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Tomatoes, Blackberries, Pickling Cukes, and More!!


Tomatoes, Blackberries, Pickling Cukes, and More!!

So much more this week is tantalize your tastebuds

Tomatoes!!

Tomatoes are finally starting to develop their full color and flavor. They are in limited quantities this week but will definitely be increasing in quantity in the following weeks.

This week we have mixed cherry tomatoes, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, Ananas Noire (Black Pineapple), Ruffled Paste, Striped Roman Paste, Pink and Yellow Beefsteak, Yellow Brandywine, Paul Robeson, and small red tomatoes. Many of the heirlooms are an astounding 1 1/2-2 pounds each.

Peppers!!

Some many peppers… The usual EXTRA LARGE green peppers and Flavorburst we have been carrying, but now we have added the medium purple sweet peppers, sweet banana peppers, mild hot banana peppers, jalapeno and purple chili peppers.

Green Beans!!

New this week, freshly picked green beans, purple green beans and yellow wax beans.
Purple green beans are an amazingly beautiful royal purple color when picked, but magically change color to a vivid green when cooked. They also have higher levels of anti-oxidants.

Fruit!!

This week we have wild harvested blackberries. Smaller than our cultivated blackberries (which should be ready in the next one to two weeks) but still quite tasty.

And garden huckleberries, ever heard of them?? They look similar to blueberries, but are very tart. NOT TO BE EATEN RAW! This beautiful berries must be cooked with sugar, but make amazing pies and jams.

Pickling Cucumbers

We unfortunately do not have any long slicing cucumbers this week, but do have pickling cucumbers, lemon cucumbers, and some tasty little gems known as Mexican Sour Gherkins or Cucamelons.

Small Quantity of Sweet Corn Available


Sweet Corn is Here!!

Sorry for another late addition, but we were notified by our new grower, Weyant Vegetable Farm of Claysburg, that they will be picking the first batch of sweet corn Friday morning.

Quantities are currently limited, until they get a better feel on the amount available. We are selling them on a first come, first served basis. If they are unable to fill all orders, we will deduct it from your total order at time of delivery.

If you have already ordered, it is not too late to add this to your current week’s order.

Late Additions to the Market


Sorry for the Second Post

We apologize to the second post, but we had some last minute additions from Rispoli’s Produce.

Additional items available this week:

  • Red, White, and Blue Potatoes
  • Eggplant
  • Kale:(redbor, baby reg., dinosaur & Russian)

Fresh From the Farm


Fresh From the Farm

Things are getting exciting here on the farm. The tomatoes will soon be ripe for the picking. They are just starting to turn colors and they are amazingly large this year. Lots of tasty cherry tomatoes this year as well. Stay tuned for the first of this seasons tomato awesomeness!!

The peppers are doing amazing as well (we have actually had to stake some of them up, they are falling over from the weight) We have regular green and Flavorburst available this week. We will have purple, yellow, orange, and Sweet Chocolate available in a few weeks. Colored peppers take about two extra weeks to develop their colors.

We hope to be hearing from our sweet corn producer soon for the first of our local corn. Most “local” corn available in stores right now is coming out of Lancaster county.

Small Fruits

We have a small amount of red raspberries available this week. Blackberries will be ripening in the next week or two. We may have small quantities of strawberries available in the next few weeks as well. Stay tuned.

“Best Dressing Ever”

Village Eatinghouse makes some of the “Best Dressing Ever,” in flavors like Bold & Sassy Italian, Bright & Tangy Italian, Salty & Smoky Italian, and Sweet and Sour Italian; as well as two poppy seed varieties. Being distributed by Heritage Hills Farm. Try some on your salads, or as a marinade for your meat.

New This Week -- Green Peppers, Candy Onions, Green Tomatoes and More


New This Week — Green Peppers, Candy Onions, Green Tomatoes and More

Green And Flavorburst Peppers

The first of our peppers. Big dark green sweet peppers and a true customer favorite — Flavorburst pepper. The Flavorburst pepper starts out a pleasing lime green and eventually develops into a beautiful peach color. Has a sweet flavor with a faint citrus/fruity overtone.

Candy Onions Have Begun

Our candy onions are finally developing their size. We have them in white, yellow and red/purple. All are sweet onions, best used for fresh use. Sweet onions do not have the storage life of cooking onions.

Green Tomatoes Are Ready

I know we are anxiously awaiting the first red tomatoes, but green tomatoes have their worth as well. We have big, beautiful green tomatoes just waiting to be turned into delicious Fried Green Tomatoes or Green Tomato Relish.

Carrots, Beets, Mixed Salad Greens

We have mixed carrots (orange, yellow, white, and purple)packaged in a convenient bunch to try all of our varieties.

We also have several varieties of beets to offer. All from the standard red beet, to the Golden Beet which has the same earthy beet flavor without the red bleeding, to the striking Chioggia Beet that has alternating red and white rings.

And, if have tried and liked our salad greens, we have a culinary treat for you this week. We will be making mixed salad greens for you this week. A mix of green, red and mottled greens. This mix will make a truly show-stopping salad.

Crisp and Cool Cucumbers, Versatile Zucchini


Veggie Spotlight — Crisp and Cool Homegrown Cucumbers

One of the true harbingers of summer. The fourth most widely cultivated “vegetable” in the world, the cucumber, related to both the melon and squash families, is technically a fruit. With its mild, refreshing flavor that mixes so well with other garden offerings, cucumbers are actually 90% water, but still manage to provide many valuable health benefits.

Cucumbers are also known to be an excellent source of vitamins, including anti-inflammatory vitamin K, infection-fighting vitamin C, and energy-producing pantothenic acid (vitamin B5). Body-beneficial minerals include bone-building manganese, as well as potassium and magnesium, both good for your heart.
For those who’ve noticed their cucumbers seem to deteriorate soon after refrigerating them, U.C. Davis has reported that cucumbers maintain freshness longer when stored at room temperature.

Cucumbers are also highly sensitive to ethylene, a natural plant hormone responsible for initiating the ripening process in several fruits and vegetables, so another recommendation is to store cucumbers away from bananas, melons, and tomatoes because of the natural ethylene they generate.

The Incredibly Versatile Zucchini

For many people, summertime is simply incomplete without serving a delicious array of scrumptious green vegetables. But here’s an idea: why not take a break from the usual leafy green salads, and dig into a plateful of succulent zucchini instead?

You won’t run out of uses for zucchini, as it is a highly versatile food that can suit many recipes. Mix it into soups, salads, or frittatas, serve it as a side dish with your meat dishes, or make “zucchini fries,” served with an onion dip as an appetizer. Want a healthy, no-grain and no-wheat pasta? Make zucchini “noodles” using a vegetable peeler – it will be as al dente as regular spaghetti. And lets not forget zucchini bread or cake.

You’ll surely be impressed with the nutritional bounty that zucchini offers. It’s low-calorie (with only 17 calories per 100 grams) and high in fiber, and has no cholesterol or unhealthy fats. It’s also rich in flavonoid antioxidants such as zeaxanthin, carotenes, and lutein, which play a significant role in slowing down aging and preventing diseases with their free radical-zapping properties. Zucchini is also a wonderful source of potassium, a heart-friendly nutrient that helps moderate your blood pressure levels and counters the effects of too much sodium. In fact, a zucchini has more potassium than a banana. Zucchini is rich in B-complex vitamins, folate, B6, B1, B2, B3, and choline, as well as minerals like zinc and magnesium, which are all valuable in ensuring healthy blood sugar regulation – a definite advantage for diabetics. It also contains essential minerals such as iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Where Are The Strawberries?

For all you fruit lovers, the early season this year has been incredibly difficult for fruit production. We had a very hot spell early in the season,followed by cool, damp weather and now the warmth again. These variations can greatly impact small fruit production.

Fresh Berries and Sour Cherries


Raspberries Are Here!!

Vine ripe red and black raspberries are back in season. Please be aware that berries are very weather dependent. We are estimating the amount that will be available but heavy rains or birds can affect actual amount harvested. Orders are filled on a first come-first served basis. If we can not fulfill your order, you will be refunded.

Pork and Rabbit Back in Stock

Heritage Hills Farm restocked their freezers with pork products and added rabbit.

Organic Milled Grains

Last week we added Appalachia Malting to our vendor list and we personally tried their buckwheat flour in buckwheat pancakes this weekend. DELICIOUS!!!

Bothered by Bugs??

Heritage Hills Farm has a new all natural bug repellent. Made with witch hazel, lemon eucalyptus essential oil, REAL vanilla extract and organic olive oil in a 2 oz glass spray mist bottle. Great for keeping nagging insects at bay, plus great for your skin!!

Have You Tried Swiss Chard?

Our colorful rainbow Swiss Chard is not only beautiful but nutritious and delicious. It can be eaten raw in salads, chopped and sauteed, on made with a hot bacon dressing.

Let's Do Some Healthy Baking


Welcome Appalachia Malting, LLC

We would like to welcome our newest grower/producer, Appalachia Malting, this week. Father and son team Vince and Andy Golden of Portage, PA are both farmer veterans and run the Certified Organic Golden Farm where their grains are grown. They then sprout and mill their grains at their Appalachia Malting facility. They currently carry spelt and buckwheat flour, both regular and sprouted.

Spelt flour comes from an ancient strain of wheat. It’s high in protein and has a nutty, complex flavor that’s sweeter and lighter than that of whole wheat. Gluten-containing spelt is a good source of fiber, iron, and manganese.

  • Flavor: Sweet with a taste of whole wheat.
  • Texture effect: Soft and moist in small amounts; dry in larger quantities.
  • Works best in: Pancakes, quick breads, and muffins.

Buckwheat flour is hearty, gluten-free, and a good source of magnesium, copper, and dietary fiber. We enjoy its health benefits, but also turn to it again and again for its bold, nutty flavor.

  • Flavor: Bold, toasty, and rich.
  • Texture effect: Moist and tender in small amounts; chalky in larger quantities.
  • Works best in: Pancakes and quick breads.

We have included recipes for Spelt Muffins and Buckwheat Pancakes under our ‘Recipes’ tab to give you some ideas. Keep in mind, when working with these grains, they act similar to whole wheat flour, in that if you use them at 100% your end product with have a denser texture and nuttier flavor. Some people like that, while others will mix it at 25% or 50% with regular white flour in order to keep some of the nutritional factors while keeping some of the lightness and rise of white flour.
For those who avoid gluten, buckwheat is naturally gluten-free. Note: to those who are very sensitive to gluten (people with celiac disease) this product is milled in the same facility that mills wheat products.

New Produce Items

We have a few new produce items this week in very limited quantities: zucchini, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower and mixed radishes. We also have limited quantities of various lettuces, swiss chard, kale, spinach and rhubarb.

Try Some Fresh Culinary Herbs

Many people seem to be afraid to try using fresh herbs in their cooking. You have no idea what you are missing. Fresh herbs add a bright splash of flavor and color to any dish. And they are surprisingly easy to use.

Because dried herbs are generally more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you’ll need less dried herbs than fresh — typically three times the amount of fresh herbs as dry. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano, you need only 1 teaspoon of dried, since 3 teaspoons equal 1 tablespoon.

Our herb gardens are just bursting this time of year and we currently are carrying:

  • Borage (edible flowers that taste mildly of cucumber and are a beautiful blue color)
  • Cilantro (add a spicy mexican flavor for any dish)
  • Stevia (all natural sweetener, also known as ‘sweet leaf’, that is approximately 200-300 times as sweet as white sugar)
  • Parsley, flat Italian or curly leaf (great as a garnish or added to boiled potatoes with butter)
  • Rosemary (great in some melted butter and brushed on grilled meat, or try some when making a homemade bread)
  • Oregano, thyme, tarragon and sage
  • And mints of all flavors, including peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, pineapple mint and strawberry mint.

Market Back Open -- New Produce Items


Thank you to everyone for understanding the market closure last week. Hubby is home and slowly recovering.

We had a great time at Vale Wood Farms Summertime Jubilee last weekend and got to meet a lot of great people. We ran a drawing for a $50 Gift Certificate to the online market and would like to congratulate the lucky winner Sondra Haberl of Cresson.

We have many new produce items this week, although still in limited quantities: radish, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, kale, onions, rhubarb and snow peas.

We also freshly dug garlic and elephant garlic.

And fresh herbs galore: parley(flat and curly),sage,rosemary and thyme [see what we did there?], oregano, tarragon, chives and dill. And many varieties of mint to include peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, strawberry mint and pineapple mint.

Market will be closed this week


We apologize but the online market will be closed this week. Farm hubby is being admitted to the hospital with more tests the next few days. Will reopen next Sunday.