Market Veggies Explode!

Stop by the Market Manager booth and share produce stories!

It’s that time of year again, we have zucchini’s coming out our ears and cucumbers falling out of the fridge. Tomatoes bursting at the seams and strawberries pilling up...  Wandering the rows at the farmer’s market only to find your dinning room table and fridge bursting at the seams…ohhh what to do….what to do? Besides great stir fries -you can preserve a lot of your fruits and veggies.  Here are a few beloved recipes, ones you can even make a bunch of –freeze- and have tasty treats for later….or, just make a bunch and leave it in the kitchen to nibble on as you pass through...

Riggs Family Farm

Zucchini bread 

Find Your Zucchini: Big Lick, Riggs & Green Mountain Ranch Gardens

Prep Time: 10 minutes  Cook Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 4 mini loaves or 2 standard loaves

·         3 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 tsp. salt

·         1 tsp. baking soda

·         2 tsp. ground cinnamon

·         ½ tsp. baking powder

·         1 c. unsweetened applesauce

·         1 c. sugar

·         1 c. packed brown sugar

·         3/4 c. vegetable oil

·         2 tsp. vanilla extract

·         2 1/2 cups grated zucchini 

·         OPTIONAL: 3 tblsp. Flax seeds  

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Lightly flour 4 mini-loaf  (or 2 regular 9x5 pans) . Set aside.  

2. Prepare the batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, flax seeds, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and ground cinnamon until well mixed. Set aside. In another mixing bowl whisk together the applesauce,  both sugars, oil, and vanilla until smooth. (It will still separate slightly.) Add the wet ingredients to the dry, along with half of the grated zucchini. Mix until well combined, then fold in the remaining grate zucchini. (Moistened zucchini is perfect, may appear soupy)

3. Portion the batter into the prepared loaf pans, filling the pans about 3/4 of the way full. And, if desired using the option crumble topping (mix cinnamon and sugar together): sprinkle the topping evenly over the surface of the batter. 

4. Bake the loaves! For the mini loaves: bake at 350 F for about 40-45 minutes,  full 2 regular loaves: about 70 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf emerges clean.  Allow loaves (whatever size!) to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before removing from the pans.

  

Big Lick

Bunch of Beets 

Find Your Beets: Big Lick & Green Mountain Ranch Gardens

Prep Time: 10 minutes  Cook Time: 25-60 minutes

1. Yield: bunch- 1-2 persons (recipe flexible)
2. 
   
3. preheat oven 350 degrees
4. Peel, Cut into 1” chunks
5. drizzle a little oil over them
6. Wrap in tin foil if you choose to- or not. Roast beets until tender.
7. The amount of time this will take can vary greatly depending on the size of the beets, how many there are, if other things are in the oven, and how fresh the beets are (fresher beets cook up faster). For smaller beets, start checking them for tenderness at about 25 minutes. Larger and older beets can take up to an hour.
8. Serve peeled roasted beets as-is, with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Or slice and use them in salads 

And let’s not forget the fruit! Although, if you are like me the fruit hardly makes it home J

Blackberry Freezer Jam 

Find Your Blackberries: Green Mountain Ranch Gardens

Green Mountain Ranch Gardens

3 c. prepared blackberries 

5 1/4 c. sugar

1 box Sure-Jell fruit pectin

1. Crush berries one layer at a time. If desired, sieve half the pulp to remove some of the seeds. 
2. Measure 3 cups into large bowl. Measure sugar; then thoroughly stir into fruit. 
3. Let stand 10 minutes. 
4. Mix 3/4 cup water and Sure-Jell fruit pectin in small saucepan. 
5. Bring to a full boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
6. At once stir into fruit. Continue stirring 3 minutes.
7. Immediately ladle intocontainers, leaving 1/2 inch space at top. 
8. Cover at once with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. 
9. Store jam in freezer. (Small amounts may be covered and kept in the refrigerator up to 3 weeks). Approximate yield: 6 1/2 cups.

• Big Lick: tomatoes, melons, corn, strawberries, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, cauliflower
• Green Mountain Ranch Gardens: plums, strawberry spinach, patty pan, summer squash, green beans
• Riggs Family Farm: Melons, figs, tomatoes, cucumbers

Additionally, you can always save yourself sometime and energy by letting our vendors do the hard work for you!

Viriditas Wild Gardens: garlic, teas, canned Kimchi and Krautchi

Dottie: Jams and pickled items jalapenos, pepper jelly, zucchini relish, raspberry, blackberry jam

Milo Academy: Apples, plums, jellies