By Katherine Jones
For The Salisbury Post
Last Saturday at the Farmers Market there were 25 vendors and a huge variety of produce, meats, baked goods, crafts and plants that attracted a large number of shoppers. This week will provide even more choices as the growing season changes from cool weather crops to the bounty provided by warmer conditions.
Cauble Creek Winery treated us to a wine tasting and displayed some other products such as muscadine salsa, sweet potato butter and muscadine pepper jelly.
This coming weekend will be filled with Memorial Day celebrations. That means food for picnics and cookouts. You may also need sun bonnets, straw hats and sun visors. Most all your needs for entertaining can be purchased at the Salisbury Farmers Market.
Wild Turkey Farms and T & D Charolais have wonderful meat selections for grilling and smoking. Choose from steaks, ribs, chops, chicken, brats, ground beef, hot dogs and much more.
Miller Farms, Cress Farm, Kraus Family Farm, Country Gardens, Correll Farm and Eagle Produce will be able to provide fresh fruit and produce that is locally grown. I was very impressed with the many varieties of lettuce that is being offered. In addition, you will find squash, zucchini, onions, cabbage, beets and sugar peas. Cress has some hothouse tomatoes and Eagle’s is now pickling cucumbers
No picnic or cookout would be complete without bread and dessert and we are fortunate to have some of the best bakers in the county at our market. Kris of How Sweet It Is has a good selection of breads, fruit pies, cakes, cookies, muffins and yeast dinner rolls. Emma at The Bread Basket offers many types of bread including Honey Oatmeal and Seven Grain. She also has chocolate and lemon chess pies, pineapple upside-down cakes and much more. Carla Anne’s Cookies will be displaying many varieties of cookies and her wonderful genuine San Francisco Sour Dough Bread. (Carla Anne will be featured in the June, 2011 issue of Food Network Magazine for her BBQ cookies).
Add to your menu for the weekend some of the great salsa or relish from The Funky Pepper. Surely you need an apron, table cover, tote, potholder, soap or head gear from one of our many hand crafters.
If you plan to have an industrious holiday weekend then visit Owens Greenhouse, Dawn’s Greenhouse, Country Gardens, Bluebird Acres Farm and Joyce’s Flowers for great plants. They have an incredible assortment of vegetable and flower plants, both annual and perennial and many baskets and containers. You can even get a mosquito plant to use at your picnic if needed. There are fabulous herbs that will enhance your food all year.
Katherine Jones is a Master Gardener Volunteer for the Cooperative Extension Service in Rowan County.
For more information about the Salisbury Farmers Market visit www.salisburyfarmersmarket.com. The Farmers Market is located in downtown Salisbury on the corner of South Main and Bank streets. It is open on Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon.