams & jellies available.

Our primary objective today was sweet peppers for stuffing and LFLF was not disappointed!  The peppers were just perfect ..... a big bag of them came home with us.

Just lots of veggies and at this time of year, the gourds, pumpkins, mums, and winter squashes were also plentiful!  

Large Hubbard Squashes!

Hot Peppers!

LFLF is back home again & shopping at the Saturday morning Beaver Farmers' Market.   Everybody has peppers right now.   We are not hot pepper fans, but maybe you are!  The colors are fantastic and I trust that the flavor is too.  I've seen this farmer sell half bushels of the cherry hots to customers .... wonder what they do with them? 
On a less adventurous note, we came home with Macintosh apples, apple cider, potatoes, brownies, basil, and our favorite heirloom tomatoes.
We talked with another local farmer last week at their farmstand and it looks like sweetcorn is done for the season for most growers.  It has been so dry this summer that the corn planted for the late season didn't do well unless it was irrigated.  Most small farmers here aren't set up for that and in most years would never need it anyway. 

One Last Post!

Final thoughts and pics from the Columbia Farmers' Market ..... If you've studied our posts in the past, you know that LFLF has to check out the baked goods!  Each state has their own regulations as to kitchen inspections & what can safely be sold at farmers' markets.   Just take a look at part of the selections from these next two vendors.  We confirmed that this is, in fact, Grandma Barb behind the table loaded down with terrific breads & cookies.  If we were closer to home, several loaves would have headed for our freezer to be warmed up when it gets colder.   You can hear a little of this vendor's story here. 
A week later and we're still nibbling on crackers from this display below.  They were the perfect travel food.

And now, finally on to the late season favorites of LFLF ..... winter squashes and pumpkins.  All I can say is WOW!  This has to be one of the most colorful gatherings of heirloom and specialty squashes that we've seen in a long time.  There will always be a place for the deep orange field pumpkins and the small sugar pie pumpkins, but LFLF gravitates to the really cool varieties of winter squash.  Most of them are great for cooking after they've been used for fall Thanksgiving table displays.  

If these folks weren't so busy, it would have been interesting to hear their recommendations for sourcing seeds.  For this kind of variety, we think of Seed Savers Exchange & Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.   If you're a grower, maybe you know of other good sources.   See how many you can identify from the catalogs!  

NAME THAT SQUASH!

This was a great "producer only" market and we didn't even talk about the pecans, cut flowers, herbs, & oyster mushrooms that were offered for sale!  "Highly recommended" if you're in the area or if you're a resident or student local to Columbia, MO .............

    

More Columbia Farmers' Market

LFLF couldn't cover it all in 1 post, so we promised more on the Columbia Farmers' Market.  This is the crowd almost 2 hours after market opened!  We were quickly impressed with the number and variety of meats available at the market.  Being so far from our home, we couldn't take advantage of the opportunity, but we saw several shoppers with coolers for their meat & cheese shopping.  

We spent some time talking to the fine folks from Sho-Me Farms about their trademarked "Born Tender BEEF".  One thing led to another and we found out that they raise Shorthorn cattle and know our local PA farm friends & farmers' market vendors, McElhaney Family Farm.  It's a small world!  But just look at their great sales set up.  The car-hauler trailer has a chest freezer up front for a stash of beef to supply the meat cases.  The case permits a really nice display of the packaged cuts of beef.  The trailer is perfectly clean & contains a poster of meat cuts and brochures for customers.   Fantastic job!  They were also one of several vendors displaying the  Agrimissouri  logo.

And, let's add to that, Sho-Me Farms Pastured Poultry .....

Next on our rounds we found the Goatsbeard Farm cheesemaker who was chatting with her customers.  Another nice display!

Here's another of the meat selections at the market.  Grass-fed lamb anyone?

And last, but not least, among all of the meat vendors scattered through out the market, we found this offering!   LFLF has only encountered one other farm selling emu products at a famers' market from our days as a Penn State Extension Educator.  

Tomorrow ...... we continue the tour with baked goods & fantastic heirloom winter squashes & pumpkins!

On The Road Again!

This time, LFLF made it all the way to the Columbia Farmers' Market !  When you're a foodie, you set these things up in advance ..... our trip to a wedding in Columbia, MO was planned months ago.  The Missouri tourism booklet had a picture of the market, so I had to check it out.  This "producer only" market has been around for 30 years.  Future plans include a pavillion to house the market & we picked up a canvas market bag for $10 to help in the effort.
We arrived around 10am and jockeyed for parking.  The lot is huge, but the crowds were still good.  The market is set up as a tailgate market, so the vendors back in and set up tents behind their trucks, car haulers, or vans with the customers shopping in a long center aisle.   We missed taking a picture, but there was music at the end of the market.

Let's start the post today with veggies!  Chert Hollow Farm had certified organic salad greens above, and a nice selection of peppers below. 

The clincher though was the selection of garlic.  Only 4 varieties were left .... the 5th consisted of a shred of garlic skin on the table.  The owner told me that they grow 12 varieties ..... wonderful! 

What else did we see in the veggie world?  Lots of greens.  Lots of Asian greens.  Stuffed bags of greens being carted off! 

Something that we don't see here in the Western Pennsylvania farmers' markets ..... sweet potatoes!  

 

It goes without saying that there were apples at the market.  LFLF watched a young mother & her son pick out a huge bag of seconds "to take home and dry".  We also saw organically grown Sheepnose apples on one of the tables. 

Tomorrow  ............ meats and cheeses.  Plus, LFLF finds a "local" W PA connection!

A Visit To Soergel Orchards

LFLF had an opportunity to pass north of the city on I79 today ..... we dropped in on Soergel Orchards  just as the Steeler fans were heading home after the game.  There was a mini-rush of customers grabbing something to take home for dinner.  We were no exception and picked up sweet corn, cheese, bakery buns, and a few other items.   

We grilled the kolbassi from Thoma Meat Market for dinner and enjoyed them on fresh baked coney buns from Soergel's bakery.  If you're a farmer/reader interested in selling a value added product, check out the "custom" section of the Thoma web-site.   And just look at dessert ...... delicious locally made nut horns from Grandma Ann's.   They really are as moist as advertised!

Don't leave Soergel's without looking over the shrubs & perennials at the garden store. There are tons of mums and I found this really nice aster ..... more "natural" looking than the mums for the farm flower bed.

More About Apples & A Giant Squash!

LFLF was off to the Canfield Fair this weekend.  So much to see, but here's a favorite feature for foodies.  In the Fruit, Hay, & Grain Building, next to the beekeepers with their honey products on display and sale, the local orchards put up a great competition display.  Beside the gorgeous display is a cold cider booth - perfect on a hot day!   We'd say it will be worth a trip out to any of these orchards for apples.  Apple pie season is now upon us!  There is plenty of time to get ready for a local pie contest .  We picked this info up in the Fall 2010 issue of Table Magazine, a great resource for local foods in SW PA.  The 5th Annual Southwesten Pennsylvania Apple Festival and Pie Baking Contest  will be held on Saturday October 23rd.  Sounds like a great place to be! 
And what trip to Canfield would be complete without the Largest Squash competion?  Here's the winner for 2010 .........

Now that's a lot of pumpkin pie!

Local Fair Food!

Here's where to go to see some of the best food that local market farmers and home gardeners raise!   Several of these winning entries are from the farmers that sell at our local Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Grower's Association Farmers' Markets.   With the temperatures dropping, now is a great time to think about baking an apple pie ......

Although it's not a product that's "grown" regionally, chocolate is a great Pennsylvania product.   LFLF wishes that we were around for the judging of the Hershey's Cocoa Classic Contest.!   WOW!   The recipes must also be submitted with the contest entry.  I'd like to see this one .....   Brought to you courtesy of the Big Knob Grange Fair.   Admission here is free if you just want to walk around ..... Saturday is the last night! 

Local Food Delivered

LFLF just had 3 chickens delivered tonight!  Now these chickens are "freezer ready", the 4-H'ers send the birds out to be processed and then deliver them.  We were successful bidders on a pen of 4-H poultry at the Hookstown Fair 4-H Livestock Auction on Friday night.  We really enjoyed the birds that we got last year and decided to do it again. 
The champion birds went for $22 - $24/lb. Businesses buy them to advertise their support for the 4-H youth programs. 

Volant Mill Winery @ Janoski's!

Janoski's Farm & Greenhouse  in Clinton is now home to a branch of Volant Mill Winery .  Here's an opportunity for folks in the Allegheny, Beaver, & Washington County areas & others who travel US Route 30 to get local Western PA wines.  LFLF didn't get the exact date, but Janoski's will be having a special for the grand opening of the winery shop.  Call them for more info ... is it the 26th of August???  Anyway, if you buy a bottle of wine, I believe that they are giving out a free 1/2 dozen ears of sweetcorn ........

Lot's of other fresh produce available now too!  If you are into home canning, Janoski's is the place to go.  Pecks & half bushels of peaches, tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, sweet peppers, banana peppers, green beans, etc are ready to go. 
LFLF picked up sweetcorn for dinner Saturday & it was delicious.