Week of June 28 & July 1

The 4th of July is almost here!  Remember to pick up everything you need for your celebration at the market this Saturday.  Along with the freshest local produce for your favorite dishes, you can find meats for the grill and cookies, pies, and more for dessert!

Despite last week's damaging rains and flooding, we had a great Saturday market with blue skies and over a dozen vendors!  We also had a great turnout of shoppers and a lot of fun with our Kids' Day event!

The Children's Advisory Commission of Indiana County set up an awesome Community Tent with a fun farm trivia game (complete with prizes) and photo booth.  The Girl Scouts provided crafts in the Kids' Tent of clothespin caterpillars or your own personalized pet rock.  Finally, the Market Info booth had a book and game about how your favorite vegetables grow.  There were lots of families and lots of smiles throughout the morning.  Thank you to all who participated!

This Saturday, we are excited to hold our first Chef Demonstration of the season!  Josh Truitt, Executive Chef at CH Fields (and a market favorite) joins us in the Artisan Tent to show ways you can enjoy fresh, local foods at your 4th of July barbecue.  Music Together will occupy the Kids' Tent with fun music and movement activities, including lots of instruments to play with.  Finally, the Ken Sink chapter of Trout Unlimited will be in the Community Tent providing information about water, local streams, and watersheds.  Be sure to stop in and say hello!

Our market product of the week returns this week as we highlight a favorite of children and adults alike - the sugar snap pea!

We are in peak season right now for these fresh, crisp, pea pods.  Unlike snow peas (which are flatter but also have edible pods), snap peas are full in shape and have round peas inside.  They are best eaten fresh, either raw or lightly cooked.

Fun Facts:

• The sugar snap pea is a hybrid of green (shelling) peas and snow peas that was developed in 1979.  They were even bred with their fibers going in one direction so they are easier to chew (healthyeating.sfgate.com).
• Snap peas have fewer calories and more nutrients than shelling peas (www.nutrition-and-you.com).
• They are high in dietary fiber, which helps to reduce blood cholesterol levels (www.nutrition-and-you.com).
• An excellent choice for expectant mothers, snap peas are a great source of folic acid (www.nutrition-and-you.com).

If you can stop munching long enough to put these sweet pea pods into a meal, try a refreshing salad with your favorite early-season veggies.  I love a mix of lettuce and other salad greens, snap peas, carrots, radishes, and anything else you love.  Really dress it up by throwing in a few fresh strawberries or blueberries!

Toss it with this simple homemade vinaigrette.

We are still scheduling for our special tents through the end of September.  If you are a local artist, musician, or are involved with a community organization or kids' group, e-mail us at indianafarmmarket@gmail.com if you'd like to participate!

See you at the market!

CH Fields (inside the Hilton Garden Inn) "believes in real food, grown and harvested by the good folks in our community who take care of their land for future generations."

Ken Sink Trout Unlimited is our local chapter with a mission to "conserve and restore the cold water fisheries in and around Indiana County Pennsylvania."

Music Together is an internationally recognized music and movement program for children birth through age five - and the grownups who love them.  Our local Music Together program is run in partnership with the IUP Community Music School.

Kids' Day is Saturday, June 24th!

This week, we are looking forward to our 2017 Kids' Day event!  Bring the whole family for a morning of FREE fun at the market!  As always, our Saturday morning market is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at 8th & Church Streets, behind S&T Bank.

Stop into our new Market Information booth to learn about how your favorite veggies grow!  We will read the book "Up, Down, and Around" by Katherine Ayres, play a game, and go on a scavenger hunt around the market.

Next, stop in the Community Tent for games and information from the Children's Advisory Commission of Indiana County.

Finally, the Girl Scouts will be in the Kids' Tent sharing some of their favorite scout skills!

Follow our event on Facebook for more updates throughout the week.

Remember, our Wednesday market is also open from 3:00 to 5:30
p.m. on Wayne Avenue, in the parking lot across from the KCAC.

See you at the Market!

The Children's Advisory Commission of Indiana County (CAC) is a collaborative board representing school districts, human service agencies, health agencies, early education sites, and parents.  The group seeks to meet the needs of families and children in Indiana County through human service programs, family-friendly events, and information sharing to the general public.

The Girl Scouts are the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with a mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Market Week of June 14 & 17

It sure feels like summer now!  This week's post will be short and sweet as I, your friendly blogger, will be visiting family and enjoying the summer throughout the next week.  Products and recipes of the week will return after I'm settled back in.

While the weather posed a bit of a challenge last Saturday, we were happy to welcome back Zepchild Barefoot Sandals to the Artisan Tent.  Our Community Tent (and later the Market Info booth) was full of great information about healthy eating from Penn State Health.

This week, we continue our Wednesday market, including information about SNAP benefits and healthy eating from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Saturday, bring the whole family and stop by the Kids Tent for storytime with the Indiana Free Library.  It's also a great time to check out their free summer reading programs and activities for kids of all ages.  Summer programs run from June 12 - August 3 with the theme "Build a Better World."

Dan Stonerook returns to the Musician Tent with his unique style of "bearded, acoustic, bluesy, storytellin' music."  He is a market favorite, so be sure to take a listen and check out his new CD!  Finally, shop local art by Ashley Bouton in the Artisan Tent.

Save the Date!

Kids' Day is June 24th!  Bring the whole family for a fun morning at the market with all of our special tents presenting special activities for the kiddos.  More details to come!

We are still scheduling for our special tents through the end of September.  If you are a local artist, musician or are involved with a community organization or kids' group, e-mail us at indianafarmmarket@gmail.com if you'd like to participate!

See you at the market!

Market Week of June 7 & 10

Wow!  Thank you so much to everyone who helped make our opening day a success!  We had a great group of vendors, a full lineup of special tents, and an excellent customer turnout.  This makes me even more excited for the season ahead of us.

Saturday, we enjoyed handmade jewelry creations from CWS Designs, kid's yoga with Ed Stancombe of Sunflower Yoga, great conversation with the Center for Educational Travel, USA, and Dan Stonerook really set the market mood with his live acoustic performance.

This week, we look forward to keeping the momentum going with Zepchild Barefoot Sandals in the Artisan Tent and fruit and veggie health information from PennState Health in the Community Tent.

Speaking of the health benefits of fruits and veggies, our featured product of the week is everyone's early-summer favorite - Strawberries!!  

You can find fresh, juicy berries at many of our vendor booths this time of year.  Of course they are delicious all on their own, but here are even more reasons to love strawberries and a recipe for a homemade sweet treat.

Did you know:

• Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese.  1 cup of strawberries gives you more than 100% of your daily vitamin C.  (authoritynutrition.com)
• Vitamin C boosts the immune system and protects heart health (among other benefits), while manganese is good for bone health and helps regulate blood sugar, thyroid, and some hormones.  (organicfacts.net)
• First cultivated in Rome, strawberries are a member of th rose family.  (webmd.com, mnn.com)
• They are the most popular berry fruit in the world!  (webmd.com)

For those of you with a sweet tooth, check out our recipe of the week for a simple strawberry rhubarb crisp (or pick up a freshly-baked pie from Country Bread Barn)!

We are still scheduling for our special tents through the end of September.  If you are a local artist, musician or are involved with a community organization or kids' group, e-mail us at indianafarmmarket.com if you'd like to participate!

See you at the market!