This Week’s Market Email – 8/6/10

Dear Market Goers,

A word about produce, vendors and weather…. I gotta tell you the truth…. It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for farmers and markets alike.  And I’ve been feeling the pain and the sweat!

First, the weather has been hard on our farmers.  Obviously, farmers live and die by the weather.  Joaquin, of Gonzales Produce, told me that it is so hot where they are, they do not water during the day because it evaporates before it gets to the plants…but the irrigation pumps have been running all night long and still the weather has been hard on their crops;  squash, watermelons, and corn especially.  Luckily, this past week has offered some relief to their crops and he said they are picking their 2nd plantings of watermelon and corn for market this weekend.  He also said that their third planting was looking sketchy last week but that with the heat abatement, it is on track to produce later in the season.  Therefore, he assures me there will be corn and watermelon at the Saturday market for three to four more weeks!

And the weather has been hard on Virginia’s BEST greens grower, Rob Young of Community Gardens….Rob will have a limited amount of greens this week so GET HERE EARLY…especially you folks who drive out here from Reston and Ashburn for his SUPERFOOD and incredibly tasty dressings. 

Payne’s Berries say that the weather has been so hot, their berries, which usually last until mid August are almost done.  We really love their big, juicy blackberries and black raspberries.. they will also have a limited amount this weekend.

 I could go on…………I confess I fret and fuss about the market quite a bit as I am new at this. I am so delighted that the Saturday market has grown and become a vibrant community gathering spot with an abundance of positive energy and that when things don’t go as planned, even those things that are out of my control, I become anxious and worried that we aren’t giving our best to our customers.  I actually have some words of wisdom taped to my computer that I refer to and repeat to myself (much like a mental patient) that have helped me many get through these times.   I’m sharing these words below in the hope that it may help some other control freak out there!!  Here goes….

Life is a process that necessitates making mistakes, struggling through problems, and facing tough issues.

Expecting ourselves to be perfect slows this process; it puts us in a guilty and anxious state.  Expecting others to be perfect is equally destructive; it makes others feel ashamed and interferes with their growth.  People are human and vulnerable and that is wonderful.  We can accept and cherish that idea.  Expecting others to be perfect puts us in a false state of moral superiority.  Expecting ourselves to be perfect makes us feel rigid and inferior.

We can let go of both ideas.  When we stop expecting ourselves to be perfect, we’ll discover the beauty in ourselves.

I feel more relaxed already!

And by the way, come to the Wednesday Train Station Market.  We believe in offering our customers a chance to buy locally twice a week, as an alternative to going to the grocery store in between Saturday markets.  We have a small, but dedicated, group of vendors who feel the same.  We’re experiencing growing pains but are committed to getting you good fuel for your bodies.  And we promise to have more veggies this week! 

Our beautiful celtic harp player, Ellen James, will be back at the market this week.  Thank you Ellen, for making the market so peaceful and right in the early hours….

And here’s what we have for you tomorrow:

Kilmer Orchards will be at the market this week with their fantastic orchard fruits.  Derek has Autumn Bliss raspberries on sale this week, 3 half pints for $5.  Autumn Bliss are a deep, dark red, juicy, and flavorfull early autumn raspberry.This is your chance to freeze and store them for out of season eating.  He’ll also be picking the earliest of Fuji apples and will have Pluots, which are a cross between Plums and Apricots….can’t
wait to taste that!  As always, they believe in their products and have plenty of samples for you to try.

The lovely Ann Higgins and her little buddy will be selling F&V Farms shiitakes this week.  Check out the Purcellville Community Market Facebook page to get a look at her little buddy on the shiitake table.

North Gate Vineyard will be at the market this week with Loudoun County’s best wines.  Check their Facebook page for updates on their tasting room.

Steve Freeman, of Dr. Mixer’s Italian Sodas (they make you happy), will be at market tomorrow.  He regrets he was unable to make it last week due to a work situation and assures me everything is on track for tomorrow.  Remember, he makes those refreshing artisan Italian Sodas from fresh fruit, Berkley Springs water ,and Steve’s own homemade fruit and herbal syrups.  He told me that Berkeley Springs water happens to have a high concentration of lithium so you can actually save on your therapy bills by drinking several of these! 

1st AVE Bakery will have Blackberry, Blueberry, Lemon Chess, Peach, and Peanut Supreme Pies. They also plan to have some of their fantastic cakes for sale this week.  Sharon Mercke, a die-hard market shopper, reported that her entire family absolutely loved the cake they bought last weekend.  Stop by their tent to see their freshly baked selections. 

Liberty Hill Farm will be back this week with their pastured-raised whole chickens, boneless chicken breasts, quarters, wings, liver, hearts, gizzards and feet!  And check out their whole grain loaves!  Really good, earthy bread…. great for toast and for sandwiches.  Had some for breakfast this morning toasted with European butter.

Erica, the Magnolia Girl, will have their usual delectable selection of baked goods.

And now a word from the Lothar, the Master German Artisan Butcher:

Dear Customers of Good Taste,

We will have limited quantity of excellent Ribeye, N.Y strip, Filet and Porterhouse steaks this weekend along with many fresh Brats. As usual, we will have a bacon treasure chest with Non-Nitrate, English, Canadian, Center-Cut, and Beef bacons. Southern style pork ribeye chops and Spiessbraten (Pork roast stuffed either with bacon+onions or plums+apricots soaked in whisky) will also be available.

 For grilling we have schewenksteak, marinated chuckeye, lambchops and marinated lambsteaks which go beautifully with red wines.

 We will have samples from grill so come early (they disappear pretty fast) and let’s enjoy a nice summer day

There was an audition for casting happy cows commercial.  A lot of good looking cows showed up for a shot at fame and fortune including a hefty pig.  Needless to say, the pig stood out and when it came to his turn for interview the casting director asks him scratching his head, “You know, this is a commercial about cows; however, your resume was pretty impressive speaking so many foreign languages, is it true?”

The pig responds ” moo”.

Sincerely,

Your Busy Lothar and his Wife June and Junior Jack-Henry

Luis and Gonzales Produce will have lots of produce from their farm on the Northern Neck, including lots of corn and watermelon!!!!

Betty’s Foods will have their fantastic, home-made chips, black bean dips and gazpacho.

The gorgeous Meredith Kope and friends from Singing Frog Farms have overflowing fields of flowers and will bring a dazzling array of cut flowers and vegetables, including heirloom Moon and Stars Watermelon.  Did you know you can get their greens, micro-greens, and heirloom tomatoes at The Wine Kitchen, one of the best restaurants in the WORLD.  They also sell micro-greens to Magnolia’s, my favorite restaurant in P’ville and their flowers to Wegmans!!!

Woodgrove Lavender Farm will be at the market this week.  Dave will be “manning” the booth by himself this week as the grand kids are in town.  He loves Irish jokes so stop by and tell him the latest one you’ve heard!

As I mentioned above, Rob Young of Community Gardens will be back tomorrow with a limited amount of greens, but he will have dressing and heirloom tomatoes.

Ken of Liz Handcrafted Soaps will be at the market with lots of soap.  Here’s a message from the Soapmeister General, Judy:

Don’t forget to pick up some of your favorite Liz Handcrafted Soap at the market this week! We’ll have three new scents for you to try. Floral Plum is pure rhapsody with scents of plum, orchid, jasmine, musk and vanilla. Champagne Sugar is a lovely pink bar with sugary citrus and pineapple, floral undertones and a base of sandalwood and musk. Frooti Matooti is just for kids, big and little! We also have Mansoap, Oatmeal, Milk & Honey and Renaissance Man back in stock.

Manna Food For Life will be back this week with a variety of breads and regular and gluten-free baked goods.  

Mike Schreiber will be there with his fresh fruit smoothies.  Ask for coconut sugar or Blue Agave nectar to make it the perfect health drink. You can also find them at the Purcellville Sports Pavillion, at Mike’s Juice Bar.  A gift after a long day at the Market.

Have you noticed our new cupcake lady, Joey Coburn, of Cornerstone Bakery?  She has beautiful, tasty cupcakes!  She also has them at Shoe’s, Cup and Cork Club, a really funkly little coffee shop and eatery in downtown Leesburg, near Lightfoot.  Try one this week if you haven’t already…

Let’s visualize Hardworking Hondo being at the market on time so I can return to my human form early in the market. 

Sandra of Chef Eloy’s Kickin’ Salsa will be bringing her Dad’s top-secret recipe salsas to the market this week.  Buy some to put on your scrambled eggs for a great breakfast!

The young and handsome John Cockerill of Fort Bacon will be there with his incredible tasting pork and farm fresh eggs, grown on his family’s farm that they have owned since the 1700’s.

 And don’t forget, we are on www.loudounfarms.org and we post pictures of happy customers and vendors each week!  Check the market table for all kinds of info, including Flavor Magazine..a great magazine about local foods in the Washington Capital Area Foodshed.  Waiting for the new issue…it’s about CHEESE… FLAVOR, please drop some off for us!

So come out on Saturday and purchase some great food, have a chat with your vendors and neighbors, sip some fresh coffee, and/or drink a refreshing smoothie and an Italian Soda (Yes, I do all three) and have a bite to eat. We will be there from 9 to 1 at the Town Hall Parking lot at 130 E. Main Street in beautiful, downtown Purcellville. Look for the cannon…it’s point’n right at us!

Happy Eating and yes, I’M STILL LOATHING THOSE POWERLINES!

Juanita Tool
703.967.0431

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