September is here so it's time to celebrate Farmers Appreciation Week. Sept. 8 to 15 is set aside so we can thank the people who bring us all that amazing food.
Head to your nearest market and fill your bags with everything you need to make bag lunches and quick and easy meals - and if those quick and easy meals can be turned into tomorrow's bagged lunches, even better.
I found some great information on the BC Association of Farmers' Markets website about what is in season in September, including...
Apples, basil, beans, beets, blackberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chinese vegetables, chives, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, currants, garlic, kale, lettuce, leeks, melons, onions (sweet), onions (cooking), pears, peppers, plums, potatoes, pumpkins, radish, raspberries, rosemary, sage, salad greens, shallots, spinach, strawberries, swiss chard, tomatoes, thyme, turnips and winter squash.
WHY LOCAL?
It's a pretty extensive list. Add to it the meat, seafood and prepared foods that are also available at farmers' markets and you really don't need to go anywhere else. I know I keep writing about how you really can get most of what you need at market but do you know why I think it's so important? I also found a great list on the BCAFM website that spells it out.
Local food is fresher and tastier.
Enjoy delicious foods that are only available in season. Corn on the cob, anyone?
Strengthen the local economy and keep your dollars close to home. Dollars spent locally have a much greater impact on local infrastructure.
Meet the farmers who grow your food. You might even make a new friend.
Protect your health and the environment with food produced sustainably.
Support farmers who are committed to the humane treatment of animals. (Coquitlam Farmers Market regular Rockweld Farms is the oldest SPCA-certified chicken farm in the area.)
Discover "new" specialty products that will impress your guests. I just discovered purslane - I thought it was a weed but it tastes amazing and is a phenomenal source of Omega 3.
Support the future of family farms and food security in B.C. (With the California drought, our food security is even more important.)
Keep good agricultural jobs in your community.
Protect natural beauty and green space by preserving farmland.
MMMM, STEW
One of my favourite ways to use a multitude of veggies is in a crockpot to make curried vegetable stew.
Cut a mixture of veggies such as cauliflower, zucchini, onions, carrots, tomatoes and beans, and place in a crockpot. Add a bit of chicken or vegetable stock, 2 tsp of garam masala and let it simmer all day. Serve it with chicken for dinner, then mix it with rice and make a wrap for lunch the next day.
Remember that old saying. "You need a doctor, a lawyer and a preacher once in your life but every day, three times a day, you need a farmer."
Make sure you head to a market this week and thank one.
THE RECIPE: ZUCCHINI? SWEET
Every lunch needs a sweet and the ever-abundant zucchini works for that as well. My mom made these zucchini muffins for my lunches when I was in school - a very long time ago - and they are just as good and nutritious now as they were then.
ISLA'S ZUCCHINI MUFFINS
c melted butter
c canola oil
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
tsp nutmeg
1 c white flour
c whole wheat flour
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c raisins
1 c shredded unsweetened coconut
1 c bran buds cereal
2 c grated zucchini, squeezed and tightly packed
Mix melted butter, oil and sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and combine with water, vanilla and nutmeg. Add to sugar mixture. Sift flours, salt and baking soda together and add to mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Fill lined muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 18 muffins.
Karen Curtis is the Lemonade Lady (www.kicslemonade.ca and kicslemonade.blogspot.ca) at the Coquitlam Farmers Market. Her column runs once a month during market season.
