This Saturday, September 6th, the market is teaming up with Justin Potter Library and the DeKalb County Children’s Service Council for a Health, Wellness, and Resource Fair.
From 8-11 a.m.- Art and Food Demos at the Farmers Market
•End of the Summer Garden Papermaking by Claudia Lee of Liberty Paper.
• Commission a pair of custom earrings by Kathe Reed-Nelson. Kathe, a member of the Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour, will be making sterling earrings. For $10.00 per pair, you choose the pearl or natural stone and Kathe will design and fabricate the earrings while you watch. Half of the proceeds will go to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
•‘Art at the Market’ by Helen Sefsik of Foxglove Farm. Children can make their own work of art at Helen’s mixed media art table. No charge for materials.
• Spaghetti Squash Demo by Connie Tjarks of Knot Enough Thyme at 9:30 am. The recipe will include a pork option, with pork provided by Full Circle Heritage Farms of Liberty, Tennessee.
• Vegetable Salad Demo by Karley Thompson of Purple Maize Farm at 10 a.m. I will demonstrate how to make three easy raw salads using tomatoes and cucumbers.
From 10a.m.-2p.m. – Resource Fair in the County Complex sponsored by the DeKalb County Children’s Service Council
The market is open from 6am to 1pm. You can use your credit, debit, or SNAP card to purchase vouchers to shop the market from 8 a.m until noon.
All the summer favorites are still in season, but shorter days signal the end of the glut is coming. Now is the time to load up on peas, beans, tomatoes, and corn if you haven’t stocked your pantry or freezer yet.
A friend suggested freezing okra, squash, and beans whole and raw in a pillowcase. The cloth absorbs the moisture that causes ice crystals to form on the produce. She said it defrosts perfectly, and you can prepare the produce any way you would have prepared it when raw. I thought the idea sounded great, so I have a huge sack of okra in a pillowcase in my freezer.
If you don’t like okra because it’s slimy, but the only ways you’ve had it prepared were boiled or fried, I encourage you to give okra another try. Sauteed in coconut oil and topped with a nice sea salt, it is absolutely delicious. Baby okra can be sauteed, grilled, or baked whole. Okra doesn’t release its slime until cut, so cooking it whole keeps the slime to a minimum.
The slime that some people find so unappealing is actually a very healthy component of okra. Okra’s mucilage helps moisturize your digestive tract and can even ease symptoms of constipation.
Okra is also rich in vitamins C, A, and K, as well as folate and fiber.
While most of the tomato plants are dwindling and the early beans are worn out, the okra patch is still covered in blossoms and cranking out more pods every day. Load up on okra while summer’s heat holds out. As soon as the weather cools, the abundance of this tropical hibiscus will suddenly be gone.
