This Week at Smart Markets Lorton Farmers' Market

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Come one! Come all! Our demo chef Annie Sidley will make her last appearance for the season with us this week. Don’t miss this cooking class in which she will celebrate the bounty of the fall market with recipes for family and friends. The class will begin at 3:30 p.m.

We owe a sincere thank you to all of our shoppers who rose to the occasion and jumped in to help us out last week. That was probably the worst storm we have ever encountered at a market at any time of year. The wind came up so fast we had no time to prepare for it, and before we knew it the rain was also on top of us. We lost some tents and some product, but everyone managed to maintain their good humor throughout. Everyone helped everyone else, and no one was injured—that was the good news.

In addition to all cuts of beef and lamb, Mike Burner at Holly Brook Farm now has pork sausages, bacon, summer sausage, and goat. Few markets in this area offer locally raised goat, so please pass the word to those friends who will be thrilled to know this. Mike and Winfield Farm will soon have lots of great beef roasts and pork and lamb cuts for slow-braising in the oven or in a crock pot along with the vegetables, herbs, and spices of a wide variety of cuisines. Over the next few weeks I will provide guidelines and recipes for making those soups and stews that remind us of home, wherever it was before and is now.

Mike Burner brings grass-fed, grass-finished beef, which means that the cattle have only grazed on natural grass in the field. The beef at Winfield Farm is grass-fed but grain- and corn-finished, which means that the beef will have more marbling and more fat. These cattle eat only what they want to eat; they are not force-fed corn in feed lots. The grains and corn are provided in the field where the cattle can eat as much as they want. Even with the corn added to their diet, these cattle have much less fat than commercially raised and processed prime and choice cuts.

Chester will have several pear varieties this week, including brown and yellow Asian Pears. He will also bring Fuji apples to add another variety to the growing supply. He will have peaches and nectarines for a few more weeks, but he will transition to more apples and pears as we move into autumn. Ignacio is also transitioning to cooler weather crops, even while he is still picking the summer crops. Watch for more greens and root vegetables, and soon broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage.

Janie Hakim at Sweet Nuna was having a great day last week before the rains came, and she is looking forward to becoming a permanent member of your market. Kylie should be bringing her candies soon—it has finally gotten cool enough to transport and display them. I’m waiting for the Buckeyes myself. Maria may have fig Whim Pops this week—one of our vendors at our Oakton market brought her figs last Saturday. And Flor is thinking about making churros on site if we can get her plugged into the electricity. Ask your favorite vendors about their plans and let them know what you like and what you’d like to try. Where else can you have such influence over the selection you see before you each week?

Check our Facebook page for menu updates from individual vendors and to see pictures that Kylie took last week of the aftermath of the storm.

See you at the market!

From the Market Master

If someone has something to say about a subject dear to my sensibilities, and probably yours, I am happy to refer you to that other source of wisdom rather than try to pick and choose what I think is important for you to know. Read this revealing firsthand account by Joel Salatin of a meeting that took place in Virginia about farm policy in the state. I figure anything he takes away from any learning experience is well worth knowing. The fact is that what he heard in that meeting is something I have never considered and frankly do not really agree with either. Read and draw your own conclusions.