Carrollton Farmer’s Market
Yesterday morning I went to the Carrollton Farmer’s Market. I love shopping at Farmer’s Markets to support local growers, plus it’s nice to know the names of the people that grow the produce I’m eating. There were a lot of booths selling plants (I held my ground as much as I wanted to buy a hydrangea vine). So what made it’s way into my grocery bag? (my reusable homemade cloth grocery bags of course, one lady actually commented on how much she liked them)
I bought a basket of red haven peaches, I think I might can these for winter, or perhaps a peach cobbler is in order?
The stand selling peaches was also selling apples (the father owned the peach orchard and the son owned the apple orchard). I bought a basket of Transparent apples, I’ve never heard of this kind before, but they said they were perfect for baking & making apple sauce. I may make some apple pie for Mr Chiots or perhaps some apple butter.
I found some fresh potatoes, I’ve always heard it’s like eating a whole new food when you have fresh potatoes, we’ll see. I haven’t decided how to cook these yet, so many choices.
I bought some small plums from some junior high boys that had a stand selling 100% organic fruit, they had blueberries and plums. They’re tiny little plums, the biggest one is smaller than a ping-pong ball. We ate a few of these for snack on the way home.
I also bought 2 onions, they look so nice and fresh compared to super market onions (they still had some green tops attached).
I found a huge red cabbage. I love braised cabbage, can’t wait to make a big batch with this!!!
I also bought some sweet corn up the road from Haynams (more about that in another post some day). This is the best corn for miles and miles. You have to get it ASAP or they’ll be sold out before you get there! Since sweet corn is best right after picking, we came home, steamed it up and had corn with homemade butter for lunch!
I bought one big yellow squash and got 2 more for free, I think these will be steamed & served with olive oil, salt & pepper. Or perhaps I’ll break down and make some bread? So what did I spend on all this stuff? The corn was $5/dozen, plums were $1.50/pint, potatoes $2/quart, cabbage $2, squash .50 for one the other 2 free, onions $1/each, apples $6/basket, peaches $16/basket. So $37 total for all that fresh produce, not to mention supporting people that are growing good food for us locals!
Oh yeah I forgot to mention I bought 2 flowering kale plants along with my cabbage so I got a discount. I’m so excited I wanted to start some from seeds but didn’t get the seeds in time. This will be great in the garden this fall & winter.
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Seeing Green
Every day when I go out to check on the edible garden I hope I’ll see a hint of red on one of my tomatoes. No luck so far. I’m not sure how long it will be until I get a ripe one. I suppose if they got a few more hours of sun I would already be enjoying home-grown tomatoes. Oh well.
I do have one Lemon Boy tomato that’s starting to show some yellow! I can’t wait to have that with some fresh basil & olive oil.
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Pollinating Squash
A couple weeks ago I notided that some of the small pumpkins and zucchini were shriveling up on the vine and falling off. I thought it was from all the rain we were having, then I was reading and realized it was due to poor pollination. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and started pollinating the squash myself. Here’s what I learned.
This is what happens when you have poor pollination.
Squash plants has 2 different kinds of blossoms: male and female. The male blossoms produce the pollen and the female blossoms produce the fruit. Usually several male blossoms are produced for every female blossom. How do you tell the difference between a male and a female blossom? There are 2 ways to do it.
First the male blossom is usually on a long straight stem as you can see here.
They also have a single stamen on the inside with pollen on it, as you can see here.
The female blossoms are close the main vine attached to what appear to be small fruits (this is a butternut squash as you can tell by the shape).
The female blossom as a multi-stemmed stigma on the inside as you can see here.
So how to you pollinate your own squash? First you check to make sure the male blossom is mature and producing pollen. A little pollen will come off on your finger when you touch the stamen.
Pick a mature male blossom and peel back the flower petals.
Now all you have to do is rub the male stamen on the all parts of the female stigma and you’re finished. This is what your squash will look like if they’re properly pollinated. This zucchini blossom fell off the next day and the zucchini will be eaten today for lunch.
Make sure you check your plants every day for mature female blossoms. They wilt quickly!
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Fried Squash Blossoms
I’ve heard you could eat squash blossoms, however I’ve never eaten them. They are very common in Mexican cuisine.
I’m an adventurous cook and eater, so with an abundance of squash blossoms on my hands, I decided to give them a try. I picked 4 male squash blossoms (the females produce the fruit, the males just produce pollen).
I finally decide that for the first try, stuffing them with cheese and deep frying them couldn’t fail me. So I whipped up a simple batter of flour and water mixed until slightly runny (I also added a pinch of salt & some freshly ground black pepper). I stuffed the blossoms with some white cheddar cheese and dredged them in the batter. Then I dropped them in some hot oil and fried them for a few minutes on each side.
I must say, Mr. Chiots and I liked them. I will be trying them in different recipes in the near future! I think I will stuff them with green chiles, onions, and Monterrey jack cheese next – MMM squash blossoms poppers.
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Berries, Berries & more Berries
While out for a stroll the other morning, I spotted a wild black raspberry bush at the edge of the woods in the back of our lot. There’s nothing better than sun-ripened berries.
I picked a handful of them, then I spotted another bush. There’s something supremely satisfying about finding a berry patch in the woods, I suppose it calls back to our roots as hunter gatherers.
The next day, Mr. Chiots and I walked along the roads by our home and found many more bushes (they don’t spray the ditches around here so they’re safe from herbicides & pesticides). We ended up with 2 1/2 lbs of wild black raspberries, and I’m sure we’ll be out to pick again before they’re all gone.
They’re all tucked away in the freezer waiting to brighten up our winter breakfasts. MMM, I can almost taste the muffins or jelly now.
