Market is Open

Greetings All:

Market Pickup this week was busy, busy, busy! Jennifer from Jen’s Pesto and her husband, Joe were our Farmers of the Week. They brought yummy samples to share and offered products for sale to those of us who forgot to order. I am all for “tasting”! Jen’s magic in blending spices and herbs in her pestos and hummus (hmmm what is the plural of hummus – hummuses??) make for some remarkable, delicious products. I discovered I really have an affinity for her Fresh Chimichurri! Tomorrow night I am grilling pork chops from Heritage Farm and topping with Chimichurri from Jen! I was dipping Doug’s carrots in it today!

Speaking of Doug, (Doug’s Garden) brought some additional Produce Boxes to sell from the Farmers’ Table and they flew out the door. Mary supplied people with some delicious recipes to ensure that you can utilize all the wonderful produce abounding in your boxes. Seriously, if you have any questions about what to do with all those nutritious greens – ask Mary! (Sometimes I have to ask: Uh, WHAT IS THIS?) She truly has a talent for putting together just the right combos of ingredients and spices and always creates fabulous dishes. She still hasn’t taught me to eat OKRA, but she swears she will! (The way I figure it, I have at least until mid-summer to think up a million excuses why I SHOULDN’T eat Okra!)

Dabrielle from My Daily Bread sent some yummy treats to be sold from the Farmers’ Table and they were also snatched up in a big hurry. Her Chocolate Zucchini Bread is ‘awesome’! Of course I think all of her bakery items are ‘the best’, but there are several that are my favorites! Since I am Gluten-free, I am unable to partake of some of her products; but once in a while will allow myself a small sample! Fortunately her Gluten Free Brownies are equally ‘awesome’! They truly are the BEST brownies I have ever eaten! I am able to eat items made with Spelt Flour and her Spelt Bread is so close in texture to “regular bread”, it is difficult to tell the difference. It is full of flavor with just a hint of nuttiness!

This week, Summer from Good Gracious Granola will be back with us offering her varieties of Granola! She has some great flavor combos!

I had the opportunity to meet with Greg Hutchins from The Heritage Farm this morning. He will be adding some lamb products to the Market tomorrow evening, so be sure and check those out! The Pork Chops from Heritage Farm are huge and flavorful! And the Breakfast Sausage is great. I get a package of the Hot and the Mild, squish it all together and make little patties! Great Breakfast! My favorite is a Frittata with eggs, onions, mushrooms, sausage, spinach and a little shredded cheese! Served with a cup of Vigilance coffee from The Roastin’ Fool and I am good to go!

Ricky from Back River Farm has joined the Market and he offers fresh veggies greens and arugula this week – huge bunches!

Welcome to Patti Parsons from Dances With Bees! She and her husband produce local and varietal honey and hive products. Patti also handcrafts natural bath and body products incorporating honey and beeswax. I am looking forward to trying their products and they come VERY highly recommended!

Lisa and Ben from Bo and Lisa’s Lil Patch are also newcomers this week! Welcome ya’ll! Duck eggs! They are great for baking! Also, Lisa has frozen blueberries that she put up last season. I’m thinking those would be great in a smoothie! They will also be offering honey – local, raw, un-processed! The good stuff!

Brennen and Gwendolyn from Phoenix Gardens will soon offer veggies and other goodies! Look for them this week or next!

Of course Johnston Family Farm brings us Raw Milk for Pets every week. Dudley-Do-Right, seriously that is my lab’s name – it used to be Dudley-Do-Wrong, but he grew up and is a well-behaved, much loved dog. He very generously allowed me some CREAMY milk, from which I made Butter – for Pet Consumption of course! He was very happy! (The sad part is – one time he stood up on his hind legs and grabbed a whole bowl of butter (freshly made) while I was downstairs changing out laundry!) He loves butter and bacon and soup bones!

Mary Beth, from Joyful Noise Acres Farm has let me know that chicken breasts will not be available until after processing in May. She does have: wings, leg quarters, small, whole roasting chickens and large ½ chickens available.

Mary and I are working on finding a commercial kitchen and/or space that she can teach Cheese Making and I can teach some hands-on classes on making fermented foods, butter making, kefir and kombucha drinks. If you know of a place, please tell us about it!

We appreciate your support! Please let us know what other products you would like to see offered through Heirloom Living Market. We will do our best to find a Farmer/Grower or Artisan in the local area to fulfill your wish list! We are currently looking for Raw Cheeses.

In addition to the items listed on the Market we will be announcing Group Buy opportunities for products that just are not available locally. Things like some pantry staples — flours and grains, legumes, sweeteners, nuts, and oils – we can purchase at a substantial savings utilizing Group Buys. We have paired with companies like Wilderness Family Naturals, Tropical Traditions, Natural News, nuts.com, and Green Pasture (for fermented cod liver oil products). We are also investigating other companies that have organic products that we are unable to get locally. Please let us know if you have any preferences and we will contact the company. I will be sending out an email next week giving you the schedule of when we will offer the Group Buy Opportunities and include the price lists, instructions and order forms.

I know I have been ‘chatty”, yes, some call me verbose, but I wanted to catch you up on some of the good things happening in our Market! So, thanks for reading! Mary and I hope that you have a joy-filled Easter!

Now would be the time to hop on over to lilburn.locallygrown.net to check out all of the great products offered by our local Farmer/Growers and Artisans! See you Thursday between 4:30 and 7:30 at Gwinnett Gymnastics Center, 927 Killian Hill, in Lilburn! Happy Shopping!

Joyful thoughts and blessings!

~Maryanne