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Availability for July 31


It was a busy and wonderful week for local food in Athens. We held our July Farmer for a Day event on Saturday, hosted by the wonderful folks at Roots Farm. The crew of farmers harvested and cleaned quite a few leeks, weeded tomatoes and other veggies, took down vine cages that had served their purpose, and added to the compost pile. After lunch, we had a full tour of what is one of Athens’ oldest organic vegetable farms. Meanwhile, PLACE had put together a full week of events, and by all accounts it was a smashing success. Friday evening I served on a panel discussing local food issues, especially as they relate to poverty, and was very glad I went. Saturday night saw the first annual Athens Local Food Awards. Winning the award for excellence in farming was our hosts that morning, Roots Farm. Winning for excellence in education was Amanda Tedrow, the Clarke County Extension Agent for the department of Agriculture. Amanda was instrumental in getting us permission to use the old state farmers market building. Her office is right next door to the market, so feel free to stop in and say hello and check out the fine work she is doing for all of us there. And winning the award for excellence in business was… Athens Locally Grown. Thank you so much! It was touching to hear the comments many of you shared about this experiment we’ve all been a part of. ALG is something I’m very, very proud of, and I’m so glad you all feel the same way.

There’s one more event coming up. Next Tuesday, August 5th, I’ll be giving a demonstration of cooking with the items now or soon to be in the peak of season—tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, etc. The class is at the Rolling Pin, costs $35, and reservations can be made by calling them at 706-354-8080. Also, we’re taking reservations for our next Farmer for a Day event, being held at Cedar Grove Farm on the 23rd.

This is also probably a good time to give you a heads up about next month’s availability. This always catches people off guard, but August tends to be the leanest month of the year in terms of veggie availability. For three or four weeks, it tends to just get to hot and muggy for flowers to properly set fruit, and suddenly everything comes to a halt. It tends to only last those few weeks, and then things pick up again in September through frost. About the only thing that thrives in the heat is okra, and it comes in by the truckload. The growers all try different techniques to minimize the disruption, which is just one of many challenges of growing vegetables in the south.

That said, there are a number of new items this week. The winter squash (so named not because that’s when it is ripe, but rather because it keeps all winter long) is coming in, the pepper variety is way up, the canning tomatoes are here, I use this recipe to very, very simply make a ready-made pint of tomato sauce. In a pint canning jar, drop in two to four cloves of peeled garlic. Add a few basil leaves. Take roma tomatoes, dunk them in boiling water for 15 seconds and then dunk them in ice water. Their skins will crack and then slip right off. Pack three or four whole romas in the pint jar. Add a few more basil leaves, and then a squirt of lemon juice. You should have liquid in the jar up to about a half inch from the top. Put on the lids, and process in a hot water bath (no pressure canner required!). When it comes time to use, just heat up the contents (in the jar in the microwave is fine) and mash with a fork. Instant sauce, perfect for a single meal. I make 25 or so of these in the summer, and that’s enough to last me to the next summer.

This message has gone on for long enough. There’s 490 products to look through, and I don’t want to hold you up any longer. Thanks so much for all of your continued support of your local food producers! We’ll see you on Thursday from 4:30 to 8pm at the old state farmers market on Broad Street.