09.22.09

Summer is gone, but the folks at the Tahlequah Farmers Market have brought Spring time back to us in late September! Saturday morning there were fresh radishes, fresh turnips, fresh lettuce, fresh onions, fresh cucumbers, and fresh yellow summer squash, with fresh zucchini thrown in for good measure. I don’t know about you, but my garden is about shot! I don’t know how these folks do it! They even had fresh tomatoes that looked better than the ones I picked in July! The Tahlequah Farmers Market always hosts a wide selection of fresh goods that never cease to amaze me. I walked by one stand in particular where the smell of fresh bell peppers wafted along the cool breeze, mixed with just a hint of fresh cucumber. Instantly, I was carried back to June in my mind! Such a fresh smell! Such great flavor! Two tents down the row were fresh watermelons! What a delight! we are so lucky to have this resource right at our finger tips. I always enjoy a good walk at the Farmers Market! Now that Fall has officially arrived, I will make it a regular part of my Saturday routine to walk through the Market, just for the chance to smell that delicious freshness. Oh, and to chat with a few of my new Market friends too.

Posted in Uncategorized at 6:13 pm by Administrator

09.08.09

September is – Chili Weather: Get out the grill and head to the Tahlequah Farmer’s Market! The Fall Chili Peppers are in! At our house, here on Dry Creek Farm, the aroma of fire roasted chili peppers aways signals the nearing of Summer’s end… Chili peppers have a unique, mild, warm, flavor that can be compared to no other pepper, the skin is slightly tough, but can be removed in the following manner: Start a charcoal fire, as if it were for a hot dog cook out. Spread the coals evenly, lay fresh chili peppers side by side on the grill. Just as if roasting hot dogs, turn the chili peppers often with a pair of tongs. When the skins take on a blistered appearance that is light brown in color, turn the peppers over. Keep turning each pepper until the entire pepper is roasted. What you are looking for here, is that no dark green color remains, the entire pepper should be blistered by heat, leaving no spot un-roasted. When the full length of the pepper is roasted to a golden to dark brown on all sides, remove from heat and place into a heavy paper bag. Roll the bag tightly closed with all the roasted peppers inside and set them off the grill to steam in the paper bag. When the peppers are cool to the touch, the skins can be removed or the whole, roasted, peppers can be placed into freezer bags and frozen with the roasted skins intact. When the peppers are removed from the freezer bag for Winter soups or salsas the skins will peel right off. Seed the naked peppers and use as needed in any recipe calling for roasted chilies. Your own fire roasted, chilies, will exibit a much richer flavor if a few hickory twigs are used to kindle the grilling fire; causing them to exhibit a rich, smokey, aroma. When opened on a cold, dark, Winter’s day, they will bring you back to this cool, Fall season, and roasting your fresh peppers over a warm, crackling fire. See you at the Market!

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:29 am by Administrator

08.29.09

August 28th, 2009 Okra, Okra, Okra!!! There will be lots of okra at the Tahlequah Farmer’s Market Saturay! Dry Creek Farm has picked 65 pounds of okra today! That makes 146 pounds this week! We’ll be picking again tomorrow morning as soon as the sun comes up! You had better enjoy the bounty while you still can, though, cooler temperatures in the 50’s are forecast for next week. Temperatures in the 45 degree range will kill the okra plant’s production cycle and Summer’s okra will be no more…

Posted in Uncategorized at 2:40 am by Administrator

08.27.09

It’s pepper pickling time!

Posted in Uncategorized at 9:36 pm by Administrator

 

August 27th, 2009    
Pepper pickling time!  
The Habanero, Serrano, Jalapeno, cayenne, Chili, Cherry, Tabasco, and varied color 
bell peppers are at the height of ripeness today!  I’ve spent most of  the day, hand selecting and sorting a variety of peppers; each for their unique, characteristic color, and flavor.  The peppers are hand picked, then sorted, by variety, onto a long oak table, and hand packed into bottles that bare names such as; “SWEET SURPRISE!” A concoction of every sort of sweet, and mild pepper, packed on top of a single red Habanero!  
Each bottle has a unique bouquet and distinct flavor, as white or blush wine is added to a freshly gathered wood sorrel, mint, or garlic and herb base.  Peppers are added one at a time, 
individually bruised to inhance flavor, and carefully considered, as to their impact on the final 
outcome of the product.  Only the finest apple cider vinegar is used, with just enough salt to 
countervail the tanginess, giving it a perfect, Old World, pickled flavor.  
Such is the life of a sustainable farmer; gathering harvests from the gardens at the peak of ripeness, packing and preserving them, still fresh, with the morning dew, and enjoying the fruits
of one’s labor, at the table, surrounded by family and friends.
August 27th, 2009    
Pepper pickling time!  
The Habanero, Serrano, Jalapeno, cayenne, Chili, Cherry, Tabasco, and varied color 
bell peppers are at the height of ripeness today!  I’ve spent most of  the day, hand selecting and sorting a variety of peppers; each for their unique, characteristic color, and flavor.  The peppers are hand picked, then sorted, by variety, onto a long oak table, and hand packed into bottles that bare names such as; “SWEET SURPRISE!” A concoction of every sort of sweet, and mild pepper, packed on top of a single red Habanero!  
Each bottle has a unique bouquet and distinct flavor, as white or blush wine is added to a freshly gathered wood sorrel, mint, or garlic and herb base.  Peppers are added one at a time, 
individually bruised to inhance flavor, and carefully considered, as to their impact on the final 
outcome of the product.  Only the finest apple cider vinegar is used, with just enough salt to 
countervail the tanginess, giving it a perfect, Old World, pickled flavor.  
Such is the life of a sustainable farmer; gathering harvests from the gardens at the peak of ripeness, packing and preserving them, still fresh, with the morning dew, and enjoying the fruits
of one’s labor, at the table, surrounded by family and friends.

08.23.09

August 22nd, 2009: Proved to be a very good turn out at the Tahlequah Farmer’s Market. Many people do not yet realize that the Market sponsors a ‘Friends of the Market’ space, that is reserved exclusively for area Seniors and other residents to enjoy a liezurely game of dominoes or other activities as could be shared amid the friendly Marketers in the bustling atmosphere on Saturday mornings at the Market Place. Area fiber spinning enthusiasts are welcome, as are quilters and other liesurely farming activities. Milder, more temperate days, and cooler, longer, nights steer us to the realization that we are about to witness the passage of yet another gardening season. The dog days of Summer will soon pass, and along with the passage of Summer will go the bountiful golden harvests of sweet corn, crisp, Springtime radishes, beautiful, lush, leaf lettuce, long, green, fragrant, cucumbers, and fresh, ripe, aromatic, tomatoes; leaving us to forage for our subsistance along the cold, refrigerated, produce aisles of the local supermarkets, where such freshness as we have become accustom to at the Tahlequah Farmer’s Market cannot be found. In these last days of Summer one must take advantage of every opportunity to savor the few remaining tomatoes available this season; the fleeting gatherings of okra; the final few pickings of Summer’s peppers, watermelons, summer squash, green beans, and potatoes. One must be quick to purchase the occassional, scattered bouquet of herbs such as; dill, mint, thyme, basil, sage or rosemary. Autumn will be upon us before we realize and new offerings of Indian corn, decorative gourds, pie pumpkins, Jack-o-lanterns, and winter squash will take take the place of our much beloved and belated fresh, Summer vegetables.

Posted in Uncategorized at 10:39 pm by Administrator

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