DC Harvest

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.

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Please note the subtle farm humor...

My stop was and is the only one to get fennel. The 25 or so bulbs were the sole survivors of the planting.

What did you get this week?

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The basil is peaking

We’re finally up to All You Can Eat basil at our stop. Many shareholders start making and freezing pesto as soon as or even before we reach this point. We have had up to six quarts of it in our freezer for the Winter. It is an easy enough sauce to make; we use it as is with pasta or with some tomato sauce (or on a pizza instead of tomato sauce).  I usually make it with walnuts instead of the traditional pine nuts and often omit the Parmesan cheese which many recipes call for. It is an easy thing to play around with, particularly if you have access to vast amounts of the primary ingredient.

What did you get from your CSA this week?

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.

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