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Goal of the Season: Farmers’ Market Fresh Picnics!
Voting ends for the Local Harvest contest this week. If you haven’t voted, please consider doing so (vote for your favorite, but please vote). If we get into the top 100 markets this gives us an incredible opportunity to include this in our marketing literature which should mean for you that the market will continue to grow and offer the highest quality produce, meats, cheeses and hand made products. We suddenly become a little more interesting to both vendors and customers that have never been to our market. We only need 50 more votes to be ranked in the top 100 and this means we NEED your vote. It just takes a minute to vote and you can vote here.
Picnicking: Make Your Own Memories!
You have to find your own enjoyment in life and that enjoyment cannot be found by doing nothing and/or sitting in front of the T.V. (Do you even remember what you watched last Monday?) You find enjoyment by doing special things, planning special events and going to a bit of extra trouble to have something that gives a large return. One way to do this is to plan a picnic with friends or family. Now, when is the last time you had a picnic? This is something I would encourage you to do more often – or at least once. This fourth of July Andy and I planned a picnic with some friends on the top of
With Autumn creeping it’s way south from the Canadian border and into the trees in our swamps and on our hillsides there will be many opportunities for picnics. Forget the quick stop for fast food and make your meals part of your destinations. (And I encourage you to read the ingredient list in the fast food we eat and give our children. Should we really be eating and feeding our children dimethylpolysiloxane in chicken nuggets? – no kidding, click on those links. You can tell me it’s safe and I will tell you it is not food. And is an “angus beef patty” really beef after you add 18 non-food ingredients??? And why do you need 18 non-food ingredients????)
Last weekend, my sister told me about “cupola dining” which is being offered by the Newburyport Lighthouse Preservation Society. Diners have an elegant meal in the lighthouse lens room and enjoy a luxurious (and very expensive) dinner with a million dollar view. It sounds incredible, but there are places around here that are just as beautiful for your picnicking pleasure:
· Have you walked to echo pond on
· Have you hiked the mid-state trail to the bottom of our fields (though fairly flat the ground can be a bit uneven) – or the top of the cliffs that overlook Stodge meadow?
· What about picnicking at our beautiful and peaceful town beach at Crocker Pond?
· For beautiful 50 mile views you can drive (though I recommend hiking) up
· The gazebo on Academy Hill would be perfect, bring a card table and chairs, candles, music and a tablecloth – perfect! (This is one I have not tried, but doesn’t it sound wonderful?)
· How about Kayaking on your favorite still pond at sunset on the night of the full moon (which rises on that night as soon as the sun sets)?
· And then there is one of my favorites (and probably completely unknown) the old bridge down below the French King bridge. It’s on the south side so look really closely when you are crossing it (you’ll see it if you are driving east on route 2 and looking way, way down to the right – a passenger’s eyes will be helpful). It’s closed to traffic and off a low traffic road and a most peaceful spot with no hiking required! Again, bring your table and table cloth! You could make a day of visiting the farmers’ market in
My point is that there are so many beautiful places to have dinner – and you can pack a fun and memorable, farmers’ market fresh meal in no time. Focaccia, goat cheese and raw veges make the easiest of picnics. Mix up a batch of egg salad, chicken salad (also delicious with just chicken, mayo, walnuts and raisins) or one of my favorites, tortellini salad, how about BLTs or grilled cheese. How about cold kabobs cooked the night before? Pulled pork is easy, just cook it and smother it with delicious barbeque sauce – just not fake sauce! or my favorite soup, spinach tortellini salad that you will find at our website. Don’t forget a tomato salad and dessert. It can be simple and will surely be more fun and memorable than fast food. You will always remember your picnics. Do you have nice memories of 8 fast food meals you have enjoyed?
Buskers and Vendors:
Ann Patsis gave an incredible performance last week at 5:00. She sang some patriotic songs and one of my favorites, Puff the Magic Dragon! A hush fell over the market when she started. My own thought was “Ann has so many talents, how can she sing too?”. Boy can she sing! One teenager said to me, “I did not expect that!”. I think everyone at the market was in awe of her ability! And thank you to everyone who was able to support her by tips, applause, or thoughtful comments after her performance. Our market performers are working for tips. There are many reasons why our performers are attracted to our market: “for money, for fun, for the attention they get, to meet people and socialize, for the love of their art, to practice their skills, or try out new material in front of an audience.” Some will be doing this in order to support themselves, some to defray the cost of the performance, others will be making donations to local charities. Remember, there are many ways you can show appreciation to our “buskers” (or farmers’ market entertainers) and supporting their talents is of great value to our local community.
This week will have a performance by Aurelia Carter. She has many talents that you will see at the market including juggling, unicycling, singing and playing the banjo. She will perform starting at 3:00 and then continuing until 4:00 or after. We are also hoping to have Ann Patsis sing for 10 or 15 minutes here and there so if you missed her last week you will have another chance to see her performance.
Coming up in future weeks we will have Ron and Meaghan McGuire, Bart Sides and his band: Dr. B and the Homemade Band, and Ann Patsis pulling together a childrens production of singing and reading!
With 8 farmers’ markets left until the end of the regular season, you have plenty of time to shop for gifts. What do you want your
· Wine gift sets – just add your own bottle: wine wrappers, glass charms, coasters, everything you need in a convenient gift set.
· Tiles and Jewelry by MariGlass.com: beautiful pieces of art that you can wear or use to decorate your home.
· Birdhouses in every style for your backyard.
· Felted Hats and purses for your young ones to wear to church on Christmas morning.
Do you have senior coupons or WIC coupons that you have not used up yet? They are very easy to use at our market. Simply look for the signs at each vendor’s booth. These coupons are good for vegetable purchases and most of our vegetable vendors can accept them. They are only good until October so don’t leave them behind when you leave for the market. Our vendors will be very happy to help you if you have any questions about these valuable coupons.
Thank you to all that have been donating items to the market vendors. All are being put to good use and the donations are much appreciated! Useful items that vendors can use at the market:
Have a good week and see you at the market.
Kerrie Hertel mapleHeightsFarm@verizon.net
Ashburnham Farmers’ Market: Mondays 3:00 until 6:00
Winchendon Farmers’ Market: Thursdays 4:00 until 7:00.
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