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March 27, 2021 M@D Newsletter - It's time to OrDeR!
EASTER & EGGS
Happy Week of Easter everyone! There’s no getting around that Easter and Eggs go hand in hand: colored eggs for hunting, eggs for decorating, plastic eggs hung from a tree, etc. This week seemed like a fitting time to explore some creative ways to use these little miracles of nature. Rather than pick out two or three great recipes to share this week we’re sharing a few great collections. While some are curated by moms looking to use those eggs that have done their duty in an egg hunt, most of these recipes are worth boiling a few to make! So enjoy and Happy Easter!
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
It’s with both sadness and understanding that we announce that Danny’s Greens is retiring from Market at Dothan. Danny has been with the Market many, MANY years and while he will continue to grow amazing produce he has decided to concentrate on growing for the pleasure of sharing with friends and family. He’s looking forward to trying some new things and remains a friend to our Market family. Danny’s is always willing to encourage those who wish to create their own backyard garden haven so if you’re up for some inspiration let Ros know and we’ll plan a visit. Danny’s garden is still the best kept secret in Henry County.
Join our Online Discussions! www.facebook.com/groups/MarketatDothanDiscussion
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! `
March 20, 2021 M@D Newsletter - OrDeRiNg is OpEn!
WELCOME MARTIN’S HARVEST
About Us:
Welcome to our Family Farm in Marianna, Florida! Martin’s Harvest was founded by Walter and Tonya Martin in 2020 with a love for growing sustainable, eco friendly, and local produce. Our mission is to provide fresh, high quality produce with as little carbon footprint as possible. We do that by using only organic pesticides and herbicides as well as compostable and biodegradable packaging when available.
Our 4000 Hydroponic Lettuce House is now fully operational!
We are now growing hydroponic greens year round!
Current Varieties include Arugula, Stir Fry Mix, Kale Medley, Butterhead, Red Bibb, Romaine, Red Veined Sorrel, Micro Greens & Spring Mix.
We look forward to providing you and your family with bountiful lettuce, fruits and vegetables!
Practices
We use organic growing methods and only organic pesticides & herbicides on our crops.
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
Soooooooooo . . . in last week’s newsletter we gave a shout out for the beautiful weather only to have to cancel the Market because of the weather! Market at Dothan operates year around in rain, wind, heat and cold, but we draw the line when Mother Nature gives us storms that could make it unsafe to travel. We don’t want growers or customers on the roads when conditions could be hazardous. Last week was the second time we’ve had to make that hard decision since 2016 and we hope it’s the last time. Please accept our apologize for any inconveniences and we appreciate your understanding.
CASABLANCA RANCH: It is safe to say that spring has sprung at the ranch. Most all my young fruit trees have budded out and some of the dormant cutting in the little pots at the barn are showing signs of life. But the surest sign of spring is all the pollen and my allergies going wild. The cows have almost quit eating hay and are on the young grass. D has been repairing some of the fences for me so we can control the grazing and rotate the herd and allow the grass to thrive. We also have welcomed 2 new calves to the ranch, and expect some more soon. I have reduced the herd to about 17 brood cows, but with D helping we plan to rebuild the herd to a bout 50 brood cows for now. We have several beautiful heifers and some of them are bred. I am dividing the new heifers into a different pasture area and these will become D and A’s herd, as me and the old herd begin to fade away. This will be a process, and the schedule will depend on the Lord as he gives me strength. Without them steeping up and helping I would be slowly liquidating the herd now. They did not come to help with any conditions, only to aid this old man. The transferring of the calves is all my idea. It is a thrill to me to not lose the excellent bloodlines I have developed over the years and to be able to impart some of my experience to them. They are diligent to come every day to help see to the needs of the cows and the chickens. I am continuing to build up the fruit and berry stock and to nurture them as best I know how.
”Why can’t I find___________ on the Market?” That’s a good question with a lot of possible answers!
- It’s not in season
- If it is seasonal possible crop failure as Avalon experienced not long ago
- In the case of meat waiting for animals to grow, then waiting for the butcher is always an issue
- An item may not be local to this area as we source from a 50 mile radius
- YOU may be the person supposed to supply that! We are always open to new vendors who meet our sustainable standards. One person and one farm can’t do everything and we’re proud to be a COMMUNITY of like minded growers and producers each doing our part.
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! `
March 13, 2021 M@D Newsletter - We are Open For Orders!
KEEPING UP WITH AGRICULTURAL TRENDS
A month ago we share info with a link for a deeper look about Biodynamic Farming. Our girl, Elizabeth, has published again, this time about Agroforestry. It’s not a word we hear much in the this area though some agroforestry concepts have been utilized here for many years. We hope your take away from this section is a deeper appreciation of how different aspects of farming, and in this case trees, can work together for the greatest good of all. Credit for what follows goes to Elizabeth Buttram at Insteading.Com. If you read the article in its entirely you should recognize some practices common in our area. .
What Is Agroforestry?
According to the Peace Corps, agroforestry is a land use agricultural system that integrates trees, crops, and animals on the same piece of land in order to get higher productivity, greater returns, and more social benefits on a sustained basis.
To simplify, agroforestry is a mixture of trees, crops, and animals on the same parcel of land. It’s optional for either crops or livestock (or both) to be utilized while trees are a necessity for it to be considered agroforestry. Trees generally provide more than one service including shelter, shade, soil conservation/erosion prevention, green manure, or livestock fodder.
Why Agroforestry?
The “why” part of doing agroforestry can be understood in the latter section of the Peace Corps definition: Integrating trees/crops/animals on the same piece of land helps boost productivity by yielding multiple outputs that would ordinarily be produced on separate pieces of land.
You can receive greater returns per square foot this way and agroforestry may also increase social benefits by improving economic livelihood. If selling crops or animals is the goal, it creates higher crop diversity, and improves environmental habitat through increased land use diversity.
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
We’re keeping things short and sweet this week as everyone is outside working and enjoying the glorious weather we’ve had this week. We hope you have too.
Be sure to check out our increasing selection of fresh greens:
And another EGG idea, though we do think you should use artificial eggs unless you’re willing to blow out real ones. . . .
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!
March 6, 2021 M@D Newsletter - We are OpEn for OrDeRs
KITCHEN FUN- CARROT RIBBONS
This inspiration comes from Restoration Gardens whose beautiful carrots have been wowing us for several weeks. With raw carrot ribbons being a long time salad favorite in your editors home we thought we’d explore a bit further:
Top Left: Carrot Ribbons With Pesto was originally made with Sorrell Greens but Arugula, Watercress or other leafy greens may be substituted in this recipe from MotherEarthLoving.com
Top Right: Steamer Carrot Ribbons with Peas from Epicure is SUPER EASY and would be a great addition to an Easter meal.
Bottom Left: Don’t let looks fool you. These Orange Glazed Carrot Ribbons have a complex sweet/savory flavor.
Bottom Right: What a shame that Pinch Me I’m Eating does not share this recipe but since it’s called Scarborough Fair Carrot Ribbons with Shrimp we should assume those lovely herbs are parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. We’re thinking it shouldn’t be too hard to recreate.
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
AVALON FARMS:
Learning something new today; how to shape raised beds, lay drip tape and cover it with plastic mulch. Woo Hoo! Hoping this will help with the weed pressure and keep the veggies cleaner too. Next learning curve will be how get all these lovely transplants planted through the plastic.
Here’s to new things and great results. (Fingers crossed)
CASA PERDIDO: Mary O. Shared this great recipe with us that features their Alabama made Fig Balsamic Vinegar. For those of you not familiar with these products, they are all made with Alabama grown muscadines.
Apple Pecan Arugula Salad with Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette
| Ingredients | Fig Dressing |
| 1/2 cup raw pecans | 1/4 cup fig balsamic vinegar |
| 2 small apples | P1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil |
| 1/4 c thinly sliced red onion | 1 Tbs Dijon mustard |
| 2 Tbs dried cranberries (optional) | 1 tsp honey |
| 1 garlic clove or sprinkle garlic powder | |
| 1/4 tsp salt | |
| 1/4 tsp pepper |
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange pecans on bare baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until fragrant and deep golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
2. While pecans are toasting, prep remaining salad ingredients and add to a large mixing bowl.
3. Prepare dressing in a mixing bowl or mason jar by adding all ingredients and whisking or shaking vigorously to combine. Taste and adjust flavor to your preference.
4. Add cooled pecans to salad and top with dressing. Toss to combine and serve immediately. Serves two as an entree and 4 as a side.
Editors Notes: 1. Fig Balsamic Vinegar is available from Casa Perdido year round. 2. Shelf Stable Toasted Pecans are available through the Market from Hortons Farm. 3. Arugula is seasonally available from Mayim Farms and other leafy greens (like Danny’s Gourmet Salad Greens)may be substituted. 4. ENJOY!
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!
Feb. 27, 2021 M@D Newsletter - We're Open for Orders!
THE BEET GOES ON
“Last week, I ordered the beets because I have a fun ice cream cookbook that has some, shall we say, unusual flavors. One of the recipes is for Beet ice cream with mascarpone, orange zest, and poppy seeds.
Anyway, the beets arrived, and I had a very large bag filled with beets and some lovely greens. I knew right away I had too many beets for the ice cream, so I started dreaming about what else to make. I really like pickled beets and decided on that.
Now, I have some room in my fridge, but didn’t want to take up too much space storing the greens. As I started cutting them from the roots, I noticed just how lovely they were, which led to a search on beet green recipes. I learned that, yes, you can indeed cook up and eat the greens. I decided to make some rice and fry the greens in some olive oil along with some M@D green onions and garlic salt.
I work from home, and just after I put the oil in the pan and cranked the heat to high, I got an email that I thought I could answer with a quick, simple reply. I left the pan and went to the office to attend to the email. Long story short, my daughter started yelling something from the other room. This was not surprising, as we have a fairly large house where it’s hard to find people, so it happens fairly often. I ignored her calls and concentrated on finishing up the email. A couple minutes later, she found me in the office and informed me that we had had a fire.
Turns out, a couple TB of olive oil can make a pretty big fire. Thankfully, she was working at the table in our breakfast room and saw an orange glow out of the corner of her eye. The flames were about 2’ tall, extending from the pan over halfway up the microwave suspended above it. She did what any responsible teenager would do, she ran over to the door next to the kitchen and closed it so the fire alarm wouldn’t go off!
After that, she turned off the burner and grabbed the pan and pulled it off the stovetop. The flames died down a bit, and since I didn’t come to her aid right away, she had to decide what to do with the flaming pan. Her first thought was to put a bit of water in the pan!!! By this point, there was a lot of smoke, and her second thought (thank God) was that the water would create a lot more smoke. After that, she just took the pan outside and set it on the brick patio, fire averted.
After the smoke cleared (this was a cold day and we had to have the doors open for about 20 minutes), I finally concentrated on the cooking. We both learned a lot of lessons that day!”
Name Withheld To Protect the Embarrassed
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
DON’T HIT THAT BUTTON! Sometimes folks use the unsubscribe button at the bottom of their weekly M@D newsletter. We’re ok with that if M@D don’t work for you. But if it’s an accident, or a fluke (like what happened to your Manager once), it can really make a mess of things! Besides stopping future newsletters it also deactivates the customer account making it impossible to receive newsletters, get a new password, sign in or order. Neither your Market Manager or our techs can fix this as it’s prohibited by law. Thankfully there’s a way around. If you find yourself in this situation simply create a new customer account that uses a different email.
AVALON FARMS: Thank you for all prayers, thoughts and kind words regarding my farm dog buddy, Zoe. This past week, Zoe took a turn for the worse. When she no longer would wag her tail and just laid there with sad eyes, I knew it was time. I’m sure she’s running heaven’s fields with her friend, Maggie, who left us 2 years ago.
Much love to all ~ Wendy
MARY’S PEEPS: Mary Dale sends word that she will be offering several special cakes starting mid March that for your Easter Celebrations: Coconut Layer Cake, Blueberry Bundt Cake made with her home grown blueberries, Poppy Seed Lemon Bundt Cake and Coconut Bunny cake with Buttercream Frosting. Easter falls on April 4 this year.
GRIER ACRES: Jeannie has survived a kidding season and was alone for her first delivery with a first freshner/first time mom. Anyway, she is in love with the goats and was really upset when we lost one baby from a set of twins. The other sibling is doing well and gaining weight. We think the temps and some teat issues led to the kids demise. We are having a ‘’goat palace” built and are eagerly awaiting its completion. Our goat barn was severely damaged by Hurricane Michael. Jeannie insisted the barn be our next project even though our house really needs updating—she loves those animals and they need adequate housing.
We ordered a bunch of seeds thanks for the recommendations. We tried to get some funky things that might be a little different than the usual. We are hoping to have some tomatoes especially that we can can with our okra. We also ordered some onions and can’t wait to try our hand at them. We would love pointers also on a root cellar.
Aurghhhh!!! It happens EVERY YEAR! Easter approaches and your editor turns to MUSH with the latest Easter Egg fashions (we’ll blame the inspiration on Mary’s cakes this year). Anyway, for your viewing pleasure and in case you want to explore further . . . .
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!
Feb. 20 Deep Winter M@D Newsletter
MARY’S PEEPS IS BACK
After a long absence we are pleased to announce that Mary’s Peeps is returning to Market at Dothan.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Mary Dale Peoples, she is a kind, amazing woman who can do anything she puts her mind to. The number one thing she puts her mind to is taking care of her family; kids, grandkids, inlaws, outlaws, and mostly her husband and mother. She has baked for them many years and has a wealth of experience.
The family has been through a lot the last couple of years and though she’s been absent, she’s always been close. We’re thankful she’s able to get back in the swing of things by listing her two classic pound cakes and hope you’ll take advantage!
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
There is still time to reserve your Thanksgiving turkey by placing a deposit order with Grows in Rows. These Broad Breasted Bronze Turkeys will be free ranged, supplemented with non-gmo feed and ready for you to have the most incredible Thanksgiving turkey ever. Dressed cost is 4.50 per lb and your deposit goes toward the total price.
As far as grower updates, we’re all outdoors in this lovely sunshine getting some work done today! We hope you and yours are safely enjoying it as well. Bee Blessed and we look forward to seeing you soon.
A Little Culinary Inspiration
As far as roasted root vegetables, there is SO much room for creativity. We chose this photo because it’s just a little different than your standard kitchen blog photo of before and after roasted vegetables. The open bulbs of garlic and fresh herbs (which would be very shriveled had they cooked with everything else) is just . . . pretty. But it does lend to some thinking outside the box.
We’ve had some nice root vegetables on the Market lately – beautiful carrots and beets, and while butternut squash is not a root veggie, it cooks real well with them!
Back to that outside the box thing . . . there’s no “wrong” way to roast vegetables, and there are some great things to try if you are tired of just tossing a few items with Olive Oil, salt and pepper before popping it in the oven. We’re giving you TWO lists – one of veggies you can throw in your mix, another of seasonings that might be fun to try.
Enjoy!
VEGGIES & SEASONING IDEAS
| Fingerling Potatoes | Onions | Honey | Italian Seasoning |
| New Red Potatoes | Parsnips | Balsamic Vinegar | Parmesan |
| Sweet Potatoes Or Yams | Beets | Maple Syrup | Greek Seasoning |
| Turnips | Rutabegas | Flavored Olive Oil | Orange or Lemon Zest |
| Brussel Sprouts | Cabbage | Fresh or Dired Herbs | Adobo |
| Cherry Tomatoes | Peppers | Garlic & Herb | |
| Cauliflower |
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!
Feb. 13, 2021 M@D is Open for Orders!
BIODYNAMIC FARMING
Editor’s note: What a blessing to see THIS ARTICLE published this week! While the author is only mentioned by first name at the end, I’ve been watching her experience unfold for, ummm, pretty much her entire life. Elizabeth grew up near Columbus, GA, studied forestry in Tifton, did a stent in the Peace Corps and has been learning from some fabulous farms like the one in the article since returning from Africa.
No doubt our Market customers are familiar with biodynamic farming as Mayim Farms successfully utilizes this concept. Rather than attempt to reinvent the wheel we are condensing some of Elizabeth’s key concepts and if you wish to know more the link is at the end.
If you look up the definition of biodynamic agriculture, here’s what you’ll find: “… a form of alternative agriculture very similar to organic farming, but it includes various esoteric concepts drawn from the ideas of Rudolf Steiner.” Developed in 1924, it was the first of the organic agriculture movements.
Steiner was an Austrian philosopher who coined the phrase, “spiritual science.” From this idea, he established the Waldorf Schools, biodynamic agriculture, and anthroposophical medicine. Biodynamic farming was created after a group of farmers sought out his help in 1924. His ideologies around ecologically sustainable agriculture that omits the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, rapidly spread around the globe and gave rise to organic agriculture.
Organic agriculture strives for sustainability and utilizes methods of pest control and soil fertilizers that are ecologically derived rather than the traditional chemical/synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that conventional agriculturalists use. Ecological pesticides and fertilizers are primarily derived from composting practices that use plant or animal wastes, as well as nitrogen-fixing cover crops. Biodynamic farming uses the same principles but goes further by utilizing lunar cycles with various soil preparations. One interesting practice involves burying a cow’s horn packed with silica to enhance its properties as a plant spray. Another utilizes various compost components to enhance fungal qualities. Many studies support attention to enhancing soil health.
In the end whatever one believes about the science and spirituality connection Steiner held to, there’s no denying that love and care for the soil God created (yes, another spiritual comment) is good for the planet and helps produce food that is both nurturing and healing.
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
Don’t forget that you can reserve your Thanksgiving turkey by placing a deposit order with Grows in Rows. These Broad Breasted Bronze Turkeys will be free ranged, supplemented with non-gmo feed and ready for you to have the most incredible Thanksgiving turkey ever. Dressed cost is 4.50 per lb and your deposit goes toward the total price.
Mayim Farm is back! Greg and Carolle have been busy working on infrastructure this winter and their crops are starting to come in. You will find a few things listed and they’ve promised more to come.
AVALON FARMS: The days are ticking by, but not a lot of field work happening. It’s so frustrating! I should be out dropping seed potatoes right now but the soil is too wet to work. Also on the schedule is to plant sugar snap peas. Hopefully it will dry out enough I can manage to plant them in a few days. Will have to come up with a creative wet dirt method. Ha ha
Something is tearing out the leeks!! I can’t find any animal tracks. No digging. Just pulled up and shredded leeks. My best guess is birds. Maybe robins looking for food. There are a lot of robins hopping around the gardens.
Zoe, the farm dog, update: She is doing much better. Still moving slow but feeling good enough to wander around in the yard. She even came out to the chicken pasture this week. She was and hopefully will be our primary chicken herding helper.
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!
Feb. 6, 2020 M@D Newsletter - VIP info here!
THANKSGIVING TURKEY ANNOUNCEMENT
After a long absence from Market at Dothan, we are back and again offering our Broad Breasted Bronze Turkeys. Some years back we sold these turkeys and everyone loved and enjoyed them.
We are listings deposits on the Market to determine know how many we need to order as we must reserve the poults in advance. They will arrive May 2021 so they’re the perfect size and tenderness for your Thanksgiving.
Our turkeys will be free ranged and supplemented with non GMO feed like we’ve always done. The difference between the taste of commercial turkeys versus free range turkey is unbelievable.
Broad Breasted Bronze Turkeys have an excellent conformation and high meat yield due to its natural fat layering which makes for an excellent flavor. Total cost per turkey is $4.50 a pound dressed and your deposit goes toward the total.
Thank you in advance,
George and Kathy Hale
Grows in Rows
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
As always, THANK YOU for your recycling efforts through Market at Dothan. We love receiving usable items (usually egg cartons and jars) and make every effort to see they go where they’re most needed. A new item has come to our attention: Egg Shells. Egg shells are valuable in farming as they add minerals back to the soil and keep unwanted guests off plants when placed around the bottom. We’re showing you one easy way to “harvest and collect”, and if anyone needs a big mouth jar like the one shown, ASK and we’ll locate one for you.
The hamburger saute tool (Dollar General) does a great job with that.
AVALON FARMS:
Wanted to write to thank everyone for being so understanding Friday a week ago when I was delayed till 11:00 delivering to market.
Last Friday the dogs went out for their normal morning romp, but only one of them came back. We went looking for the other one and found her standing in the backyard just whimpering and unable to move.
Using a blanket as a sling, we very carefully got her into the car and got her to our vet. After some tests and x-rays, turns out she had cracked a vertebrae in her back. He wasn’t sure how, maybe been clipped by a car, or fell down chasing something – we’ll never know.
It’s been an interesting time. Almost like having a colicky baby in the house. (Again!) The original pain meds made her hallucinate and not sleep for 3 days. So none of us got much sleep for 3 days. She’s off those and doing better. She is now able to slowly walk and make the stairs to the yard. She loves laying in the sun out in the grass like a true farm dog.
Thanks again for your understanding. You are the best market family!!
Wendy and Zoe (farm dog)
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!
Jan 30, 2021 - M@D is Open for Orders!
What’s Not To Love?
Grower/Market Notes
DARK CHOCOLATE
With Valentine’s Day on the horizon flowers and chocolate are greeting everyone brave enough to venture into a retail store these days. They do after all, communicate love.
While flowers communicate love, the right kind of chocolate can actually love you back. Consider these benefits of dark chocolate from Dr. Axe:
1. Protection from Disease-Causing Free Radicals
2. Potential Cancer Prevention
3. Improved Heart Health
4. Good for Overall Cholesterol Profile
5. Better Cognitive Function
6. Improves Blood Pressure
7. Antioxidant-Rich Super food
8. Potential Vision Booster
9. Protects Skin Heath
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
If you enjoy baking bread you’ll love an article Richter Farms came across last week. A team of researchers performed DNA sequencing on 500 sourdough starters from four continents. The findings were interesting to say the least! Click HERE for the full article.
Last week we shared CREAMY TACO SOUP with you. It turns out that the broth/cream cheese combo supports a lot more than just southwestern flavors. One person modified the recipe and got a big surprise when the Mr. of the house actually complimented a dish with collards. It’s crazy what a little kitchen imagination can do! Without further adieu . . .
CREAMY COLLARD SOUP
This is a keto/low carb recipe!
1 lb ground meat
1/3 lb bulk hot sausage
1 medium chopped onion
1 bunch collards, washed and shredded or chopped
1/3 head cabbage, shredded (savoy type works especially well)
1 8 oz brick cream cheese, softened
½ tsp Thyme
½ tsp Parsley
2 ½ quarts Beef Broth
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1. Brown meat and onions
2. Add 2 quarts broth, collards, cabbage, thyme and parsley. Bring to boil then simmer till vegetables are soft.
3. Use an immersion blender to blend cream cheese with reserved broth. Add to soup mixture Continue heating on low till it simmers. Do not boil and do not continue cooking or it will affect the taste of the cream cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve with gladness.
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!
Jan. 23, 2021 We're still M@D about Fresh, Local, Sustainable and Year Round Food!
New Vendor Welcome
Grower/Market Notes
Nana’s Tea Cakes
Hi! I’m Sherrie Shown, aka “NANA’S TEA CAKES”. “NANA’S TEA CAKES” are not just any run-of-the-mill Tea Cakes. They are made from an Old Family Recipe and are the most delicious Southern Tea Cakes this side of the Mississippi! Once you taste them, I am sure you will agree. They are addictive! They are all natural and made with the finest organic ingredients.
I have been baking Tea Cakes for family and friends for as long as I can remember. They have told me for years that I should sell them, so I finally decided to do just that. They come wrapped in elegant bags with matching bows. NANA’S TEA CAKES" are a special treat for you and your family. They also make very thoughtful and delicious gifts. I have been a customer of the Market since the very beginning. I love the food and all the ladies who run the show, and I am SO happy to now be an official part of the Market At Dothan!
GROWER & MARKET NOTES
We were glad to see Danny’s Greens back on the Market last week. They sold out very quickly. One northern relative reported that their family eliminated winter colds by eating fresh greens every day. While we can’t claim this works for everyone, it did bring home that fact that our bodies need cold weather crops during the cold times of the year.
Speaking of winter colds, everyone knows that Vitamin C is essential for keeping your immune system up. M@d still has a variety of clean local citrus, rich in natural Vitamin C. Both Satsumas and Kumquats are available from several of our market vendors.
Taking it a step further, for those who like to preserve seasonal bounty, Richter Farms uses Pectinase to dissolve the “extra” material on her satsuma slices before canning them. This product is available on Ebay and Amazon. Bewitching Kitchen explains what it is and shows how it works.
AVALON FARMS: Sorry not to have spoken to you for awhile, it’s been an interesting month all around. Probably for you too. But we’re all still here and moving forward as best we can.
Here are a few celery growing in an aquaponics bed (above). This aquaponics system is “powered” by goldfish (below). The celery are getting all their nutrients from the fish.
/center>If you remember, in the past I used a DIY heat table for starting spring transplants. Just upgraded to a professional grade 4 ft x 8 ft mat. (So I better up my game! ) This is in the greenhouse we built from recycled windows last year. The plants should get plenty of sunlight out here.
Most people LOVE a good hearty “stick to your bones” soup on cold days. We couldn’t resist sharing this low carb CREAMY TACO SOUP recipe that’s been a hit with everyone who has tried it. It can be made with any type ground meat (beef from Casablanca or Smith Farms or Smith Farms lamb) and Danny’s Green Onions make a great garnish.
1 lb ground meat
1 large chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small green pepper, diced (optional)
1 10 oz can Rotel tomatoes with chilies
1 8 oz brick cream cheese
2 Tbs Taco Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to Taste
14 oz Beef Broth (about 1.5 cups)
1. Brown meat with onions and garlic.
2. Add peppers, tomatoes, cream cheese and seasonings. Heat on low stirring often as cream cheese softens.
3. When cream cheese is softened and mixed well add beef broth. Continue heating on low till it simmers. Do not boil and do not continue cooking or it will affect the taste of the cream cheese.
4. Serve and garnish with any combination of the following:
Avocado Slices
Chopped green onion
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Cheddar Cheese
Cilantro
Lime Juice
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!