Locally grown and milled flour!

I get asked all the time if I know a place to get locally grown & milled flour.  Somehow, I’ve miss Moutoux Orchards all these years.  They are a local CSA/Direct farm that grows the standard fruits and vegetables, but also has grains.    Art D. and I took our first trip over to the Falls Church farmers market and were really pleased by what we found.  This market isn’t exactly nearby for us, but somehow I think we’ll be find excuses to head out there more often.

Crepes...nom, nom, nom!

Moutoux Orchard flours are just a small taste of what’s to be found there.  Sadly an ATM did not seem to be nearby, so our shopping was limited.  There are about 40 vendors at the summer market, so the selectionwas great.  There was even a crepe stand — something we’ve not seen at our usual stops (Takoma Park, Bloomingdale, and Dupont Circle)

Tomatoes, Pluots and ... Cookies in the nomming bowl? How did those get there?

It was HOT today, but that didn’t seem to slow things down at the Takoma Park farmers market.  It was one of the biggest crowds I’ve seen all summer.   We (me and Art D.)  didn’t have a shopping list,  so there was nothing on the agenda to find today — other than fill the “nomming” bowl, of course.  And fill it we did.

The Pluots (plum/apricot) from Blackrock Orchard were one of the first things that really our attention today.  They looked yummy and ripe.  I’ve been hearing about pluots in the media lately because of the new book by Chip Brantley: The Perfect Fruit: Good Breeding, Bad Seeds, and the Hunt for the Elusive Pluot.   Yes, there is now a book about the Pluot. Are these going to be the newest “it” food?  Will they become the pomegranate or bacon of 2010?  Only time will tell!

Tomatoes were fantastic again this week too.  It was a veritable “tomato extravaganza!”

Tomato Extravaganza...Sunday! SunDAY! SUNDAY!!

Potomac Vegetable Farm had an amazing selection (photo above), in all colors shapes and sizes.  To be fair, a lot of the vendors did — but PVF had the best sign and they are who we bought from this week.   Plus, they were cutting up lots of yummy samples for me to taste.  One of the employees was even helping promote the tomatoes by chomping down on a HUGE yellow tomato like it was an apple.

We were also happy to see J&L Edleman Homestead Farms back — they were missing a couple of weeks ago.  I picked up a couple of their great “snack size” cantaloupes.  They are always really sweet and the small size makes them less threatening.  Don’t judge me. 

Finally, of course, we get to the cookies.  One of the great things about Takoma Park Farmers Market is the community atmosphere.  Kids were having a bake sale to raise money for two charities, and well — it was chocolate chip cookies!   We bought a half-dozen and into the “nomming” bowl they went!  And then promplty into our stomachs.

Pretty Tomatoes at the Takoma Park Farmers Market

I’ve been hearing lots about the problems with tomato blight, so I was really  hoping that there would still be fresh tomatoes at the farmers’ market today — and I was not disappointed.  I only had one recipe for the week that required tomatoes, but does that really matter?   I found all manner of tomatoes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.  I was on the hunt for cherry tomatoes and love that they have party-colored pints at several stands. There’s also plenty of good ole red ones for those that are into that classic look. 

I also found plenty of  my new love — cantaloupe.  It’s not something I like a couple of years ago, but somehow my tastebuds have decided that fresh cantaloupe is a good thing.  I bet all I’d had before was cantaloupe that had been picked pre-peak so it would ship, and had never really reached its full sugar sweetness.   I find that I like the little “snack size” ones the best. Last week I grabbed an ambrosia cantaloupe from L &J Homestead Farm.  This week Homestead was noticeably absent (hope they’re okay), so I picked up some from Waterpenny Farm.  I got an ambrosia and something else, which I can’t remember the name of!

I also have to mention how awesome it is that the market was packed in the pouring rain.  Okay, it was mostly drizzling with short downpours — but it’s still great.  There’s nothing wrong with getting a little wet in the summer people!  It’s refreshing, right?

The exciting find today was Methley Plums!  These plums are about the size of a GIAHUGIC berry.  Only way I can think to describe the size.  They are way smaller than normal plums,  and you can just pop them right in your mouth.  They were an interesting addition to Art D.’s “nom’ing bowl” today.  Several vendors had them at Takoma Park, but we got ours from Blackrock Orchard who also had great looking blueberries.

For a size comparison here’s the nom’ing bowl filled with blueberries and Methley plums.

We (me and Art D.) also picked up some fresh corn, milk from Clear Springs Creamery, and fresh tiny apricots!  It’s going to be a yummy week.

Berry Bonanza by Ketzirah

The blueberries are in!  Actually there’s a berry bonanza these days. More gooseberries, strawberries, blueberries and other colorful summer fruits than you can shake a stick at!  Of course, why you would shake a stick at yummy fruit — I’ll never know.  Sunday we, me and the husband, hit the Bloomingdale Market again.

The summer stone fruit and berry selection was so amazing I overheard someone saying it was overwhelming.  Art bought 2 pints of blueberries and they didn’t even make it home.  In all fairness, we were in the car for hours after — but they still didn’t get home.

We also bought more gooseberries for knoshing and sorbet.   The plucots and apricots also looked great and made it into the basket, too.

In general, I’m getting more and more impressed with this little seasonal market.  We used to head over to the Takoma Park Farmers Market every weekend, but I don’t know that I’ll need to quite as often with one this good being much closer.  Of course, Bloomingdale is seasonal and Takoma is year round — so I’ll have to head back over in the winter!

What did you find this weekend?

I hit the Bloomingdale market this morning, which is probably the closest farmers market to my house.  It’s really a nice little farmers market with good variety of produce, meats, and prepared foods.

What I was really excited to find was fresh gooseberries at Reid’s Orchards.  I get very excited about these tart little berries, because they are just hard to find.  Plus, I like saying “gooseberries.”  It feels very Jane Austen, or something fabulously old-fashioned.

I still haven’t decided if these will go in a tart or if I’m just going to save them for my lunch this week.  I think they would look extraordinarily cute in my bento-style lunch box.

I also bought some delicious red currants.  I’m not sure if I like them because they are so pretty, or because they taste good.  As long as I eat them, I suppose it doesn’t matter.

Purslane

The Gardeners Gourmet stand is in its full summer glory about now with a dozen different kinds of heirloom greens.  My personal salad favorite, purslane, is back in season.   If you’ve never tried it, here’s your invitation to do so!  It’s super healthy — more omega-3 than any other vegetable,  and tons of vitamins and minerals.  It was apparently Ghandi’s favorite food.  I eat it raw in salads (pick the leaves off the bigger stems), though you can chop it up (with the stems) and eat it cooked as well.   A quick search found recipes for:   Grilled Zucchini Salad with Purslane and Tomato, Purslane and Pea Soup, and Purslane and Pork Stew (a Mexican favorite).

I also bought some Indigo Frissee, which tastes like wasabi.  I’ve never cooked with it before, but I bet it’s a great saute green — maybe under a mild fish or pressed tofu.  Both greens are $9 per pound at the Gardeners Gourmet stand.

My full bounty is pictured below: eggs from pasture-raised chickens, non-homogenized milk (with the cream on top!), homemade mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, sourdough bread, rhubarb, cukes, sugar snap peas, and the greens.

Market Bounty

Ramps and morel mushrooms were the new big thing at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market this week.  April is prime time for these seasonal, regional delicacies.  Ramps, for the unitiated, are wild spring onions that grow in West Virigina and Virginia (mostly).  Now,wild spring onions may not sound exciting — but these are tasty.  On average they seem to be going for about $5/bunch at several vendors.  Most people may eat a bunch or two during the season.  My husband, seems to think they should be a staple food so we go wild foraging for our own. Of course, my stomach tends to disagree with eating so many ramps, so we compromise on how many servings we should be eating.  Don’t ask where our patch of ramps is, because that’s a secret I’m not willing to share.

Morel mushrooms are another amazing delicacy. Those are far pricier than ramps, going for $15 per pint at the Mushroom Stand at Dupont Circle.  Last year, the husband and I found probably 4 pints during out own wild foraging efforts so I couldn’t quite bring myself to buy any this year.  But, if you aren’t up for personal hunting and gathering, head over to Dupont Circle Farmers Market and pick up a pint.