I’m still in that early glow of loving Fall, with not one regret for the passing summer. Woolies and hoodies, long pants and socks, but still gorgeous enough to ride your bike everywhere, preferably loaded down with kids wrapped in oversized down parkas with a hot SWEET POTATO in their mitts. Now that’s some Autumn talking! Fire up the oven to 400 and start roasting everything: Quaker Valley Orchard’s sweet potatoes, Tree and Leaf’s Kabocha squash, potatoes, the end of the season’s tomatoes – roasting caramelizes the sugars and makes them all a little sweeter. Tree and Leaf ginger with roasted sweet potatoes is a natural.
This is also the time of year to put up some corn – buy up a bunch of those ears going on sale, shuck ‘em on the back porch straight into the compost pile, cut off the tip if there’s a cute little wriggly guy up there (worms mean no nasty death chemicals were used! and corn worms ARE cute), blanch for a few minutes, then cut the kernels off the cob and throw in a ziploc baggie in the freezer.
Happenings at market:
9am Gabe Popkin and Friends are back with that delightful bluegrass sound. If you’ve loved the music this year, give Gabe a hearty handshake – he handled all the booking. Or if you have suggestions or critiques, let him know! If it’s a critique, butter him up with a scone or an apple first.
11am Katherine Lininger with folk/blues/traditional music.
Farmers’ Market Bike Clinic: Air, Oil, Advice, and More. The success of the Clinic serving MtP neighbors has precipitated the launch of two new FMBCs: 14th&U and H Street will be fixing up bikes this Saturday too. Tell your friends in those neighborhoods! Get a safety check, get trained on a simple tune-up, and volunteer to hang out and talk bikes. Sundays at Bloomingdale FM too.
After market, I’m going to head over to the outer reaches of NE DC and check out the Neighborhood Farm Initiative open house of their farm by the Fort Totten metro – easy train trip from Columbia Heights!
On to the seasonal foods:
Painted Hand Farm: Full line of all naturally-browsed goat meat cuts: whole legs, leg steaks, shoulders, burgers, chops. Sandy’s goat meat is never gamy because they feed on field forbes and not grain. Similar to venison: lean and flavorful. Perfect for slow Fall braises: think crockpot with dried apples or pears, onions, potatoes and turnips. Also, humanely-raised veal, German-Style Bratwurst links and pork-free sausages.
Cherry Glen Goat Cheese Company: Beautiful goat cheeses – handmade, artisanal crotins, logs and ricotta – at our market this week!
Keswick Creamery: Raw milk cheeses, blue cheese, feta, ricotta, quark and yogurt, and chocolate pudding.
Panorama Bakery: Baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat, sliced loaves, danishes, sticky buns, apple turnovers.
Tree and Leaf Farm: Ginger! Romaine lettuce heads, the best salad mix in town adorned with edible flowers. Loads of Maxibel French filet beans, Romano beans, Jumbo bush beans, Asparagus long beans. Broccoli and Bianca di Milano turnips! Curly kale, collards, chard. Eggplants, winter squash, heirloom tomatoes, pear tomatoes, and green tomatoes. Sweet pepper and hot peppers. The Daikon, Nero Tondo black, and “watermelon” radishes. Mei Qing Choi (baby green pak choi). Fingerling potatoes and Mars red onions. Italian parsley, rosemary, sage, chives, opal basil and garlic. Flower bouquets.
Reid Orchard: New apples this week: Haralson (a probable parent of Honeycrisp), Stayman, Ida Red (great for pie mixes), and Nittany, originating in Pennsylvania. Plus Macoun, Cortland, Fameuse Snow Apple, Honeycrisp, Gala, Golden Supreme, Jonagold, Pinova, Yataka, Northern Spy andthe tartest apple I’ve ever tried: Cox Orange Pippin. Tons of concord grapes…anyone up for making jelly? Plenty of cider! UV-treated (non-pasteurized) apple cider and regular flash pasteurized apple cider, apple-grape, and apple-cherry ciders. Hopefully a few more white peaches. Raspberries and blackberries.
Quaker Valley Farm: Sweet potatoes are in! Red and yellow Bartlett pears, fresh pressed apple cider. Jonagold, Mutsu, Rome Beauty, Honeycrisp, Ginger Gold, Gala, Gold, and Ida Red apples. Sweet onions and red potatoes. My favorite tomato sauce, apple sauce, the best jam in DC (stock up on the strawberry for those whiffs of June you’ll be craving in a couple months), honey, apple butter, eggs, and popping corn. Please let QVO recycle your egg cartons!
Groff’s Content Farm: Family farm raises 100% grass-fed and -finished lamb and beef, pastured Berkshire pork, beautiful pastured eggs and chickens. Plus tasty pet treats. Sunday after next, October 11th, is Family Fun Day at the farm – ask the girls about it at market!
Truck Patch Farms: Hot peppers, stir fry mix, chard, curly kale, arugula, salad mix, and lettuce. Mint, chives, garlic chives, and dill. A very few tomatoes, summer and zucchini squash. Cucumbers and yellow, purple, and green beans. Broccoli. Black Angus grass fed beef, pastured pork products and eggs. Order in advance at order@truckpatchfarms.com for chickens.
Richfield Farm: Green and purple broccoli, green, orange and white cauliflower. Savoy, green, and red cabbage. Swiss chard, collards, kale, toscano kale, dandelions and tat-soi. Pumpkins if there’s room on the truck. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, zucchini and summer squash, corn. Shelled lima beans and Roma beans. Bouquets.
Atwater Bread: Organic sourdough and yeasted breads: Peasant Wheat, Caraway Rye, Cranberry Pecan, Kalamata Olive, traditional San Francisco Sourdough, Ciabatta, Country White, Chili Cheddar, French Baguette, Spelt, Sunflower Flax, and more. Brownies, cookies, scones, muffins, and granola.
See you Saturday! Please bring your own bags for shopping.
October 3 – Roasty Toasty
I’m still in that early glow of loving Fall, with not one regret for the passing summer. Woolies and hoodies, long pants and socks, but still gorgeous enough to ride your bike everywhere, preferably loaded down with kids wrapped in oversized down parkas with a hot SWEET POTATO in their mitts. Now that’s some Autumn talking! Fire up the oven to 400 and start roasting everything: Quaker Valley Orchard’s sweet potatoes, Tree and Leaf’s Kabocha squash, potatoes, the end of the season’s tomatoes – roasting caramelizes the sugars and makes them all a little sweeter. Tree and Leaf ginger with roasted sweet potatoes is a natural.
This is also the time of year to put up some corn – buy up a bunch of those ears going on sale, shuck ‘em on the back porch straight into the compost pile, cut off the tip if there’s a cute little wriggly guy up there (worms mean no nasty death chemicals were used! and corn worms ARE cute), blanch for a few minutes, then cut the kernels off the cob and throw in a ziploc baggie in the freezer.
Happenings at market:
On to the seasonal foods:
Painted Hand Farm: Full line of all naturally-browsed goat meat cuts: whole legs, leg steaks, shoulders, burgers, chops. Sandy’s goat meat is never gamy because they feed on field forbes and not grain. Similar to venison: lean and flavorful. Perfect for slow Fall braises: think crockpot with dried apples or pears, onions, potatoes and turnips. Also, humanely-raised veal, German-Style Bratwurst links and pork-free sausages.
Cherry Glen Goat Cheese Company: Beautiful goat cheeses – handmade, artisanal crotins, logs and ricotta – at our market this week!
Keswick Creamery: Raw milk cheeses, blue cheese, feta, ricotta, quark and yogurt, and chocolate pudding.
Panorama Bakery: Baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat, sliced loaves, danishes, sticky buns, apple turnovers.
Tree and Leaf Farm: Ginger! Romaine lettuce heads, the best salad mix in town adorned with edible flowers. Loads of Maxibel French filet beans, Romano beans, Jumbo bush beans, Asparagus long beans. Broccoli and Bianca di Milano turnips! Curly kale, collards, chard. Eggplants, winter squash, heirloom tomatoes, pear tomatoes, and green tomatoes. Sweet pepper and hot peppers. The Daikon, Nero Tondo black, and “watermelon” radishes. Mei Qing Choi (baby green pak choi). Fingerling potatoes and Mars red onions. Italian parsley, rosemary, sage, chives, opal basil and garlic. Flower bouquets.
Reid Orchard: New apples this week: Haralson (a probable parent of Honeycrisp), Stayman, Ida Red (great for pie mixes), and Nittany, originating in Pennsylvania. Plus Macoun, Cortland, Fameuse Snow Apple, Honeycrisp, Gala, Golden Supreme, Jonagold, Pinova, Yataka, Northern Spy andthe tartest apple I’ve ever tried: Cox Orange Pippin. Tons of concord grapes…anyone up for making jelly? Plenty of cider! UV-treated (non-pasteurized) apple cider and regular flash pasteurized apple cider, apple-grape, and apple-cherry ciders. Hopefully a few more white peaches. Raspberries and blackberries.
Quaker Valley Farm: Sweet potatoes are in! Red and yellow Bartlett pears, fresh pressed apple cider. Jonagold, Mutsu, Rome Beauty, Honeycrisp, Ginger Gold, Gala, Gold, and Ida Red apples. Sweet onions and red potatoes. My favorite tomato sauce, apple sauce, the best jam in DC (stock up on the strawberry for those whiffs of June you’ll be craving in a couple months), honey, apple butter, eggs, and popping corn. Please let QVO recycle your egg cartons!
Groff’s Content Farm: Family farm raises 100% grass-fed and -finished lamb and beef, pastured Berkshire pork, beautiful pastured eggs and chickens. Plus tasty pet treats. Sunday after next, October 11th, is Family Fun Day at the farm – ask the girls about it at market!
Truck Patch Farms: Hot peppers, stir fry mix, chard, curly kale, arugula, salad mix, and lettuce. Mint, chives, garlic chives, and dill. A very few tomatoes, summer and zucchini squash. Cucumbers and yellow, purple, and green beans. Broccoli. Black Angus grass fed beef, pastured pork products and eggs. Order in advance at order@truckpatchfarms.com for chickens.
Richfield Farm: Green and purple broccoli, green, orange and white cauliflower. Savoy, green, and red cabbage. Swiss chard, collards, kale, toscano kale, dandelions and tat-soi. Pumpkins if there’s room on the truck. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, zucchini and summer squash, corn. Shelled lima beans and Roma beans. Bouquets.
Atwater Bread: Organic sourdough and yeasted breads: Peasant Wheat, Caraway Rye, Cranberry Pecan, Kalamata Olive, traditional San Francisco Sourdough, Ciabatta, Country White, Chili Cheddar, French Baguette, Spelt, Sunflower Flax, and more. Brownies, cookies, scones, muffins, and granola.
See you Saturday! Please bring your own bags for shopping.