Greenhouse Time

The opening of the local farmers' markets is one of my favorite times of the year.  This past
Saturday, our favorite orchard, Hollabaugh's, near Biglerville, PA, had it's grand opening.  Of course there weren't any fresh offerings from the orchard at this time of the year but there were some local lettuces, rhubarb and asparagus.  They were also featuring a local farm that raises grass-fed, no antibiotic beef by giving away free sliders with a selection of yummy toppings.

Zip is making a bee line for the grill.
 

The beef was really delicious.  We ended up buying two pounds plus some of their lovely asparagus.  No pictures of either.  The asparagus got eaten and he beef is in the freezer for a special occasion.

Even though the offerings from the orchards haven't come into season yet, Hollabaugh,s is still worth a visit if you're in the area.  They have a nice produce section, a bakery area, had dipped ice cream, pickles and relishes in jars, a coffee bar (Zip's favorite) and a lot more.


On Memorial Day Brad and Kami came to do yard work and have lunch.  Brad made smoked pork loin on the grill.  Kami and I prepared the rest of the food which included deviled eggs and panko crusted corn fritters plus watermelon and honeydew and other salad makings.

We didn't have a recipe for the corn fritters, just an idea that we wanted crispy, savory ones.  We really got it right o the first try.  They were delicious!


We used the smoked pork to make tacos with lots of tomato and cilantro.

 We had a great holiday.  Lots of eating and even a nice amount of yard work got done.

On Tuesday we went to Lurgan greenhouse to get plants to fill our hanging baskets for the porch and tomato and herb plants for the garden and herb planter.  Unfortunately it was the hottest day of the week.  I thought Zip and I were going to have a heat stroke.  He had to sit down and rest because he was feeling faint.  I blundered on with sweat running off me in buckets.  It must have been 100+ degrees in the greenhouses, not to mention the high humidity.

Needless to say in my hurry to get out of there I forgot a lot of stuff I wanted to get.  I thought we had three arches between the support posts on our porch so I only got enough to do three hanging baskets.  Guess what!  I need four!

So today it is cooler so we returned to the greenhouse.  I wanted to take pictures but forgot until we were leaving. This is the parting shot.

Got what I needed to finish the last hanging basket, cocoa mulch for some flower beds, and a few pepper plants. 

I put a dark red geranium in the center of the basket, very dark purple petunias and the ornamental sweet potato vines around the edge.  They should look really nice when everything starts to grow over the edges.  I have to laugh.  Both geraniums and petunias are stinky.  I sure didn't plant my baskets for fragrance!

Was going to post my recipe for corn chowder, but I think I'll save that for the next post.

Will close with a kitty picture.  Penny and Izzy sleeping on wicker.  Summer dreams.

 Thanks for stopping by!

Sprechen die Detsch?

No, you don't have to speak German to have a successful shopping experience at the PA Dutch Market in Hagerstown, MD.  The Amish and Mennonite people who provide the wonderful selection of edibles all speak perfectly good English.  And contrary to  popular rumor, they don't mind being photographed.

I have written about this smorgasbord of traditional PA German delights previously.  When I checked back through my blog, I realized that it been over two years ago so a revisit is in order.  I took my friend, Linda, who says she's never seen this kind of market before.

So let's start with the bakery.
Pies, breads, fancy pastries, cookies, brownies.  You name it, they have it.

One of my favorites is the bread, like raisin bread, with peaches instead of the raisins and either icing or crumb topping.  Makes yummy toast.

You can watch the Amish women working on the various pastries as you decide on which goodies to buy.  Oh, to have a kitchen like that for baking!

They have a beautiful selection of fresh meat.  I always bring a small cooler along to keep my purchases cold since it takes about an hour to get home.

They have a lovely produce section.  This is only a small part of the fruits and veggies being offered.  There is also a fresh salad bar so you can make your own salad to go.

The cheese cooler is filled with interesting cheeses from all over the world.  One of my favorites is a stilton with mango and ginger.  A perfect dessert cheese.  There are plenty of samples to make the decisions even more difficult.  Of course, you have to try several to be sure.

If you are still hungry after the cheese sampling, there is the barbeque counter.  The aroma is out-of-this-world.  At lunch time the line of customers seemed a mile long.  We intended to eat there, but didn't want to wait for half an hour for that delicious pulled pork.

There is also the deli counter with all kinds of pre-made foods for when you are too busy or tired to cook.  It's a good thing I don't live closer.

There is a bulk food section where you can buy flour, sugar, snack foods, canned pickles, jelly and spices.
And then there's the CHOCOLATE!  This is just a teeny little section of the wonderful handmade chocolates they have to offer.

Since the market was so crowded at lunch time, we decided to travel back toward Chambersburg and stop at the Trickling Spring Creamery for our lunch.  A friend had been telling me about their delicious pretzel sandwiches, so Linda and I just had to try them.


They have an extensive list of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments from which you choose to customize your own sandwich.  Then it's all put inside a buttery, salty sliced soft pretzel.

I had smoked turkey breast with lettuce, tomato, onion, and sweet pickles with a sweet onion dressing.  YUM!!!

Wish I had taken some pictures of the Trickling Springs store because they have lots of nice products.  It's one of the few places where they feature fresh milk, the kind with cream on top.

They have delicious ice cream made with milk from local farms.  But that's another trip.

So that's it for today.  Except for.....

No post is complete with out a kitty picture.

Here's Deiter.  In your face.

  I love waking up to this every morning!

Thanks for stopping by!