HOLIDAY FOOD TRENDS

Every once in a while it’s fun to look outside our own kitchen to see what others are doing. This section is to take a peek at what some popular publications consider “in” AND the hot items our own Market customers are stocking up on.

1. VEEM reports that “The holiday flavor trends this year are salted caramel and clementine, with gingerbread spice making an unexpected appearance in various savory dishes.” Our take and experience on that is that satsuma juice is just as delectable if not better. You may read the entire article here.

2. We had to chuckle at this article that included these comments: “As one of the newest trends, hyper-local sourcing is taking the food service industry by storm. Local food restaurants are taking the idea of buying nearby, sustainably-sourced foods to the next level by growing produce right in their own backyards or restaurant gardens.” It’s nice to see we’re not the only ones that get it!

3. Edible Christmas Wreaths have been around since . . . well as long as anyone can remember! Everything from fruit to bread to candies. Our favorite – fresh salad greens arranged on a platter all decked out with cherry tomatoes , carrot curls & fresh asparagus.

4. Cooking with kiddos always makes for great memories. If you’d rather not break out the rolling pin and cookie cutters the following, while not necessarily healthy, is a fun and memorable food craft that’s easy on everyone.

And now, for our trending M@D items

• Ranch Dressing Mix from Richter Farms
• Candied Pecan Halves from Smart Doc Farms
• Kale from Avalon
• Lamb from Smith Farms
• Casablanca and Smith Farms beef
• Satsumas & Kumquats
• Pumpkin Spice Buckwheat Pancake Mix
• Arugula from Mayim
• Medicinal Tinctures

MARKET CHITCHAT

New & Relisted Products

• Radishes from Bain Home Gardens relisted
• New: Senposai greens from Avalon
• Mustard Greens from Bain Home Gardens relisted
• Kratcky hydroponics kit from Smart Doc Resources

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

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

MARY’S PEEPS: Just wanted everyone to know I’m back trying new sweets for the Holidays. Please look thru all the baked goods, candies, and cinnamon rolls offered this week. This will be your last chance before Christmas and the New Year. I would appreciate everyone’s support. Thank you and hope you and yours will have a safe and Happy Holiday with your families.

DANNY’S GREENS: Danny’s Lettuce is not listed this week as the cooler temps have slowed down plant growth substantially. He shared that he will be using the upoming winter break to work on his garden beds. One of the reasons he is able to offer such superior produce is his year round commitment to improving the quality of his soil because healthy soil produces healthy food!

AVALON FARMS:

We’ve been trying out 2 new cold weather Asian brassicas(greens); Tatsoi and Senposai. Both are considered Asian greens but that’s where the similarity ends. Tatsoi is a small plant that forms a flat rosette of shiny, dark green spoon-shaped leaves and white stems. It has a mild flavor great for salads or cooking. The Senposai is a cross with regular cabbage. It grows big leaves, bigger than collards, that have a delicious  sweet cabbage flavor.

The Tatsoi has been available in the market for a few weeks. I’ll be offering the Senposai as a new listing this week.

Thank you for the warm reception on our pastured poultry beginnings. We have sold half of our first 50 meat birds!! The next 50 are chirping away in my guest bathroom. LOL I’ll keep them there for a couple days then move them out to a bigger brooder in the barn. These are so hardy that in just a couple weeks they’ll be out in their very own chicken tractor, enjoying the good life. Fresh pasture every day, sunshine, fresh air, massages and mocha lattes. (Ok, just kidding about the last two. ; ) Around mid March they’ll be in the market.

This article closes out this year. I would like to thank you all for your purchases, but also for your kind words. You enjoying my products is such a great encouragement to me! Farming is a lot of hard work, but I love providing our community with natural, tasty food.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Good Evening!
It was so refreshing to see the sun in all its glory this morning! Clear skies!

It didn’t stay as long as we had hoped but these days, we are thankful for whatever we may receive in the way of sun rays. We talked about it in detail over on our Webpage earlier this week.

This week we reached out to Patricia Basford and talked with her about her feelings on our year round Market. Notice what she had to say in her online interview:

Shena:” How long have you been a part of the Market?”

Patricia: “I’ve been a customer of Market at Dothan for almost a year and a half now.”

Shena: “How do you benefit from our year round market schedule?”

Patricia: “I love the year-round aspect because I get to purchase winter (and flu season!) items like cold-weather produce, bone broth kits and ingredients, elderberry syrup kits, chapsticks, etc right when I need them. Also get to keep my year-round products like whipped body butter, meat products, and eggs going. I love knowing I’m doing even a small part to help my local farmers/makers and my local economy even in what is often considered an off-season for farmers.”

We totally agree with Mrs. Basford! There is so much being offered on the Market at Dothan! The unique nature of some items begs us to try them! This upcoming year we will he doing just that! With each new item we purchase, we will make a corresponding video showing how we utilized it – recipes included. This is going to be FUUUNNN! Keep a look out over on our Facebook page.

Since the market will be closed for a few weeks make sure you stock up this week so all of your needs are met. If however you do need something last minute, feel free to contact us via our Webpage , our Facebook , or our Instagram . Till next year – good times ahead from our family to yours!

HAWKINS HOMESTEAD: As the Market closes out for the year, we at Hawkins Homestead Farm want to tell all of you THANK YOU for the continued support you’ve given not only us, but the Market as a whole.

Looking back over this past year, we have grown extensively with adding more to our farm and the Market than ever. We have received such wonderful feedback on all our offerings and in 2019 we hope that you will continue to grow with us even more. We are grateful, humbled, and happy that our small family farm has received such love and attention. This is a truly a labor of love for us and we appreciate everyone who has supported us through reading our blogs and/or purchasing our products.

While the Market will be closed until next year, some of your growers are still open and here for you. Us included! We would love for you to grab anything you may need over the next few weeks before it closes, but in case you forget something that we can offer you we’re always here! Hop over to our Facebook Page and send us a message. Now I am completely brand new to coding, but Shena over at Bain Home Gardens seems to have it all together and helped me out LOL! BUT, if for some reason the link doesn’t work, just search for Hawkins Homestead Farm on Facebook and you can find us. Of course you can always visit our website or Instagram Page (Hawkins Homestead Farms). The point is that you have many options to reach us and we would love to hear from anyone who wants to.

If you’re shopping with us on the Market this week, our jams, gift baskets, and pumpkin butters are all available. We will be picking up honey from Horton Farms! For a funny story, ask Roslyn or myself about the time that someone showed up at her house without a voice looking for honey! Yep, that was yours truly when I first moved to the area. My body was trying to adjust to this environment and I was in bad shape. Who knew that a little ways down the road the we would all be joined in the Market Family?!?!?! See you next year or maybe before!