Westminster Farmers' Market

Westminster Farmers’ Market Report from Maple Heights Farm

Did you attend the farmers’ market last week?What a sight!There must have been about 20 vendors!AND CORN IS IN!What a busy day!I must confess that I was busy with the Mass Local Food Co-op and did not even get a chance to wander through the market so, for this week, I can only tell you what I have been told.All the usual items were there.In addition, we had corn and loads of different vegetables.And, finally, maple syrup!All the products that you come to expect including meat, eggs, cheese, breads (including gluten free), jam, relish…

I am re-reading Barbara Kingsolvers book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and it is just as good as a re-read!(I have read all of her books and highly recommend ALL of them.)From her book, “If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.That’s not gallons, but barrels.”In addition to this statement, that one meal each week helps the local economy in countless ways.And, probably most importantly, you are preserving our local farms which has far reaching impacts that are economic, environmental, educational…So, I propose that you think about using our farmers’ market for this purpose.Just one meal a week.Breakfast is easy: eggs, bread, jam.If you decide on lunch or dinner, your options expand.Of course there is a bounty of vegetables available now and plenty of bread and meat, cheese and eggs (and root beer to boot but you will have to pre-order with Meghan at her coffee shop).Have your children help you comb the market and help prepare the meal.I find that they are much more likely to enjoy something new if they are a part of the planning and preparing!

I want to highlight a few products that I have tried over the last several weeks.These come from both the Farmers’ Market and/or Mass Local Food.Most of these products can be viewed at www.massfoodcoop.org.

·Jasmine Green Tea Soap: Nice lather, spa-like skin treatment, works wonders at getting the dirt off my knees after a couple hours in the vegetable garden!

·Goat’s milk soap: we have tried several varieties and have been happy with all.An unnamed member of my household is trying the face soap for a stubborn case of acne – and it seems to be having a positive impact!

·KnitMitt Exfoliating Bath Mitt – working in conjunction with face soap.

·Health Bread (only available through Mass Local Food) – multigrain bread that is very light and delicious.Unfortunately everyone in the family loved this so I did not get my fair share!

·Olive and Onion Bread – delicious for lunch, I love this served toasted with cream cheese and green olives.

·Dean’s Beans Coffee – will be available this week at the market.

·Jam – Try several as they really are a matter of personal taste.I really like the fruity jams, I keep several on hand for our English Muffin bread which our children request often for breakfast.

·Lime Cornmeal Cookies from Robin at Honeybee baking company.Don’t forget to stop by her booth for your local food meal.You will need dessert!

·Cheese from Westfield farm (in Hubbardston) and Smith’s Country Cheese.Plan ahead and bring it to room temperature before serving.It’s delicious!

This week we (at Maple Heights Farm) will have sausage, hamburg and some roasts.We will also have limited amounts of peas, zucchini, beets, carrots (mixed heirloom varieties), dill and cilantro.All our food is grown with no pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers.We will also have bread (Finnish, English Muffin, Cinnamon and Hamburger Rolls).Note to the person who purchased rolls last week for $4.00 – please stop by for a refund – they are only $2.50 per package).Just let us know when you arrive at the booth as we would like to correct this!Other news from the farm, we now have 50 chickens that we are raising for meat.We have two breeds, one being a heritage breed and the other a standard meat breed.The standard meat breed will be ready in about 8 weeks and the heritage in about 12 weeks.In a few weeks we will be taking orders (pickup has to be at our farm according to the laws) and we would like customers to consider purchasing one of each so you can consider the differences between the quality of the two breeds:the heritage breed is supposed to be a gourmet meat with superior taste.The standard meat bread is raised for the purpose of being fast growing and fast growing if you know what I mean.This still produces an excellent chicken that is delicious and juicy, but it is not specifically developed for flavor and nutrition.I have not yet set the price but I think it will be about $4.00 per pound.This is due to the fact that I have 6 dollars into each bird even before I begin to feed them.At this time I am purchasing organic feed at $20.00 per bag and chopping up grass and greens from the garden.Max is going to build a “chicken tractor” for me so they will get plenty of fresh grass and bugs each day and they will be able to spend their time acting like chickens.If I am feeling really clever one day I will try to place an order form on our website for this where you can order what you want and leave a deposit.I’ll let you know if I get that done (4 kids home from school for the summer, the vegetable garden, house showings, college tours and planning, hiking and fun – I may not get to the website).

See you at the market! 

Our market is now listed on www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/M24478.Don’t forget to log on, read our information, and vote for your favorite farmers’ market!