Of Pumpkins & Peppers!

Douds-Floyd Farm Display!

LFLF has more great pictures from the Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association!
The peppers & pumpkins are in full swing right now.  Douds-Floyd Farm has this nice pumpkin nestled in with the sweet peppers & squashes.

Hot & Mild Peppers

 Then there are the hot Jalapenos and milder Poblano peppers ........ time to try a new recipe for the Poblanos?  They look fantastic all piled up in the baskets.

More Pumpkins & Winter Squash From Oak Spring Farm!

PDA Secretary Greig At Beaver Farmers' Market!

Celebrating 30 Years!

The Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association continues to celebrate their 30th year of bringing strictly local produce to the Beaver County community.  Today, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary George Greig visited the Beaver Farmers' Market with State Senator Elder Vogel, Jr..  The weather was beautiful and the market was packed! 

Customers Crowd The Market

The market has long been supported by the Beaver County Commissioners and of course is held in the Beaver County Courthouse parking lot. 

Commissioners Tony Amadio, Dennis Nichols, PDA Secretary Greig, & Penn State Extension District Director Janice Hassen Enjoying Market Saturday!

Looking Over The Peppers!

 LFLF picked up potatoes, bell peppers for stuffing, sweet onions, apples, & sweetcorn.  Several of the farmers had raspberries, elderberries, blueberries, and peaches.  Garlic, hot peppers, pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, wax beans, & dillweed could all be had if you plan on canning! 

Cooking Demo ......

Red & Golden Raspberries!

30th Anniversary Party!

Celebrating 30 Years With Face Painting, Prizes, & Pizza

On Saturday, the Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association celebrated 30 years of their farmers' markets in Beaver County.  Of course, they waited 30 years to have a party in the rain, but no one was complaining!  It's been so dry this summer that many crops have suffered or outright failed for our farmers.  The rain on Saturday was off & on, but it was much gentler than earlier in the week.  LFLF missed the Thursday afternoon market, but it was held during the drenching downpours that moved through Western PA that day.  

Sweet Corn & Colorful Veggies From Oak Spring Farm

LFLF left the market with cookies, some new potatoes, & a nice bouquet of cut flowers after enjoying some of the pizza party .........

New Potatoes

Organics At Beaver Market!

Organic Veggies

Brenkle's Organics have become very popular at the Beaver Market.  The last organic grower here to the recollection of LFLF was Muddy Paws Farm several years ago.  Muddy Paws was owned by Jessica Walliser of the KDKA Radio Sunday morning show "The Organic Gardeners".  Anyway, it's good to have the choice for the customers who want to buy organic. 

Organic Pepper Varieties, Basil, Onions, & Squash

Announcing a special event next week at the market - a 30th Anniversary Founders Day Party!
Don't miss this chance to celebrate 30 years of LOCAL FOOD!  This "producer only" farmer run group of markets were promoting local growers long before the movement was a nationwide craze.
See you at the Beaver Farmers' Market next Saturday!

Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association
1982 - 2012
Celebrating 30 Years of Farmers' Markets in Beaver County!

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! 

They Want YOU!

The  Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Grower's Association is looking for a few good cooks!  If you're a chef, a cook, or even a foodie looking for a stage & an audience in the local food scene, here's your chance!   This sign was posted at the Ambridge Farmers' Market this afternoon and I'm sure it will be posted at the Beaver Farmers' Market on Saturday.  Did you notice that those are peppers behind Uncle Sam?   Do you know of a chef, dietician, food service professional, or cook who relates well with the public?  Refer them to the market!

LFLF got to market & bought lots of stuff!  Yellow summer squash, new potatoes, white peaches, chocolate chip cookies, cucumbers, and broccoli.  We also picked up a dozen "sweet cabbage pierogis" for dinner from a new vendor at the Ambridge market.  They were excellent sauteed in fresh onions ......

This lady was strictly interested in tart apples ... the first of the season! 

1st Farmers' Market of the Season!

Welcome back to the first market of the 2009 season for the Beaver County Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. As far as food was concerned, asparagus, green onions, and rhubarb were available today along with honey and baked goods.

The big items today though, were the hanging baskets, flats, and flowers that were out in full force. Next week is Mother's Day, so expect this to be big next week too!

Found from last fall .....

I found a treat from a visit to the Somerset County Farmers' Market last fall. Wrapped tightly in a brown paper bag was the third bar of Triple Mint soap that I got on my trip to Virginia. It still smells great!

This reminded me of some of the local products I have been using that were obtained when the farmers' markets were in full swing last fall. Garlic Wing Sauce from Lambert Mountain Acres , McCormack Farm Honey --- found year round in local grocery stores and Janoski's Farm Market, and of course, the dried flowers used over the winter.But the really good news is that farmers' markets in Western PA are getting ready to open up in May. The first day of the Beaver Farmers' Market is May 2nd behind the Beaver County Courthouse. Check with your local vendors and market managers to see when they're opening up.

It's time for fresh local food. See you there!

Farewell Farmers' Market!

Saturday, December 13th was the last market day of the season for the Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association in Beaver, PA. Goodbye 'til next spring from the farmers' market! Next market is May 2nd, 2009 ...... check the calendar and make sure that it's a Saturday.
We picked up apples since I'm on the hook to make apple pies for a Christmas luncheon party. We also bought cookies, a large butternut squash, carnival winter squashes, & some parsnips. PARSNIPS, you say? I've never had parsnips in my life before, so I decided to try some ..... I'll report back on the experience once I figure out what to do with them! The butternut squash went into "Butternut-Lamb Deluxe" - a recipe from the Garden Way Zucchini Cookbook. This recipe is about as local as you can get, since the lamb comes from my farm.

If you enlarge the picture, you might be able to see the price on the book --- $3.95. I've had this one for quite a while .......

Warm & Light Rain Today

The broccoli from Swab's Fruit & Vegetables was doing just fine in the light rain & mist at the Beaver Farmers' Market today. The market is open from 10am - 1pm and will run until Decmeber 20th. I've had to give up on the Thursday afternoon farmers' market in Ambridge ...... just can't be sure to get there from work before it gets dark. So ..... it's back to the Saturday farmers' market in Beaver until the season ends. We skipped around to several of the vendors today picking up this broccoli, carnival winter squash, Winesap apples, black walnut fudge, and finally, red potatoes on our way out. I also made note that 2 of the vendors still have tomatoes for sale - some ripe - some nearly ripe - some green.
I got a special "present" from the Volkar family today ...... a shopping bag full of red onion skins! Yes, a bag of onion skins to use for my natural dyeing at the farm. I can't believe that they remembered me mentioning that I was looking for red onion skins, but I got a bag to try. I've seen a nice shade of green that was supposedly obtained from red onion skins, so I'm going to see if I can research the process to get that color .......

100% Local Feast!

You're looking at the serving line for the 53rd Annual Beaver County Farm-City Banquet held at the Big Knob Grange on Wednesday night. Reservations were capped at 150 and it was a sell out! The Farm-City Banquet exclusively showcases Beaver County produced food from vegetables to beef to ice cream.
The Big Knob Grange, New Sewickley Kiwanis, & Penn State Cooperative Extension of Beaver County organize the dinner every year. The food is donated by the farmers' market members of the Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association and other local farmers ...... this year, Rovidale Farm and Brunton Dairy helped support the dinner with beef, milk, and ice cream. Proceeds were donated to the Beaver County 4-H Foundation.

Local produce items on the menu included spiced beets, sweet corn, butternut squash with local honey & butter, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and that perennial favorite (where else could you get it?!?) roasted turnips being dished up below!
Follow that up with apple pie and ice cream and everyone left the tables feeling grateful for our local farmers ............

What a Difference a Day Makes

Driving home from work on Wednesday I passed through a whiteout! Even though the ground isn't frozen, the snow covered the road and the tracks of the cars for about 10 minutes. By the time the Thursday afternoon Ambridge Farmers' Market rolled around, thankfully the temps were in the 50's and the sun was shining!

Here are some nice pictures of the market and produce in the setting sun. Look at what is still available in the way of tomatoes. Thursday was Trick-or-Treat night in Ambridge, so the crowd came early and headed home to pass out candy ......

We're Sitting on the Fence ....

Well, here they are ....... the fencesitter pumpkins at home. They'll stay up until the ram knocks them off or until the November freeze/thaw cycles start turning them mushy. Then we feed them to the sheep. Local food for local sheep!

Looking for ideas for your pumpkins? http://www.countryliving.com/30-days/pumpkin-parade-1008

There are still plenty of pumpkins, squash, and gourds at the farmers' markets. I'll be interested to see what can be found tomorrow at the Ambridge Farmers' Market. The temperature dipped today to a high of 41 degrees. Throughout the day, we had snow flurries, rain, & tiny hail stones in the air. It should be in the 50's on Thursday for the market.

Running Late Tonight ......

I dashed over to the Ambridge Farmers' Market a little late tonight after work, and ended up watching folks tearing down their stalls by the time I left. You've got to hand it to these farmers ..... when you do this several times a week, you get pretty good at it. Just look at how neatly & efficiently Oak Spring Farm has their trucks packed up. Everyone has their own system depending on what they sell.

I did get what I wanted today - red potatoes & Winesap apples. Check out your farmers' market and orchard stands for the uncommon varieties of apples that you can't find in the supermarkets. You're hearing from someone who hasn't has a Red Delicious (<---- yes, I did that on purpose) in the house for 20 years!

Even a little pile of salad tomatoes made it home, maybe the last ones we get our hands on for the season. :~( We've had a couple of frosts in Beaver County during the last week, so most of the tomatoes have been picked.

Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association update:

The Ambridge Market will start at 3:30pm once the time changes so that you still have time to get over while it's still light. I also understand that their last market of the season in Ambridge is the TUESDAY immediately before Thanksgiving. Perfect timing for your Thanksgiving dinner!

More on Pittsburgh area farmers' markets:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08297/922008-34.stm

They're Back!

Look what appeared at the Ambridge Farmer's Market on Thursday ..... sugar pod peas! They're back for a couple of weeks in the cool weather. I really appreciate our farmers planting a second crop of peas in the summer right when they're busiest with harvesting all of the other summer veggies.

I also grabbed a Hi-Beta Gold Spaghetti Squash ..... this will be the first time to try this variety. It's "claim to fame" is that it contains more beta-carotene than the standard spaghetti squash.

We rounded out the day with Kennebec potatoes, onions, some heirloom tomatoes, and a big bag of Golden Delicious apples that just couldn't be squeezed into the picture.

There was definitely a nip in the air and the temperature seemed to drop about 10 degrees while the market was on.

On Saturday, we were in Beaver and made a quick dash into the Beaver Farmers' Market to get some apple cider and one of the last watermelons of the season. The flowers from Ridgemont Farm looked great and a couple of bouquets sold while we were nearby ..... One of the farmers told us that he heard that the "f" word was coming ..... yes, it's time for the first FROST! He was right, we had a heavy frost overnight. Look around if you pass any farms and you may see the white floating row covers over some of the crops to extend the season. Janoski's Farm in Clinton had row covers gently billowing in the wind on Saturday when I passed by ....... they were ready.

Is this blog working?

This is a test to see if we're up and running today ..... wouldn't allow this bloggist to "save" & post on the 18th! Otherwise you would have seen the mums yesterday ...........

Another crystal clear September afternoon at the Ambridge Farmers' Market. I got 5 purple mums to plant, but I really liked these "daisy" like mums too.

Food & food for the soul!

What a great market this afternoon in Ambridge! The weather was fantastic. I arrived around 5:45 today and the tables were still overflowing with a great variety of baked goods, veggies, flowers, and fruit. I also spotted the first apple cider of the season.

As I walked through the market, I saw several people picking up large quantities of tomatoes and peppers for canning & freezing from the farmers. Keep in mind that many of the farmers will accept orders for large quantities of produce if you're into preserving. The heirloom tomatoes in the bottom picture are "Hillbilly" & "Mortgage Lifter" from May-Malone Farm.

Need ideas on how to use tons of tomatoes? Here's a link to check out. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can3_tomato.html

The peppers pictured above are from Douds-Floyd Farm. I bought 6 bell peppers for stuffed peppers this weekend. Two baskets of hot peppers disappeared in front of me as I tried to take the pictures ........ If you like hot peppers, now is the time to hit the market!

Finally - food for the soul. Check out the gorgeous magenta colored Celosia (aka cockscomb) from Ridgemont Farm. I picked up the 2 large stems to dry for a winter arrangement. Several of the cut flower arrangements contained flowers that could be dried. Why not ask for a custom bouquet of flowers to make a dried arrangement?

Here's more info on dried flowers ----> http://www.dried-flowers-galore.com/

Packed Market ver2.0

I have a few more shots of the Ambridge Farmers' Market from Thursday to share. A note for those with limited mobility ...... the market is level and parking is available next to the vendors. You don't have to cross a street or climb any steps. There are always folks with walkers & scooters in the mix here. Also plenty of baby strollers, so come on down.

First, a little info on my "take" from the market. I only buy watermelon in season, so I'm going to try this "Y4" melon from the Volkars. "Y4", for the uninitiated, means that it's a $4 yellow fleshed melon. I'll crack this open on the weekend. The Ginger Gold apples http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Fruits/ginger-gold-apple.asp came from Woodward's Orchard. There's a picture of some of their peppers and tomatoes. If you like to visit farms, check out their annual event beginning on the 3rd weekend of September, "Fall Fun for Y'all". Here's a link for contact infomation & directions. http://agmap.psu.edu/Businesses/1591

Also ---- there's still time to buy potted herbs to transplant for your windowsill garden! I always have a rosemary plant on our south facing kitchen windowsill to clip when I'm making a beef or chicken roast in the winter. Everyone can fit in a potted plant or two ........

Finally, I seemed to keep bumping into this gentleman mystery shopper ..... he was buying up all of the tiniest new potatoes at the market.

Packed Market!

A quick picture or two from the Ambridge Farmers' Market today. Here's a look at SOME of the mums available now ........ and how about these cut flowers and herbs? I got to the market at 4:30 today and it was packed! Of course, most markets are jumping right at opening, but the crowd seemed to have staying power today. The tables were overflowing with fantastic fruits, veggies, baked goods, flowers, and plants.