FOR SALE AT LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS
Vegetables: arugula, Asian greens, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, collards, endive, frisee, herbs, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, Napa cabbage, peanuts, radishes, rutabaga, spinach, spring onions, sweet potatoes, turnips, winter squash
From local reports
Chris Theal gardens in West Atlanta. He calls his business “Shady Grove Gardens” because he gardens in several small plots, and none of the plots has much direct sun. This spring he’ll be celebrating his first anniversary as a farmer. Theal brings his produce to the weekly Saturday morning Decatur Farmers Market.
On his table you’ll find all kinds of greens for both salads and cooking. “Because I don’t have much space, the greens are a great thing to grow. They keep giving because you can cut leaves and the plants keep growing,” he said.
He grows mushrooms, too, acquiring mushroom spawn from a local large-scale grower who turns over his growing stock when it doesn’t produce enough for commercial use. The mushrooms continue fruiting, producing enough to augment the offerings of a small-scale grower. What he doesn’t sell fresh, he dries and sells for stocking the winter pantry.
He also grows carrots because his customers enjoy them, despite their only offering one harvest per plant. “There’s nothing like a fresh, sweet carrot. But when you pull a carrot out, you start all over.”
Carrots are picky about where they’ll grow. Heavy Georgia clay doesn’t make for the best results, so Theal plants his carrots in a plot where he’s worked hard to improve the soil.
Carrots are also a labor intensive crop for a small farmer, but that can be a good thing. “Carrots are slow to germinate and once germinated you have to keep them weeded. Commercial growers do mechanized geometric planting with seeds planted in a grid and power tillers designed to weed around plants in that exact spacing. I do it all manually, and I find that it’s meditative,” he said.
Theal generally sells his carrots with the tops on. “A little green is always pretty and it indicates freshness. Carrots are a cousin of parsley, so the tops can be eaten,” he said. For example, chef Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene has done farmers market cooking demonstrations, making carrot soup garnished with carrot top pesto.
Theal grows “Danvers” carrots, a productive variety that dates back to the 1870s. Seeds are sown in fall and spring and will produce up until the temperatures rise. “The warmer the weather, the faster the carrots will grow, but at some point, the plant triggers its flowering cycle and throws its energy into producing that flower, and the carrots just don’t taste as good.”
In metro Atlanta, fall-grown carrots are the sweetest. Theal says, “The carrots generate sugars as an antifreeze component and are measurably sweeter. I’m not that much of a foodie, but even I can tell the difference. It’s part of what gets people excited about local food, how good it tastes. And carrots are one of the vegetables where you can really tell a difference.”
Marc Sommers’ Carrot and Sweet Potato Tzimmes
Sommers is chef of Parsley’s Custom Catering. He offers us this recipe for Tzimmes, a Jewish Ashkenazic stew traditionally served at Passover. But it’s so delicious, there’s no need to save it for a special holiday. Chicken fat is traditional in this recipe, but it’s fine to use butter if you prefer.
Fresh ginger and turmeric are available in season from local farmers markets, and year round in many grocery stores and at the DeKalb and Buford Highway Farmers Markets. You can buy the fresh tubers and freeze them, then thaw and use in your cooking throughout the year.
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or chicken fat, plus extra for greasing baking dish
1 large onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 5 cups)
8 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices (about 3 cups)
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon grated fresh turmeric
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup lightly packed turbinado or light brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons local honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 orange
Pinch salt
1/2 cup pitted prunes, if desired
1/2 cup dried apricots, if desired
1/2 cup matzah meal
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
In a large skillet, melt butter or chicken fat over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and saute 10 minutes. Add carrots and saute 10 minutes more. Add ginger and turmeric and toss together. Add orange juice, stock, 1/4 cup turbinado or light brown sugar, honey, lemon juice, orange zest and salt. If using prunes and apricots, stir in now. Toss together until everything is well coated. Taste for sweetness and salt and adjust seasonings if desired. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and cover. Bake 45 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.
While tzimmes is roasting, in a small bowl, combine matzah meal and remaining 1/4 cup turbinado or light brown sugar. Set aside.
When vegetables are tender, uncover baking dish and sprinkle with reserved matzah meal mixture. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes or until top is browned. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. Serves: 8
Per serving: 257 calories (percent of calories from fat, 8), 5 grams protein, 58 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 2 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 54 milligrams sodium.
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