Bluegrass Farmers Market

Chances are this will be the last week for strawberries. I'm gonna miss those beautiful red ripe strawberries but my mouth is watering just thinking about the blueberries that will make their first presence at the market tomorrow! Blueberries are my very most favorite of all. Here's a super simple recipe that is always a crowd pleaser.

Blueberry Crisp

4 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place blueberries into an 8 inch square baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Stir in the mayonnaise and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the top of the blueberries. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Serve with whipped cream. This recipe will serve 4 unless you are like me, then it will only serve 2!

Unfortunately strawberries aren't the only treat that will be making their last appearance at the market for the season. The asparagus will probably only be with us for this week and then they will be gone until next spring. Buy a bunch and freeze them for use during the winter. I just blanch mine for 2-4 minutes depending on the size, then give them an ice bath dunk. Pat them dry and spread them out on a cookie sheet and pop it into the freezer. Once they are frozen solid just put them in a plastic storage bag to keep in your freezer. That way you can just pull out the amount that you need for each meal.

The wonderful sugar snap peas and the snow peas can be frozen the same way...you'll find them at the market tomorrow too! And, don't forget about the rhubarb! Think strawberry rhubarb pie...yummy!

The Tuesday market hours are 3pm until 6:30pm...shop on your way home from the office!

Stay tuned for the Saturday market offerings and remember...

The Bluegrass Farmers' Market is 100% homegrown or produced and we are all

Kentucky Proud!

The sun will be shining and the farmers will be smiling this Saturday at the Bluegrass Farmers Market!

That's because they'll be bringing the freshest and the very best that the area has to offer to our market location at 3450 Richmond Rd. The trucks will be unloaded and the tents will be set up and ready for business at 9am!

Make plans to come and visit with us especially if you are looking for beautiful red, ripe strawberries! Or maybe you're looking for something green like sugar snap peas, snow peas, crisp lettuce, mixed greens, asparagus, rhubarb or broccoli. Perhaps something in a brownish tint like the wonderful new potatoes or farm fresh eggs. Don't forget the beautiful golden yellow color of honey, beeswax candles, lip balm, home baked breads and Amish cheese. It could be that you are looking for something white and you can be sure to find plenty of spring onions too. Who said eating fresh food wasn't colorful!!!

Speaking of color, how about making your outdoors as beautiful as your plate. Our farmers will be bringing plenty of vegetable plants, bedding plants, hanging baskets, herb plants and even some tropical plants like banana trees!

Now that you have the color in your home covered how about some wonderful scents! Can you smell that kettle of homemade bean soup cooking? Or the wonderful scents of the herb seasonings while you're cooking on the grill. Maybe you just want to relax in a tub of warm water with a beautiful bar of scented soap. And, finish the day off with a bite out of a fabulous cookie or jam cake!

You'll be able to find all of this and much more this Saturday at the Bluegrass Farmers Market! Don't forget that if you see it at our market, you'll also see the farmer that grew it, baked it, raised it, made it or created it! We are 100% homegrown or produced...guaranteed!!!

You can find us in the tree lined parking lot of Fast Signs and Pedal the Planet just next door to the Glenn Auto Mall on Richmond Rd. We'll be there from 9 until 2 and sure hope you'll come visit Lexington's only 100% grower/producer market!

What a beautiful day Saturday turned out to be. Mother Nature was very cooperative by holding off the rain until after the market and that meant that our shoppers could enjoy the sunshine as much as we did. Speaking of shoppers, it was wonderful to see so many new faces! I guess word is getting out that there is a market in town that guarantees 100% homegrown or produced items. It's hard to compete with other markets that have tomatoes, corn and melons available. But, we sure are glad that folks like the thought of going to a farmers market and finding items that the farmer actually grew, raised, baked or made and not stuff purchased at a terminal. It makes all of our hard work more enjoyable to see the smiles when they know we really did it ourselves!!! And, it makes the saying “buy local” all the more important.

Our Tuesday market is a bit small because many of our farmers have “real” jobs in order to support their love of farming. But I can tell you that the offerings that will be there are great. I know because our family enjoyed some of the asparagus last night for dinner and I swear, it's worth driving back into town to buy more! Something tells me that the new potatoes that I purchased on Saturday will be just as good with tonight's dinner. Might be another reason for me to drive into town cause there'll be plenty of them available on Tuesday too. Well, heck I might just as well plan on going to town on Tuesday to see my farmer friends because I missed out on the broccoli Saturday and I was assured that there will some on Tuesday. Probably ought to buy more sugar snap peas too because I haven't quite filled my freezer so that I can enjoy them all winter long. Oh, darn...I forgot about the wonderful strawberries and rhubarb! Sounds like I might be baking a pie when I get home. Now I know I'll be heading towards Lexington on Tuesday afternoon.

As you can see, there is still plenty of good stuff available at the Tuesday market. It runs from 3 until 6:30  and is located at 3450 Richmond Rd.  in the parking lot of Fast Signs and Pedal the Planet.  That's next to the Glenn Auto Mall just outside Man O'War.

This bit of good news just in...there will be heirloom tomato plants available too! And, maybe snow peas!

100% local and Kentucky Proud...that's us!

Yes, it's hard work but all you have to do is look at the smiling faces of our farmers and know that the members of the Bluegrass Farmers Market love what they do! They grow, they create, they bake, they raise and they come together each Tuesday from 3 until 6:30 and every Saturday from 9 until 2 to share all of their hard work with you. Smiles are free!

This Saturday you'll be able to find wonderful strawberries, crisp lettuce and garden greens, crunchy spring green onions, bright green spinach and broccoli, snappy peas, rhubarb for that pie and fresh cut herbs! No tomatoes or corn because we only sell what we grow and they just aren't in season in Kentucky yet. But hang in there, they're coming soon!

Want to grow your own fruits and veggies? We'll have berry plants and loads of tomato and pepper plants...even heirlooms! Think maybe you need to dress up your yard, deck or planters with some color? You'll be able to find a great variety of beautiful plants, hanging baskets and even some tropicals!

Maybe you're looking for a great loaf of home baked bread, or jams and jelly. How about some golden honey? Or maybe some herb seasoning. Beautiful dried beans ready for the soup kettle. Or maybe just some homemade soap. Heck, we even have Llama poo! Don't laugh, it's a great fertilizer for your garden. And you should see what can be created with the Llama wool!!!

The best part is we are all Kentucky Proud and we take it seriously! So plan to make a stop at Lexington's only 100% homegrown/produced farmers market this week. You'll leave smiling cause the farmer that grew that veggie or made that bread will be smiling at you the whole time. In case you haven't noticed, we love what we do and we love to talk about it. So a visit to the Bluegrass Farmers Market is also an educational trip!

Hope to see you at our Saturday market located in the tree lined parking lot of Fast Signs and Pedal the Planet, next to Glenn Auto Mall on Richmond Rd. There's plenty of parking available. I'll update and let you know what you'll find at the Tuesday market as soon as I find out what my farmer friends will be bringing.

Happy 100% local...guaranteed!