CULINARY CONFESSIONS

When it comes to food the room for creativity is endless. Julia Child changed the world by inviting cameras into her studio kitchen and sharing all kind of wonderful tips, techniques and new foods with the world. Many have followed with their own unique flavors and styles and these days cooking channels and YouTube have made it possible to find most anything you wish to learn in mere moments.

That’s the big picture. The small picture that follows is one of your Market Managers favorite YouTube channels. It speaks loudly to my farm girl/raised in the country on a dirt road side.

Meet Aziza. She and her family rise early to tend their garden, chickens, and cows, and gather fresh ingredients for their meals, and sometimes even build the oven needed to make a dish. Open-fire cooking is the cornerstone of Aziza and her family’s heritage. Traditional Azerbaijani cooking is done over wooden coals using an iron pan called a saj.

Last year Aziza’s son, a professional chef named Amiraslan, was working in a restaurant in their nation’s capital of Baku. When the restaurant was forced to close due to the pandemic Amiraslan saw it as an opportunity to share their region’s dishes and way of life with the world. He returned to his native village and began to create videos of his family at work preparing cozy and comforting dishes over an open flame. In a year, their YouTube Channel, Country Live Vlog has gathered over 450,000 subscribers with many of their videos reaching over one million views.

Don’t take my word for why these videos have spoken to millions. Find a dish you’d enjoy seeing prepared and see why many folks wish they were in Azerbaijani and Aziza was their mom!

If the (green) link above does not work for you, try pasting the following into your browser to see some of these lovely videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIix6MklfJFywa_36iDj8Sw

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

NEW & RELISTED Fresh DILL from Grier Acres Fresh CILANTRO from Grier Acres Yukon Gold POTATOES from Avalon Farms RELISTED – Asian Fairy Tale Eggplant from Restoration Gardens Spaghetti Squash – Avalon Farms Delicata Squash – Avalon Farms Japanese Eggplant – Avalon Farms Tomato Medley – Avalon Farms Tomato Slicers – Avalon Farms * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

AVALON FARMS:

I feel like you guys are my friends, can I vent a little bit? 

As you know, Market at Dothan is not the only place I market my produce. When possible I attend both Poplar Head and Ozark Farmers Markets.

My issue is WHY don’t people believe I actually grow all these vegetables and fruits? Do I have a dishonest face?! I am asked this several times at every market. After explaining that I only sell what I grow at my little place in Kinston, they then move to the next interesting, uncommon vegetable and say “You grew this?”  Why, yes.  Yes, I did. Is this really so hard to believe???

The kicker came last week when someone asked “Are these Slocomb tomatoes?” They were literally stunned when I replied (perhaps a bit stronger than necessary) “No, they are not. They are from my farm in Kinston.” 

Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support.