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Weekly Reminder to Order; Eggplant Experiment


Good afternoon to The Wednesday Market community. We hope you are having a good weekend!

The Wednesday Market is open for orders. Please place your orders by 10 p.m. Monday. Orders are ready for pick up between 3 and 6 p.m. Wednesday. See the website for all of this week’s offerings. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

Do you like to cook? What kind of a cook are you? I am a “by the recipe” kind of a cook. The way I see things, my life is just too busy to spend time working on something that might or might not work out correctly. By using a recipe, I hedge my bets that my project will be successful.

Once in a while, though, I experiment. Such was the case on Friday night when we did not have plans to go anywhere. Having been given a big bag of Japanese eggplant, I decided to figure out something to do with them. They were long and skinny. How would I make eggplant Parmesan out of these?

I started by slicing the eggplant into thin round slices, so that they looked like large coins. I put them on a parchment lined baking sheet, brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and freshly ground pepper. Into the oven at 400 degrees they went. At this point, I left the project with my capable sous chef and better half, Joe, so that I could run down to Freshway for some Parmesan cheese. By the time I returned, the eggplant was successfully roasted, and Joe had put them into a pan on the stove and poured a jar of tomato basil spaghetti sauce over the top; the sauce and eggplant were simmering gently. Joe had also made a big pot of angel hair pasta. The kitchen smelled heavenly with the aroma of garlic and basil wafting through the air! I sliced a big loaf of Italian bread and toasted it in the oven. I pulled a jar of artichoke bruschetta from the pantry, and we headed to the table.

Dinner was served: roasted eggplant and tomato basil sauce over angel hair pasta topped with grated Parmesan cheese and artichoke bruschetta on the side. It was delicious! Even our boys, Stephen, 10, and Charlie, 5, gave the meal two “thumbs up.” The moral of the story: It is fun to experiment once in a while. You just might discover something really good!

We hope that you will be inspired by the bounty of The Wednesday Market farmers and try something new, too.

See you on Wednesday!

Thanks,

Beverly

Order Now; Peach Ice Cream


Good evening. This is your weekly reminder that The Wednesday Market is open for orders. Please place your orders by 10 p.m. Monday. Orders are ready for pick up between 3 and 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Be sure to check the website for all of this week’s offerings. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

In last week’s blog, I said that I’d write this week about peaches and share with you a recipe for homemade peach ice cream.

My husband’s cousins grew up in Ft. Valley, Peach County, Georgia. When Joe’s cousins were teenagers, growing up in the long hot summers there, they worked at the Lane Packing Company. Those were the days when Lane sold their peaches at a simple roadside stand. As we all know by now, the Lanes have turned their small, family-owned orchard into a booming year-round enterprise. Tourists come in droves to visit Lane Southern Orchards these days.
Joe’s Aunt Mary and Uncle Mike were the most genteel, welcoming people I have ever met. When I married into the family, they treated me as if I were one of their own children. Visiting them was an incredible pleasure for me because Aunt Mary was such a wonderful hostess. Staying at her house was like being a guest at a bed and breakfast. My room was appointed with fresh, elegant linens and the bedside stand had a vase of flowers cut from Aunt Mary’s own gardens. She was an adventurous cook and loved to try new recipes for family and friends. It was at Aunt Mary’s house that I had my first occasion to eat peach ice cream. In honor of Aunt Mary, here is her recipe:

Georgia Peach Ice Cream

Pulse in food processor 2 cups peaches and 1 ½ cups sugar. Pour peach mixture in large bowl and add 3 eggs, 2 ½ cups sugar, 1 can evaporated milk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring. Mix well and pour into ice cream freezer. Pour in a quart of 2% milk until you reach the fill line of freezer. Freeze according to your freezer directions. Serve with pound cake.

Now, Aunt Mary’s recipe does not call for cooking the ice cream base before freezing. Modern home economists would frown on this recipe, as certain segments of the population, including the elderly, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems are greatly discouraged from consuming raw eggs, due to the risk of salmonella. So, what now?

Here is a modern recipe, featuring cooked custard, that I believe to be as good as Aunt Mary’s, and we know that this recipe, when prepared properly, poses no risks:

Georgia Peach Ice Cream

4 eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar, divided
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups whole milk
2 cans (14 ounces each) sweetened condensed milk
1 ¾ pounds fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

In a large heavy saucepan, whisk eggs, 1 cup sugar and salt until blended; stir in milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is just thick enough to coat a spoon and an instant-read thermometer dipped in the mixture reads at least 160 degrees. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat immediately.

Quickly transfer to a bowl; place bowl in a pan of ice water. Stir gently and occasionally for 2 minutes. Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard.Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

When ready to freeze, in a small bowl, mash peaches with remaining sugar; let stand 30 minutes. Pour custard into cylinder of ice cream freezer; stir in peaches. Freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Makes about 3 ¾ quarts. Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/georgia-peach-ice-cream

I hope that you try making peach ice cream for you and your family. Better hurry, before peach season is over. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and we’ll see you on Wednesday at the Market!

Thanks,

Beverly

Here is Your Weekly Reminder to Order!


Good evening to everyone within The Wednesday Market community.

The Wednesday Market is open for orders. Please place your order by 10 p.m. Monday. Orders are ready for pick up between 3 and 6 p.m. Wednesday. Check the website for all of this week’s offerings. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

Are all of you enjoying the bounty of this summer’s vegetables? I just have to tell y’all about the tasty supper my family had at Mama’s house tonight. The occasion for celebration was my brother Jeremy’s 31st birthday. It was a very impromptu party. Mama and I planned the menu in about a 10-minute phone conversation. Soon thereafter, my brother and my husband were tending to the grill loaded with New York strip steaks, yellow summer squash, onions, and mushrooms, and yellow and white sweet corn. We also grilled a loaf of French bread, cut on the bias, that I served with my favorite topping – a mix of chopped homegrown heirloom tomatoes, minced garlic, chiffonade of basil, a sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of vinegar. The steaks were perfect, and the side vegetables were colorful and savory. For dessert, Mama made Jeremy’s favorite cake, which we call “Mississippi Mud.” It’s really an old-fashioned chocolate pudding cake, the kind where you mix batter and put it in a casserole dish, then pour boiling water combined with cocoa powder and sugar over the top before you put it in the oven. Something magical happens in the oven – as the mixture cooks, cake rises to the top and the bottom becomes a layer of chocolate pudding. It is delicious served warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A good time was had by all!

Here is a little teaser for next week: I’ll write about peaches and share a recipe for homemade peach ice cream.

Until then, enjoy the remainder of the weekend, and we’ll see you Wednesday at the Market.

Thanks,
Beverly

Time to Order


Good afternoon. The Wednesday Market is open. Please place your orders by 10 p.m. Monday, and your orders are ready for pick up on Wednesday between 3 and 6 p .m. Be sure to check the website for all of this week’s offerings. We have some really interesting produce, including purple hull peas, yellow beans, and acorn and butternut squash. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

On this rainy day, I’m just too sleepy (or maybe, too lazy) to write anything creative or inspiring, so I’ll borrow someone else’s words:

“It is better to dance in the rain than to sit under a leaking roof.” ? Vikrant Parsai

We’ll see you on Wednesday!

Thanks,

Beverly

Weekly Reminder; Squash Recipes


Good evening to everyone in The Wednesday Market community.

This is your friendly weekly reminder that the Market is open for ordering. Place your orders by 10 p.m. Monday; orders are ready for pick up between 3 and 6 p.m. Wednesday. Newly listed items include cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, purple hull peas, and green bell peppers. Be sure to browse the market for all of these week’s product offerings. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

Have you ever looked through the “Recipes” section of our Wednesday Market website? There are many inspiring recipes, but for some unknown reason, most of them feature fall and winter produce. There’s nothing wrong with that, but here we are – right in the MIDDLE of summer – and I think it’s time to share a recipe or two showcasing produce that is in season now.

I hope y’all like squash! I sure do. My favorite way to eat squash is fried, but I’m really particular when it comes to fried squash. No thickly sliced and battered squash for me. I only like it done the way that my folks do it. Mama learned how from my Mamaw, who sliced the squash very thinly, then added cornmeal mix and salt. You keep adding cornmeal until no more will stick to the squash. Then you fry it in a cast iron skillet, using a fair amount of hot oil. The squash is supposed to come out golden and crispy. While I know the theory behind frying squash this way, I am sorry to admit that I have not yet perfected the technique. Every time I try, I end up with burnt squash and a smoky kitchen. The best thing to do is just go to Mama’s house. I know she’ll do it right and the result will be delicious!

The following squash recipes were sent to us by Carmen Westerfield of Westerfield Farm in Molena. We hope they will inspire you to try cooking squash in new ways.

PATTYPAN SQUASH
2 large fresh tomatoes
5-6 medium pattypan squash
¼ cup melted butter (or olive oil)
1 bunch fresh basil
Sea salt
Grated parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice your squash, and then fine chop basil. Layer this in a casserole dish. Slice your tomatoes and layer them on the squash and basil. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top and drizzle butter over layers. Bake for 30 minutes or until squash is tender.

STUFFED PATTYPAN SQUASH
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup grated yellow squash
¼ teaspoon salt
6 small pattypan squash
1 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon dried basil
Pinch pepper
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Combine zucchini, yellow squash and salt, stir gently. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain well, and press between layers of paper towels. Set aside. Cook pattypan squash in boiling salted water to cover 8 to 10 minutes or until tender but firm. Drain and let cool to touch. Cut 1/2 inch slice from stem end of each squash. Scoop out leaving shell intact. Place shells in a 13 × 9-inch dish. Melt butter in skillet. Add zucchini, yellow squash, and basil. Sauté 2 minutes. Spoon into shells and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until heated.
Source: 1988 Southern Living Cookbook

SQUASH CROQUETTES
2 pounds yellow squash, sliced
2 to 2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, divided
½ cup minced green onions
2 eggs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup cornmeal
Vegetable oil

Cook squash until tender, drain and mash. Add 2 cups breadcrumbs and next 5 ingredients. Add more breadcrumbs if too soft. Shape into 18 longs. Roll in cornmeal. Fry in oil until golden brown.
Source: 1988 Southern Living Cookbook

Happy summer from all of us Sunshine Girls! We’ll see you at the Market on Wednesday.

Thanks,

Beverly

If You Are Having Difficulty Ordering, Please Do This


Good evening.

Some customers are experiencing difficulty with our ordering system today. In an effort to “reset” the system, I disabled it briefly a few minutes ago, then turned it back on. Maybe that corrected the situation.

If you are not able to log in or get your password e-mailed to you, please let me know.

At any rate, we do not want you to miss an opportunity to order. If you try again, in the next several minutes, to log in and are unsuccessful, then please send an e-mail to the address below, listing whatever it is you wanted to order (be sure to indicate which farmer you want to order from), and we’ll do our best to work with our growers to get your orders completed.

We do not like having “technical difficulties”! Please bear with us as we work to fix the situation.

Thank you for your patience.

Beverly

beverlywednesdaymarket@gmail.com

Your Weekly Reminder to Order; Try Bruschetta!


Good evening to everyone within The Wednesday Market community.

The Market is open for ordering. Please remember to place your orders by 10 p.m. on Monday. Orders are ready for pick up between 3 and 6 p.m. on Wednesday. We are now in full swing with summer vegetables. Be sure to check the website for all of this week’s product offerings. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

I am writing to you from my Aunt Sharon Dean’s dining room table in Peachtree, North Carolina, just outside of Murphy. I don’t know how the weather has been at home, but here in western Carolina, it is sublime! Today was sunny and warm – but not too hot – with low humidity and a stunningly clear cobalt sky. The low temperature will dip into the mid-50s overnight, and more of the same is predicted for the next few days.

This evening, 17 family members and I sat down for an alfresco supper. Our menu consisted of grilled sweet corn, grilled eggplant (thanks Elise!), bruschetta made with heirloom tomatoes, freshly made hand-grated coleslaw, Mom’s potato salad (best in the whole world!), platters of sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet onions, Aunt Sharon’s homemade chili, my sister Teresa’s pickled cauliflower, and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. We concluded our meal with ice cold watermelon and an assortment of pies: blueberry, cherry, apple, and bourbon pecan. Needless to say, we are all stuffed! What a pleasure today has been preparing our feast while visiting with my favorite kin!

Here is a quick and easy way to use up an abundance of tomatoes: make bruschetta. Dice several tomatoes; add a clove or two of minced fresh garlic, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and a pinch or two of salt. Kosher or sea salt, if you have some, makes this dish especially tasty. Finish with a chiffonade of basil. To chiffonade basil, take several large leaves off the stems, stack them one on top of each other, and roll up tightly along a long side. Make very thin parallel cuts until all of the basil has been cut. You should have a pile of deliciously fragrant basil “ribbons” when you finish. Scoop it all up and add it to the tomatoes. Stir gently, taste, and add more garlic, basil, or salt to suit your taste. Cover and let sit at room temperature for an hour or two – if you can wait that long! Slice a baguette or loaf of Italian bread on the bias, brush with olive oil, and grill until the bread is toasted and golden, turning once to make sure to toast the other side. Be careful and check the bread frequently so that you don’t make burnt toast! Top the grilled bread with a tablespoon or two of the tomato-garlic-basil mixture and enjoy!

As always, we thank our customers and farmers for your commitment to our Market. We appreciate your support of the buy-local movement, and we’ll see you on Wednesday.

Thanks,

Beverly

Red, White, and Blue for The Fourth; The Market is Open!


Good evening to The Wednesday Market community. We hope you are having a great weekend!

The Wednesday Market is open. Please place your orders by 10 p.m. on Monday. Orders are ready for pick up on Wednesday between 3 and 6 p.m. Be sure to check the website for all of this week’s product listings. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

As we prepare to turn the calendar page from June to July, many of us are packing up to leave town for a long holiday weekend over the Fourth of July. And if we aren’t leaving, then we are at least contemplating how to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day. Most of our celebrations will include a cook-out or a meal. What’s on your menu?

At the Walter house, we like to prepare a grilled supper for the Fourth. Joe will put a brisket in the smoker, and I’ll prepare vegetable skewers. We like grilled onion, squash, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes.

Lifestyle magazines are full of glossy photographs of recipes featuring red, white, and blue fruits and vegetables to carry out a patriotic party theme. How about watermelon and tomato salad, potato salad, or blueberry and strawberry trifle? Flag cake, anyone? Or, are hamburgers and hot dogs more your style? Just Google the Internet for “Fourth of July Foods” and you’ll find a plethora of ideas to inspire you.

Whatever strikes your fancy, you are sure to find many of the items you need for your Fourth of July party right here at The Wednesday Market. We have blueberries – that’s for sure! And potatoes for potato salad. And Angel Food Cake and Sour Cream Pound Cake for trifle. And wonderfully rich cream to whip or turn into ice cream. And, the list of possibilities goes on and on!

Thank you for supporting locally grown agriculture and for choosing to buy locally. We’ll see you on Wednesday.

Thanks,

Beverly

Weblog Entry


Good evening. The Wednesday Market is open. Remember to place your order by 10 p.m. Monday. Orders are ready for pick up Wednesday between 3 and 6 p.m. Please check the website for all of this week’s product selections. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

Blueberry season has arrived! I wanted to share a blueberry recipe this week to inspire you with ways to use these healthy little berries. A search of the Internet yielded thousands of recipes, and before I knew what happened, I was in over my head trying to choose just one recipe! How about some tips on choosing and handling blueberries, instead?

Blueberry Tips:

  • How many cups of blueberries to make a pint? 2 cups.
  • Best way to store them when fresh? Keep them unwashed and refrigerated. Wash in cold water before eating. If you wash them before storing in the refrigerator, they can get soggy and waterlogged.
  • How to freeze them: Freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet then pack in freezer containers or bags (this way they won’t freeze into a solid mass or block). You can also sugar pack them.
  • Baking with frozen berries: Don’t thaw first (unless recipe instructs otherwise), keep them frozen when adding to batter and their color will bleed less in the final baked product. Also add a bit of thickener like flour or tapioca so it will combat any excessive juice the berries provide when thawed as they are being baked (will also help keep juice from boiling over).
  • Baking with fresh berries: Toss them in flour first before adding to batter; this will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom during baking.
  • Avoid soggy crusts when baking them in pies: Sprinkle the bottom of the crust with flour before adding berries; also, drain off any excess juice before pouring into the pie shell.
  • Discoloration in baking: Do you know why blueberries can discolor baking a funky green in the area surrounding them? This is caused by a reaction they have with baking soda.
  • What to look for when buying fresh: Look for excessive juice stains around or underneath the packaging, this is an indicator that they are too ripe.
  • Are they overripe? Here’s a fix: Arrange them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze for about 20 minutes until they firm up, eat right away or use in baking.
  • Removing stains from hands: It never fails that your hands get stained when working with them. Try rubbing hands with a bit of fresh lemon juice before washing with soap and water.

And, now, here is a bonus for those of you who have read all of this post. Check out this link for “100+ Things to Make with Blueberries”: http://tipnut.com/make-blueberries/

Last week was another record-breaking week for The Wednesday Market in terms of sales. We thank our customers for being so loyal, and we thank our growers, producers, and vendors for providing so many quality products to choose from – week in, week out – all year long!

We’ll see you on Wednesday!

Thanks,

Beverly

Time to Order


Good afternoon, and Happy Father’s Day to all of you Dads out there!

The Wednesday Market is open. Please place your order by 10 p.m. on Monday. Orders are ready for pick up on Wednesday between 3 and 6 p.m. Be sure to visit the Market website to see all of this week’s product offerings. Here is the link: http://wednesdaymarket.locallygrown.net/market

Several customers told us last week that they never received notice that the Market was open for orders. We don’t really know what happened! Technology is great – when everything works. I wrote and posted the weblog, as I always do, last weekend, but apparently the e-blast went into Never-Never-Land. Anyway, rest assured that even if you do not get a notification, the system will ALWAYS be on for ordering no later than Sunday morning. You can type Wednesday Market into Google to bring up the website and do your ordering from there. If you forget your username, please don’t make another account. Just shoot us an e-mail, and we’ll help you get back on track.

Here is what I wrote in last week’s blog. If you are one of the few who may have received it last week, please pardon the repeat:

Summer vegetables are coming in. Broccoli, cucumbers, green beans, peas, squash, and zucchini have all arrived, and tomatoes should be ready soon!

Whenever I think about vegetable gardening, I can’t help but think of my grandparents: Grandma and Grandpa Dean and Mamaw and Papaw Pickelsimer, all of whom lived in Fannin County, Georgia. Grandma’s garden had tomatoes, asparagus, and potatoes. Papaw’s garden had squash and green beans. And, although I can’t remember whose garden they came from, we had corn and okra, too. All of them were fabulous gardeners, probably more from necessity than by choice, but when they had more produce than they needed or wanted for themselves, friends and neighbors were bestowed with the extras.

Oh, the meals we consumed at their tables! Fried squash, fried okra, sliced tomatoes, green beans, mashed potatoes, cornbread, and biscuits were regular fare in both households. The food was not fancy, but it sure was fresh and bounteous, and tasted so good, especially when we washed it all down with milk from Papaw’s cows.

Even as they aged, Mamaw and Papaw continued to plant sizable gardens, and when we were teenagers, my sister Sharon and I would be sent to North Georgia to help them “put up” the garden. Mamaw’s specialty was canning green beans. Lord have mercy, one summer we processed so many green beans that our fingers were calloused from all the work of stringing and snapping! At the time, I didn’t think I ever wanted to eat green beans again.

Thankfully, my parents have continued the planting tradition. Mama’s garden is now in bloom, full of white half-runner green beans, elegantly staked and strung by my Dad and brother Jeremy. The tomatoes are blooming, too. Hills of squash and cucumbers, along with rows of corn and okra, and a pepper plant or two round out this year’s spread.

With any luck, Mama and I will soon be in the kitchen, “putting up” vegetables, just like the old folks taught us. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa and Mamaw and Papaw, for teaching us to grow our own food.

And, thank you to our farmers at The Wednesday Market for providing a bounteous harvest for us all! We will see you on Wednesday.

Thanks,

Beverly