At local farmers markets
Cooking demos:
6 p.m. Friday: Chef Lynn Ware will demonstrate watermelon salsa. Lilburn Farmers Market, Lilburn. http://www.lilburnfarmersmarket.org/
9 a.m. Saturday: Chef Doug Turbush of Seed and Stem Wine Bar, working with field peas. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com
10 a.m. Saturday: Chef Jimmy Ellis of Atlanta Sheraton Hotel. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
Chef demos are held at many farmers markets. Check your local market’s Facebook page or website for information.
For sale
Just coming to the markets: figs, fresh ginger, sweet potato greens
Vegetables, fruit and nuts: arugula, Asian greens, Asian pears, beans, beets, blackberries, blueberries, cabbage, carrots, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, field peas, garlic, ginger, ground cherries, herbs, kale, lamb’s quarters, lettuce, Malabar spinach, melons, mushrooms, okra, onions, peaches, pecans, peppers, potatoes, radicchio, shallots, sorrel, spaghetti squash, spinach, squash blossoms, summer squash, sweet potato greens, tomatoes, winter squash
From local reports
Is there anything more refreshing in hot August weather than the cool crunch of a crisp cucumber?
Mike Cunningham of Country Gardens Farm in Newnan grows five kinds of cucumbers to bring to the East Atlanta Village Farmers Market on Thursday evenings and the Saturday morning Peachtree Road and Peachtree City markets, and to put in the boxes of the 65 members of the farm’s community-supported agriculture program.
The cucumber most of us know is the “slicer,” generally with a dark green, smooth skin and best when about 8 to 9 inches long. Cunningham grows “Marketmore” slicers. But he also grows “Diva,” a seedless variety that grows to be 5 to 6 inches long; “Salt and Pepper,” a short, fat variety with white skin and black spines on the young fruit; “Lemon” cucumbers that are round almost like a softball and seem to suit people who feel cucumbers are hard to digest; and finally, “Suyo Long,” a variety that grows to about 15 inches long and is extraordinarily crisp.
Why so many kinds?
“Variety is the spice of life,” Cunningham says. He enjoys offering his customers a chance to see cucumbers they can’t get at a grocery store. “But some people won’t buy a cucumber unless it’s that dark green one they know, so we grow those, too. Our family favorite? It’s the Salt and Pepper.”
Cucumber plants started in late April or early May will bear fruit to market toward the end of June. And yes, we call cucumbers a vegetable, but botanically the part we eat is a fruit since it develops from a flower and encloses seeds.
Cunningham starts his early seeds in the greenhouse and then, as the weather warms up, he can seed directly in the fields. He did his last planting for the summer in mid-June and will have those cucumbers to sell in August. He may do a little planting later in the summer, but finds that once October comes, the cucumber harvest is basically over.
Overall, he plants six 140-foot rows, and grows more Divas and Salt and Peppers than anything else.
When the weather gets really hot, Cunningham says production slows down a bit. His biggest pest is the cucumber beetle, which seems to prefer a cucumber with a bitter skin. He grows his cucumbers organically so he uses neem oil and Stinosad, an organic insecticide, to control pests.
How does Cunningham eat his cucumbers? “We like to slice them into apple cider vinegar and chill them in the refrigerator. It’s like a quick pickle.” When there’s time, his wife, Judy, makes processed pickles as well.
A favorite way to enjoy that refreshing cucumber flavor? The Cunninghams add a few slices of lemon and three or four slices of cucumber to a gallon of water. After an hour in the refrigerator, the water takes on the lemon and cucumber flavors and is the perfect cooler for a hot summer day.
TRACE’s Summer Salad
Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 15 minutes Makes: 5 cups (serving size 1/2 cup)
TRACE’s executive chef Shean Suter suggests using a variety of heirloom cucumbers for this recipe. He likes them thinly sliced with a mandolin. Suter sources as much of his produce as possible from local farms. TRACE calls its focus “farm-to-hotel.” This salad is best prepared just before serving.
2 cups thinly sliced cucumbers, peel on
2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 1/2 cups slivered Vidalia onion
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
Leaves from 1/4 bunch thyme, divided
Leaves from 1/2 bunch parsley, chopped, divided
Salt and pepper
In a medium bowl, toss cucumbers, tomatoes and onion.
In a small bowl, mix together vinegar and honey. Pour over cucumber mixture. Let sit 1 minute.
Sprinkle half thyme leaves and half chopped parsley over cucumber mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste, toss and let sit 1 minute. Taste again and add more thyme, parsley, salt or pepper as needed. You may not use all the thyme or chopped parsley.
Drain vinegar off cucumber mixture leaving just 1/4 cup. Serve immediately.
Per 1/2-cup serving: 30 calories (percent of calories from fat, 5), 1 gram protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 18 milligrams sodium.
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