We have had some beautiful fruit at this year’s Fayette County Farmers Market and, hopefully, we will have more during this last month.
The season started with strawberries (one might think “rhubarb,” but it technically is a vegetable), followed by red raspberries in the spring and blackberries in early summer. Just as the melons came to market, we were graced with a second round of strawberries (the ever bearing variety) as well as local peaches for a brief few weeks. And now, the late summer/early fall raspberry crop entices us. But we’ve also had some apples. Unlike the ubiquitous and, quite honestly, nearly tasteless Red Delicious so readily available in the grocery year round, a homegrown apples’ flavor is complex. And every kind is different!
Apples, with pumpkins and gourds, are often associated with fall, and u-pick farms and cider and hay rides. But many apples ripen in the summer. Each apple variety has its strengths; some are best baked or stewed, others eaten fresh and many are multi-purpose. Some apples are quite sour, and these are often the best cooking apples.
Recently for dessert, we had market McIntosh apples cored and filled with raisins, cinnamon and maple syrup, and then baked. This apple gets very soft during baking and was the perfect end to a meal. Since many don’t have the space for a tree of their own, look for apples at our market and farm stands as you travel this summer and fall.
The weather Saturday should be perfect for apple picking, but if you choose to do that, do it later in the day, and make the market your morning destination. Take some time to tap your feet to the dulcimer music (now electrified) of Fonda and Pam, the South Plymouth Porch Pickers.
From 9-11 a.m., the WCHC-TV crew will be at the Market for the September (and 2021 final) Facebook Live broadcast, coined “What’s happening at the Market today?” This livestream event can be viewed on the WCHC TV Facebook page starting shortly after 9 a.m. and is brought to you by the Fayette County Travel & Tourism Bureau. Invite yourself to be interviewed about your customer experiences and what brings you to the Fayette County Market.
The Market is open Saturday morning from 8:30 to noon and is located in the municipal parking lot on the corner of South Main and East East streets in Washington C.H. SNAP EBT food benefit cards and credit/debit cards are accepted. Those using the SNAP EBT card for food purchases receive matching dollar “Produce Perks” tokens ($1 for $1) good only for fruits, vegetables, and food producing plants. So,”buy one, get one” for up to $25 every market day. Five-dollar coupons will be available again for Fayette County Farm Bureau members at each Saturday market; these can be spent at both the Wednesday and Saturday markets.
The following list contains the names and products of the vendors that expect to set up this Saturday. Other vendors may participate as well.
Engeti (Alana Walters): Baked goods including dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, cakes, pies, cookies.
Greens & Greenery (Katrina Bush): Beeswax hand and cuticle creams. Glycerin and honey soap. Fresh garlic. Sourdough crackers (including new “Parmesan”). Sourdough mini zucchini breads, fresh baked battards (rosemary olive oil and dried tomato + rosemary olive oil olive), baklava and buckeye candy. Rhubarb plants. Taking orders for fresh lemongrass for cooking or rooting.
Jim’s Premium Ground Beef (Jim Hobbs): Premium Ground Beef which includes steak, loins, chuck and brisket all in our ground beef, vacuum packed in 1#, 5# and patties 3/#.
Julie G’s Cookies (Julie Greenslade): Homemade cookies: chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, ginger, peanut butter, snickerdoodle, sugar, iced pumpkin, funfetti, double chocolate brownies, oatmeal toffee bars, chocolate peanut butter bars, peanut butter fudge, lemon bars and gold rush brownies.
Persinger Produce and Cottage Foods (David Persinger and Julie Mosny): The Pie Lady: Local honey and honey comb, assorted fruit pies, cinni mini’s, buns bars, cinnamon rolls and Jonathan apples. The Jam Man: Assorted jams/jellies— apple butter, new batches of peach flamingo, pineapple, and blackberry jams. Ginger pear, peach habanero, and triple berry still in stock. No added sugar varieties include cherry, peach, blackberry w/or w/out seeds, and triple berry. Assorted Texas sheet cakes including white cake (almond extract) and pumpkin bread.
Wood by DW (Debbie Welch): Wood crafts and sewn kitchen crafts.
Your Other Mother’s Kitchen (Don and Sara Creamer, 740-572-0134): Bread, and other baked goods.
Biers Run Mudd (Rachel Shepard): Kiln fired ceramics — pitchers, bowls, mugs and planters.
Bridge View Garden (Hunter and Lorelle Rohrer, 740-505-5125): Mums, red raspberries, sweet potatoes, melons, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and yellow summer squash.
Cheryl’s Country Crafts (Cheryl Braun, 740-505-0068 ): Handmade crafts.
Cozy Baby Blessings (Nancy Cutter): Hand poured wax melts, handmade earrings, crochet dish cloths and pot scrubbers. Handmade baby essentials including crocheted baby blankets and hats, flannel burp cloths, crinkle toys, infant bows and teethers.
