Blessed Lammas - Feasting on The First Fruits

This weekend many will celebrate the first harvest of Lammas. It is a time when the miracle of the seed taking on life and coming to fruition and giving forth its gift is celebrated by many. Although I was not lucky enough to cultivate my own garden this year, I hope that my intended efforts for later this fall to prepare for one next year will come to pass. There is  great joy in digging in the earth and feeling the soil fall between your fingers. To move it aside and place a tiny seed under the earth’s blanket and later see it emerge, reaching towards the sun and life. Later as time passes, and the seed gains strength and size it flowers and eventually develops its fruit to give forth as a gift for allowing it the cycle of life. Possibly it is a gift to have the love of gardening. If that be so then I am glad and quite thankful that this gift has been bestowed to me.

This Lammas I intend to make me a simple meal as I will spend it alone. I intend to spend the day at the farmers market relishing the fresh fruits and vegetables that seem to be everywhere at this time. My menu for later of course will be as fresh and from the garden as I can make it A Barley and fresh mushroom soup to start off with as I truly love fresh mushrooms. Of course I will have to prepare some fresh bread as bread is prevelant on Lammas . I have not decided if I will make a herbed flat bread or a simple corn bread. Whichever I decide to do, I am sure it will be tasty.

My main course will be a collection of grilled squash, corn, sweet potatoes and peaches. I intend to make it a meatless meal enjoying the many treats that this time of year and the many fresh gardens have to offer.

I wish you and yours a very blessed Lammas and hope that your harvest in whatever form is fruitful and bountiful. Blessings.

Farmer Market Wednesday's - Fresh Fruit

I am sure that many of you have read about my adventures with fruit in the past few weeks. I speak especially about Apricots and Strawberries. I cannot say enough about the jeweled fruit we call the apricot. Since I can remember I have loved this little dear. Growing up in northern Oklahoma we were not blessed with a bountiful crop each year. It seemed that a late freeze would always take the delicate blooms, thus taking also the fruit. I remember a tree in the small town where I grew up. I watched this little tree each day as spring would roll around. I waited for the blooms to appear then pray that no cold weather would come. On the years that we were blessed, I would always change my path of walking to school so that I could go past and keep an eye on their progress.

Although I was not fortunate to find fresh grown apricots at any of the farmer’s markets that I frequent, I was lucky enough to find a bountiful of them. Katie, Vincent’s mom, was a dear and let me have as many as I wanted from her tree which was covered this year. They were not huge in size, yet they possessed a wonderful taste. My only cost was a sample of whatever I ended up doing with them. I think I did everything you can do with an apricot from make jam, to tarts, to drying them and more.

I did not learn to make jam from my mother or my grandmother. Although both were big canners, I cannot remember them ever putting away jam, except for my grandma’s apple butter. Gini, my first husband’s mother, was the one who introduced me to the making of jam. Having three small children, 2 of which were growing boys, peanut butter and jellies were a mainstay at our home. Once I started making jam, there was no going back to any jelly bought in at the grocery store. Although I will admit that nothing is as good as Welch’s grape jam.

I remember once when our children had a babysitter for the day and I instructed her to just give the kids PB & J’s for lunch. When I returned home she was upset to tell me that she made only peanut butter sandwiches as she could not find the jelly. When I showed her the jar of peach jam (my boy’s favorite) in the ice box, she was confused. She knew only of grape jelly. When she left that day I sent with her a few jars of my jam to give to her mom. Needless to say it was a gift that I continued every summer for many years.

The peaches have started to ripen and I have been keeping my eye out. Most of them so far, had been somewhat small and overpriced. Yet last Saturday on our trip to the Farmer’s Market I found some that were simply beautiful. They were about the size of a baseball and had wonderful color. (see picture above)  I purchased a small basket just for eating. Upon suggestion of the producer, I will purchase the peaches I plan to put up about mid July. They are sweeter at this time. Also if they are cling free they fall from the pit easier. It will also give me and the grandkids something to do while they are visiting. I am sure they will love making my mini tarts.

I have posted my jam recipe on my favorite recipe page if you would like to take a look see.  Until next week, enjoy yourself and eat something fresh…. Not only is it good for you but it taste so good.

Farmer Market Wednesday - A Day Late

A day late, I know. It is Thursday and the title states Farmer Market Wednesday. What can I say I had my days mixed up again… Although the majority of our days have started out in the upper 70s and quickly rising to the mid 90’s yesterday was much different. The day started out a bit muggy yet some clouds rolled in and even some light rain. It was just enough to keep the morning and early afternoon nice and cool.

We decided to take the bike and enjoy the pleasant weather so it was doubly fun. The ride in the misty light rain was quite refreshing. The abundance of what is available seems to still be the spring veggies. Don’t get me wrong I am in no way complaining. I love the cabbage, onions and varieties of lettuce that are available now. Alas my cabbage lady was not there so I was unable to get a new variety to try. Hopefully she will be there next week. My mother will be down visiting then so she will get to venture with me when I go out. I really think she will enjoy the variety of things we have to choose from.

Of course I purchased a good stock of cherry tomatoes. Vincent and I can’t seem to get enough of these things. They have been so favorable this spring. I think next spring I am going to try my hand at a couple bushes here at the house so we will have them on a 24/7 basis. There is nothing better for a hot summer lunch then a piece of buttered rye bread with thinly sliced tomatoes and a little salt and pepper.

I found some wonderful baby squash. A few yellow, a couple zucchini and one of my favorite the 8 ball. If you have never had one I urge you to try it. I discovered grilled squash last year and cannot get enough of it. You can count on having a post in regards to the many different ways to prepare it in the future.

I also found a couple ladies who were selling dip mixes. Of course this was a tasting booth so seeing that I tasted a good lot of them I figured that I should purchase one. I brought one home which is called Jack and the Bean dip. I will tell you right now I really do not know why it is called that. It is a mixture of Onions, Jalapenos, tomatoes, garlic, cayenne, cumin, paprika, oregano, thyme and pepper. The great thing about this is that is exactly what is in it and nothing else. There is no salt, msg, or preservatives. Something I am always looking for.

I made up a batch yesterday for Vincent and I to snack around on. Below is the recipe. I will have to be honest after doing so all I could think was is I could dry my own ingredients and make this myself. This of course would allow me to play around with the ingredients, which is something I love doing.

Combine 1 cup of sour cream and one cup of mayonnaise with 3 Tablespoons of the mix. I added a fresh chopped up jalapeño for a little extra kick. Mix and serve. Of course we started eating on it immediately yet I think it would be best if it sat for a bit to let the flavors mingle. Next time I also plan on trying it with fat free sour cream and maybe a different mayonnaise. I have been dying for an excuse to try the olive oil or fat free variety. We ate it with carrots and pretzels, yet I think sliced cucumbers or celery would also go nicely. I also think it would work great as a sandwich spread on maybe a turkey and provolone. Needless to say it was yummy.

Until next week, enjoy yourself and eat something fresh… Not only is it good for you but it taste so good.

Farmer Market Wednesday's - Spring Veggies

There are several things that I love about the warmer times of the year. The drear color of winter is slowly taken away by a blanket of green. Flowers burst into color everywhere. And of course the return of the sun; to not only brighten and warm our days but also to lengthen them.

Another of my favorite things is the return of fresh garden grown vegetables and fruit. The local farmers markets have slowly been returning. The early spring veggies and fruits can now be found, such as onions, cabbage, new potatoes, blueberries, strawberries and more. I am fortunate to live in an area where not only can I find a wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables but also a nice choice of farm raised meats, eggs, fresh butter, and ground flour.

Since this has become such a wonderful part of my life, I have decided to share it with my blog friends. Each Wednesday, I will feature my weekly jaunt to the market. I love that we have a choice of whether to go on a Wednesday or a Saturday. Sometimes the weekends can be so hectic and if one is not there the moment the doors open you may miss out on some of the choice products to choose from. Along with my weekly finds, I am planning to also share some of my favorite recipes.

This week I ventured to the nearby town of Norman, Oklahoma to check out their market. I was surprised to learn that they also have a mid week market. Needless to say I was not disappointed with what I found. Of course it was still small in size as it is still early for some markets and the mid-week markets are usually not as abundant as the weekend ones.

I had to pick up some new potatoes and fresh picked green beans. I loved how tender the potatoes were as I rummaged through them to find the small petite ones. You know they are fresh when your fingernail keeps slicing into them. I have plans to mix up a nice pot of green beans and new potatoes seasoned with some fresh ham this week for supper. I also picked up some newly picked sweet onions to add to my stew. A few nice little ones will do nicely as well as go with an occasional sandwich or just a treat.

As I strolled through the market I came across some peaches. Let me just say I am a sucker for peaches. Although Oklahoma peaches are not quite ready yet, the Georgia peaches I found will do nicely. They have a smell to them that is just wonderful. I can assure you all that as our peaches become more in season you can look for a post on peach jam as well as other wonderful recipes. We were so lucky to not have a late freeze and unlike last year, our peach crop should be a good one. We are even going to have a good crop of Apricots, another one of my favorites.

Lastly I picked up a beautiful head of sweet cabbage. This vendor had a large variety of choices and I am sure I will talk about them again. This specific variety is called tender sweet. I was assured that I will simply love it. The German in me loves her cabbage. I also found some fresh pinto beans. I have never had fresh beans and am eager to see the difference.

Until next week, enjoy yourself and eat something fresh…. Not only is it good for you but it taste so good.