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Best 5 items at Hollister Farm Stand, Hartford, CT

Hollister Farm truck fruit produce greenhouses North Granby Connecticut at the Hartford Farmers Market

August 7, 2018

Hollister Farm is actually in North Grandy, CT, but I tend to visit their mobile farm stand at the Old State House Farmers’ Market in downtown Hartford. It’s the oldest farmers’ market in Connecticut, est. 1643.

On Fridays, the Hollister farm stand usually has a great spot right next to the band that plays in front of the old stockade. A legit stockade.

I have personally enjoyed my #1 pick from Hollister’s for several years. Really, one of my finds from this farm stand has lived for two years on my window sill. How old is your oldest farm stand find? If you know, leave the answer in a comment.

#5
Yellow plums

Yellow plums from the Hollister's farm stand at the Hartford Farmer's Market

If you follow my posts, you already know how exciting it is to find fruits and veggies in surprising colors. Purple plums are great. I have nothing against them. My great-grandparents had a purple plum tree. There’s just something special about discovering something so ordinary in an extraordinary color.

#4
Tomatoes with timing

Holl colorful tomatoes

Just in case you aren’t going to eat all of your tomatoes today, Hollister’s offers tomatoes that are still ripening. SO thoughtful. Buy a standard red, ripe tomato and a semi-ripe marbled one for later in the week. In a sunny spot, green tomatoes would ripen to red over time. If you bring some home and decide you can’t wait that long? Fry them up!

#3
Tumbling eggplants

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I love how these eggplants just tumble out of this basket. It’s like they’ve leaped on stage for their big debut and are screaming, “Look at me! Take me home.” If you weren’t going to peel them, you’d have to pick through them a bit to find one with perfect skin. Your ancestors would all think that was funny, by the way. As if fruits and veggies were supposed to all look like a perfectly painted picture. Reconnect with your roots.

#2
Summer sweet corn

Holl corn

I once had a French roommate who had never eaten corn on a cob. Corn, yes, but never just thrown into a pot and boiled right on the cob. It’s such a farm stand staple in the States. Corn on the cob is one of the first items I remember buying from farm stands when I was a small child. The kernels actually burst with sweetness. These did. Delicious!

#1
Potted plants (featuring my favorite, aloe vera)

You don’t have to go to the big box store to find seedlings for the garden or houseplants for the window sill. In fact, when bugs, pets or kids take out one of my garden plants mid-season, I am known to visit this stand and replace it. The rosemary and basil in this photo went right into one of my raised beds.

I love aloe. My personal aloe plant came from the Hollister farm stand and has been living happily on my window sill ever since. Outdoors in warm weather; indoors in cold weather. It barely needs any water. Aloe vera plants are champions. Plus, succulent collections are trendy right now.

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Fancy’s Farm Stand, Orleans, MA

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Best 5 items at Roses Berry Farm Stand, Hartford, CT

August 24, 2018

Sometimes I write about favorites. And please, do let me know in the comments what your favorite farm stands are! Rose’s Berry Farm Stand is my current favorite.

If you know of Rose’s, you might be confused as to why a farm that is in South Glastonbury, CT, is listed here as Hartford. I go to their stand on Fridays at the Old State House Farmer’s Market.

What makes Rose’s Berry Farm Stand my current favorite?

#1 – variety, #2 – kind people #3 – freshness (OH! a bonus top 3 inside this farmstand5)

#5
Dinosaur kale (aka Lacinato kale)

rb-dino-kale

My little boy asked me recently what was the best vegetable for you. I told him the darkest, greenest vegetables are the best. Dino kale might fit that bill. The second reason it’s my #5 pick is that it is the toughest, thickest kale for making baked kale chips at home.

#4
Colorful raspberries

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It would be hard to feature a berry farm and choose their berries for a top picks list! What I liked so much about these raspberries is that you could buy them in a rainbow. My kids usually have fruit with breakfast. We like to make a rainbow design—it’s fun for them to eat-by-the-bow and after the dark-green stuff, the most colorful fruits and veggies are great for your body.

#3
Collard Greens

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There are few things I like more than stewed collard greens. Hey, I’m not the only one. Right before I bought a couple of bunches of these fresh, strong collards, the lady before me bought the entire display, and the farmer had to go to his truck to find me more. It’s a good sign when such a healthy veggie sells out fast!

#2
Rainbow carrots

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Talk about eating your rainbow. Cue the rainbow carrots. Rose’s Berry Farm does a great job of growing long, straight colorful carrots. If you aren’t too familiar with the purple, pink, white or yellow versions of your favorite orange veggie, you should try them because they are fun and look so pretty in soups, salads and baked dishes. But—and you can disagree in the comments—if I’m totally honest, I think the orange carrots still have the strongest, best flavor.

#1
Ground cherries (in Latin: Physalis pruinose)

rb-ground-cherries

Ground cherries are my #1 pick because they represent one big reason to shop farm stands. Treasure hunting! It was exciting to find these little golden, berry-like relatives of tomatillos. You can peel back the delicate husk and eat them like grapes. Make a salsa, add them to salads (fruit or veggie-based salads). Basically, anything you can do with a tomato, grape, or berry, you can do with a ground cherry. More bang for your buck!

Did you see this one?…

Fancy’s Farm Stand, Orleans, MA

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Best 5 items at Longnook Meadows Farm Stand, Truro, MA

July 28, 2018

On the last day of our summer vacation, we followed a small sign off Route 6 that lead us to the Longnook Farm Stand.

 

#5
Fresh basil

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You know the basil is fresh if it hasn’t started oxidizing (aka turning black). The leaves on this basil were perfect. It had been picked with care.

Bonus tip: to help keep your basil looking green longer, coat the leaves in oil, stack them, roll them up and slice with a sharp knife.

 

#4
Coffee

coffee v.2

Wait, they didn’t grow this coffee. I know, but it’s still a good idea. When I first saw this coffee for resale at this neighborhood stand, I shrugged off including it in a farmstand5. But then I started to warm up to the idea. farmstand5 is about showcasing variety. The family who runs the farm found something they liked it so much, they offered it to their customers. That resonates.

 

#3
Red leaf lettuce

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I keep coming back and staring at this photo. Just a simple head of lettuce leaves trimmed in beautiful purple hues. Makes me want salad with dinner!

 

#2
Thai garlic

longnookgarlic

Some extra effort came into play to bring this garlic to the farm stand. It had to be harvested and cured before it was ready to be placed in its basket for sale. Thai garlic is special. It gives your dishes a spicy kick.

 

#1
Native honey

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Talk about special, this farm stand offered self-branded local honey. As our vacation comes to an end, I love the idea of bringing home a little bit of Cape Cod. It will bring back happy memories every time we open the jar.

 

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Rose’s Berry Farm Stand, Hartford, CT

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Best 5 items at Fancy’s Farm Stand, Orleans, MA

July 23, 2018

The family’s vacationing on Cape Cod this week. Like every year, we don’t really vacation in moderation. My husband, kids and I joined 20 extended family members here. At least we don’t all try to squeeze into the same 3 BR, 1 BA house anymore.

With a little extra family time on our hands, my sister helped me put together this #farmstand5 for Fancy’s Farm Stand in Orleans, Massachusetts.

#5
Heirloom tomatoes

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These vine-picked tomatoes are enormous, full of flavor and naturally bright color. Our #5 pick is in honor of my five-year old who just announced to everyone that she eats tomatoes now.

 

#4
Beach Plum jam

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Hugely popular on Cape Cod where small, purple beach plums mature slowly on bushes around ponds and sand dunes. I normally don’t eat carbs for breakfast, but beach plum jam on my homemade beer bread is pure, edible comfort.

 

#3
Cantaloupe melons

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I think I would have put these at #4, but my sister’s vote moved them up a spot to #3. Our kids like to color the skin with non-toxic markers. When it is cut up like a watermelon, they have a lot of fun choosing the piece they’re going to eat based on the artwork.

 

#2
Pluots

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Excuse me, did you just make that up? Nope, this enticing offspring of plums + apricots is a must-try sweet summer fruit.

 

#1
Sunflowers

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These medium-sized sunflowers are so perfect; they look like they might just last forever. Picked at exactly the right time, the stems are strong and straight. The leafy foliage is deep green and would be worthy of a vase of its own.

 

18-0723 - FancysFarmsign v.2

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Longnook Meadows Farm Stand

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