Opening Day is Tomorrow....

I am so excited for opening day tomorrow! Join us on the courthouse lawn in Fayette from 4-7 pm for over 15 vendors, live music by We Live in Public, Kids Activities including a bike parade, bouncy house, pony rides, and May Day crafts!!!! I can't wait to see you all there and to start blogging about the summer market! Yummy food, exciting markets and more farm visits will be coming your way soon!

Homemade Waffles for breakfast....yes please!

My family loves waffles and this morning I fixed them from scratch. They were delicious! I have a very small waffle maker so it takes a little while to make enough for all of us, but it is always worth it! 

Waffles

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

4 Tbsp white sugar

2 Eggs (Mine were from Blue Bell Farm)

1 1/2 cups warm milk 

1 stick of butter melted

3 tsp vanilla 

Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside. Plug in your waffle maker so it can get warmed up. Mix the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Make the waffles according to your makers directions. 

Now comes the fun part....picking your toppings! Whether you top these traditionally with syrup or choose to be a little more creative and use peanut butter and jelly or fruit and whipped cream you will not be disappointed. Enjoy! 

 

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Sandy Creek Farm

Cherries, peaches, apples, pears, pecans, apricots and blueberries keep Rhonda and Randy Thiessen busy at Sandy Creek Farm. It also makes for a beautiful view when they are all in bloom. I am not sure I would get much done if I had their view to enjoy! A blanket and great book in the middle of the orchard sounded perfect to me. Needless to say they work while enjoying the view. While we were there Randy was doing the trimming as Rhonda took us on our tour of the farm.

The various fruit trees are all so beautiful with their wide variety of blooms. The orchard was alive with colors of white, green and pink! Randy and Rhonda don't just tend to all of their trees in their orchard, the also have goats, chickens, a turkey and cats that round out their little piece of paradise! They had both mama and baby goats which were so cute and thought we had come to feed them. These little cuties are not just fun to watch, they are also their milk source. The chickens and turkey were checking us out, but not getting too close! It was idealistic to say the least. 

This year Sandy Creek Farm will be joining us starting in May with cherries. They have five varieties of cherries including sweet and the baking cherries that are more tart. Then the apricots if they have enough, peaches (23 varieties), blueberries, apples, pears, and pecans. I am looking forward to filling up my shopping basket with fresh fruit all summer long!

It's Asparagus Time!!!!!

I am a huge fan of asparagus and this time of year you can find it anywhere...in your garden, along the road, at the markets and in the stores. I love asparagus grilled and didn't think you could top it grilled, but I think I did it today for lunch! 

Parmesan Asparagus

10-15 pieces of asparagus

Olive oil

garlic salt to taste

dash of sugar

Parmesan cheese

Clean and trim asparagus, then place in a glass baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil until lightly coated, sprinkle with garlic salt and a dash of sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350, turning halfway through. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and put back in the oven for 3-4 minutes. 

This is so easy and delicious! It was a perfect compliment to our lunch today!

Hamptons Hilltop Orchard

Let the adventures begin as I help you know your local farmer so you can know your food! My first farm visit was to Hamptons Hilltop Orchard! The day started out overcast and a little cool, but by the early afternoon when we arrived at the orchard the sun was out and it was a beautiful day. My new boots came in handy though because it was a little muddy :)


You will find Hamptons Hilltop Orchard at the end of one of the many gravel roads outside of Roanoke hidden behind a thick row of cedar trees. It was beautiful with the apple trees just starting to bloom. We were greeted by one of the many dogs that are a part of the family.  Mike and Julie Morgan are the owners of Hamptons Hilltop Orchard. They are a wonderful couple that do all of the work themselves around the orchard. Mike says, "...those trees are part of our family..." It was very obvious they love what they do just in the way that Mike took us on the tour of the orchard. The orchard has gala, zestar, jonathan, ultra gold-Suncrisp, and Fuji apples. They don't just stop at the 380 apple trees though. They are always up for trying new things and growing their operation.

Hamptons Hilltop Orchard is also home to two bee hives and will probably be adding a third hive this year. They have been making their own honey and may have enough this year to begin selling it! I got to take a bottle home with me and it was delicious! And do you think they stop at apples and honey....not a chance. They are interested in berries and are looking into different ways of expanding their season beyond apples.



As we toured the orchard I couldn't resist taking some photos of their animals, too! The horses followed us along the fence as we went to see the bees and the basset hounds sounded off letting everyone know we were there. They have five total I believe so it was a chorus!!!



As we ended the tour Mike showed us their little red wagon which is what they use to do all the work in the orchard. It took me back to my childhood having a little red wagon to pull and fill up with my treasures! Mike and Julie are all grown up, but still get to pull their red wagon and collect their treasures...apples! They will be joining us a the market starting in mid-August through October with all of their varieties of apples and may possibly have honey, too. My mouth is watering just thinking of biting into all of those crisp apples this fall!

Recipe Ideas...

Ok I will admit that I have gotten a little behind on posting recipes and dinner ideas on here the last couple weeks because we have been busy, but who isn't busy!!!!!! So I know you are all going to enjoy the quick and easy meals we have been enjoying.

Roasted chicken wrap
(I love these for my lunch because they are light healthy and easy to put together.)
Tortilla shell
Leftover roasted chicken from Country Neighbors Farm
avacado or guacamole
fresh spinach from Blue Bell Farm

Roll it up and enjoy!

Burgers for grilling
Ground beef from Country Neighbors Farm or Nitty Gritty Dirt Farm
bbq sauce
egg from the market
oats or planko bread crumbs
bbq seasoning
garlic salt

You can eyeball this very easily and adjust for your poundage of burger but I will do 1 pound for this recipe so you have a starting point. Mix your burger with 1/4 cup bbq sauce, 1 egg, 1/2 cup oats or bread crumbs, 1 tsp bbq seasoning and 1/2 tsp garlic salt. Get your hands in there and mix it all up and then form your burgers. These are delicious on the grill, but you can cook them any way you like them! Great for a bbq with friends which is how we enjoyed them!

Happy Burger Tacos
1 lb Happy Burger from Country Neighbors Farm
1 package your favorite taco seasoning
1 chopped onion
1 chopped pepper
1 package shredded cheese
1 handful of mixed greens chopped from Blue Bell Farm
Tortilla shells
Sour Cream
Salsa

Brown your burger, drain, then add seasoning and a little water and let simmer for 10 minutes. Chop up all your favorite toppings and let the family have fun making their own dinner! Taco night at our house if very popular and I always get the smaller shells for the kids because they love getting to make more than one! Yummy!

Breakfast Burritos for 2
Small Tortilla shells
4 eggs (mine were from Blue Bell Farm)
4 slices of bacon or you could use Turkey sausage from Country Neighbors Farm
shredded cheese
a handful of spinach from Guy and Abbey Schlapper chopped
splash of milk

Scramble the eggs with a splash of milk and cook the bacon or sausage. Drain off the grease from the meat leaving just a film on the bottom of the skillet. Build your burritos: put a tablespoon of eggs, sprinkle with cheese, add meat and top with spinach...roll it up and hold together with a toothpick if necessary. Then put the burritos in the skillet to make the tortilla a little crunchy! We actually had these for dinner instead of breakfast, but they were delicious and easy! You can even do them over a fire or on the grill by wrapping the burritos in foil and then cooking!

Now you have some more quick and easy recipes to enjoy! Great food needs little preparation because it already tastes great!