GREETINGS FROM ORLANDO

If you made an order last week you know that Viki and Kathy handled Market Pickup in my absence on Friday. THANK YOU to both you ladies! We are blessed indeed to have capable and sweet helpers who can handle the job when duty and new grandbabies call me elsewhere. I am relishing the time with Finnigan Maccuill, Soren Keats and their parents.

Any time you visit out of your area hopefully you pick up some culinary experience, information or knowledge you didn’t possess beforehand. Such has been the case here.

This was breakfast the first day. One of the servings has an over easy egg underneath the avocado, and the other does not. They were both DELICIOUS! I had never heard of Avocado Toast but a quick Pinterest search turned up many variations. This simple version is made with regular bread, mashed avocado with lemon juice, and topped with smoked salmon. The CONCEPT however, can be adapted to be gluten free, vegan, and/or both.

Another new experience for me was . . . don’t roll your eyes . . . kombucha. Seriously! I’ve made my own for years and had never experienced any store bought commercial brands. One of the things I took down on this trip was a mother scoby, a gallon of sweet tea and dispensor to help the kids set up their own continuous brew system. It seems that after developing a taste for it at my house they realized how much they were spending . . . you know the rest.

So it was with a bit of hesitation I opened a dark brown bottle of coconut lime kombucha with a cute label, listened to the gas escaped and took a sip. . . . it wasn’t bad! The blueberry mint that my daughter shared wasn’t bad either . . . but to be honest, I like mine better. Neither were as tart or as sweet as I make it (using stevia) and I’ve got to figure out whether the flavors were naturally or artifically added.

All that being said, don’t be surprised if you see some new flavors added to our market page and we promise, ours will always be made with real ingredients!

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

AVALON FARMS: Thank God it’s finally Fall! Too bad no one told the weather. I felt like a complete idiot planting broccoli and cabbage transplants almost a month ago in 90 plus degree weather. Now they are a foot tall and going strong. Trying some new things like beets, watermelon radishes, brussel sprouts and Portuguese kale. It should be interesting. Also have some fall sugar snap peas started just for all you lovely people that loved them so much in the spring.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hello market friends! As of Friday it is officially fall. So exciting! I know it’s hard to believe but it is true. Fall is our second favorite time of the year here at Bain Home Gardens. It has a close second to spring.  What we love about fall is the watching the leaves change & feeling the cool breeze in the air, a stark contrast to the summer!  Where we live, we often are privileged to observe mass exoduses of birds heading further south for the winter. This year the Hummingbirds paid a visit.

This fall holds even more wonder and excitement for us. Fall is the perfect time to refresh or even start a garden for the first time. This is true for several reasons:
1. Cool weather means less weeding.
2. Cool weather crops tend to be less labor intensive.
3. Cooler temperatures mean you will water a little less and save money on your water bill!
So if you have had it in the wheelhouse of your mind to start a small garden, NOW IS THE TIME! Here at Bain Home Gardens we think everyone should experience the joy of picking food from your own yard or pot at least once. So over the next few weeks we will be doing some myth busters in regards to small home gardens. Look out for our “Myth Buster Series” starting next week! We will share our experiences with you from our massive fails to our surprising successes! It is our sincere desire to help you also grow sustainable produce for your families. Just think, if we all did a little how much this market would blossom & how that would help our community!

Thanks to all who supported our fledgling business this week. You give us hope that this thing is really possible. Till next week, we will be in the garden working on next week’s haul…from our family to yours.

HAWKINS HOMESTEAD FARM: We are very excited to add 2 new baby chicks to our flock! One of our broody mamas abandoned her eggs but our 7 month old girl hung in there and was rewarded for her hard work. They came at exactly 21 days on September 16th.

With the upcoming Market day, we are excited to meet everyone in person. We plan to have our fresh organic chicken and eggs on hand with a few surprises. We hope all of you will come out and take advantage of buying direct which means NO SALES TAX on items produced from the farm.

We hope to see you there!

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!