Dale City Farmer's Market: Spring Addition

It's baaaack!

While it has been going on all winter with limited hours and a smaller number of vendors, the market is now back in full force for the regular spring/summer/fall hours of 8-1pm.  Giving us time to get there before church.  I have even started running up to the market and having the boys meet me there.  Which is kind of remarkable because I've always hated to run and I could barely make it walking there and back when we first moved here months ago (there is quite a hill, in my defense). 

If you can't tell by the fact that this is the third time I've posted on it, I'm kind of in love with the Dale City Farmer's Market.  I realized that there is such a difference in the market between each season, that is was worth posting on each of them.  Now that we live somewhere with our own outdoor spaces, the spring market just might be my favorite.  I had never thought about all the plant seedlings that would be available in the springtime, and love seeing all the different kinds of flowers as well.

I tried to make a list of what plants were available last week, though I'm sure I missed some.  They included:  basil, cilantro, garlic, chives, rosemary, lemon grass, rhubarb, bell peppers, eggplant, tomato, tomatillo, oregano, sage, thyme, mint, parsley, cucumber, spinach, kale, sunflowers, and watermelon.

Additionally, there are normally meat, seafood, eggs, honey, pickles, and cheese available from vendors.  Already prepared foods include apple cider donuts, kettle corn, cheesecake, salsa, mini-waffles and gallettes (see photo below), breads, pies, and pastries, sorbet, salad dressing, spice blends, and middle eastern foods.

 If they can't stop to smile, you know the food is good.

As of the beginning of May, strawberries, spring onions, greens, and asparagus have arrived as well!  And each week only seems to get better!

You can find out more about the market here Winter Market and here Summer Market.

Dale City Winter Farmers Market

One of the things I love about our area is the Dale City Farmers Market that I posted about back in June.  It is large, and a great place to go with Theodore to pick out fruits and veggies.  During the summer and into the fall they have just about every kind of vegetable you can think of, and a lot of fruit too.  I definitely think it is easier to cajole Theodore into eating veggies if he helps pick them out and pays for them.

The market cuts back on it's hours in the winter, but does continue.  We recently checked it out (but it is hard to get there between 10-1 since church starts at 10:30).

Most of the vendors at the winter market looked familiar from the normal summer/fall market.  There was actually a lone produce stand still going, where Theo picked some Granny Smith apples he wanted.  Several bakeries had wares as well (scones!), and there were two meat stands (though we don't buy any of their's since we get free meat from my father's barn).   Pickles, pizza, herbs, and cheese were also available, as well as a small stall with one of my favorites types of food, Middle Eastern (we bought some Feta Bites).

Can you tell he's excited?

One vendor that really excited Theodore whom we haven't saw before was Cakes by Shelby, or The Gingerbread Cookie House as Theo named it.  It was at the opposite end of the stands and it immediately became Theodore's sole focus as we walked toward it.  I'm surprised we could even get him to stop and pick out apples with the gingerbread house looming in the distance.  When we finally got there he was so excited and they did have some tasty (though a bit pricey) cupcakes.

All in all, while it is not going to be a place we go every week to get fresh produce, I do think the winter market holds enough of a selection to make it worth your time to go pick up a tasty breakfast or lunch and support the vendors who are willing to brave the cold.  Even though it's not too cold here in Virginia.

A Taste of Our New Town: Dale City Farmers' Market

We are finally settled into Virgina, or NOVA (Northern Virginia) as everyone refers to it.  I have been here two weeks though, and still haven't quite figured out where we are.  Having one car is finally starting to become a problem, because we want to go explore!  There are some car pool options for Brian, and some train options for us, and we may have to start taking advantage of them now that the moving-in process is fairly complete.

One place we did get to on foot though, was the Dale City Farmers' Market.  We woke up on Sunday excited to forget about unpacking boxes for a while and head out for a market.  Theo wanted to find apples (he doesn't quite understand seasons yet), and I just wanted to get a feel for the area.  So even though it was drizzling rain most of the morning, we waited for a pause in the rain and headed out.  It turned out to be a little farther than we thought, and ended up being hot, humid, and sunny by the time we walked back, but it was still a memorable little trip.

The back aisle, there was another aisle this long on the other side.

The market is probably one of the bigger outdoor ones I've been to, and had basically any kind of spring fruit or vegetable you could possibly want.  I was pretty amazed at all the variety.  Throw in some cheese, bakery, kettle corn, and wood fired pizza options, and you could leave with most of your taste buds satisfied.

Theo chose yellow green beans.  And ate them.

I was very intrigued by the purple bell peppers... maybe next time.

Theo picked out and paid for most of the produce.  It's great to see him work with cash (though several did accept credit card).

I just drizzled some olive oil, salt, and black pepper on these to make a little salad.

Posing by the peach crates.  They had some samples Theo tried.

Nibbling on bread to hold us over on the walk back.

We enjoyed many meals out of our purchases, including: some great chicken sandwiches Brian made on the focaccia bread, tomato salad, leak and potato soup from my Julia Child's cookbook that I've always wanted to make (needed a quick youtube video on how to work with leaks), Theo's favorite strawberry shortcake, my favorite corn-on-the-cob, and even Eli got some fresh pureed peas out of it (he had the soup too).  We will definitely have to add the market into our Sunday morning routine for the next few months.

Succotash

Our beautiful farmer's market has really inspired me to try new things with vegetables this year.  R.R. furnished the instructions for this tasty grilled succotash.

4 ears of corn, husked, brushed with oil
1 red bell pepper
3 zucchini (1 to 1 1/2 lbs), cut in half lengthwise, brushed with oil, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups frozen edamame, thawed and shelled
salt & pepper, olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 cup snipped chives, in 1/2-inch lengths

Gather the veggies.

1.   Grill the corn and bell pepper, turning, until lightly charred on all sides, 15 to 20 minutes; let cool slightly.  Grill seasoned zucchini, turning once, until softened, about 10 minutes. 

Grill the veggies.

2.  Remove and discard the skin, stem, and seeds from the bell pepper and cut the pepper into strips.  Slice the corn kernels from the cobs.  Cut the zucchini into 1/4-inch half-moons.  In a large bowl, combine the peppers, corn, zucchini, edamame, butter, and chives; season with salt and pepper.  Serve warm!

Mix them up!

We used the orange peppers that have been growing on our porch.  It's a lot more work to grill these little guys, but its worth it!  I used a little extra corn-feel free to add more of your favorites.

Blueberry Adventures (and Other Produce Pursuits)

So this summer, two of our main sources of entertainment have been going to farmer's markets and orchards. Two things I never really did in my own childhood. Since I lived on a farm there was no reason. We could get fresh eggs from an aunt or pick strawberries from my grandmother's patch. We didn't need a market or an orchard to help us connect to our own food supply. But out here in Delaware, we need to.

We've been up to Wilmington for a small farmers market in Little Italy (Saturdays, 9-1, 8th & Bancroft Parkway), headed over to U of D's own market on campus at Mentors' Circle (11-2 on Thursdays), and found the best selection at Newark's own farmer's market that operates every Sunday (10-2, 280 East Main Street) where we can easily head to after church. Among other things, we've gotten a lot of green beans, some rhubarb (made my first strawberry-rhubarb pie-it was fantastic), fresh herbs, and of course baked goods for Brian.

Theodore at the UD Farmer's Market.

Milburn Orchard has also been a favorite destination of ours this summer, and for the first time in well over a decade, my blueberry feign of a husband got to go blueberry picking. It was the orchard's first year for blueberries, and they had three different varieties to choose from. The first variety is probably the reason I mistakenly thought I didn't like blueberries. They just don't hit my taste buds right. But in the following rows, I finally realized that blueberries might not be so bad after all. For years I have baked blueberry pies without tasting them, skipped the blueberry sauce on waffles, and picked blueberries out of fruit salads. I just thought they were not the berry for me. However, by that night around 9:30 pm I had a piece of blueberry pie that made me seriously doubt my behavior. IT was delicious! I can understand now why Brian is always begging me to make this pie for him.

Since we the perfect fresh blueberries to use, I went all out and even made the pie crust from scratch, and watched the blueberries go from this:

We had a fun time at the orchard, though we are still riding this East coast heat wave to the fullest. Theodore and I ended up back in the car in the air conditioning while Brian was still picking. He would have probably stayed out there until his basket was full if I let him.

I've also kind of fell in love with my mother-in-law's garden this summer. I love to see things growing, and her garden has so much variety. She brought us out a bunch of peppers and eggplant and kohlrabi among other things. It's even better than a farmer's market.

Last Birthday before the baby...

Brian took me out to Ole Tapas for my birthday. We haven't been here since our anniversary when I told Brian we were expecting, but we had the same waitress and table, and just as good a time. I always like taking pictures of the food here. The menu had a lot of new things and we tried a few new tapas. Our entire dinner included:

• Chefs Complement: an eggplant tapa
• A trio of cheeses including: Valdeon, Queso Jerezano (seared Miti Caña goat cheese with Sherry reduction), and Curado Pimenton

• The Empanada of the day
• Chiluetas Cordero (baby lamb chop)

• Higos Cabrales (bacon wrapped figs with Cabrales)

• Serrano Croquetas (ham croquettes)
• Fish N Chips (the only one we don't recommend.... we're not big fans of smelt apparently)
• Bread Pudding & Espresso (with cinnamon ice cream)

We had a little more ice cream at home, so I could make my birthday wish.

We also hit up the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. It is a pretty cool marketplace, you see a glimpse of it in National Treasure (when the girl is hiding from the bald guy). We ate a gold old fashioned meal served by Amish women at the rib place, and browsed the many cheese and meat counters. We bought a few spices at the Spice Terminal, and some more seeds for Brian to plant our own herbs. We also took part in the Unforgotten Food festival, mostly so Brian could have some Teaberry ice cream. Apparently, teaberry is a local thing, it grows on the mountains in PA. Brian loves it. We tried a few other things, including another local specialty:  Pepper Pot Soup. I'm now looking for a recipe for this tasty dish, preferably one that doesn't include tripe.

Day Trip: Summer Lovin'

When I checked the weather report for Saturday morning (something I almost never do) I automatically decided that "80 degrees, Abundant Sunshine" was code for get-to-the-beach. Brian and I packed up and headed down to Rehoboth Beach for a few relaxing hours in the sun.

It's about an hour and a half drive, so we we got there a little after noon we were already a little hungry. We conveniently parked near this restaurant, and decided it was about time that we finally try it out. The burgers were okay (a little overdone for our taste), and the brews were really good. We ate outside on the patio under the umbrella.

After feeding the meter again (note-they only take quarters, and cost about $1.50 an hour), we then found some empty sand on the beach and commenced reading and relaxing. I finished "The Stranger" by Albert Camus (not at all a beach read, I only read it b/c Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize, I wouldn't recommend the book). We spent just a few minutes in the chilly water, and got a kick out of the retro airplane advertisements that occasionally passed through the sky.
Once we had enough sun, we grabbed some popcorn from this stand (nothing special) and then headed back up to Newark.
On the way, we stopped at this stand just south of Dover. I think it was the 3rd or 4th time we've been there now. It always has pretty good looking produce. We got some asparagus, cherries, and strawberries among other things.

Day Trip: Getting out and Around

I wanted to get out of the area for a little bit, so we drove up north and went on a few shopping excursions. As always, I want to chronicle the places we visited.

Before we even got out of town, Brian wanted to stop for coffee, so we stopped in at Newark (Deli and) Bagels. For a Saturday morning in a college town, it was packed! I assumed it would be deserted, but it was quite crowded. I had a very salty "salt bagel" and they slathered on plenty of cream cheese. I would definitely make a return trip.

Next we stopped at that favorite cheese shop of ours in Gap, PA. We got some Spanish cheese, New Amsterdam Gouda, and the mango dessert cheese.

]Next, we went to an antique mall. It was our first time at such a place. Brian found a lot of cool old books, but didn't get any. I brought home a couple old mason jars, buttons, and quilting squares. It was very interesting, almost like a museum-without all the reading. :)

Then, we stopped at a farmer's market in Bird-in-Hand. It was a little more market than farm-and Brian just grabbed some pie and dismissed the rest of the place. He was getting hungry for lunch.

After getting back to Newark, we grabbed lunch at Jake's Hamburgers. This popular place is order-at-the-counter fast food that is pretty good. We haven't tried their milkshakes yet. We will definitely be back to try them.

And that completed our Saturday.