The Weblog
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Market Newsletter
This post expired on May 18, 2023.
Greetings All:
For those of you who have ordered, please know that Fry Farm has added Veggies and B&G Farm has added Beef and Pork products! Check them out here Take me to the Market. Or read on and then hop on over to the Market!
I hope that you all had a fabulous week and that you got your errands and gardening/outside chores finished before the rain came in!
Now – If you want to skip reading my musings, which do include Market News, Weekly Specials, Farmer of the Week information, news about upcoming Events and Classes, little known facts and tidbits about ‘this and that’ and links to interesting Blogs and/or articles, and a personal note from me then click Take me to the Market.
You can access this and other Newsletters/Blog postings by clicking on the Weblog tab on the website!
For those of you still with me, grab a large glass/cup of your preferred beverage and dig in…I have much news to share!
Although every Wednesday and Thursday morning finds me scrambling to make sure I have everything together for Market pickup… (and I tend to get a bit stressed) I truly love seeing everyone and getting your fresh and local food together for you! Mary, of course is ‘cool as a cucumber’! We get to the Gymnastics Center about 1:00 or so and try to have the Market displays and Order Tables setup by 3:00pm when the majority of our Farmer/Growers and Artisans arrive to deliver your items. Some weeks are better than others as far as setup getting finished on time! We appreciate our volunteers and are happy to include you if you would like to join us for setup or for the entire process!
Are you interested in becoming a Market Volunteer? Please call us and let us know! We will tell you all about it and how it works. (There are perks!) You can reach me at 404-432-4337 or Mary at 404-245-2919! Volunteer and get to know others in the Heirloom Living Market!
New Farmers/Growers/Artisans
Please welcome Vicky and Steve Fry of Fry Farm located in Bethlehem, Georgia. Fry Farm has the Certified Naturally Grown designation/certification and Steve and Vicky have been providing the community with chemical/pesticide and GMO free nutritious veggies and fruits for years! Mary and I are thrilled that they have joined our Heirloom Living Market Family! This week they will have Broccoli, Artichokes, Chinese Cabbage, (also called Napa Cabbage), Parsnips, Romaine Lettuce (yay!) and Zucchini. Vicky also grows Calendula which is a medicinal herb that also makes a wonderful salad topping! Be sure and check out all of their offerings. I definitely see all of these veggies making their way to my shopping cart this week! When I called Mary to let her know about the new offerings, she started spouting recipes — go figure! Hmmm, I don’t know exactly what to do with the Parsnips – it is a little too warm for soup! (Mary to the rescue – I just KNOW she will have a delicious recipe!)I can’t wait for you all to meet these fine folks and they will join us for Farmer of the Week sometime in June! On behalf of the Heirloom Living Market Family we welcome you!
We are also excited to welcome Lynda Brady of B&G Farms, a Certified Naturally Grown Farm. Lynda and her son raise Devonshire/Hereford cattle on their beautiful Farm. The cows feast on grass as ruminants should. Along with the cattle and chickens, they also raise Berkshire/Mulefoot Pigs which are free to roam the 60 acres of woods and pastures! They are busy, busy people! Lynda will be offering Beef and Pork products to us for now, until we grow a little larger, and can support 2 Chicken Farmers! Thank you Lynda for being sensitive to keeping the Market balanced for our Farmers as well as for our Customers. Be sure and check out B&G’s offerings of Beef and Pork. Mary and I have tried Cubed Steaks, which were delicious and Bacon — absolutely fabulous! B&G uses an USDA Processor for all meat products. We will have Lynda as Farmer of the Week as soon as her schedule permits! Welcome aboard, Lynda and John — so good to have you as part of the Heirloom Living Market Family!
Lucy of Little Tots Estate is making some modifications in her Goat Milk Soap recipes for us and they will be available in the next couple of weeks. Thank you Lucy for being sensitive to our customers needs ~ we are excited to have you as part of the Family!
Education
CheeseMaking 101 is scheduled for June 22nd – Saturday from 9:00am to 1:00pm. There are still a couple of spaces left. Make your reservation today and join Mary for a FUN and informative class. Take home 3 different cheeses that you will prepare in class. Learn the basics so you can join in the Intermediate and Advanced Classes to be offered later this summer!
GMO…OMG…! What in the World Am I Eating? is an hour class that will explain what GMO’s are, how they are made and what foods they are in, why they are not-so-good bad for us, how to identify GMO’s in the food you purchase and how to avoid them. Great information with shopping guides! Tuesday, May 21st from 7:00pm to 8:00pm at Gwinnett Gymnastics Center! Find the class listed under Event Reservations on the Market page.
Updates
Joyful Noise Acres Farm just processed chickens! For those of you who make bone broth – there are chicken feet and backs! For those who haven’t tried to make your own bone broth, please ask Mary or Maryanne about this awesome, nutrient-dense food. There will be a recipe waiting for you at Market pickup on Thursday! Thanks, Mary Beth for providing the resources with pastured Chickens and pasture raised Pork so that we can eat Real food and be assured of the quality! I just stuffed a little roaster with apple, onion, garlic, a bay leaf or 2 and spices, added some veggies to the roasting pan and set the oven low – a most yummy dinner tonight! And, just in case you are wondering if I will share with the Black Lab – No! He has his chicken, rice, green beans and carrots to fill his tummy! (and goat milk!) Mary Beth has also added a Combo Meat Box that contains a nice variety of Chicken and Pork products. Oh, and she shared a tidbit, (which you die-hard Southerners probably know, but this Texas-girl didn’t)…after cooking sliced Ham, stir in some brewed coffee to release the pan drippings and make quick and delicious Red Eye gravy!
The Produce Box offered by Doug’s Garden has great variety this week: Swiss Chard, English Peas, Turnips, Kale, White Radishes, Red Radishes, Green Onions, other available Greens and a huge bag of Baby Spinach. Doug will include vegetables that are ready for harvest Thursday morning! The produce boxes are bountiful and the veggies beautiful, freshly harvested and delicious! Order one today! And please check in with Mary at pickup for recipes to help you make delicious meals using everything in your Produce Box!
Back River Farm has Hakurei Turnips! I am mentioning these again because they are so yummy! If you have never tried these little treasures you are in for a treat! Crispy and flavorful! I have sauteed, roasted, sliced for salads and fried to make chips! I have just put some in the dehydrator — sliced VERY thin for chips! Also doing Kale for Kale Chips!
God bless Russell Johnston of Johnston Family Farm. He had promised we would have raw, cream y fresh milk last week, but his Mom had surgery and he also had several crops to get in from the field before more rain befell us! Mom and Haying overrode the time he needed to get the cream y raw milk separated! The GREAT news is Mom is doing well and the hay is in so, there will be fresh ‘you-might-could-call-this-cream-if-it-weren’t-illegal-to-do-so’ “milk” this week! The girls have continued to feast on all of the new Spring grasses and the result is rich milk (cream) so rich and good you can use it to make ice cream or butter! (for your pets, of course, since All raw milk is labeled for ‘Pet Consumption’ as required by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and is the only way raw milk can legally be sold in the state of Georgia.) I know many people ordered last week and were disappointed, but never fear, Russell will have it for us this week! It is available in gallon, 1/2 gallon and pint sizes!
Lisa of Bo and Lisa’s Lil Patch is constantly looking for natural products and ways to help us replace those nasty chemical laden items that we feel we need to clean with, kill pests with and solve other issues! She has some great new offerings this week: A Fruit Fly Trap, Carpenter Bee Trap and a Natural Mosquito Repellant! Check out her offerings under the Natural Products Category!
Weekly Specials
Goat Milk from Little Tots Estate will be available Buy One – Get One Free until the end of May only! Rusty has decided to let more of the mama does remain in milk for a bit longer – this is especially good news for people who have pets that love goat milk, those of us who are happy to drink it and people who have pets that love goat cheese! This is the best Goat Milk I have ever tasted! (All Goat Milk is labeled for ‘Pet Consumption’ as required by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and is the only way raw milk can legally be sold in the state of Georgia.)
And the weekly update on the Black Lab and Goat Milk – Dudley is still on his best behavior although he and his young dog friend Broccoli have been known to get into mischief when they are together! …like the time I had cooked chicken for their food and had set it in a bowl on the counter – covered – while I cooked rice, green beans and carrots! Returning to the kitchen to finish up the process, I found NO chicken and 2 very guilty looking pooches! Both Dudley and Broccoli are enjoying their daily Goat Milk and Goat Milk Kefir and have left mine alone! I’ll give him a gold star for the week — and the Goat Milk 5!
Phoenix Gardens is still offering 6 Heirloom Veggie Seedlings at $10.00! I am thinking that these will not be available much longer! The seedlings are good sized and ready to plant. Four different varieties of Tomatoes are available! This is a fantastic opportunity to get GMO-Free seedlings! Be sure and indicate the NAMES of the seedlings you would like in the Product COMMENT section!
Patchwork Pastures has a GREAT deal this week Laundry Detergent! I have to admit I was skeptical when Mary gave me some to try, but WOW, it REALLY works and smells good too! The refill is also available at a discount!
Graduations are upon us! Choose a Graduate Gift Bag from Good Shepherd Herbals which contains many herbal items (3 goat milk soaps in yummy scents, a jar of Beulah Balm and a bag of Wise Woman Tea) – a $37 value for $30! This is a perfect gift for that special graduate embarking on a new adventure (and perhaps getting her own apartment!).
My Daily Bread has a Bakery Basket which would make a great graduation gift! What a great idea for a Hostess Gift if you are visiting friends! Dabrielle will help you customize it!You can be sure you your recipient will have their favorites!
Bo and Lisa’s Lil Patch still has Free DE (Diatomaceous Earth) with the purchase of the Pest Pistol this week. This is a natural way to kill fleas and other pesky critters!
Jennifer and Joe of Jennifer’s Pesto will be our featured Farmers of the Week! Be sure and stop and say hello at Market pickup. These fine folks provide us with wholesome, organic and yummy hummus and pesto items. My favorite is the Hummus! Mary loves all of the pestos! They will have goodies to taste and stories to share and products to buy!
As always there will be items to purchases from the Farmers’ Sale Table! Pickup some extra fresh Veggies from Doug’s Garden or wonderful Breads or Bakery Treats from My Daily Bread! Don’t take the chance that your favorite will be there – Place your order today!
Rusty is still in the throes of selling kids and all of the Spring Chores at the Farm. We are still working to firm up at date of the Farm Tour of Little Tots Estate and I will do my best to include this info in the Wednesday reminder-to-order email! We will have a sign-up sheet at Market pickup and send emails to those who have expressed an interest.
Let us know what Farm you would like to visit and we will plan it! What fun! We are working with Vicky and Steve to do a “Farmer for the Day” Event at Fry Farm sometime in late June! This event will include ‘playing in the dirt’ for a couple of hours, a tour of the Farm and a lunch! Meet the Farmer, see the Farm, get to know other members of the Heirloom Living Market Family …and a good time will be had by all! Of course children will be welcome – what better way for them to get to know how food is grown and comes to them!
Everyday when I awaken, I marvel at the fact that I have been given another day of opportunities. In my daily devotions, I set aside time to thank Him for the challenges in my life because truly many of those ‘challenges/issues/problems’ have become opportunities for growth and a renewed spirit. From there my prayer of gratitude includes all of the blessings I have received – Gratitude for the small blessings of everyday needs being met to large blessings of friends and family. I believe that it is vitally important to express gratitude to Him as well as to the people we encounter in our daily living. We live in a world that inundates us with technology and as a result we can become ‘dis-engaged’, almost estranged from the personal-face-to-face encounters that keep us aware of our own humanity! When was the last time you thanked your child for completing a chore without you nagging them, or your husband for remembering to take the garbage can to the curb, or your friend for taking the time to listen, or the person at the Dry Cleaners when they put your freshly laundered, nicely starched shirts, skirts, dresses, slacks in your car? You can make someone’s day brighter with a smile and a “Thank You”! And…you will benefit! Let gratitude touch your heart…
I have given you the news, the Black Dog update for the week, told you about Weekly Specials, Classes, Farmers of the Week and my own personal thoughts… It is time, once again to say- thank you for taking the time to read this missive and…
We will see you Thursday at Gwinnett Gymnastics Center between 4:30pm and 7:30 pm!
As always, Mary will have a couple of recipes featuring products she has purchased from the Market! Look for recipes for Bone Broth, and Instructions for making Butter(from me Yikes!)Ice Cream and a Surprise recipe from Mary!
Have a wonderful week! Now, pop on over to the Market! Happy shopping!Take me to the Market.
Joyful thoughts and bountiful blessings!
~Maryanne and Mary
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