Fresh Picks

15 July 2012 / V2N5

Wednesdays 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. August 1 through the end of the growing season AND Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. through the end of October 720 North Lewis Street Glenville, West Virginia Market Information Mary Lee: 304-853-2440 304-462-7039 John: 304-871-3198 Larry: 304-462-5631 Thank You to Our 2012 Newsletter Sponsor

From Green Acres to Glenville

Each week at the Gilmer County Farmers Market, Patti Espinosa (pictured) has something for everyonefrom bell peppers and sweet onions to beets, sweet corn, and squash. Patti and her husband Lupe, along with three hired high school boys, work their familys 15acre farm, Green Acres, to produce a multitude of delicious veggies. We work from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day, Patti explained. Green Acres is part of Fish Hawk Acres, a Rock Cave farm cooperative led by Dale Hawkins of Jane Lew. Learn more about Fish Hawk Acres at www.wvfishhawkacres.com. In addition to the GCFM, Patti sells her familys produce in Weston, Buckhannon, Bridgeport, and other area farmers markets. Its hard work, Pattie said, but, yes, its worth it.

Newsletter Editor Melissa Gish 575-302-1732 Glenville.Market@gmail.com Visit our Web site: Glenvillemarket.blogspot.com

MARKET EXTENDED TO WEDNESDAYS!

Beginning August 1, there will be an additional evening market on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. through the growing season.

Contribute to the Farmers Market Newsletter!

Do you have an easy recipe youd like share? A funny story or some interesting bit of information about your favorite plants? Some photographs of your prize tomatoes (or your dog)? The newsletter would like your contributions. Just give them to Mary Lee, John, or Melissa. Or email your contributions to the newsletter: glenville.market@gmail.com.

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A Little Bird Told Me

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Garry and Reta Kight welcomed their grandson eight-year-old Steven Shepkosky for a summer visit on July 14. Steven, with great enthusiasm and a contagious smile, enjoyed a McDonalds breakfast and helped his grandparents sell enormous zucchinis at the market.

The GCFM is a great place to catch up on all the happenings in the county (and all the gossip). A robin with a nest in the rafters of the GCFM shelter spent the morning of July 14 navigating around all the market vendors and visitors in order to feed three little hatchlings.

Eats Review
Have you tried the Market Bistro in Buckhannon yet? Located at 18 North Kanawha Street (just a half block off Main Street), this charming little restaurant features homemade breads as well as soups and salads made from fresh garden veggies purchased from local farmers. Local eggs and berries are used in delicious desserts such as blackberry cobbler. Unique salad dressings are also made in-house and include maple bacon and mango lime. Hours: Mon-Thu 6 am 8 pm Fri 6 am 10 pm Sat 8 am 10 pm Sun 11 am 3 pm

Butterfly Corner
The taller plants in the Master Gardeners Butterfly Garden took a bit of a beating earlier this month from a series of heavy thunderstorms and high winds, but lots of sunshine recently has helped the garden bounce right back, and the perennials have taken hold. Pictured here are red bee balms, a butterfly favorite.

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Whats Up, Doc? Carrots!

Heres a super sweet way to enjoy one of summers best-loved veggies Carrot Cookies
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 eggs 2 1/2 cups flour 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1 tsp grated lemon peel 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp salt

Try marinating cooked carrots: 1 cup French dressing 2 tsp prepared mustard 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup chopped green pepper 1 thinly sliced small onion Coat 1 1/2 pounds cooked carrots, cover, and refrigerate 8 hours.

DIRECTIONS Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. When cool, frost using recipe below. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Lemon Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 tsp grated lemon peel 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp water Beat ingredients together, adding more water a little at a time until spreading consistency is reached.

Kim Yancey and a bounty of carrots

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Shes Got Rocks in Her Head

Contributed by Ashley Gish We are a family of rock collectors. My brother collects amethyst crystals, I collect fossils, and my mom, well, she collects anything that is igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary and can be polished and made to dangle around her neck. Melissa Gish makes gemstone jewelry and takes it to the Gilmer County Farmers Market every Saturday to offer it for sale (though I think she just likes to show it off). Her favorite rock is jasper, which is a finegrained rock formed by a process called diagenesis, which simply means that zillions of microscopic organic lifeforms such as zooplankton, algae, or plants died and settled onto the floor of the ocean that covered our planet millions of years ago and eventually formed layers of hardened rock in a multitude of colors, from red to yellow to green. The two geology classes I took in college have given me some knowledge of rocks, and I have fun telling people about rocks whenever I get the chance. Going to the farmers market with my mom recently has given me the opportunity to share what I know about the rocks that my mom uses in her jewelry. For example, many of the garnets that my mom uses come from neighboring North Carolina, where they are known as Almandine garnets and are typically found growing out of schist, a gray metamorphic rock. Hematite is another rock that my mom uses a lot. This steel gray rock is basically a form of iron, but it is much harder than iron. Some hematite has a reddish color, which is why its name was drawn from the Greek word for blood. Although I have a scientific mind, there are still phenomena that science cannot explain. Therefore, I tend to believe in many of the metaphysical powers of gemstones. Tigers eye, for example, is said to protect the wearer from the evil eye, and hematite is said to help people improve their personal relationships. Garnet has been traditionally worn to help people combat depression and stimulate success. Jasper is considered a powerful stone that makes negativity evaporate so the wearer can fully appreciate the good things in life, and agates are said to make the wearer feel more energetic, positive, and joyful. Basically, if you believe what my mom and I believe, jaspers and agates are happy rocks, which is probably why these are the most popular rocks in my moms jewelry designs. I guess weve both got rocks in our heads, but we really know our schist, and we never take our hobby for granite.