The Farmer’s Market

Let’s Go to the Farmer’s Market

This is my favorite time of year when those wonderful fresh vegetables are at their juicy best and are popping up at the farmer’s market. If you don’t have a green thumb (in other words, you could kill an artificial plant), the nice thing about living in the country is access to farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. There are roadside stands on back roads and at flea markets and almost every town of any size has a farmer’s market one day a week.

Farmer’s markets have been around as long as people have settled communities and towns across the world. Market Day was an exciting event, giving families from miles around the opportunity to buy or barter for fresh foods and staples along with almost any kind of household needs. Most importantly, it was a very social occasion with the opportunity to catch up on the news and connect with friends and family in those days before social media, telephones, and television.

Local Markets

The Temple Farmer’s Market just started up last year and is already a hit. Matt Gailey, owner-operator of Dirt Free Farm, made it his mission to get the market up and going and you won’t find a better cheerleader for the farm-to-table movement. The market is open 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM Saturdays from May to November (weather permitting) at 155 Sage Street, featuring delicious, fresh produce, meats, jams and jellies. Pecan Acres Homestead is there every week with eggs, goats milk products and more.

eggs — Photo courtesy Pecan Acres Homestead

We are lucky here in Temple to not only have our own Farmer’s Market but also others, as we say, “right over yonder”. Cotton Mill Farmer’s Market in Carrollton, GA has been around for a long time, providing locally grown and produced products. One of the best features of Cotton Mill is the Power of Produce (POP) Club for kids aged 4-12. Tanner Health System sponsors the club and runs educational games and demonstrations so kids get to learn about the local farm system and fruits and veggies they might not have tasted before, because, well, kids and vegetables don’t always mix well. Best of all, they receive vouchers good for any market vendor so they can shop and take home their favorites. Cotton Mill, at 609 Dixie Street in Carrollton, is open on Saturdays year-round from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (weather permitting).

Dallas Farmer’s Market in Dallas, GA not only has fresh produce and locally produced products but also lots of great little arts and crafts items. This is a good-sized market so plan enough time to see everything and don’t miss taking a gander at the great new mural a bunch of folks helped paint on the wall there. You can pick up a homemade sausage biscuit and wander the stalls while chatting with some of the friendliest people around. NOBODY leaves empty-handed with all the great stuff there. The Market is open every Saturday, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM, April through October.

cabbages_muffins — Photo courtesy of Dallas Farmer”s Market

So, get on out of bed Saturday and head out to your local market. If you don’t know where it is, check out the locator at Local Harvest or ask around. If you see me, make sure you say hey!

Homegrown Tomatoes – Yummy!

Pick a Tomato – or Two!

One of the simple pleasures of my life is biting into a red-ripe, fresh-from-the-vine tomato. The tomatoes I’m talking about don’t look like the hothouse, slightly anemic tomatoes you buy in the grocery store. If you have ever picked a sun-warmed tomato from a vine, brushed off the dirt and bit into it, the juice running over your chin, you know exactly what I mean…it’s a little taste of heaven.

Around here, almost everyone has a tomato plant (or 10) in their backyard and there’s an unofficial race to have ripe fruit before the 4^th of July. People have their favorites – Better Boy, Big Boy, Beefsteak – and then there’s the argument about heirloom vs. hybrids. The truth is, the worst I ever had was excellent.

Here in South, tomatoes are kinda like Bubba’s shrimp in Forrest Gump – there’s sliced tomatoes, tomato sandwiches, tomato pie, tomato salad, baked tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, fried green tomatoes (that’s for another post), even tomato gravy. We make the most of every moment of tomato season and then we can and freeze them to make soups and stews in the winter. A pot of chili in December made from tomatoes you canned in July from your garden will make your tongue slap your brains out!

Choosing the BEST Tomatoes

You want a well-colored tomato. Those with too much yellow or green were likely pulled green and didn’t ripen on the vine to develop the sweetness and texture of a good tomato. Rest it in your palm – it should feel heavy for the size, kinda like a baseball. Smell it- a flavorful tomato will have a strong, sweet, earthy smell.

Finding a homegrown tomato this time of year is easy. Check out local farmers and roadside stands. Heck, your cousin Howard probably has more than he can ever use. Just tell him you are in desperate need of a tomato biscuit!

Smoked Pork Loin with Southwestern Rub

Smoked Pork Loin

It’s Grilling Season and I can think of no better way to celebrate than with a delicious, tender Smoked Pork Loin. Back in the day, here in the South, Memorial Day was also called Decoration Day. Families would take flowers and flags to the cemetery to decorate the graves of fallen heroes. Often, they would use the opportunity to reunite with family members who had also come to pay their respects. These family reunions would usually include a picnic lunch. And so began the tradition that has become the Memorial Day cookout.

Memorial Day also signals the start of summer and grilling season. Kids laughing, old men telling tales and the food – fresh red tomatoes, sweet watermelon and, over it all, that lip-smacking smell of grilled meat! Man, you can’t do better than that first cookout of summer!

The Loin

For my celebration this year, I chose a beautiful pork loin because, well, you know, I love me some hog! Kroger happened to have a great sale and I snapped up a couple. It’s going to be just me and Miss Frankie, so I cut them in half and froze the rest. I will often brine pork to ensure tenderness but I didn’t brine this pork loin (you can tell by the bright color of the meat).

This post is mainly about the rub but I did want to give you a few tips on choosing a good piece of meat for this Smoked Pork Loin. Pork loins have a layer of fat on top. That fat cover should be no more than ¼ inch or you’ll be paying good money for the weight you can’t eat. Of course, “fat is flavor” but you want to get that flavor within the meat so look for one with a bit of marbling. The perfect loin will be firm and bright grayish pink.

Just to take this over the top, I cut small slits in the meat to insert garlic cloves and get all that good, garlicky flavor down into the meat.

The Rub

Now, the rub…a rub adds flavor to any smoked or grilled meat. This is what’s going to set your pork loin apart. You can use just salt, pepper and garlic powder or go more ethnic with Cajun, Asian or Southwest flavors. Really, the only limit is your imagination. You can buy rubs pre-mixed at the store but it’s awfully easy to make one and, once perfected, can become your signature flavor – a little “family secret”.

What I’m doing today is a dry rub, although it really is kind of a hybrid because of how I prepare the meat. The dry rub is the mixture of spices and other dry ingredients, such as sugar. A wet rub is where you mix those dry ingredients with something like olive oil or Worcestershire. I actually rub down the meat with a little olive oil to help the rub stick, help it seep into the meat and give a little extra moisture to the meat.

I do sometimes add a little brown sugar to a rub but if you choose to do that, be careful of your temperature. Sugar burns at 275 degrees and the last thing you want on the outside of your beautiful pork loin is an inedible, thick, blackened crust. Pretty important since a good barbecue joint will allow you to specify inside or outside meat and those “outside” people get pretty worked up over a burnt crust.

That’s about it for this delicious Smoked Pork Loin. See the previous post for my take on smoking your meat. Just do me a favor – once you’ve tried this out, work on your own secret rub recipe – your family and friends will love you for it!

smoked pork loin 4 — (Later in the day). BOOYAH! if it’s not the best pork loin I have ever had, its pretty dang close!!

[recipe title=”Smoked Pork Loin with Southwestern Pork Rub ” servings=”8-10″ time=”90 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

1 head garlic
1 tablespoon table salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon’s chipotle chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons light olive oil

Directions

Rinse off your pork with cold water and pat dry. Trim any excess fat. Cut 1″ slits in the fat side of the loin and insert a clove of garlic in each slit. In a bowl mix the first 7 ingredients together. Using your hands, coat the dry meat well with olive oil. Wash and dry your hands to get the oil off, sprinkle your rub on the meat and pat it in. Bake or smoke as desired.

Smoking directions

Heat smoker to 250°. Place pork on oiled grate, shut door or lid and smoke for 2 ½ hours. Remove pork loin and wrap in a foil pouch. Put back in smoker, reduce heat to around 175° and allow to smoke for another 3-5 hours, depending on the cut and size of meat. I like an internal temperature of no less than 170°. Remove from smoker and allow to rest 30 minutes before removing from foil and slicing.

[/recipe]

Smokin’ HOT!

There are probably few small towns in the South that don’t hold claim to a great (or semi-great) barbecue joint (in Temple, it’s Jones Barbecue). You’ll be driving down the road and a breeze will come through your open window, carrying with it the tantalizing aroma of perfectly smoked meat. Man, you could have just eaten dinner at your Granny’s and your mouth will STILL water! The cool thing is you can get that aroma and flavor with your own smoker in your own yard.

This is not really a recipe but more of a how-to guide. I know people who have high tech, thousand dollar smokers and I know others who have a barrel cut in half and welded on a frame that their Uncle Frank put together. The truth is, you can get great results from whatever you have if you follow a few simple rules. I actually use a CharGriller barrel charcoal grill as a smoker and it works fine with a few little changes.

Smoking meat is simple enough, just don’t get in a hurry. Remember, the primary rule is “low and slow”. That meat is going to love a constant temperature of around 170° until your internal temperature reaches about 165°.

This is how I go about it. First, you need a throwaway deep-sided pan that sits in your firebox easily to hold your fire together and allow for a longer, more controlled burn. A disposable aluminum pan works just fine.

Put several 1” sticks of water soaked oak in the bottom of the pan. Shape a healthy-sized pyramid of charcoal on top of your wet oak. Add your charcoal fuel and allow to soak in for 10-15 minutes before you light. You don’t want a large fire, on the contrary, you want it well lit but your goal is a small fire that will burn for hours. Your grill is now a smoker!

When the flame dies down, shut the lid and start watching your grill thermometer. When you get up to temp, place your meat as far away as possible from the direct heat and close the lid. The oak on the bottom of the pan will dry quickly and begin to be a major fuel source within 45 minutes or so.

Your vents are your best tool for maintaining the proper heat level. If the temperature gets too high, close your vents a little. If it goes a little low, open them up a bit.

I keep a handful of nut or fruit tree twigs soaked in water close by to add your preferred smoky taste – pecan, apple, mesquite, etc. Allow to smoke until you reach the internal temp you desire. More charcoal may be needed as you go but that’s on a case by case basis.

When your meat is done remove from heat and allow to rest 15 minutes minimum to seal in juices before slicing. That’s it! Play with the wood chips to get the smoky taste you like. You can try any type of meat and/or veggies to see how the different varieties of wood accent the flavor. Look at it this way – you’ll eat a lot of good barbecue while you’re fine tuning…a win-win for everybody!