Local author, farmer and neighbor, Mary Lou Shaw, is a guest contributor for this week’s Farm Market article:
This time of year offers so much bounty from our gardens and the Farmers’ Market that it’s difficult to know what to do with it all. Last week’s cold soup recipe is a great idea for making use of what produce is fresh now. We should all feel free to modify this and any recipe to allow us to include what vegetables and fruit are most available.
Another recipe that is easy to modify with the season is stir-fry. The Chinese may not recognize our late-summer concoctions, but we can make delicious and nutritious stir-fry from what we find at the Farmers’ Market now. A frying pan will suffice if we don’t have a wok, as long as we follow a couple basic instructions.
Stir fry requires using a high heat for a short period to prevent vegetables from getting soft or soggy. Use oil that is meant for high-heat cooking, use only a small amount of oil and keep it hot. Have all your ingredients prepared to cook before you begin by washing and cutting each vegetable into bite-size pieces. Begin the rice cooking before you begin to prepare the vegetables. When the oil is hot, start frying with the ingredients that need the most cooking.
In looking around the Farmers’ Market, here’s what I would gather during this season and the order I would cook them in: sweet onions, garlic, sweet red peppers for crunch and color, green beans, okra, zucchini and corn cut off the cob. I might even add some of the Jones’ sausage patties in small pieces after those onions. What a beautiful meal when served over rice with bright red tomatoes on the side. Make it fun by designing this to suit your own taste!
The Wednesday market runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the TSC parking lot (1650 Columbus Ave.) in Washington C.H.. This location provides easy access to vendors and parking. SNAP EBT food benefit cards, Senior Farm Market coupons and credit/debit cards are accepted. Those using the SNAP EBT card for produce receive matching dollar VeggieSNAP tokens ($1 for $1) for additional fruits and vegetables. So,”buy one, get one” for fruit and vegetables, up to $10 EVERY market day.
The following vendors have indicated that they plan on selling this Wednesday, and other vendors may participate as well:
B.Y.E Gardens (Brian and Elaine Yoder): Tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, winter squashes, candy onions, bell peppers, cinnamon rolls, strawberry bread, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, lemon cookies.
Chilcote Farms (Bruce and Marlene Chilcote): Honey, caramels, cookies, blueberry buckle.
D.J.’s Farm (Dennis Anschutz): Baked goods and seasonal produce.
Garland Farms (Joe Garland & Family): Sweetcorn.
Jones Farm Fresh Produce (Jon and Taylor Jones): Tomatoes, peppers, green beans, red potatoes, yellow onions, acorn squash, sweet italian links, jalapeño links and sausage patties.
This and That (Mary Ford): Garden and home crafts (coasters, mug rugs, aprons, OSU items, jewelry, and NEW summer goose dresses), baked goods (pineapple upside down cake, apple butter bread, peanut butter fudge).
Windflower Farm (Elaine Anschutz): Various baked goods and treats, culinary mixes, catnip, lavender, crafts, dog treats, info on FCDS.
Katrina Bush is a vendor with the Fayette County Farm Market.
