Tag: farmers markets

How About a Different Apple-a-Day While Local Apples Are In Season?

As you may have noticed, we've been enjoying an apple-a-day as part of our afternoon pick-me-up snack.

(For more on this, see our post, Fruit Plates Are Our Favorite Afternoon Snacks.)

With the first of the season local apples appearing at farmers markets and farm stands, we are trying to add apple varieties to our daily fare.

The Zestar Is New to Us

Meet the Zestar, a relatively new early variety we picked up from Foppema's Farm at the Copley Square farmers market. The farm describes it as, "crisp, sweet, & tangy." It was a hit with Penny because she likes tart apples. Ed loves sweet, but while it was not as honeyed as he likes, he did admit it was, "… not tart enough to make you pucker."

Here it is sliced and ready to eat. This variety seems to brown rather quickly so cutting it in this manner, keeping the pieces together with the cut side down on the plate, will protect the cut surfaces of the largest segments.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

August 23, 2017
Easy and Fun! Create a Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Bar for Your Summer Party
Entertaining this weekend? How about a "build-it-yourself strawberry shortcake table" for dessert? We've done this for years, and our guests love it! (We've refreshed this post from our archives for everyone who is wondering what to serve after the fireworks on July 4th.)

It's easy on the host and fun for the guests. Here's the step-by-step on how we do it:
- Buy the best berries you can find, preferably fresh from a local farm or farmers market.
- Here's a link to Boston area farmers markets.
- Here's a link to farms where you can pick your own strawberries.
- Reserve the most perfect berries for dipping in chocolate and eating out-of-hand. Put a shaker of sugar near the plain berries for those who would like to sprinkle a bit on their choices.
- Slice and sugar the rest and allow them to form a natural sauce overnight in the refrigerator.
- Collect a variety of bases – dessert cups, short cake, biscuits, ladyfingers, cookies, and angel food cake are a few I've used for this.
- For July 4th, add a big dish of blueberries for red, white, and blue creations.
- Add a fondue pot of dipping chocolate, and you'll have guests swooning.
- Arrange a selection of toppings. I've set out whipped cream, yogurt, ice cream, creme fraiche, and fudge sauce.
- For something tall on the table, add wine buckets filled with bottles of sparkling wine that guests can pour over a few berries in a champagne glass.
- Set up a tray of "special enhancements" (rums, liqueurs, and dessert wines) to drizzle on the cakes or sip with the shortcake. Most popular around here was limoncello.
- Add big napkins to protect clothes; spoons, dishes, or wine glasses to hold your guest's creations; and let everyone have fun with the fruit.
What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Michael Serpa Selects Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée 736 as Our Sparkler for June 2015

Thanks to Friends Who Make Marmalade and Share!
June 28, 2017
Easy and Fun! Create a Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Bar for Your Summer Party
Entertaining this weekend? How about a "build-it-yourself strawberry shortcake table" for dessert? We've done this for years, and our guests love it! (We've refreshed this post from our archives for everyone who is wondering what to serve after the fireworks on July 4th.)

It's easy on the host and fun for the guests. Here's the step-by-step on how we do it:
- Buy the best berries you can find, preferably fresh from a local farm or farmers market.
- Here's a link to Boston area farmers markets.
- Here's a link to farms where you can pick your own strawberries.
- Reserve the most perfect berries for dipping in chocolate and eating out-of-hand. Put a shaker of sugar near the plain berries for those who would like to sprinkle a bit on their choices.
- Slice and sugar the rest and allow them to form a natural sauce overnight in the refrigerator.
- Collect a variety of bases – dessert cups, short cake, biscuits, ladyfingers, cookies, and angel food cake are a few I've used for this.
- For July 4th, add a big dish of blueberries for red, white, and blue creations.
- Add a fondue pot of dipping chocolate, and you'll have guests swooning.
- Arrange a selection of toppings. I've set out whipped cream, yogurt, ice cream, creme fraiche, and fudge sauce.
- For something tall on the table, add wine buckets filled with bottles of sparkling wine that guests can pour over a few berries in a champagne glass.
- Set up a tray of "special enhancements" (rums, liqueurs, and dessert wines) to drizzle on the cakes or sip with the shortcake. Most popular around here was limoncello.
- Add big napkins to protect clothes; spoons, dishes, or wine glasses to hold your guest's creations; and let everyone have fun with the fruit.
What's on your Summer Fun shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Michael Serpa Selects Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée 736 as Our Sparkler for June 2015

Thanks to Friends Who Make Marmalade and Share!
June 28, 2017
Vacation from Cooking (Well Almost) with Tips for Planning Take-Out Meals
In April, we took a two-week vacation to our favorite, little beach house on Provincetown Harbor. The tiny house has a complete kitchen and this particular unit at the Bayshore/Chandler complex is well equipped for a cook with good pans, solid cutting boards, and sharp knives. But this year I decided to take a break from cooking and enjoy the wonderful take-out options that are now available year-round in Ptown.

I did sear off some scallops for Ed on a couple of evenings. Mac's Fish House Provincetown offers pristine seafood in the market adjacent to their restaurant.

They would have been happy to cook a lobster for me, but past experience told me the lobster meat offered by the pound would make an excellent lobster roll without the work of cracking and cleaning the crustacean.

Take-Out options at Far Land Provisions change daily. (Photo courtesy of Far Land Provisions website)

Casual Dining Options

Having a full kitchen and comfortable indoor and outdoor dining areas opens up your food options. You don't have to dine out, but you are also not required to cook. Breakfast is pretty routine for us. We both prefer oatmeal and fruit. Once settled and unpacked, we make a supermarket run and stock up on breakfast food, drinks, salad ingredients, and snacks. After that, we try to add some prepared food each day from local shops like Angel Foods and Far Land Provisions.

Shepherd's pie from Angel Foods with layers of meat, vegetables, and potatoes

Tips For Vacation Take-Out

After years of practice, we've come up with some recommendations for those who may decide to supplement dining out with some take-out food in a vacation rental.
- Early in the vacation, if you have a larger group, a roasted chicken can be a good start on having a protein supply on hand.
- To be sure we would use up our chicken (and because I wasn't planning to cook anything that might use a whole chicken), we opted for grilled chicken breasts. Sliced, they can be used for sandwiches or tossed in salads.
- To ensure we kept up a fairly balanced diet, we tried to have a variety of fruits & vegetables on hand along with dairy, grains, and protein – which in our case meant lots of fresh seafood.
- Prepared meals like the shepherd's pie from Angel Foods (shown in the photo above) offered an easy but healthy, balanced dinner.
- Don't forget the soups. We always pick up a frozen soup from Angel Foods as a part of our first supply run. Then there's something for anyone who wants a lighter meal. And, if you don't use it, it will help keep the cooler chilled on the return trip.
- Grilled salmon from Farland is another wonderful base for a meal. You can warm it, enjoy it cold, add it to salads, or mash it with some sour cream to top toast.
- Farmers markets, when they are open, can be great fun on vacation. In Provincetown, we enjoy seeing old friends like the folks from Silverbrook Farm in a different setting.
- Enjoy favorite foods from favorite places. They were not open for the season during our April trip, but this fall we'll be sure to have the clam chowder (photo below) from The Canteen.
- Remember the full-service restaurants. Some of these will be happy to prepare a take-out meal for your enjoyment.
Clam Chowder from The Canteen in Provincetown.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Daytrip to the Lobster Pool in Rockport, MA

Growing Fond of the Boston Public Garden Fence

Champagne Moutard Brut Grande Cuvée, Love at First Sip!
May 25, 2016
Vacation from Cooking (Well Almost) with Tips for Planning Take-Out Meals
In April, we took a two-week vacation to our favorite, little beach house on Provincetown Harbor. The tiny house has a complete kitchen and this particular unit at the Bayshore/Chandler complex is well equipped for a cook with good pans, solid cutting boards, and sharp knives. But this year I decided to take a break from cooking and enjoy the wonderful take-out options that are now available year-round in Ptown.

I did sear off some scallops for Ed on a couple of evenings. Mac's Fish House Provincetown offers pristine seafood in the market adjacent to their restaurant.

They would have been happy to cook a lobster for me, but past experience told me the lobster meat offered by the pound would make an excellent lobster roll without the work of cracking and cleaning the crustacean.

Take-Out options at Far Land Provisions change daily. (Photo courtesy of Far Land Provisions website)

Casual Dining Options

Having a full kitchen and comfortable indoor and outdoor dining areas opens up your food options. You don't have to dine out, but you are also not required to cook. Breakfast is pretty routine for us. We both prefer oatmeal and fruit. Once settled and unpacked, we make a supermarket run and stock up on breakfast food, drinks, salad ingredients, and snacks. After that, we try to add some prepared food each day from local shops like Angel Foods and Far Land Provisions.

Shepherd's pie from Angel Foods with layers of meat, vegetables, and potatoes

Tips For Vacation Take-Out

After years of practice, we've come up with some recommendations for those who may decide to supplement dining out with some take-out food in a vacation rental.
- Early in the vacation, if you have a larger group, a roasted chicken can be a good start on having a protein supply on hand.
- To be sure we would use up our chicken (and because I wasn't planning to cook anything that might use a whole chicken), we opted for grilled chicken breasts. Sliced, they can be used for sandwiches or tossed in salads.
- To ensure we kept up a fairly balanced diet, we tried to have a variety of fruits & vegetables on hand along with dairy, grains, and protein – which in our case meant lots of fresh seafood.
- Prepared meals like the shepherd's pie from Angel Foods (shown in the photo above) offered an easy but healthy, balanced dinner.
- Don't forget the soups. We always pick up a frozen soup from Angel Foods as a part of our first supply run. Then there's something for anyone who wants a lighter meal. And, if you don't use it, it will help keep the cooler chilled on the return trip.
- Grilled salmon from Farland is another wonderful base for a meal. You can warm it, enjoy it cold, add it to salads, or mash it with some sour cream to top toast.
- Farmers markets, when they are open, can be great fun on vacation. In Provincetown, we enjoy seeing old friends like the folks from Silverbrook Farm in a different setting.
- Enjoy favorite foods from favorite places. They were not open for the season during our April trip, but this fall we'll be sure to have the clam chowder (photo below) from The Canteen.
- Remember the full-service restaurants. Some of these will be happy to prepare a take-out meal for your enjoyment.
Clam Chowder from The Canteen in Provincetown.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Daytrip to the Lobster Pool in Rockport, MA

Growing Fond of the Boston Public Garden Fence

Champagne Moutard Brut Grande Cuvée, Love at First Sip!
May 25, 2016
In Appreciation of String Beans

I often wonder why there’s no excitement among farmers market shoppers when the first, fresh beans of the season appear on the stands. I see people buying them by the bagful but I don’t hear much happy chatter about this very useful vegetable.

Some people may have memories of canned green beans, overcooked green beans, and even undercooked green beans depending upon what was in fashion when they were introduced to this vegetable. And, for cooks, it may also be that they think beans take a lot of fussy preparation.

String or Snap

I do recall sitting with a basin of green beans beside my Aunt Sophie, patiently pulling the strings off the sides. I know now that was because she chose to grow a very old variety that still had strings.

In his article "Buy this now: Beans, with 12 recipes," one of my favorite food writers, Russ Parsons, explained that this was unnecessary, “Most green beans had this string until the 1890s (hence the names ‘string beans’ and ‘snap beans’). It was an early New York plant developer named Calvin Keeney who bred the first stringless beans, which were introduced by Burpee in 1894.”

Today, most beans do not have to be destringed. You can just line up your beans on a cutting board and tip and tail them by cutting off a sliver of the stem and end. I actually find no need to remove the tip, so I just remove the stem. Then you can snap or cut the beans to the desired length for your dish.

Tomorrow, I'll share some of my favorite ways to prepare beans and some cookbooks I use to find great bean recipes.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino (Adapted for the web from one of her Fresh & Local Newspaper columns.)
Photos: ©2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Thanks to Friends Who Make Marmalade and Share!

Sunday Cat Sophia Says, "Let me in Whee-ooh …"

Champagne Moutard Brut Grande Cuvée, Love at First Sip!

September 16, 2015
In Appreciation of String Beans

I often wonder why there’s no excitement among farmers market shoppers when the first, fresh beans of the season appear on the stands. I see people buying them by the bagful but I don’t hear much happy chatter about this very useful vegetable.

Some people may have memories of canned green beans, overcooked green beans, and even undercooked green beans depending upon what was in fashion when they were introduced to this vegetable. And, for cooks, it may also be that they think beans take a lot of fussy preparation.

String or Snap

I do recall sitting with a basin of green beans beside my Aunt Sophie, patiently pulling the strings off the sides. I know now that was because she chose to grow a very old variety that still had strings.

In his article "Buy this now: Beans, with 12 recipes," one of my favorite food writers, Russ Parsons, explained that this was unnecessary, “Most green beans had this string until the 1890s (hence the names ‘string beans’ and ‘snap beans’). It was an early New York plant developer named Calvin Keeney who bred the first stringless beans, which were introduced by Burpee in 1894.”

Today, most beans do not have to be destringed. You can just line up your beans on a cutting board and tip and tail them by cutting off a sliver of the stem and end. I actually find no need to remove the tip, so I just remove the stem. Then you can snap or cut the beans to the desired length for your dish.

Tomorrow, I'll share some of my favorite ways to prepare beans and some cookbooks I use to find great bean recipes.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino (Adapted for the web from one of her Fresh & Local Newspaper columns.)
Photos: ©2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Thanks to Friends Who Make Marmalade and Share!

Sunday Cat Sophia Says, "Let me in Whee-ooh …"

Champagne Moutard Brut Grande Cuvée, Love at First Sip!

September 16, 2015
Raspberry Infusion from Silferleaf Farm in Concord

I fell in love with the Raspberry Infusion Sweet Vinegar from Silferleaf Farm in Concord back in the early days of Boston Organics. They used to have it as an add-on item and I ate a lot more salads when I was making my favorite raspberry vinaigrette with this important ingredient.

I have tried other raspberry vinegars but they are not loaded with rich, thick raspberry goodness the way this one is. I decided to track it down and a quick email to Jeff Barry at Boston Organics set my feet on the right trail.

A call to the farm and a conversation with farmer Tom Johnson gave me the details. If you call ahead, you can pick it up at the farm while supplies last. I happened to mention on Chowhound that I was looking forward to going to the farm to pick up some of this special vinegar and a regular poster, PinchOfSalt, wrote,

"That raspberry infusion is sooo good. My favorite way to use it is in salad dressings (with almond oil, some salt and pepper, maybe something like some thyme). However you don't have to go to the farm to buy it. I have seen it (very recently) at the Fresh Pond Whole Foods (almost wrote Bread & Circus!), by the refrigerated salad dressings."

I found it right where PinchOfSalt described but I'll still be going to the farm to pick up a large supply. This has always been a favorite gift item for me to have on hand.

The dressing I was making in the top photo was used on a salad of lovely greens dropped off by a friend and neighbor. (Thank you Margaret!) Her greens, some scallion, along with bacon, eggs, and avocado made a fabulous supper.

Here are more of our Local Food/Farmers' Market posts.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Focaccia Croutons Are Tops

Simple Tomato Cucumber Salad

Pulled Pork with Tart, Tangy Cole Slaw

Patio Season Launched At Coppa

August 11, 2014
Raspberry Infusion from Silferleaf Farm in Concord

I fell in love with the Raspberry Infusion Sweet Vinegar from Silferleaf Farm in Concord back in the early days of Boston Organics. They used to have it as an add-on item and I ate a lot more salads when I was making my favorite raspberry vinaigrette with this important ingredient.

I have tried other raspberry vinegars but they are not loaded with rich, thick raspberry goodness the way this one is. I decided to track it down and a quick email to Jeff Barry at Boston Organics set my feet on the right trail.

A call to the farm and a conversation with farmer Tom Johnson gave me the details. If you call ahead, you can pick it up at the farm while supplies last. I happened to mention on Chowhound that I was looking forward to going to the farm to pick up some of this special vinegar and a regular poster, PinchOfSalt, wrote,

"That raspberry infusion is sooo good. My favorite way to use it is in salad dressings (with almond oil, some salt and pepper, maybe something like some thyme). However you don't have to go to the farm to buy it. I have seen it (very recently) at the Fresh Pond Whole Foods (almost wrote Bread & Circus!), by the refrigerated salad dressings."

I found it right where PinchOfSalt described but I'll still be going to the farm to pick up a large supply. This has always been a favorite gift item for me to have on hand.

The dressing I was making in the top photo was used on a salad of lovely greens dropped off by a friend and neighbor. (Thank you Margaret!) Her greens, some scallion, along with bacon, eggs, and avocado made a fabulous supper.

Here are more of our Local Food/Farmers' Market posts.

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Focaccia Croutons Are Tops

Simple Tomato Cucumber Salad

Pulled Pork with Tart, Tangy Cole Slaw

Patio Season Launched At Coppa

August 11, 2014
At the Market: Stocking Up for Winter

Carrying home farmers' market shopping bags can be a workout this time of year because Ed and I are toting a few extra items to fill our pantry for the winter months.

Local Honey

Honey is the number one item on our list. We buy the majority of the honey we eat from Foppema's Farm. We love the flavor and appreciate the fact that it's a local product, simply collected with all the phytonutrients and traces of local pollens.

Honey stores perfectly well in a cool dark spot and will last for years, so we never worry about buying too much. Our only concern is making sure we have enough to get through the months when we can't get our favorite.

Young, Fresh Ginger

Local, young ginger from Old Friends Farm is another fall favorite around here. Penny recently read this page on the Old Friends website about freezing this lively, full-flavored alternative to the dried-up ginger you often find in mainstream stores.

She tried it and is thrilled to know she can have a supply of great ginger until next September rolls around and it appears again at the corner of the Atlas Farm stand devoted to products from their neighbors at Old Friends Farm.

Maple syrup is available all winter but if you like to buy it at the market, you can stock up. This jug came from Boston Organics and we keep it in the freezer. Pure maple syrup has no additives or preservatives. It has a higher water content than honey, so it can and will grow mold if you don't use it quickly.

In the freezer, it never becomes solid so you can still pour out what you need and return the jug to it's chilly storage spot.

Pumpkins and Winter Squash

More cooks are discovering the golden goodness of winter squash, and pumpkin. Food sites like The Kitchn are showing us how to make the most of the harvest while it's in season. Here's a recent post they did on "Two Ways to Freeze Winter Squash."

What will you be taking home to store for winter use? How will you store it? How will you prepare it? Are you making jams and jellies? Apple butter? Hard cider? Tell us about your favorite stockpiles!

Click here to read more of our At The Market Reports.

PRIME
What do you know about Amazon Prime? We use it and love it. You pay once a year for free 2-day shipping delivery charges. Amazon throws in access to instant streaming movies and TV shows and they let you borrow a free ebook each month. They will even give you a one month free trial. Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Over 40,000 Movies

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

October 24, 2013