As the tomatoes,cucumbers, and corn roll in, do you start considering preserving foods for winter? Are you a "canner", or a "freezer"? Maybe you have your own garden, or you rely on local farms for produce. What do you look for in "bulk" for your preserving needs? Maybe you have little time in the summer to do any of this, and you rely on your markets on a week to week basis. Luckily our farmers have this in mind, in preparing for the upcoming colder months.
The online market will have fresh,canned, and frozen goodies, available for you year round. The advent of greenhouse growing, increased farm storage capacities, and the availability of inspected meat processing, for the small farmers of our community, has made it possible to get year round local foods, at the click of a button. It amazes me the opportunities that our community, AND our farmers have these days.

This week is Farmers' Market Appreciation Week, have you ever considered stopping by any of our farms? Or the farms served by Dover Cove Farmers' Market? You can get more info, by browsing our farmers' web pages, facebook pages, or by stopping in at the farmers market at 1041 South Street, on Saturdays from 9-1, and Tuesdays from 2-6. Touch base, and thank your local food producers!

Peter Piper isn't the only guy who loves pickled peppers, or any pickled vegetable for that matter! Try this simple brine for: peppers, cucumbers, turnips, radishes, green beans, cabbage,garlic, and garlic scapes. Just lightly blanch the vegetables, as it describes for the carrots, if substituting other veggies. You can even drop some boiled eggs in this brine, for some stellar pickled eggs!

Recipe: Refrigerator (or Quick) Carrot Pickles

1 pound baby carrots, trimmed and peeled

1 1/3 cup distilled vinegar

1 cup water

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoon dill seed

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer until the carrots are cooked, but with plenty of crunch left. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.

Feel free to adjust the sugar to taste. The acidity is about right in this recipe, but some cooks (and vegetables) may prefer a sweeter pickle.