Figs

Summer is the season for figs here. Greenish orbs that soften into purplish fruits called “turkey figs” are most common where I live. I don’t know if that is a reference to Turkey, since figs are of Middle Eastern origin, or if it is some farmer’s reference to poultry preferring the prolific fruits. I do know that figs are among man’s oldest cultivated trees and have played a significant role in mythology through the centuries.

Figs are also delicious, whether fresh or dried or jammed. They are full of natural sweetness, a good source of fiber, iron, calcium and potassium. They have been shown to help control diabetes and lower triglycerides, helping to lower the risk of heart disease.

I once needed to finish off a plate with something eye catching and there were some fresh figs in the cooler. I cut several in halves, soaked them for 30 minutes in a mix of balsamic vinegar and honey, and seared them cut side down on a hot skillet. I left them without moving them until the balsamic mixture had reduced to a syrup, and carefully lifted the figs out and arranged them on the plates. The sugars had caramelized on the cut sides and the figs and softened without going mushy from the heat. I poured the remaining balsamic syrup over figs. It was the hit of the plate, and even though some dishes came back with other components still on the plate, there was not a fig in sight. I used balsamic figs all the time on entree plates, salad dishes, as sides to cakes and ice creams and other desserts, and as stand alone appetizers.

Decatur Farmer's Market

This market is small but nicely placed across the street from the courthouse, in the government triangle that also houses all the county courts and offices. It is set in a tiny green space with a huge magnolia tree with wide-spread branches and tons of shade. The vendors get to set up their tables on the nice soft grass and benefit from a steady cross wind that comes from the unique angle of passing traffic on the streets. In one corner there is a twisted apple tree covered in tiny little fruits that may or may not make it to maturity. I think the tree just grew there, one of the many wild apple trees that pops up in unusual places.

There aren’t many vendors, but it is almost all food. One woman was selling soaps and lotions, another home-made pottery. One table was covered with colorful and misshapen heirloom tomatoes, two people were selling goat cheese made from local goats. The peach guy was there and I bought another week’s supply of peaches. He confirmed that next week would be the last week he would be at the markets. The peach harvest is moving north now. There were bread and salsas and pickles and a two-man band playing blues and oldies rock songs. It took about 10 minutes to circle the few vendors and see everything, which was a little disappointing because I thought Decatur, which is a much more green and bohemian-type town, would have a bigger and more vibrant market. I stretched out the time by chatting with a few vendors and standing in line for several minutes for peaches.

My friend Jenya was going to be doing a raw food demo at the market. I wanted to attend but my schedule prevented it. I did see her pull up and start unloading and went to say hello. I haven’t seen her since she left for Arizona but now she is back and looks great. I was sorry I couldn’t stay, but promised to contact her and catch up.

A quiet and shady and southern with some unique elements. I may go back later in the early fall and try again.

Chamblee Tucker Farmer's Market

^{Freshly picked local blackberries available at reasonable prices}
This Saturday market is set up in the parking lot of the Northeast Baptist Church from 9-12. The day I went I arrived at about 9:15 and there were about 10-15 people there, with about 10 or 12 vendor tents. Despite being small, they were especially friendly and offering a few unique choices in their stalls. There was a woman who had soaps, jewelery, and personalized dog tags (not soldier’s, dogs). Another, Miss Betty, sold jams and preserves and pickles made in her kitchen, from produce out of her garden. I bought some scuppernong jelly from her. I also bought a bunch of dandelion leaves from a farm just because it was unique to see someone with dandelion leaves. I’ll make a salad with some, and smoothies with the rest. I thought $3 a bunch was a bit pricy. She tried to sell me a bunch of parsely at $3 a bunch, which is about 3X what it costs at the Buford Farmer’s Market. This is not unusual, either. Herbs are one thing that are hard to get local-grown at a decent price. Parsley, and most herbs, are grown in either hot houses or under conditions that require little or no pesticide treatment, so even the market brand is healthy, and often certified USDA organic without special effort. I read there is practically no fresh-herb supply founded in the US, at least at the hot house level. Transportation networks are such that nurseries and farms in Mexico and Central/South America can ship fresh herbs in a timely manner anywhere in the States. It is a shame for local suppliers; fresh herbs is about a 200 million dollar business. All of it going to brokers and foreign farms and markets.

Even though I was there early, I bought the last 8 peaches from a woman who was musing that she should have brought more. She was selling them 3/$1 so I’m not surprised they were going quickly. They came from Byron, GA, making me think that the crops are moving north now and with a couple of weeks we will be seeing peaches from S. Carolina. Last year and the year before we got excellent peaches from S. Carolina.

From another vendor I bought some healthy looking pepper plants to replace my withering squash and stunted collards. $2 per plant. A lady at the next stall was selling bags of fresh figs for $1. There was a woman selling home-baked bread but I didn’t buy any. Everyone was friendly and willing to indulge my questions and picture taking.

The market runs from late April until the end of August. It is small, but quaint and well stocked. Just ITP and on a well-known road, it sees lots of traffic from people out on a Saturday morning.

What's Up, Doc?

I harvested all my carrots this week. There were not a lot, about twenty or so. They were a mix of traditional orange and Cosmic purple. They had grown very well despite not having been thinned properly. I would guess from the hundreds of tiny carrot seeds I planted, only a small portion of them came up. Never the less, they suffered no blight or parasites or pests. I don’t know what the rabbits are eating in the garden, if anything. They are not eating carrots. But I am.

The carrots grew quickly through the 10-12 inches of soil in the raised bed and began to burrow into the earth below. When I tried to pull them out, the first few snapped off in the hard clay. So I got a spade and carefully dug them out and washed them off. My fridge is becoming quite a larder now for the vegetables I’m collecting. From the chef’s garden at the farm I collected three ears of still-a-bit-young corn which was free of bugs or mold and sweet and delicious, more okra than I can fill a gumbo with, bunches of tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, ground cherries, some basil, and a final few squash.

What the squash bugs didn’t get the vine borers have. My towering and mighty squash plants have been decimated, tell-tale sawdust blisters on the stems. The plant have withered and mostly died. I cut into a few stems and found fat wiggling larve throughout. Such a shame. No one I have yet spoken with has had any idea how to naturally defeat these pests. Seven Dust is everyone’s answer but I want to avoid that. Most farmers say they just plant large amounts of squash with the idea that the bugs can’t kill all the plants. My little garden is not so lucky. Upon coming home and inspecting my own squash plants I saw they were victims of the borers as well. I cut open several vines and killed the larve, but I didn’t have much hope. Today I noticed that a couple of the plants seemed to have sprung back with new growth, but no flowers. If I can find some sturdy-looking pepper plants I may just pull the squash out and replant both gardens.

Watermelons are not plentiful, but I have two here and two at the farm. Naturally the ones at the farm are growing faster. One of mine here appears to have blossom rot, which I have not seen in my melons before. Terri’s sweet potato vines have almost taken over one bed of the garden.

It is not too soon to turn my thoughts toward fall and winter crops, but it is so blasted hot, with little rain and high humidity that I don’t know exactly how to proceed. I haven’t set up a nursery in the garage like I planned, but that would be the best way to grow plants until they are strong enough to go into the garden. I will look into crops like cabbage, kale, beets, and pumpkins.

Lawrenceville Farmer's Market

On Saturday S. and I met our friend Ellen for a tour of the Lawrenceville Farmer’s Market. Ellen lives in Lawrenceville and loves to eat vegetarian and organic. We arranged to meet under the gazebo in the town square where the market is usually held. She called us and said that she was at the gazebo, but there was no market set up. She thought maybe they were not doing it that day because it was 4th of July weekend and maybe there were some other functions.

I had turned up a side street to drive back through the center of town and suddenly came upon the market set up between the police station and City Hall. I told Ellen where we were and she said she would be there in a few minutes.

This market is a bit larger than most, and apparently this is their new location. A vendor told me they had been there since the first week of June. S. busied herself in conversation with a soap and lotion manufacturer while I had a breakfast bread made up for me. The woman at the stall took some leavened dough and rolled it out onto a breadboard until it was flat like a pizza crust. Then she sprinkled it with my choice of ingredients: tomatoes, basil, feta cheese and onions. She then folded it up into a package and rolled it flat again, so that all the ingredients were now equally distributed through the dough. She gave it a liberal brushing with olive oil and put it on a gas grill and closed the lid. After 4 minutes she flipped it over and let it go another 4 minutes. While this was going on Ellen joined us and ordered her own version of the grilled bread. I took a couple of pictures. She asked if I was going to “steal” her idea. I told her I wasn’t and that it was for my blog (I sooooo am going to steal it!). She cut the browned and grilled bread into quarters and folded them in a napkin. The bread was cooked completely through and very soft and tasty, and all the inner ingredients were at that perfectly just-cooked stage.

We did a long looping tour of the market, full of the usual suspects: a honey vendor, several vegetable vendors, pastries, bread, cosmetics, boiled peanuts… The main difference here was that everyone was exceptionally friendly and willing to converse. I don’t mean that folks at other markets are unpleasant and unwilling, just that we spent much more time with various vendors talking about beekeeping, fighting squash bugs, damned weather, and what is happening on the raw milk scene. I bought some various vegetables, but no squash or greens or tomatoes or cucumbers. I have plenty of my own between the gardens. I even rounded up a sack of squash, carrots, tomatoes and okra to give to Ellen. We also bought some blueberries for $4 a quart, which is about 1/2 what we pay in the store.

After about an hour, which is longer than we usually spend at the markets, Ellen had to go and get ready for work. S. and I packed up our purchases and drove out to the farm, so S. could see the chef’s garden. From there we went up Dahlonega to a winery where we took a tour and had a wine tasting. This past week we have been enjoying the fresh vegetables out of my garden and from the market. It really tastes like old-fashioned summer now.