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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Mealor Family Farms- It's All About the Berries, Baby!

Since my family is once again participating the Decatur Organic Farmer's Market- my Dad and brother have an organic farm where they're growing hundreds of tomatoes, leeks, garlic, squash and more...and I'm once again spending tons of time creating prepared foods!  It's a good thing I love baking!
So, I thought I'd better start including our doins' and goings on with the market here on my blog or it might be a reaaaallly long time before you hear from me again!.  There is simply no way to take that much time out of painting and continue to be able producing art at a regular pace!   It's ok though- this is really important to me too:)
So, anywhoo- what *I've* been doing for the market......Bill and I pretty much grow veggies and herbs for our own personal use, and since Ben and my Dad pretty much produce mainly veggies, what *I* do is buy fresh local organic seasonal fruits and transform them into tarts, preserves, mini cheesecakesglazed with said preservesand compotes
Last fall, they were very popular, and I was CRAZY busy with it- we generally could sell as much as I could produce which is a good thing, but does tend to add chaos to an already busy life.....because I had a show coming up, and the growing season was pretty much over, we decided to take the winter off.  But now that it's spring, here we are again!
Right now strawberries are in season, so that's what I'm working with.........
   Carmelized Strawberry Preserves, Peppered Balsamic Strawberry preserves, Fresh Strawberry Tarts, Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts and Mini-Cheesecakes glazed with- you guessed it strawberry preserves!  I feel a little like Bubba-Gump's shrimp factory from Forest Gump...anyone besides me remember that movie?

Oh and lest anyone think I'm not painting at all, here's a WIP of my new painting with my muse who decided to pose with said painting!  I actually took this picture on Monday- now I'm almost done and hopefully I'll have time to finish today and post final images tomorrow.....lord willin' and the creeks don't rise as they say around here ;D
cheers,
Stephanie

7 comments:

Charlie said...

You will have to post some of the recipes. Here I am again jealous of your garden and now your farm! lol! You lucky girl. All the fresh veggies must be wonderful. I grew up on a farm and remember my dad's corn fields. My favorite part of summer was harvesting the corn. Then mom and I would cut and cook and freeze it. We had a small farm and grew veggies only for ourselves.
Fun, fun, fun,

Jaime Haney said...

Hi Stephanie, are those current pictures of the tomatoes??? If so, I am totally jealous. I just planted mine on Mother's Day and they have a long time before I'll see maters. Your treats sound delictable! Strawberries are in season here too in southern Indiana. You are a busy woman! Me too, and about the 1st of July life will get even more hectic cause the beans will come in... canning canning canning... it seems it never ends! you'll have to share with me... what is a compote? is that a fancy name for relish? ha ha

artangel said...

Ooh recipes made with fresh, seasonal food - I'm sure you'll sell out! From your photos your produce looks amazing - wow, those strawberries!!

Glad to see you're finding time for a little painting too - your new one looks lovely and that cat is very realistic (just joking!)x

Journal Swag said...

BEAUTIFUL produce! I love the organic part too!

Hugs,
Sheila

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I love the idea of organic veggies. That's why I grow my own. That way I know exactly what goes into my body. The peppered balsamic preserves sound wonderful, but I would substitute strawberries for blueberries or gooseberries. I am not a fan of gooseberries, but I really think they would go well with the other ingredients.

If those are your tomatoes (or your farm's), I want to move there. Some of my plants are less than 2" tall. I might have tomatoes by October (grin). BTW, I hope to see your latest flower painting soon. Sounds like you are really, really busy too.

Robin Norgren, M.A, R-YT, Spiritual Director said...

what a lovely way to connect with your family and your community.

Priti Lisa said...

Yum! I really wish you were closer, your recipes sound absolutly yummy. I don't know how you do it all...you are amazing!