This Week at the Smart Markets Oakton Farmers' Market

This Week at our Oakton Market
Saturday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Hosted by Unity Church of Fairfax
2854 Hunter Mill Rd.
Oakton, VA 22124
Map

Thanks to all who ventured out in gale-force winds to shop last Saturday -- it did improve throughout the market, but we went with no tents for the first time all winter. And most of the vendors had a pretty good day for a winter market. It looks as if this weekend will be cold and breezy again but not quite so bad, so we’ll be there for you once again.

Kylie will have her regular cake pop flavors plus Heath Bar, Neapolitan, lemon cake and PB&J in addition to an array of bonbons and homemade mini-marshmallows. She will also have hot caramel apple cider!

Heritage Farm will have more of the lamb and pork that Nevin had on display last week. And they will have plenty of milk this week.

Tyson Farms is still picking greens, and the Cameo and Golden Delicious apples are still wonderful.

At the Valley View tent, think croissants for a breakfast treat -- the best of any bakery we have ever had at our markets. And their cinnamon bread makes the best French toast I have ever served.

Uncle Fred’s BBQ will be there this week -- come early for the ribs and brisket.

And you know Doug of Angelic Beef will have several cuts of beef on special. The meat loaf I made with his ground beef last week was even tastier with the mushroom sauce made with homemade stock from his soup bones.

We will have new recipes at the Smart Markets tent if the weather permits. What’s not to love having in your kitchen this weekend?

From the Market Master

Dear Shopper,

I saw something in The Washington Post last Sunday that gave me pause and hope for the future of the small food-business entrepreneur.

On Small Business is a weekly blurb written by J.D. Harrison for the Post business section that last week asked a panel of young entrepreneurs where they expect to see a leap in start-ups and additional competition this year. Erik Koester, founder of Zaarley, a web-based services company, included the following in his response: “The food industry is a huge slice (forgive the pun) of consumer spending. Today’s customers are becoming more conscious about what they eat, where they eat it, and how they themselves prepare it.”

This says something about you as much as it predicts a business trend. I see it at the markets every week and in the emails I see each day. And it is good to see that so many people are curious about how to eat healthier. That’s always an amazing thing for me to put into print or say, because I have always thought of eating as what we do to stay alive and be healthy, along with getting enough sleep and exercise. How simple is that?

We have been enticed away from that simplicity by all sorts of sirens promising us convenience, manufactured sleep, no-pain workouts and supplements instead of food. Recent research is finally reminding us that nothing beats the natural and age-old preventive techniques: food, sleep, and activity.

I have always viewed education as part of the Smart Markets mission along with recruiting and nurturing small food entrepreneurs. The education is directed at you, the shopper; the nurturing is for those home cooks who have love, talent, and skills to share that can help educated shoppers enjoy healthy, unadulterated food when they cannot cook themselves.

But it certainly seems that the answer to most of our ills goes back to cooking at home. I’m working hard this winter to secure the services of Annie Sidley and others who will be available to offer free nutrition advice and classes about cooking, home canning, and food preservation. Plan to spend some time at the market starting in April learning for free what others charge a small fortune to share.

We want you to become more conscientious about what you eat (locally grown, additive-free food) and where (your own home), and we are here to teach you how to take all that great produce, meats, eggs, and dairy and prepare simple, healthy meals for your family or just yourself. In the dead of winter, think asparagus, early greens, and strawberries. The seeds and plants are going into greenhouse soils even as I write.

See you at the market!