Tag Archives: farmers markets

Yes, we kale! Er, can.

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The Marine Corps Marathon 10K is seven days away, and I’m still fundraising.

This morning, I headed to the Takoma Park Farmers Market with the goal of drumming up some donations in addition to doing my usual shopping. I expected to make my plug, hand out my fliers, and just hope people would go to the website or send in a check to make a contribution to the Crossroads Farmers Market.

Then, as I was finishing my spiel, one woman bundled up against the cold just about cut me off. “So can I just give you a donation?” she said impatiently. I shut  my mouth and nodded. Then she handed me a $5 bill–less than the checks and PayPal funds we’d been seeing, but enough for a Fresh Check for a family’s week of groceries. Of course! I thought.

In the next few minutes, I got yet more cash. One donor was a man without a coat, wearing faded sweat pants. He was trying to catch a bus trundling closer to us every minute. Yet he took the time to fish a dollar out of his pocket and present it for the cause. If I’d stayed for another hour or two, I could have filled a hat or even quart basket.

I couldn’t stay longer because I had to scoot off to work for this announcement, but I’d learned something for the next time: Community support can come not only in chunks of money over the internet from your network of friends, but can come from total strangers in small but numerous packages.

So as James and Holly Hammond’s “Obama kale” from Waterpenny Farm reminds us, yes, the community kale! Er, can.

With that in mind, I went off and ran eight miles today–farther than I’ve ever run, and almost two miles beyond what I’ll have to do next Sunday.

Thank you to everyone who has given!

Seven miles down, many veggies to go

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I’m at it again–asking friends and family to support the Crossroads Farmers Market. Before you read on, consider the photo you see above. This is a (slightly out of focus) example of elote loco, the wacky corn-on-the-cob snack you can’t find at any farmers market but the Crossroads. Behind that, you’ve got some truly fine-looking (and actually in-focus) zucchini. I just thought this yummy combo might help you envision how fun and healthy this market is.

And now, here’s the little update I sent out today:

Hello, everyone! I have good news. I ran seven miles this morning–a personal record–and this afternoon, the Crossroads Farmers Market received a $100 donation. More good stuff: Some of you have already given to support Fresh Checks, allowing low-income shoppers to buy more fruits and veggies, and modeling how communities can come together.

Unfortunately, I still have a ways to go to reach my $1,000 goal by the time of the Marine Corps Marathon 10K. If you’ve mentioned wanting to give, now’s the time! You can make a contribution via PayPal on the Crossroads site or send a check through mail or through me! Now’s also a good time to send this along to friends 🙂

If you didn’t receive my first email, or want a reminder of what this is all about, check out the message below [Blog readers, see the previous post].

As we’ve seen from the organic garden at the White House and the farmers market nearby, progressive food efforts in DC get noticed. Please consider making this another small but inspiring example. Thanks for your support!

Rhea

Running for Fresh Checks

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Dear Reader:

This week, I sent the message below to friends and family to raise funds for a cause I believe in. That cause just so happens to relate to food! Check it out, and give if you can.

Hello, friends! I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the new, fresh nip in the air.

I’m writing to ask for a little help. Recent chilly mornings and evenings have found me running, with the goal of completing my first 10K race on October 25. This is a bit of a challenge, given that my average run before this clocked in around 3 miles and this is more than double that!  (The run is part of the Marine Corps Marathon. Somehow this is very different from triathlons!)

I’m doing this to inspire others to do something new, too–to learn about and support a matching funds program for low-income shoppers at the Crossroads Farmers Market.

This program is in peril, and badly needs a boost to finish out the market season.

My goal, by the day of the race, is to raise at least $1,000. That equals  a market day’s worth of “Fresh Checks” – extra funding that low income shoppers can use for fresh produce. The race is just three weeks away!

A gift of $50, $25, $10, or whatever you can manage would make a huge difference in this effort, and for a lot of people trying to eat healthy, and feed their families in a healthy way, on a limited budget.

To give, go to http://www.crossroadsproject.org and click on “Donate.”  If you’d like to pay by check, you can certainly mail one, or give it to me to pass along.

If you’d like to know more about how the program works, read on.

Continue reading →

Taming raw ingredients: Roasted tomatoes and a (pastured) chicken in every pot

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A tomato ripe for roasting. Photo by the author.

(Cross-posted from my Examiner.com page on D.C. farmers markets)

Cucumbers by the quart. Fifteen-pound watermelons. Hunks of farmstead cheese. Entire organic chickens. Smiling at you from a farmer’s table, they look delicious. Plunked down on the kitchen counter, they get a little more complicated. Turning them into good-for-you meals is the next step, and that task sounds mighty intimidating.

It’s a familiar feeling, though. Life is full of major chunks you have to deal with, and trying to take shortcuts isn’t the best solution. Taking the time to break down a major challenge like moving to a new city or asking for a promotion can be invigorating and ultimately lead to better circumstances. So it is with food.

“If you live a really fast-paced life, which most of us do, you’re usually grabbing and going,” says Monica Corrado of Simply Being Well, a Takoma Park-based holistic nutrition counselor who teaches holistic cooking classes in the D.C. metro area. “With a little preparation, you can grab and go with nutrient-dense meals.” Continue reading →

Farmers Markets 101: How to find a market near you

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One farmers market found - a few hundred to go!

Savoring that just-picked flavor. Supporting the local economy. Making a direct connection to the people who grow your food. Reasons for shopping at farmers markets are as rich and abundant as the farm-fresh produce they sell.

If you are reading this article, chances are good that you already have a reason, and now want to find a market nearby your home or work place. Or perhaps you shop regularly at a farmers market, but would like to sample a new one.

Luckily, you have over 220 farmers markets to choose from in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Several online resources offer ways to sort through them to find a market that fits your needs and location.

Each listing below includes location, day, time, and contact information for each market. Note that the information is always changing, so I recommend calling or emailing first before heading to a new destination.

Still not sure where to find a farmers market? Email me.

Hey, readers – this is a re-post from my Examiner.com site.

Strawberries no bigger than a knuckle

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Russ Parsons, author of  How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table, was on American Public Media’s “The Splendid Table” this week talking about strawberries.

A few fun facts he shared:

  • Go tiny when you choose strawberries. No bigger than a knuckle is best if you want maximum sweetness and flavor.
  • The best strawberries are not fit for shipping. They’re too fragile! This means you’d better buy local, or you’re getting something bred to last–not to taste good.
  • You can “cook” fresh berries into sauce simply by adding sugar. They’re so delicate that all it takes is the compounds in table sugar to break them down. (The same way the fresh fish in ceviche cooks in lime juice).
  • Strawberries taste really good in this recipe (I have yet to try it, but it looks delightful and gets points for creativity!)

Listen to the whole interview at SplendidTable.org. Scroll down to the links to this week’s show.

For my own contibution, I will point you toward Bon Appetit magazine’s Strawberry Tiramisu. A great no-bake recipe for your sweltering summer kitchen.

Hello Examiner

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IMG_0644A little “hiya” to weekday farmers markets and “howdy” to the Rosslyn Farmers Market launched my part-time career as Examiner.com’s DC farmers market examiner. Might a greeting to the new Anacostia Farmers Market be up next? Or coverage of Penny Karas’s demo on making Hello Cupcake-style strawberry cupcakes at the Dupont Circle market?

Stay tuned to my page to find out. You can subscribe, too!