MARKET UPDATES 

Walking, Peaches, Sausages...and a WEDDING!?!

None of these things is quite like the other, but ALL of them are happening at the Highlandtown Farmers' Market! 

WALKING
All hands...or should we say FEET...are in! 
Baltimore Medical Systems, Inc (BMS) is hosting a walking group for all ages. Meet, talk, then walk. Begins around 5pm at the market.

PEACHES
Peach season is coming to an end, so get your peaches while they're ripe. Want to save a few for later in the year...check out this easy method from Highlandtown resident and market goer Monica:

How To Freeze Peaches
Cut in 1/2. Peel and slice into 8 pieces. Place in small freezer bag, push out air and freeze. 

You can make individual servings by putting one peach into a sandwich bag and then place the individual serving bags into the freezer bag. It fits about 3-4 individual bags.
 
Add to smoothies, stews, and more. Nothing like the taste of peaches in the middle of winter! 

SAUSAGES
Labor Day is here. It signals the end of summer, but it also means we get one more cook out! Be sure to grab some grillin' grub at the market. Ferguson Family Farm has a great selection of meats...including sausage, ground beef, chicken, and more! 

and finally, the WEDDING! 
(We'll have more updates in the weeks to come, so stay tuned)

How to be a Farmers Market Farmer
Recipe from the Kahl Family of Kahl Farm

Wondering if you have what it takes to be a Farmers Market farmer? 
I talked with the Kahl family last Thursday and came up with a list of ingredients for good market recipe.

3 cups energy
Getting ready for a market takes a lot of work, as you can imagine, and the Highlandtown Farmers Market on Thursday evenings isn’t the only one the Kahl Family participates in! They also go to the Bel Air Farmers Market every Saturday morning, from 7-11.

“We get up at 4:30 (a.m.), and a lot of times, you don’t get to bed til 1:00, 2:00 in the morning,” said Sharon Kahl, who farms with her husband, Mike. “That one’s a big market, so we’re picking all day Friday and well into the night.”






1/4 lb endurance
“Fighting the traffic!” In the middle of helping a customer, Mike Kahl called it out without any hesitation when asked about the most challenging part of the market process. Mike is a fifth-generation farmer and his 108-acre farm, located in Delta PA, is about an hour drive from Highlandtown.
Sharon and Sierra, their 13-year-old daughter, agreed, but added one more thing.
“The heat” they both said in unison.
“When it’s really hot and humid, it’s just miserable,” said Sharon.
What’s the worst heat they’ve had to endure?
“Probably the first market here,” Sierra recalled, looking to her mom for confirmation.
But, they perservered. The high for the opening market day was 105, and they still showed up the next week!




1 ton vegetables
Here’s an obvious one, but you gotta have lots of veggies to be a good Farmers Market farmer. What exactly does Kahl Farm grow?
“Just about every vegetable,” said Sharon, with Sierra laughing in the background.

1 tablespoon friendliness
Interacting with all kinds of people is a big part of being a Farmers Market farmer, so friendliness is key, both Sharon and Sierra agreed.
Varied knowledge about produce and language barriers are just some of the things that take patience and understanding, they explained.
According to Sharon, being good with people is the most important, and, personally, her favorite part of being at Farmers Markets.
“I think if you’re friendly with them, that’s your biggest draw-in for people,” she said. “They know they can come to you and not get snapped at.”



3 teaspoons teamwork
Having a successful market is a family affair and team effort for the Kahl family. 13-year-old Sierra, who’s been helping on the farm since kindergarten, is good with the numbers; Mike: he’s the muscle.
“He’s very strong!” Sharon said while laughing. “And tall so he can reach things high.”
And Sharon? She’s keeps things in perspective as the jokester of the group.
“She always has the bright side,” said Sierra, smiling, but rolling her eyes. “On Saturday... at 6 in the morning!”
I looked over at Sharon; she just kept laughing.




dash of support (from you!)
It’s not an easy job to keep a small business going. Farmers like Kahl and all small business owners rely on support from residents like you to shop local. So stop by the market this week- say hi to the Kahl family, buy some fresh, locally grown produce, and do some shopping on Highlandtown’s vibrant Main Street!

written by Katie Wollman, Highlandtown Farmers' Market volunteer

This Week at the Market

Thursday, August 16

Sizzlin' Summer Continues!

Our Sizzlin' Summer Music Series continues with
Save The Empire LIVE this week at the market!
Check them out here.

Beat the heat with Jukai Juice! 
Stop by and ask Kerri for one of her signature fruit & veggie drinks.
For a full menu, click here.

Every week let your creativity bust with Everything Nancy!
Local artist Nancy Jagelka brings jewelry and other crafts
for you to make and a few of her own creations, too!

Market Update: Thursday, August 2

This week we welcomed Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to Highlandtown. She stopped by the Farmers' Market and spoke with our vendors, including Anna Pasqualucci, of Anna's Painted Screens.

T n' T Baltimore Steel Band was fabulous as part of our Sizzlin' Summer Music Series at the Market!

And yes, this week we had the debut of CHIPS + SALSA! 
"Frank's Gourmet Chips" has been coming to the market since we opened in June, and we are now so happy to have "I Got Salsa" join the mix! Be sure to see them both each week :D

THIS WEEK AT THE MARKET: July 26
SUMMER SURPRISE!



Well, it is no surprise that the last week in July has brough another wave of heat to Thursday night, but don't let that keep you from visiting your favorite Highlandtown Farmers' Market!

Our farmers are dedicated to bringing you the best fruits, veggies, and meats in the area. Our food vendors have a great assortment of cupcakes, flavored tortilla chips, and drinks :D

We do have a SUMMER SURPRISE for you...a "surprise" food truck will be joining us this week. Please stop by and show your support.

As always, we'll be providing water activities for the kids (and adults, if you wish to get wet) and cooling misters for all.

See you at the market!

July 19 Market Recap

The market started out beautiful and sunny...a bit hot, but not too bad. 

Our farmers and vendors were set up and the community came out to shop!

Banner Neighborhoods helped us build our own fantasy city in the Free Family Fun Area!

The Community Drum Circle provided some great music at the market
(thanks to members of the Baltimore Resettlement Center for organizing this every other week) 

AND THEN...

...it rained...a lot. Thunder, lightening, the works.
So we had to close the market a little early :(

We got a little wet, but it was the best "slip 'n slide market" EVER!

Thank you to EVERYONE (volunteers, farmers, vendors, and even some customers) who helped us clean up the market in a down pour! This is why our hearts are in Highlandtown!

Farmer Spotlight: Barbour Fruit Farm
Meet Lee Welty

Lee Welty is a partner in Barbour Fruit Farms in Biglerville, Pa. You may see him every week at the Highlandtown Farmers Market, selling peaches, plums, cherries, apricots, apples—whatever is in season.

But fruit isn’t all he has. The first week in July he had sweet corn, string beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and other vegetables. “The vegetables are the easy part,” he says. “The fruit takes some worry.”

Take the apples that Barbour Fruit Farms grows in its 141-acre orchard, just a little smaller than Patterson Park. Pennsylvania apple growers have been beset by apple scab, a fungus that causes brown, crusted spots on the fruit. So far, Welty says, Barbour’s has spent $20,000 to fight the fungus, which can affect orchards throughout the mid-Atlantic, from the Carolinas to New York.

But the Early Golds he brought to the Highlandtown Farmers Market on the fifth of July were pristine, lovely light green medium apples with a little tartness to them. Welty says they make a wonderful Apple Crisp, but they would also be good for applesauce, pie or just eating out of hand if you like a tart apple.

Coming later in the season are the sweet apples--Gala, Delicious, Fuji and more.

Next to some plump blackberries are the peaches, a darker red than most, large and heavy with juice.

“Those are a prize,” says Welty. “We haven’t had much rain this year and that concentrates the sweetness of the peach.”

Sure enough, the peaches taste very—well, “peachy.” They are also juicy, so you might want to lean over the sink to eat one.

Welty answered one more question as he took care of the customers crowded around his stall.

“My pap had two daughters,” said the third-generation fruit farmer. “So the Barbour name didn’t transplant.”

To celebrate the opening of our too-short peach season, here’s a recipe for peach cobbler that has been making the rounds of church socials and family reunions for decades—maybe even a century or more, courtesy of a pal at Homewood Friends Meeting.

 

Perfect Peach Cobbler

3 cups sliced peaches (about three large)

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 cup self-rising flour (be sure to use self-rising, not all-purpose flour)

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ginger (optional, but good)

1 egg

6 tbsp melted butter

Place sliced peaches in baking dish and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix flour, sugar and egg until lumpy and spread over peaches. (Trust these directions even though it looks funny at this point.) Pour melted butter over top and bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.