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Tag: containers

  • Your Farmers’ Market Kit: Cash, Bags, Containers

    IMG_6651 - Version 42013-07-23-blueberries-farmers-market-© 2011 Penny Cherubino

    Bring Cash

    Ones, fives, tens, and quarters. The farmers will love you, and you’ll shop faster! Each year, more stands take credit cards, but they tend to be the ones with higher priced items like meat and specialty foods. 

    Bring Bags and Containers 

    Also, bring what you’ll need to tote your fresh food home. For example, I bring plastic containers for berries and cherry tomatoes. It ensures they arrive home in perfect condition.

    Remember, a local farmer doesn’t grow and pick fruit and vegetables to make them perfect for shipping, they grow and pick them to make them perfectly delicious. You also save the farm the expense of the bags and baskets and help the environment.

    Keep it Cold

    Finally, bring an ice pack or a small cooler. It can hold all your shopping or just perishables like meat, fish, cheese, and eggs.

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a birthday or wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

    Details:

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

  • Get Your Fresh, Local Strawberries While They Last

    We heard the first warnings that strawberry season may be short this year from Barbara Hamilton of Hamiliton Orchards last Friday at the Copley Square Farmers' Market.

      IMG_5395 - Version 22012-06-19-strawberries-wooden-box-boston-farmers-market-© 2011 Penny Cherubino (1)

    We were telling her how much we've been enjoying this year's crop of super sweet, juicy berries when she said that with the heat, hers may be gone soon. (But, her blueberries are almost ready and a few may show up this week.)

    As you can see from the photo, these strawberries are totally ripe and very delicate. Penny carefully carried this container home because she wanted to photograph these plump, rosy jewels in their wooden cradle.

    But, most of the time, we tuck our own covered containers into our market backpacks to protect delicate items like berries, ripe tomatoes, or delicate pastries. We pick out the container of berries we want and dump them into a sturdy, sealed bowl for the trip home. 

    We're also coming to the last week of the Mass Farmers' Market Association Strawberry Festival fund raising event. Choose a special strawberry dessert from a participating restaurant and they will donate to the group that helps our farmers and farmers' markets.

    And, speaking of farms, here's a link to find the MassGrown map where you can search for places to pick your own berries.

    Related Posts: Here are our Local Food & Farmers' Market Posts

    What's on your Summer Food shopping list? Shop Amazon – Get Ready for Summer – Everything You Need and support this site! Here are the containers we use for berry transport. Perfect to keep in your market cooler or tote bag.

     

    Details:

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

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