This Week at Smart Markets Reston Farmers' Market

Our demo chef Annie Sidley will be with us this week for the first time this season, and we are thrilled as always to have her. She will cook Minestrone Soup, Market Tabbouleh with Wheat Berries, and Paninis with samples for all. Annie starts cooking at 4 p.m. We will set her up next to the grassy knoll, and if you bring a blanket or lawn chair, you can enjoy the class comfortably under the shade of the big trees.

This is high cotton time at the farmers’ market, and each week we are seeing and sampling great new produce. We have corn on the cob and tomatoes at Ignacio’s, blueberries at Fossil Rock, lovely lettuces at Shenandoah Seasonal, peaches and raspberries at Tyson’s, and black raspberries, split chickens and wings at Heritage Farm.

We also have a new BBQ vendor, and this time we’ve got it right. Hal Thomas smokes and sells under the name H&V BBQ, and he actually lives in Reston. He has been selling and wowing customers at our Springfield market, and he debuted at our Manassas Park market last Friday to much praise. Based on the feedback at those markets, we have asked him to bring his great touch and expertise with the smoker to Reston. This week he will be taking orders for the 4th of July. Please check our Facebook page for menu details.

Celtic Pasties will have Beef & Guinness, Cottage Pie Style, Mango Chicken, Chicken & Pineapple, Colcannon, and Cheese & Onion.

We will also begin promoting our upcoming canning demo at the market and canning classes at several indoor locations. Check out the free pamphlets and sample canning supplies at the Smart Markets table. If you have not already expressed your interest in taking a free class later in the summer, you may sign up in person at the market. We are working with the Virginia Extension Service to train twelve new teachers so that the classes we offer can be free of charge. Ball Canning Company has supplied an avalanche of spice packets for dill pickles and salsa and pectin for fruit and is underwriting the cost of other supplies with a cash award. Sign up now and within a few weeks we will be able to schedule the classes. There will be at least two in Reston, and more if necessary, for you to attend.

You can always learn the latest by checking our Facebook page before you head for the market. And if you follow us on Twitter, you will receive real-time updates about how the summer weather may be affecting the market and what new items we have that even I didn’t know were coming to market.

See you at the market!

From the Market Master

I love to share what I learn almost every day about any number of issues related to what the role of farmers’ markets in suburban society, and particularly information that informs and supportsour own mission at Smart Markets. We already have on our website a response to the question we often get about what “organic” means. But often someone else says it much better than I have, and I like to pass along the wisdom in its original form and context.

Check out this blog post about “organic” food in the marketplace — the grocery store as well as the farmers’ market. We will also link to this on our website to offer a little more background and underpinning to my own thoughts on the subject.

Keep up the good work in your own homes and neighborhoods, and we will keep passing along facts and ideas you need to keep and share your personal commitment.

Photo by Sarah Sertic