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.

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