This Week at the South Durham Farmers' Market

This Week at the South Durham Farmers' Market

• 8 am to Noon at Greenwood Commons Shopping Center 5410 NC Highway 55 Durham, NC 27713 
• The Durham Master Gardeners will be at their booth to help you with your planting questions! 
• 8:30am - 12pm
• Fresh this Week: Strawberries, radishes, asparagus, broccoli, onions, greens, tomatoes, flowers and more

Ninth St. Bakery's Local Flour Power
By our counts, The Ninth Street Bakery has been committed to local and sustainable agriculture for 32 years through their consistent use organic flours and local ingredients.  Needless to say, we were thrilled when they applied to participate in our inaugural season last year, but we were overjoyed when they said they wanted to use our market to roll out their new line of artisanal sourdough breads featuring NC grown wheat flour.

But, why is a Durham-based bakery growing bread using NC wheat so special?  According to the Southern Foodways Alliance, North Carolina (and the rest of the South) is the land of tender cornbread and biscuits for a very good reason...Read More.

FREE STUFF!
This Saturday, the very first person to show Ben their "Check-In" at market gets a free SDFM car magnet!

Magical Microgreens
We have become accustomed to finding SDFM vendor products on local dining menus, but lately some of our vendors have come to market with some seriously gourmet ingredients – most recently, in the form of the microgreen.  Microgreens are young vegetable plants that are harvested at 7-14 days old and have reached a height of 1 to 1.5 inches.  Most leafy crops make fantastic microgreens including kale, broccoli, arugula, mustard, chard and cabbage.  Beets, radishes, and kohlrabi are also used for their vibrant colors and crisp, spicy flavor.

And yet, the size and intense flavor of microgreens is only part of their allure – recent research studies have suggested that microgreens can have between 4 – 40 times more vitamins per serving as their mature counterparts.

How to buy:
Each Saturday, you can find farmers Ross and Jillian with Open Door Farm selling pre-washed microgreens at SDFM.  They are usually sold pre-bagged or in small growing trays.  Look for greens that are still bright in appearance and look fresh.

How to store:
Store prebagged microgreens in your produce drawer at 38 – 40 degrees F.  If kept dry and in a closed container (such as the bag you bought them in), microgreens can stay fresh for up to a week.

You can store a trays of microgreens on your counter, just keep the trays moist and at room temperature.  Use scissors to cut off what you need – but remember, these are living plants and will continue to grow in the right conditions, so it’s best to enjoy tray microgreens within a couple days of purchase.

How to eat:
Microgreens require very little preparation – nothing more than a light wash in cold water and then added whole and fresh to various dished.  Use them in place of lettuce on a sandwich, add to an omelet for breakfast, or in a salad with thinly sliced radish and celery, drizzled with a red wine vinaigrette.