BAKING SEASON IS BACK! TRY MAKING A PIE

Scan your favorite market.... What do you see?

Lots of stone fruits (peaches, plums, apricots), berries (blueberries, raspberries, currants, etc.), and apples! It's the perfect time of the year to think about heating your stove back up and to begin baking! The weather has finally cooled down this week and pies, tarts, and galettes can go a long way in impressing your friends at a dinner party or making the most of your summer time produce. The differences among them are subtle and the possibilities are virtually endless.

A pie is a very American dessert and close to our hearts, often times made in a special pie dish handed down through the generations. We think of pie as a great kind of comfort food, flexible for sweet or savory dishes. You can make pies using any number of fruit fillings (perfect for using up those berries and peaches from the pick your own expedition you took last weekend), savory fillings, or by using heartier fillings such as pumpkin, banana cream, or nut around Thanksgiving. Tarts, on the other hand, are very European and can be made in a multitude of shapes and sizes; often featuring whole or sliced fruit over a creamy custard base. Galettes are free-form versions of pies or tarts that are made flat on a cookie sheet with the crust folded over the edges to contain the filling. Whatever your desire, they offer the perfect opportunity to highlight your farmers market finds!

Mix up your own flavors and ideas or try any of the recipes below, inspired by Massachusetts' local farmers markets and sourced from local bloggers! 

  

Peach Cherry Pie

Even though cherries are already out of season at the farmers markets, you can Mix up some fresh peaches from Kimball's Fruit Farm, Foppema's, or Nicewicz Family Farm and make a classic sweet pie Peach Cherry Pie with Crumb Topping from Beantown Baker.

Savory Farmers Market Tart

Pick up some heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and arugula from any number of the local farmers right now. Then, make the most of your savory vegetables with this Farmers Market Tart from Once Upon a Small Boston Kitchen.

Vanilla Plum Galette

Buy a pint of adorable plums at Nicewicz Family Farm or Dick's Market Garden and try this very easy and delicious Vanilla Plum Galette from Young Idealistic Baker.

Feeling a little lazy or don't have enough confidence in your baking skills? No worries! There is an option for that too. Pick up a pie from Cook's Farm at the Copley Square Farmers Market Tuesdays or Fridays! They have a variety of delicious pies to choose from. 

WELCOME GRASS ROOTS FARM!

Mass Farmers Markets welcomes Grass Roots Farm, our brand new grass fed beef and pork vendor, to the Central Square Farmers Market this season! Tom and Kristen, the husband and wife team at Grass Roots, cherish the lives of their animals and strive to give them a happy life before they go to slaughter.

At Grass Roots Farm, the animals roam and graze freely. Cows graze first, eating tops off the blades of grass, followed by chickens who graze on the remaining shorter grass and larva. This process helps fertilize their land. The pigs often graze on land that was formerly cornfields because they help tear up the ground, which helps bring back the topsoil. This is a natural cycle in which everyone enjoys new space and nutrients daily, keeping the land in top shape for seasons to come.

Tom and Kristen started their careers in the corporate world, but felt unfulfilled by this lifestyle and eventually turned to renovating multi-family homes instead. Neither thought they would one day be co-owners of a farm in New Braintree!  

As with many new parents, their lives completely changed when their first babies were born. Already heavily influenced by authors Michael Pollan and Joel Salatin as well as the movie Food Inc., Tom and Kristen decided to put the well being of their children first seeking organic alternatives and growing their own food. Eventually, they came across a farm for sale, too enticing to pass up. This farm, now Grass Roots, started out as an old building lacking heat and foundation with 212 acres of land that was used to grow corn by a neighboring farmer.

Tom and Kristen got to work fixing up the old farm house (built in 1742) and left their old home and lifestyle behind with two toddlers and a third baby on the way. They took back the land, bought 3 calves from a dairy farmer for $20 each, and started teaching themselves a new way of life in which they survived on their own food and nourishment. Now, Tom and Kristen sell their meat three times a week at our Copley Square and Central Square Farmers Markets. 

Life on the farm isn’t something to go into lightly, and the 12-hour market days tend to be the easiest on Tom and Kristen. Their children (now 8, 10 and 12) love farm life and often help take care of the chickens, piglets, and bunnies. 

Both Tom and Kristen agree on the importance of shopping at farmers markets. “It used to be that farming was a way of life," Kristen says. "Now, people are so removed from where things come from and take it for granted, people don’t understand everything has its season.”

Tom adds, “People complain so much about how things are, but spend money at Walmart and buy gas at BP. Their money is a vote and I don’t think they realize that. It doesn’t have to be us or this market, but just Farmers Markets in general. Go to the market, meet the farmer, look at his hands, see what he does.”

Last Monday, Tom and Kristen celebrated their 18^th wedding anniversary at the Central Square Farmers Market, which was exactly where they wanted to be!

Visit their website to learn more and come to the CentralSquare Farmers Market on Mondays, or visit the Copley Square Farmers Market Tuesdays and Fridays.

Live closer to New Braintree? Stop by the farm Thursdays or Saturdays with advanced notice. 

Beat The Heat with Mass Farmers Markets

Belmont Farmers Market shoppers enjoying their fresh popsicles!

Record temperatures...Heat warnings throughout Boston and much of Massachusetts... IT'S HOT.

 

Last week represented the longest stretch of heat since the 80s! Temperatures held steady in the 90s every day and it felt far worse in Boston and areas set away from the coast.

When it’s this hot outside, how do you deal with it? 

 

Ice cream, Frozen yogurt, Popsicles.... anything from a freezer sounds like a good plan to us!

Despite the high temperatures, Massachusetts Farmers Markets have held strong. Everyday vendors bring their fresh produce and homemade products to markets so that you can still enjoy the spoils. Now more than ever, take the time to visit your favorite market or vendor to thank them for their dedication. Then buy some fresh fruit, because we have just the thing for you...

Homemade Popsicles!

You can make popsicles quickly and easily with just a few items and even fewer steps. All you’ll need is fresh fruit of your choice (Raspberries,blueberries or peaches are in abundance at the markets for the next few weeks!), sugar, optional lemon juice, and molds of some sort (you don’t need fancy molds either, small cups and popsicle sticks will yield perfect single serving fresh fruit popsicles). 

 It's Super Easy to Make Your Own Popsicles: 

1. Prep your fruit: If you’re using fresh berries, just wash and remove any stems. Stone fruits, remove the pit and consider removing the skin too if you want to ensure a very smooth consistency. For any kind of melon, remove the seeds. 
2. Fill a blender with all of your fruit and blend until smooth.
3. Add about a tablespoon or two of sugar to sweeten and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to enhance the flavor, then blend again.
4. Fill your molds with the fruit mixture and freeze until frozen solid. Note: If you’re using small cups with popsicle sticks, freeze for about 45-60 minutes to allow the fruit to begin to set before placing a popsicle stick in the middle.

 

Who's selling Fruits at MFM's Farmers Markets This Month?

• Dick's Market Garden: peaches, raspberries, and blueberries
• Farmer Al: blueberries (both pints and humungous buckets full)
• Kimball Fruit Farm: raspberries and stone fruits
• Hamilton Orchard: blackberries, blueberries, stone fruits, pears, and apples
• Cook's Farm: blueberries, currants, gooseberries, peaches, and raspberries
• Foppema: apples, apricots, currants, gooseberries, stone fruits, raspberries
• Hanson Farm: blueberries, melons, peaches, raspberries
• Nicewicz Family Farm: apples, stone fruits, blueberries
• Bug Hill: currants and raspberries

 

What’s your favorite kind of popsicle? Let us know in the comments!

BLUEBERRIES 10 WAYS

What's hot at the farmers market?

This week, it's blueberries! These sweet berries are packed with antioxidants, delicious, and readily available at the market closest to you. Grab a pint (or 5) the next time you go and come up with a creative way to use them. Or, try one of our suggestions below!

10 ways to prepare your blueberries

1. Make a smoothie. Blend up one plane yogurt, milk, blueberries and bananas for a healthy and flavorful breakfast or snack.
2. Bake a pie. Summer and pie go together like macaroni and cheese — the second makes the first so much tastier! Try a classic blueberry pie with a sweet crumble topping or mix in some stone fruit or cherries from Kimball's Farm for a twist.
3. Top a pizza. Surprise your friends with a sweeter than average pizza pie. Skip the tomato sauce base and top the pie with a creamy soft cheese from Crystal Brook Farm, fresh berries and basil from your garden for a fresh farmers market feel.
4. Toss in a salad. Get some farmers market fresh lettuce from Dick's Market Garden and toss it with grilled fish from C&C Lobster, toasted nuts from Fastachi, a lemon poppy seed dressing and of course, fresh blueberries.
5. Make muffins: Blueberry muffins are a tried and true breakfast favorite! Spice up a traditional recipe with some fresh lemon zest or chia seeds. 
6. Get in the jam. Making your own preserves or jam is a great way to utilize an abundance of berries and it's easier than you'd think. Since most recipes make very large batches, share with friends and freeze a few jars of jam for those dreary winter months.
7. Pour some syrup! It's even easier to make than preserves, blueberry syrup can be in a single pot with just blueberries, water and sugar. When you've made a bottle, pour it over pancakes, sweet breads, cakes, really anything you want!
8. Pancake it up. Wake up to some blueberry pancakes. Mix some flour-coated blueberries into your favorite pancake batter and fire up the griddle. Top with blueberry syrup and more fresh blueberries. 
9. Scream for Ice Cream. Blueberries and cream? White chocolate and blueberry? Blueberry Lemon? Get creative and add fresh berries to any ice cream recipe, or if you don't want to take the time to make your own ice cream, toss fresh berries on top of your favorite local scoop. 
10. Quench your thirst. Blueberry lemonade is delicious! The sweet berries mellow out the tart lemon in a healthier and less overwhelming manner than granulated sugar. Buy some fresh lemonade and blueberries from Hanson's Farm, mix 'em together and enjoy!

Farmers currently selling Blueberries at Central, Copley, and Davis Square Farmers Markets:

•  Dick's Market Garden
• Kimball Fruit Farm
• Farmer Al
• Bug Hill Farm
• Hanson's Farm
• Cook's Farm Orchard
• Foppema's Farm 
• Hamilton Orchards
• MacArthur Farm

You can find the markets these vendors attend and all the farmers markets around the state on our website.

What are your favorite uses for blueberries? Let us know in the comments! Looking forward to seeing you at the market this weekend.

Welcome to the Blog!

The farmers market can mean different things to different people; some, enjoy picking up the fresh crop of vegetables in their farmer specific CSA shares, for others it’s the fresh fruit for pie making and preserves, and still for more it’s about the locally made sweets and breads that just taste better than store bought. For Mass Farmers Markets, the farmers market season symbolizes new growth and opportunity.

As our summer season moves into full swing, we are excited to see new and veteran faces.  Currently you can find a bounty of locally produced goodies including fresh raspberries, snap peas, fennel, salad greens, baked goods, jams and jellies, wine, as well as the sweetest strawberries. This delicious and versatile fruit is the focus of our Annual Strawberry Dessert Festival going on right now through July 7^th!

If you haven’t visited a participating restaurant yet, now is your chance! Only 3 days left so act fast. Check out our list of participating restaurants AND their sweet strawberry desserts. A portion of the proceeds of each of these menu items goes toward Mass Farmers Markets to help us help support the local communities.

Make a weekly date at your local farmers market, as most are already in full swing! Visit our website, enter your zip code in our Market Finder to find information about the market closest to you. For member farmers markets you can even see the vendors and their products (just look for the little tractor).

Subscribe to our blog to stay up to date with all the exciting things going on!