Apple Harvest

118 pounds of Granny Smith and Fuji apples from a local orchard

Watermelons galore...

I've been seized by a compulsion to buy fresh watermelon every week. Despite the fact that we don't finish it that fast!

So, what can I do with all that melon?

I can make Watermelon Juice.

I can make dried Watermelon - remember Jolly Ranchers? They taste like that - Yum! Also, I'm using the rinds to make Candied Watermelon Rinds. (I can't find that recipe online: I got it from Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook.)

What can't be used for those is cubed and snacked on.

I can also make Watermelon Jelly - I just found this, and haven't tried it yet; the recipe is towards the bottom of the page.

Watermelons are a good source of:

1. Potassium
2. Lycopene
   
3. Vitamins A, B6, and C

I'm off to dice another watermelon :)

Ideas: Eating Local

I'm trying to get as much local food as I can this year. To help, I've created my own list of local farms and farmers markets, within a 30-mile driving radius. That makes about a 2-hour drive, round trip - about the most I really want to do. The hundred-mile radius put me into 'full day trip' ranges - especially when I allowed for traffic!

The nearest farmers markets - there are 3 - are all about the same distance away, in different directions. I went to one the weekend of May 30th and another this past weekend. There was a wide variety there - jewelry, goat milk soap, herb plants, breads & canned goods, hand-blown glass, paintings and hand-painted items, fresh seafood, and pastured meats, in addition to the expected veggies. One is also next to a wonderful yarn shop, and I came home with food plus wool rovings to spin (Icelandic, Swalesdale, and Superfine Merino)and a bone crochet hook for my mother. I'll visit the last one this weekend.

If you'd like to do something like this for your area, here are some sites I found helpful:

100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change

Local Harvest: Farmers Markets, CSAs, Family Farms. Ordering online is available (fleeces, yarns, soap, baskets, honey, more!)

Pick Your Own.org: Where to find Pick-Your-Own Fruit & Veggie Farms

Slow Food USA: Supporting Good, Clean, and Fair Food. Also supports heritage foods and livestock breeds.


Also, try searching on your state or town's name (or the names of towns near you) with "farmer market" and see what you find. I used Google maps to estimate travel times and distances to the markets.