It's Time For Fall Foods!

Beaver Farmers' Market

It's time for all of the fall & winter comfort foods.  There were cabbages, all kinds of squash, potatoes, turnips, peppers, beets, apples, cauliflower, greens, horseradish, leeks, and on and on and on today!

Oak Spring Farm Cabbages

The number of vendors drops, but the variety of goods is still fantastic!  LFLF bought a couple of leeks today.  We've never cooked with leeks, so this will be an opportunity to try something new.  Funny, the farmer said that they've never used leeks either, but that they sell a ton of them each fall!  We didn't get any of these, but the turnips were in plentiful supply too ......

So, our haul today included Buffalo Chip cookies, potatoes, leeks, ground beef, Butter cheese, fudge, & Melrose apples.   The last 3 gallons of apple cider got snapped up by the time we made it around the rest of the market!  :(

Golden Cauliflower!

Golden Orange Cauliflower!

LFLF waited too long to pick up one of 2 golden cauliflowers at the Beaver Farmers' Market on Saturday.
We snapped the picture, but a customer picked it up just after this shot was taken ..... well, we got a regular one instead. 
The weather turned really nice for the weekend and the farmers had all shifted down to one side of the parking lot, now that there are fewer of them at market.  The last day for the Beaver market is December 17th.  Hopefully market days will be sunny even if they're cold.
This weekend's stash included apple cider, pizzelles, sweet potatoes, onions, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, & fudge for Mr. LFLF.  There were still some tomatoes, but I don't know how much longer they'll be around.

Sewickley Farmers' Market In The Rain!

Sewickley Farmers' Market in the Rain

LFLF was heading towards Zelienople today, so on the way we stopped at the Sewickley Farmers' Market.  In fact, we made it a point to stop today ..... we had our first snow of the season.  It was snow early in the morning, but had turned to cold light rain & drizzle by market time.  These are the days when you have to appreciate the local farmers who work in all kinds of weather.  That's our bag of spaghetti squash that we put down to take the picture from under the tent.

Bonus Parsley!

We had stopped to talk with a friend who farms near us and got a geat shot "behind the scenes" of a customer who found a bonus - parsley picked with the roots still on.  She was happy to take it and plant some of it for a winter window garden! 

SteffesWood Apiary Honey Selelction

Local honey was a must on the LFLF shopping list, so we stopped & picked up a bottle of "Aliquippa Wildflower" Honey from SteffesWood Apiary.  As a native of Hopewell Township, it doesn't get any more local than that!  In addition to the honey, they have a nice selection of beeswax products ...... candles, beeswax blocks, lip balm, & little beeswax bowls!

SteffesWood Apiary Beeswax Stuff!

We also picked up a gallon of apple cider from Dawson's Orchards of Enon Valley & a batch of chocolate chunk cookies ...... and we didn't get too wet!

Great Market Weather In Beaver

Greens, greens, greens!

We had really great weather for the market Saturday in Beaver.  There were some gorgeous greens - chard, kale, & savoy cabbage, plus the root crops - turnips, beets, carrots, & potatoes galore. 

Melrose Apples - Woodwards Orchard

Then it was on to our favorite Melrose apples plus a gallon of apple cider.   We also picked up some of what could be the last green beans of the season ...... It turns out that we had our first frost Sunday morning, so if it wasn't picked by now, it could be gone!  That's why we got a quart of tomatoes & 3 green peppers ..... they may not be there next week.

Douds-Floyd Farm Winter Squashes

There were still plenty of winter squash, pumpkins, & decorative gourds for everyone.  This great table full is from Douds-Floyd  Farm.   LFLF couldn't get all of the varieties in the picture.  You can just see the bottom of a butternut squash ...... 

Finally, a note in passing.  The Beaver County Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association put up a small memorial display for Mr. Lester Zahn.  Mr. Zahn was a charter member of the association & for some time also was known for raising turkeys at Zahn's Turkey Farm. Market regulars knew him for his garlic too!
    

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

Janoski's Squash & Pumpkins

LFLF did a little looking around on Friday at Janoski's Farm & Greenhouse for pumpkins & squash.  We were looking for the smallest pumkins for our fence posts.  There were lots of small pie pumpkins, but they were a little too big, so we went away empty handed, but got this great shot above of part of the selection available.  Plenty to choose from & there were several families circling the area for just the right pumpkin. 

Beaver Farmers' Market Fall Display

Luck held out for the farmers today at the Beaver Farmers' Market ...... lot's of rain Thursday night into Friday, but no rain today!  It was very windy all day & most vendors didn't bother to put up their pop up tents.

Oak Spring Farm Pumpkins

LFLF found just the right size pumpkins from Oak Spring Farm for our fence posts.  We picked the 10 smallest ones out of this crate.  Bonus - they all had nice handles!   I confess to liking the traditional tan/brown stems, not the dark green stems that the plant breeders select for currently ......
What else did we pick up?  Ginger snap cookies, red cabbage, edible pod peas - yes, this is the fall crop, Melrose apples - tart & delicious to eat out of hand, apple cider, & potatoes.  
Oh yes ..... our last LFLF post was put up HERE by mistake on the Wild Rose Farm blog ......

Grapes, Apples, & Mums

Grapes - They Smell Wonderful!

Grapes are only at market for a few weeks each year & only one or two growers bring them.  They looked fantastic today.  LFLF did pick up several sweet peppers this week, but they were all smaller than usual.  I suspect that the farmers were picking them earlier before the stink bugs could get to them.
We also got some sweet corn, cookies, new potatoes, apples, & tomatoes. 

Chili Peppers!

Unusual at the Beaver Farmers' Market today were hanging bunches of chili peppers & Edamame pods (edible soybeans) ......

Stinkbugs Affect The Farmers!

LFLF went to the Beaver Farmers' Market today (minus the camera) with peppers on my shopping list.
I arrived a little late, true, but there really wasn't a selection of sweet bell peppers to be found.  In talking with several farmer friends, I found that the disgusting stinkbugs have damaged quite a few crops!  So far they hadn't gotten the hot peppers, but the sweet peppers got hit pretty bad.
I've been hearing about the stinkbug damage on the KDKA Radio Sunday morning show,  The Organic Gardeners.  The web-site has an entire discussiom thread on the Forum about stinkbugs.
Too bad the camera was at home .... I got some nice Teddy Bear sunflowers for the office!