Celebrate Graduation & Mother's Day With Durham Farmers' Market

At the Durham Farmers' Market Wednesday Market, there were THREE different fruits represented: strawberries, blueberries and peaches. Blueberries and peaches are making an early appearance this year on account of the mild winter and warm spring. Farmers often grow many different varieties of fruits and vegetables to extend their season as much as possible. The blueberries and peaches that will be at Market are specific varieties that are bred to come in very early in the season. Shoppers might notice that throughout the season, there are subtle shifts in the flavors, colors, and sizes of the fruits as the varieties change.

This is a big weekend in Durham! Not only is it Mother's Day, it is also graduation day for our two universities - NC Central and Duke. The appearance of blueberries and peaches has almost never coincided with these events. Add these items to your list of great things to get your momma and favorite graduate. As always, the Market will be full of great ideas and gifts for these folks - lots of lovely flowers and sweet things, cards, plants, ingredients for a delicious meal, and so much more. 

There are a couple of exciting things happening at the Market this weekend. The Market will do a Durham Farmers' Market Gift Certificate Giveaway Drawing in celebration of the weekend's events. Visit the Market Information table to enter your name or someone special's name into the drawing.  At the end of Market, 10 names will be chosen and each person will receive a $10 gift certificate.

Diane Daniel, author of Farm Fresh North Carolina will be doing a book signing during the Market.  Farm Fresh North Carolina is the country's first statewide farm-travel guidebook that includes lots of information about local farms as well as farms throughout the state. Diane's book will be on sale for $18 as a fundraiser for the Market. Tomorrow's Chef in the Market is Chef Katie Coleman, owner of Durham Spirits Company.  Katie will be cooking several dishes with super fresh seasonal ingredients at 10am on the Market lawn. There will be lots to taste and plenty of copies of her recipes.

Fresh this Week....
VEGETABLES:   FAVA BEANS, RADICCHIO, FENNEL, DAIKON RADISHES, Asparagus, Asian Greens (Pac Choi, Tatsoi, Mizuna), Artichokes, Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Broccoli Raab, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chinese Broccoli, Chinese Cabbage, Collards, Greenhouse Grown Cucumbers, Dandelion Greens, Escarole, Frisee, Fresh Herbs (Cilantro, Mint, Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Parsley) Green Onions, Green Garlic, Garlic Scapes, Greenhouse Grown Green Beans, Gourds, Mustard Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, New Potatoes, Onions, Rhubarb, Radishes, Rutabega, Salad Mix, Shiitake Mushrooms, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, Sugar Snap Peas,  Swiss Chard, Summer Squash Greenhouse Grown Tomatoes, Turnips, Turnip Greens, Zucchini
FRUITS: BLUEBERRIES, PEACHES and Strawberries!
MEATS AND EGGS: Beef, Bison, Cornish Game Hens, Chicken, Duck, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Pork, Duck Eggs & Chicken Eggs CHEESES: Fresh and aged cow and goats milk cheeses.
FLOWERS & PLANTS:  Calla Lilys, Asiatic Lilies, Peonies,  Dutch Iris, Snapdragons, Larkspur, Batchelor's Buttons, Mixed Bouquets, Vegetable & Herb Seedlings, Landscaping Plants, House Plants
SPECIALTY ITEMS:  Pecans,  Flour, Cornmeal, Grits, Baked Goods including Pies, Breads, Cookies, Pastries, Gluten Free Items, etc; Pasta, Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves, Wool
CRAFTS: Pottery, Jewelry, Stained Glass Art, Handmade Baskets, Gourd Birdhouses, Woodwork, Photographs, Hand-dyed Clothing and other items, Handmade Clothing, Soaps, Yarn, Roving, and much more...

Upcoming Events at Durham Farmers' Market

What's new at Durham Farmers' Market?  Perfect strawberry growing weather!  While strawberries aren't necessarily new at the Market, this week, there's more to learn about growing strawberries. One farmer said that the ideal weather for strawberries is 75 during the day and 55 at night.  While the last few days have been pretty hot, it looks like after tomorrow, we will be right back to perfect strawberry weather. 

That should stretch out the strawberry season for a little while longer.  The warm weather this week has made the strawberries even sweeter than earlier in the season.  Once the weather turns really hot and there is a solid week of 90 degree days, strawberry season will be over.  So, if you have been thinking at all about making strawberry jam or freezing fruit for smoothies this year, the time is now! 

Upcoming Events:
Mother's Day Market Gift Certificate Giveaway - Saturday May 12th Does your Mom love shopping for fresh food and locally made items at the Market?  Enter her name in a drawing for a $10 gift certificate to the Market next Saturday.

Chef In the Market, Saturday May 12th - Chef Katie Coleman from Durham Spirits Company will be back at the Market. Chef Katie has cooked all over the world and is now located in Durham.  She teaches at the Culinary Arts Institute and teaches cooking and mixology classes at the Durham Spirits Co.  Katie told me that she'll be shopping around Market this week looking for her inspiration!  No matter what, it will be de-licious!  Katie will take you through her recipes step by step and then you can taste and take home her recipe to make at home!

Book Signing, Saturday May 12 - Diane Daniel, author of Farm Fresh North Carolina.  The country's first statewide farm-travel guidebook and includes visiting information on not only the Durham market but several of its vendors, including Fickle Creek Farm, Elodie Farm, Benjamin Vineyard and Winery, Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm, Lyon Farms, Vollmer Farm, Scratch Baking, Piedmont Bio Farm, Fullsteam Brewery, Chapel Hill Creamery, Celebrity Dairy, Kalawi Farms, and SEEDS.  We'll be selling the books for $18 as a fundraiser for the Market.  It makes a great gift for Mom! 

Durham Homefries Cookies Class - Does your child love joining you at the Market and helping you cook meals with you?  Then the Homefries Cooking Classes might be just what they are looking for.  This summer, from May through September, we will hold monthly cooking classes for kids between the ages 9 to 13.  Classes are held on the 3rd Saturday of the month and they teach basic cooking skills from a local Chef or Cooking Instructor.  Registration is going on now.  If you are interested, please email Erin at info@durhamfarmersmarket.com.


Fresh this Week....
VEGETABLES:  FRESH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS, CAULIFLOWER, Asparagus, Asian Greens (Pac Choi, Tatsoi, Mizuna), Artichokes, Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Broccoli Raab, Chinese Broccoli, Chinese Cabbage, Collards, Greenhouse Grown Cucumbers, Dandelion Greens, Escarole, Frisee, Fresh Herbs (Cilantro, Mint, Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Parsley) Green Onions, Green Garlic, Greenhouse Grown Green Beans, Gourds, Mustard Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, New Potatoes, Onions, Rhubarb, Radishes, Rutabega, Salad Mix, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, Sugar Snap Peas,  Swiss Chard, Summer Squash Greenhouse Grown Tomatoes, Turnips, Turnip Greens, Zucchini
FRUITS: Strawberries!
MEATS AND EGGS: Beef, Bison, Cornish Game Hens, Chicken, Duck, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Pork, Duck Eggs & Chicken Eggs CHEESES: Fresh and aged cow and goats milk cheeses.
FLOWERS & PLANTS:  PEONIES! Dutch Iris, Snapdragons, Larkspur, Batchelor's Buttons, Mixed Bouquets, Vegetable & Herb Seedlings, Landscaping Plants, House Plants
SPECIALTY ITEMS:  Pecans,  Flour, Cornmeal, Grits, Baked Goods including Pies, Breads, Cookies, Pastries, Gluten Free Items, etc; Pasta, Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves, Wool
CRAFTS: Pottery, Jewelry, Stained Glass Art, Handmade Baskets, Gourd Birdhouses, Woodwork, Photographs, Hand-dyed Clothing and other items, Handmade Clothing, Soaps, Yarn, Roving, and much more...

Produce availability depends on weather conditions

Spring Hours Coming Soon to Durham Farmers' Market

During these past few weeks of lovely spring-like weather, folks have been asking when the Durham Farmers' Market will return to summer hours. It won't be long! Summer hours (8am-Noon) will resume on Saturday, April 7th. Two weeks later, on Wednesday April 18th, Wednesday Market opens for its regular hours: 3:30 to 6:30pm. This Spring, the Market will be adding several exciting new vendors to the Wednesday Market offerings; details will be announced in the coming weeks.

Out of Spring weather excitement, the Durham Farmers' Market have been planning some fun and tasty upcoming events:

TOMORROW at 10:30 Chef Katie Coleman, owner of Durham Spirits Co. and an instructor at the Culinary School at the Arts Institute at American Tobacco, will be the Chef in the Market. Katie will be cooking several recipes that use the rhubarb that has been available at the Market over the past few weeks, including Rhubarb Ginger Chutney and Rhubarb Thyme Jam. Copies of recipes will be available upon request.

On Saturday March 17th, the Market will hold its first DFM Vendor Chili Challenge! Market vendors will show off their best personal chili recipes (no cookbooks allowed!). They will be highlighting meats and vegetables from the Market and in some cases from their own farms. Market goers will  taste all of the chilis and then vote for your favorite(s). The event will be a fundraiser for the Market -- each vote will cost $1. Participants can vote as many times as they'd like!

A new chef will be joining the Market in April. Chef Christy Quirk of Bull Street Gourmet and Market will be the Chef in the Market on April 14th. Bull Street Gourmet & Market is a new restaurant and retail shop located in Hope Valley Square. Christy plans to cook with fennel. For those who have ever wondered how to use this tasty (and weird looking) vegetable, now is the chance to learn from an expert. 

Fresh this Week....
Vegetables:  Asian Greens (Tatsoi, Mizuna), Arugula, Beets,  Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Cress (Creasy Greens), Cilantro, Collards, Dried Herbs, Frisee, Fennel, Green Onions, Green Garlic,  Gourds,  Jerusalem Artichokes,  Mustard Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, Onions, Pumpkins, Rhubarb, Radishes, Salad Mix, Shiitake Mushrooms  (fresh & dried), Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Greenhouse Grown Tomatoes, Turnips, Turnip Greens,
Meats:  Beef, Chicken, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Pork.  Look for whole cuts, sausages, hot dogs, jerky, liver pate and more!
Flowers & Plants:  Daffodils, Tulips, Anemones, Icelandic Poppies,
Vegetable & Herb Seedlings, Landscaping Plants, House Plants
And: Honey, Pecans, Chicken and Duck Eggs, Flour, Cornmeal, Wines, Fresh and Aged Goats and Cows Milk Cheeses, Baked Goods - Pies, Breads, Cookies, Pastries, Gluten Free Items, etc; Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves
Crafts: Pottery, Jewelry, Gourd Birdhouses, Woodwork, Photographs, Hand-dyed Clothing and other items, Handmade Clothing, Soaps and much more...

Produce availability depends on weather conditions

'Chef in the Market 'Tackles Okra

Durham Farmers' Market welcomes a new Chef in the Market this week. Katie Coleman, founder of Durham Spirits Company and instructor at The Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham's culinary program, will take on a perennially misunderstood and under-appreciated vegetable -- OKRA.  The timing for her okra demonstration couldn't be better; late August and September are the prime okra season.

Okra, the seed pod of a beautiful hibiscus like flower, thought to have originated in West Africa and traveled to North America during the slave trade. The flowers bloom in a whirl at the top of the plant. In the South, okra plants thrive in the hot, dry and humid weather.  By the end of September, many farmers will have okra plants that are 6-8 feet tall and require ladders for picking.  The plants will keep producing until the first frost which usually happens in mid-October. 

Chef in the Market begins at 10am on the Central Lawn. Kate Coleman will be demonstrating 3 okra recipes: Sauteed Corn and Okra with Bacon & Goat Cheese, Grilled Okra with Yogurt Dipping Sauce and Simply Sauteed Okra.

Construction Update
Construction next to the Farmers' Market parking lot on Morris Street has begun.  For the next 12 months or so, Morris Ridge, a 5 story, mixed used development will be built. Throughout the construction, the parking lot will remain open during the Market hours. One of the paths down to the Market will be closed for the time being, but the path at the north end of the lot (with the stairs) will remain open.  Additionally, in the next couple of weeks, there will be some road construction on Hunt Street between Morris and Foster. The road won't be closed but expect delays from time to time.


Fresh This Week
Fruit: Apples, Pears, Figs,Table Grapes, Watermelon, Cantelope, Sprite Melon, Peaches - freestone!, Blueberries    
Vegetables:   Pumpkins, Winter squash, Arugula, Beans, Longbeans, Beets, Butterbeans, Cabbage, Cherry Tomatoes, Corn, Collards,  Cucumbers,  Dandelion Greens, Edamame, Eggplant, Garlic,  Herbs (Basil, Cilantro Oregano, Parsley, Dill, Chives, Mint),  Kale, Lambs Quarter, Leeks, Lettuce,  Okra, Onions, Pea Shoots, Peppers (sweet, hot, Padron), Potatoes, Purple Hull Peas, Salad Mix, Shallots, Swiss Chard,  Summer Squash,  Tomatillos, Tomatoes (red and green),  Zucchini
Flowers:  Agrostemma, Asiatic Lillies, Campanula, Dahlia, Gomphrena, Gladiolus, Lisianthus, Snap Dragon, Sunflowers, Tuber Rose, Zinnia
Meats: Beef, Bison, Chicken, Duck, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Pork
And: Honey, Chicken and Duck Eggs, Flour, Yellow & White Cornmeal, Grits, Pecans, Wines, Fresh and Aged Goats and Cows Milk Cheeses, Baked Goods, Pasta, Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves, Wool, Landscaping Plants