Related Posts

• Saturday Night Farmers’ Market Pizza

  Why a Farmers’ Market? Farmers' markets are one of the oldest forms of direct marketing by small farmers. From the traditional "mercados" in the Peruvian Andes to the unique street markets in Asia, growers all over the world gather weekly to sell their produce directly to the public. In the last decade farmers’ markets have become a favorite method for many farmers throughout the United States, and a weekly ritual for many shoppers.  Shopping at a farmers' market is a great way to meet local farmers and get fresh, flavorful produce. [Paraphrased from Wikipedia] While the reasons to shop at a farmers’ market are numerous, one of the most important is what happens to our local economy.  When you purchase from a local farmer at a farmers’ market, approximately 90% of the money stays in the community.  By contrast, when you shop at a well-known chain box store, approximately 7% stays in the community.  That is not a typo, only 7¢ out of every dollar remains in the South Baldwin County communities when you shop at that big, impersonal store that ...

• Recipes from the market- Black eye Peas

    The entire experience of using Coastal Alabama Farmers’ and Fishermen’s Market results in using fresh foods as well as using what’s “on hand” in order to create something economical, healthy, and good.  Many times when I come home from shopping at the Market with a head of broccoli, I cut into florets or a bunch of carrots, I dice into bite-sized pieces, and just steaming either or both of these slightly is wonderful.  Add a little salt and/or some flavored vinegar and it’s a treat.  That’s one of the great things about being fresh from the farmers who grow vegetables – most food is picked the day before and nothing tastes better than a really fresh vegetable – something you can’t find in a grocery store.  Fresh steamed broccoli or carrots for lunch with a slice of bread.  Fantastic!   Another advantage of cooking from items selected from the Market is the economic value – both time and money – of using what’s on hand with what I picked up at the Market.  The recipe that follows is based on the ...

• Egg – Crab Cake – Grits Stack

  Farmers’ Market Nerd One Saturday morning recently when the weather was pleasant, I ate breakfast on my front porch.  During the week, I usually have oatmeal and eggs for breakfast fulfilling nutritional needs and doctor’s suggestions, but weekends are spent being more adventurous with my breakfast – still nutritious, but a little more variety.  On this particular morning as I was eating breakfast and making out a grocery list for purchases at the Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermens Market and at Forland Family Farm, I stopped making notes and looked at my breakfast – two eggs (Farmers’ Market), a roasted new potato (Farmers’ Market) with rosemary (from a plant purchased at the Farmers’ Market), grilled zucchini (Farmers’ Market), and banana nut bread (Forland).  I thought, You’ve become a Farmers’ Market Nerd!  Of course, I can’t think of a downside to being such a nerd. My oldest son lives in Memphis and when I go visit, one of our regular stops is the Memphis Farmers’ Market.  My youngest son lived in Denver for three years and I visited him three times and ...

• 18/21 Rule and Other Advice I’ve Read That Actually Makes Sense

  18/21 Rule and Other Advice I’ve Read That Actually Makes Sense   Health advice is abundant.  While it reflects a worthwhile trend to having access to more information about health, some articles I’ve read are not very helpful.  Ubiquitously, advice in articles frequently say for better health, “Lose weight” and it is given as casually as “Floss Teeth.”  To get ready for bed you should brush and floss your teeth and lose twenty pounds.  Hmm, I’m exaggerating, of course, but such casual advice is not helpful and unnecessary.  In the same type of advice, articles frequently relate how many calories in a meal and how many grams of protein and how many grams of carbohydrates.  I don’t know about you, but my life cannot be centered around perfection and following healthy advice all the time.    However, there are some suggestions that I’ve found are helpful and actually make sense for our less than perfectly ordered lives:   18/21 Rule To explain this rule, here is a personal example.  My granddaughter is a cheerleader for her high school that’s located in Mobile.  During the fall months, ...

• Sustainability - Pork Chops and Peaches

  Sustainability Buzzwords enter our language and usually live a short life before returning to the original context of the word.  Currently, one such buzzword is “sustainability” and it can be found in many areas – environment, urban planning, economics, non-profit agencies, businesses, and just about anywhere.  Farmers have always understood the concept of sustainability perhaps better than anyone.  They understand the need to live beyond a single growing season, they understand the need to sustain their crops year after year and even generation after generation.  In many cases, they understand that their farm still produces because of the practices their great grandparents implemented.  [Note: the next five paragraphs contain information I shamelessly plagiarized from the internet about farmers’ markets.  I re-worded the text in a few places, deleted superfluous verbiage, and wrote some original thoughts.  I share these ideas because of the importance our farmers are to us.] Behind the rows of produce, busy vendors, and eager customers, farmers’ markets are a bustling hub of sustainability. Local farmers deliver fresh, local food to a growing number of consumers demanding food that is not ...

• What Exactly Are Microgreens?

  What Exactly Are Microgreens?   Statement about Microgreens from Heather Pritchard:  Part of what a farmers’ market can do for farms or other businesses is product introduction. With direct access to the public, vendors can “test” an item and quickly learn what the public likes, which also helps diversify market products.  Microgreens have only recently been introduced to consumers at Coastal Alabama Farmers and Fishermens Market and the response is amazing. Knowing how super nutritious they are coupled with the many flavors and uses, it is no wonder they are popular. Furthermore, it is an example of alternate ways of growing in the home or small spaces.  With all of the stress and uncertainty in folks’ lives, I believe that purchasing and feeding yourself something like this is a reward that most can afford and enjoy.   What are Microgreens? Microgreens are tiny edible plants with an intense flavor, usually vegetable garden plants, that are grown in quantity and harvested while they are still juvenile plants, generally around 10 days.  (www.growingmicrogreens.com) Popular microgreens are red cabbage, cilantro, radish, sunflower, kale, broccoli, amaranth, Bok choy, arugula, ...