|
Summer days have me thinking about cherry pie
Growth Spurts
By Jim Jacenich
The warmer weather is coaxing people outdoors. The Monterey Lions Club Street Dance in Monterey made its annual return last weekend. One of the ever-popular features of the dance is the cake raffle. People buy tickets, proceeds to benefit the Lions Club and its many community building projects, and get a chance to win a home-baked cake.
Local farmers' markets are also places to congregate and celebrate. The Highland Center farmers' market pavilion is a reliable venue for producers, bakers, artists and craftspeople to display and sell their goods. The Lickety Splits porch in Millboro Springs turns into a foods bazaar Saturday mornings. The music shoppers hear is not piped in through a store sound system but is live and provided by local musicians.
As the summer growing season continues, fresh vegetables and fruits are being brought in from other parts of Virginia and the South. I stopped at a roadside vendor on U.S. 250 just north of The Homestead last weekend and bought some corn from South Carolina. The local corn isn't ready yet. The corn I bought was good, and is now gone. I can hardly wait for the local varieties to appear. Demand for fresh produce is greater than the supply here. The Highland Market was down one vegetable vendor last week. That guaranteed producer Lee Mitchell a sellout.
 | | Melissa Moyers joined the Highland Farmers Market last week with her baked goods. The Highland native, formally a Puffenbarger, is back in town after a sojourn in Waynesboro. (Recorder photo by James Jacenich) |
|
Bath Farmers' Market
Harmony Leonard, an organizer of the Bath farmers' market, reports the Web site for White Oak Farm in Renick, W.Va. was listed incorrectly last week. The Web site is www.whiteoakberryfarm.com. You can also call (304) 497-3577 for more information. White Oak is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and 4-9 p.m.; Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. "The blueberry bushes are loaded with lots of berries this year," according to White Oak.
The Bath farmers' market is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon until Oct. 11. It is under the porch at the Lickety Splits restaurant near the intersection of Routes 39 and 42 in Millboro Springs.
 | | New vendor Jo Parent of Sunflower Flats, Lexington, brought vegetables using organic principles to the Bath farmers' market under the Lickety Splits porch in Millboro Springs. (Photo courtesy Donna Campagna) |
|
National Farmers Market Week is Aug. 3-9. "We will have a special market on Aug. 9 to celebrate," says Leonard. "Please reserve the day to attend the first Market Millie Fest," she says. "This market will be a special craft market featuring high-quality handcrafts made by local artisans in addition to in-season produce. Live music will also fill the air with a beat that will cause your feet to tap."
Call (540) 997-0239 for more information. The Bath market Web site is www.bacofarmmkt.com.
Highland Farmers' Market
Farmers' market coordinator Scott Smith reports Mitchell may have eggs, cabbage, sugar peas and lettuce. Melissa Moyers is bringing breads, cinnamon and orange rolls, sticky buns, apple dumplings, key lime pies and possibly other desserts. She also had individual sized cheesecakes last week that fit my budget and appetite, not to mention diet.
Moyers is a hometown Highland girl from Blue Grass, a daughter of Dareld and Sue Puffenbarger. She married Brian Moyers and they are moving back to Highland from Waynesboro. She worked as a commercial baker in Staunton and is now looking to share her expertise here.
I am a fan of whole wheat bread - hard to find when so much of the bread at the market is made with white flour. Moyers has it, though. If you can't wait for the weekly market, call her at (540) 932-8977. She has a complete list of specialty breads, cheesecakes, pies, quiche, sweet breads and salads she can make for special orders. Call Melissa's Baked Goods at (540) 932-8977.
Leonard, Bath's market master, will make an appearance at Highland's market to sell herbal body products. She's associated with Chin Velasquez of Goshen, who specializes in homemade herbal concoctions. She does business under the name of Soothing Herbals. For more information on Velasquez and her products, represented by Leonard, visit soothingherbals.com or email info@soothingherbals.com or call (540) 460-2722.
Jennifer Cockerham (Marmalade Caterers at the Arbogast Inn in Monterey) is bellying up to the foods bar. "This week I will be focusing on the flavors of Greece," says Cockerham. "I will have fresh baked pita bread and olive flatbread, hummus, melintzanosalata (eggplant and yogurt spread), spanokopita (Greek spinach pie), couscous, moussaka (layered dish containing eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, lamb and béchamel sauce), almond macaroons, baklava (Greek pastry traditionally made with phyllo dough, honey and nuts), and custard tartlets."
If that's Greek to you, she also will have meatloaf, macaroni and cheese and coconut cake with a lemon center. If meat doesn't suit your taste, she'll also have a vegetarian meatloaf.
Still hungry?
Darlene Hoy (DJs Whiteway) will have a large assortment of breads, cakes, pies, cookies, and fudge.
The market is at The Highland Center on Spruce Street, Monterey, and is open from 3:30-6 p.m. every Friday this summer. For more information, e-mail farmersmarket@ htcnet.org or call (540) 468-1922.
On your way to the market, keep a lookout for the lemonade stand on Spruce Street operated by young Clayton Shell. He might also have cookies to go with it.
I was out walking my dog, Roxy, the other day when a neighbor presented me with a bag of cherries she picked in Highland County. She had plenty and was more than happy to share. I froze some of them and pitted the rest to make a pie.
Cockerham shared a cherry pie recipe with me. "Here is the recipe I was telling you about!" writes Cockerham. "I was telling Grandma (I call her Memaw) that I needed to find different recipes for both my mother and mother-in-law as they liked different things about a pie. She gave me this recipe and told me to forget about that, this was the only cherry pie recipe I would ever need."
Memaw's Cherry Pie
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
For the crust: 4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ tablespoons white sugar, 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 ¾ cups shortening, 1 egg beaten, ½ cup water.
Mix flour, shortening, sugars and salt in a medium bowl. Mix in shortening using a knife and mix 'til it is nice and crumbly. ("I use a pastry mixer usually for this step," says Cockerham. "My Grandma, however, wouldn't think of owning such a thing.) Mix egg and water 'til well combined and add to flour mixture. Chill for at least 30 minutes before using.
For the filling: 4 tbsp tapioca (the quick cooking kind), pinch of salt, 1 cup white sugar, 4 cups fresh cherries, pitted, ½ tsp almond extract, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 ½ tbsp butter, melted.
In a larger bowl combine all ingredients except for butter and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Making the pie: Roll out crust and line pie pan with half the dough, brush with butter. Pour filling into crust. Cut remaining dough into strips and weave to form lattice on top. Brush with remaining butter. Place on foil lined cookie sheet and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden in color. Enjoy!
|
)
)