MISC MARKET NOTES

Welcome Katherine’s Kitchen

As just one little person in a big community, I feel privileged to be joining a group like Market At Dothan. It’s a unique and sweet thing to see people working so hard for better nourishment and life in the Wiregrass area. I went ahead and talked about nourishment in my product description, but it also works as a summary of why I feel that we need to fill the bread-bakery vacuum in the Dothan area. 
“The ultimate staple food until only the last century or so, bread has rightly been used to symbolize life. However, it is because of the nutrition and easily-digestible properties of natural, whole wheat grain that our ancestors for thousands of years survived dark ages of wars, low technology and medicine, and hard labor. Modern wheat has been crossbred into dependence on pesticides, herbicides, and artificial fertilizers for its own survival, stripped of many of its nutrients, and loaded with gluten in a form that is difficult for the digestive system. For this reason, many gluten-sensitive shoppers or nourishment-minded bakers are turning back to the most ancient form of wheat in history: einkorn. Its genetic makeup is vastly simpler than that of other wheats, because it has never been crossbred. It has the lowest gluten, and, in our opinion, the richest and sweetest flavor. With the probiotics from sourdough (made using only wheat flour and the atmosphere of your local area), this bread could possibly be the healthiest food you could eat.” I hope we won’t stop asking ourselves, “What is one little step I can take to put more wholesome foods into my body?” Thank you for welcoming me! It’s so encouraging when a community builds community.

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New & Relisted

Includes items from previous week in case you missed that

New Whole Wheat Einkorn Sourdough Bread – K’s Kitchen Tallow Bath and Body Products from JBW Grass Fed Kidneys, Liver and Short Ribs from JBW Green Beans from Avalon Farms Yellow Squash from Avalon Farms Zephyr Squash from Avalon Farms Daikon Radishes from Avalon Farms Salad Turnips  from Avalon Farms Kinston Sweet Onions from Avalon Farms Red Potatoes from Avalon Farms _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JBW: Hello Everyone! Here at JBW Farm Fresh we are excited to have some of our selections of beef back up for sale. We have been busy working on some new body products made with our beef tallow! Tallow has a high percentage of oleic acid, a well-known skin conditioner. 
Tallow contains vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12, contributing to skin health and appearance. Given that the fat saturation of Tallow is close to human fat, the vitamins within it can be absorbed into the body easier, and it locks in moisture and nutrients without clogging your pores. This week we have added our Head-to-Toe / All Body Wash on the website for sale! It is a wonderful lathering, liquid wash that is so beneficial for your hair & body! Stay tuned for the rest of our upcoming Tallow body products! Have a blessed week :)

Mount Moriah Farms: Hey y’all! Thank you to everyone who purchased products from us at the Mother’s Day Event last weekend! We truly appreciate you choosing to support small businesses. We love making all of our products but couldn’t keep doing it without our loyal customers. We are currently milking five does and have five more does we will be breeding soon. Which happily means more kids in the fall! We choose to make goat’s milk soap because of the benefits to troubled skin. Goat’s milk has a PH level similar to ours so whenever there’s a deficiency it helps bring it back to the level it should be. If you have never tried some, we encourage you to! 

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

MISC MARKET NOTES

Misc Ordering Info

As you can see from the New & Relisted section below our grower’s gardens are starting to share their bounty! We hope you’ll take advantage of this.

Please know that many items get added/restocked/relisted without our knowledge! We share info like that as often as possible but with over 200 products there’s a lot of room to miss things!

Regardless we encourage you to order early for limited quantity items and check the Market page a day or two later before closing for anything else that may have been added.

In unrelated news – a new vendor has been added! We’re looking forward to seeing all the good things that come out of K’s Kitchen. She’s been perfecting her skill for some time. It may be next week before product listings show so keep an eye out for her baked goods.

Photo also unrelated. We just thought it was fun. _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New & Relisted

Green Beans from Avalon Farms Yellow Squash from Avalon Farms Zephyr Squash from Avalon Farms Daikon Radishes from Avalon Farms Salad Turnips  from Avalon Farms Kinston Sweet Onions from Avalon Farms Red Potatoes from Avalon Farms _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AVALON FARMS:
Seems like it’s been a long time coming, but the garden is finally producing well. Added several veggies this week. Will possibly have cucumbers next week.

Unfortunately the snap peas were lost to a failed refrigerator. 60 degrees is too warm. Actually it was apparently the perfect temperature for mold to flourish. SO SAD. I almost cried.

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

MISC MARKET NOTES

The Beet Goes On

M@D still has a good supply of tender young organic beets. Unlike the enormous ones earlier this year, these are smaller and easier to handle.

One cup of raw beets contains about the same amount of calories and carbohydrate as one serving of fruit. The carbohydrates in beets come from both naturally occurring sugar (9.2 grams per 1 cup serving) and dietary fiber (just under 4 grams per serving). Fiber helps to regulate blood sugars, increases feelings of fullness, and can help lower blood cholesterol. Other benefits are:

Fights Inflammation: Beets contain phytonutrients called betalains, which give them their reddish-purple hue and provide them with antioxidants. These compounds help to reduce inflammation in the body and fight cell damage.

Improves Endurance: A research analysis found that those who drank beet juice prior to exercise were able to exercise longer, showing increased cardiorespiratory endurance. This is because of how the nitrates in beets turn into nitric acid, a process that may reduce the oxygen cost of low-intensity exercise as well as enhance tolerance to high-intensity exercise.

Reduces Blood Pressure: Beetroot juice has also been shown to help lower blood pressure in people with hypertension. Again, it is the nitrates in beets that seem to be responsible for this beneficial effect.

Improves Cognitive Function: A study of older adults concluded that a diet high in nitrates may also help improve blood flow to the brain, which boosts cognitive health and functioning. Another study of people with type 2 diabetes, published in 2014, showed an increase in reaction time (an indicator of cognitive performance) in people who consumed beet juice.

Top: Beet Hummus Center: Roasted Root Vegetables Bottom: Vegan Beet Burger!?! You have to admit, it’s pretty! A good source for creative beet recipes is https://eatthis.com/beet-recipes/

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New & Relisted

Leeks from Avalon Farms Garlic Scapes from Avalon Farms Sweet Green Onions from Avalon Farms _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AVALON FARMS:

Things are moving along here, almost on schedule. Ha ha Planting. Weeding. Watering. Getting excited about first blooms and baby veggies. There’s also cleaning and organizing. This is the new improved hand tool storage. (Above) It only took half a day to drag all the bags, boxes, tools and assorted stuff accumulated over the last few years and sort it. Trash the busted things. (Why are we keeping this?) And suddenly we not only have a bigger better tool area, but also floor space. I can guarantee you it will not look this good come the end of Summer. (Oh. Just ignore the old election sign. I collect them after elections to make things.)

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NEXT SATURDAY!

SATURDAY MAY 13

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

MISC MARKET NOTES

We’re keeping the newsletter short and sweet this week as there’s so very much going on! Gardens are starting to produce, bees are still buzzing, and most days the weather is so nice there’s no reason not to have meals outdoors. Did you know it’s popular in Europe to eat outdoors? Especially in Scandinavian countries that have limited winter daylight. Good food, fresh air, and sunlight are a winning combination no matter what country you live in.

Images were selected because they’re practical for regular folks. The setting doesn’t have to be fancy and you can throw a bedsheet over any flat surface to dress it up. And who cares if chairs don’t match?

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last Week’s Best Sellers Sugar Snap Peas from Avalon Farms Asparagus from Avalon Farms M@D Organic Beets Chicken and Duck Eggs are always in demand! _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You saw it here first!

SATURDAY MAY 13

Dothan Nurseries graciously gave permission for us to publish their promo for Mother’s Day Open House first. Hope to see you there! Many of our M@D Vendors will be present along with great market friends.

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

MISC MARKET NOTES

In Pursuit of Moderation

Have you ever run across a phrase, an idea, a piece of music, book or article call to you then latch on once you answered the call? If you’ve lived long enough there’s a good chance you’ve had that experience. This writer has several times. Many years ago a book practically leaped off the shelf into my hands – in the end it helped shape the lives of my children and the generations that will follow. Another time a song by an artist I considered offensive gripped my heart and helped me get through a difficult few years. A side benefit is that now I occasionally enjoy that loud annoying music at the top of my lungs when nobody is listening.

I have no clue where what follows will take myself or anyone else, but it’s been so beautiful and encouraging that I hope you’ll be blessed as well. This is from 6 Powerful Lessons from Japan that Helped Me Heal My Health.

1. Find one or two contaminating habits to quit. You don’t have to overhaul your life – just figure out a couple of things you could give up that would improve your life.

2. Go on walks. The more you walk, the better you feel and the longer you live. Workouts are fine for focused improvements, but they don’t provide the mental, emotional or long term benefits of walking. One region of Japan was able to reverse their high stroke rate by incorporating walk routes.

3. Forget progress, focus on the immediate payoff. The immediate payoff when you do physical work or walk or move is that you FEEL GOOD.

4. Embrace convenience. I found this section on Bento Box (food) culture intriguing as it had to do with balancing beauty and nutrition with microwave convenience.

5. Go Outside. Every chance you get. If you need to sit and read, do it outside. If someone comes to visit, sit on the porch. “Spending time in nature has proven health benefits, such as strengthening your immune system, lower levels of mortality and illness, decreased anxiety, and increased self confidence. “

6. Choose moderation over perfection. While this article doesn’t go into depth, the author does advocate Harahachi-bunme which is a a long-standing Japanese saying that directly translates to “8/10ths your stomach”; meaning, you should only eat until you are 80% full.

If you wish to look deeper this Medium Digest article can be found with the link below.

https://kokumura.medium.com/6-powerful-lessons-from-japan-that-helped-me-heal-my-health-d604e00e14f7 _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New & Relisted Products Sugar Snap Peas from Avalon Farms Asparagus from Avalon Farms Multiple Limited Quantity items from Alabama Homestead M@D Comb Honey & Organic Beets _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Avalon Farms:

It’s that time of year, the farm calendar seems to compress and there’s more to do every day. We are getting ramped up for summer farmers market. Started the 2nd succession of assorted squash and cucumbers using my “staby” planter. These went into plastic covered beds due to weed pressure. Snacked on the very first Sugar Snap Peas. Delicious as always!

Potatoes are blooming. Some say that means the tators are sizing up. Oh, and the first baby tomatoes! Which are already on an 8 ft trellis. Yay us, because we frequently run behind on that trellising chore.

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Grocery Tax Update

Rather than continue to be a pest asking folks to contact their elected officials below is an email I recently sent one of our Representatives. Feel free to use it as a springboard for your own correspondence:

To:
anthony.daniels@alhouse.gov
Fri 4/21/2023 5:39 PM

Dear Sir,
As the manager of a very tiny organic farmer’s market in Dothan (marketatdothan.com if you care to look it up) I’m more than a little familiar with health from a nutritional standpoint.  Last year when my husband ran for Senate we agreed that should Alabama ever consider a grocery tax reduction that foods you can buy tax free RIGHT NOW from a state sanctioned farmer’s market should be tax free in a grocery store.
 
Norman lost the primary so nothing ever came of that idea, but it’s been encouraging to see strong support for a grocery tax reduction this legislative session.
 
Using WIC as a guideline is closer to the farmer’s market definition than SNAP which I know you favor.   Please consider the following:
 
1. Snap includes the unhealthy foods that has contributed to Alabama’s obesity problem.  Carbonated beverages, empty calorie foods like chips,  a multitude of foods containing high fructose corn syrup (a leading factor to high cholesterol but nobody wants to talk about Coke and Pepsi leading to strokes and heart attacks) . . . . I could go on but you get the idea.
2. Our state has been educating people to eat healthy as long as I can remember (I’m 65 if that tells you anything.)  IT HAS NOT WORKED.   Eliminating tax on healthy food would give people a financial incentive to choose a piece of fruit over a pack of cookies when they have a choice.  At least if they go for the cookies the tax could go toward Medicaid . . . which they could wind up needing.
3. Ideally incentivizing healthy food purchases could eventually lower overall health care cost in the state.
 
Thank you kindly for your time and attention.  And think about this the next time you go into a convenience store and watch what people set on the counter to purchase for their travels. 
 
Roslyn Horton
Newville, Alabama

Find your elected officials here: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us

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Don’t Forget . . .

SATURDAY MAY 13

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

MISC MARKET NOTES

Grocery Tax Update

It has been a couple of weeks since we notified our M@D family about the state grocery tax initiative and asked that you contact your elected officials. To recap that message, there is very strong support to use surplus funds to reduce grocery taxes in our state. This would be like EVERYONE getting a raise. M@D has long believed that consumers should not have to pay tax on foods they could purchase directly from a farmer tax free, at least if the farmer’s market is state sanctioned (which we’re not but that’s a different set of circumstances.)

There are currently two systems in place in our state’s grocery system that would be easy to modify for reducing/eliminating tax – SNAP and WIC. SNAP pretty much includes anything edible that can kill you over time – carbonated beverages, processed GMO foods . . . long list of nasty stuff that most M@D customers won’t touch.

WIC (“Women, Infants and Children”) on the other hand focuses on HEALTHY FOOD. We believe, and more people are figuring this out, that eliminating tax on healthy food can eventually increase overall health in our state. Which is why we asked that you contact your elected officials. They need to be encouraged 1) support grocery tax reduction/elimination and 2) limit untaxed food to WIC items. I would especially encourage you to reach out to House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) about this as he’s currently supporting SNAP.

Here is a recent update:

https://1819news.com/news/item/state-senate-pro-tem-greg-reed-grocery-tax-has-gone-from-we-may-not-ever-be-able-to-do-that-to-thats-on-the-top-of-the-list?utm_source=1819+Newsletter&utm_campaign=855f396b9f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_04_14_10_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-855f396b9f-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

And State House Contacts if you need them: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us

THANK YOU in advance for getting involved with this. Individual notes, emails, and calls DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE and who knows, yours might be the one that tips things in the right direction.

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Don’t Forget . . .

SATURDAY MAY 13

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

MISC MARKET NOTES

Weekly Ordering is Resumed

If April Showers bring May Flowers then this year’s approaching May should be glorious! We know of at least two events that were canceled today because of heavy rains. With tomorrow’s forecast looking to be dreary as well I am reminded that the first Easter was not marked by happy gatherings, spring events, bright colors or tons of candy. The times were perplexing and people wondered what would become of all the chaos going on around them. People were faced with hard realities and had to choose what to believe about what had happened and was taking place around them.

That sounds a little too familiar doesn’t it? The important questions haven’t changed and mankind is still faced with the same questions – Is Jesus who He said He was, and Did he indeed raise from the dead?

At it’s core Easter celebrates those answers. And we don’t need sunshine to appreciate what that means for mankind.

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New & Relisted Products Asparagus from Avalon Farms Multiple Limited Quantity items from Alabama Homestead Multiple Styles of SCRUBBIES from Casa Perdido (These are truly the nicest scrubby bags we’ve ever seen) Ranch Seasoning from Hortons Farm

Mark this on your calendar:

SATURDAY MAY 13

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Avalon Farms:

Asparagus has started popping up so there will be a few listed this week. With the cooler cloudy forecast for this next week, it will probably only be 3 bundles. Hey! They’re doing the best they can. Ha ha

Onions are starting to bulb. Sugar Snap Peas have put on their first blooms. Little tomato plants have a few blooms. Soon we’ll be overrun with tasty natural goodness.

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

MISC MARKET NOTES

Weekly Ordering is Resumed

Good Afternoon – and THANK YOU to everyone who participated in last week’s order cycle. We had a delightful day at the Market Shed. It’s always a joy to put the orders together and see everyone.

And we hope and pray the recent weather hissy fits have not caused any problems for our Market family. Systems like the ones we’ve seen recently are poignant reminders that we are at the mercy of powers far beyond our control.

Some exciting things are happening:

New & Relisted Products Multiple Limited Quantity items from Alabama Homestead Multiple Styles of SCRUBBIES from Casa Perdido (These are truly the nicest scrubby bags we’ve ever seen) Ranch Seasoning from Hortons Farm

Mark this on your calendar:

SATURDAY MAY 13

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Avalon Farms:

Spring is doing it’s thing at Avalon Farms. This past week we planted our first round of squash and cucumbers. Three kinds of yellow squash, 2 kinds of zucchini, some patty pans, and 3 kinds of cucumbers. Plus, zephyr squash, ‘cause they’re in a category of their own. So yummy!

We’ve got 3, maybe more, new veggies that will hopefully be available later this summer. Don’t want to spoil the surprise so you’ll have to wait to find out. (Assuming we don’t kill them.)

Speaking of killing things, if you didn’t hear about the great St Patrick’s Day plant massacre you can read about it on our website 

Avalon Farms.us.

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

MISC MARKET NOTES

Countdown to EASTER

Last week’s really cold snap was tough. Various reports have come in from the region about fruit blooms being damaged, tender crops having to be replanted, all kind of difficulty for folks who work the soil.

You wouldn’t know it today. It’s been a lovely spring day – the kind that makes you want to sit outside with a glass on lemonade and watch puppies, children and birdies play in the grass; the kind of day you hope Easter Sunday will be. The kind of day that makes you want to go to Dothan Nurseries and spend too much for beautiful plants to adorn your home the rest of the year and for years to come.

For several of your Market vendors it means our chickens have amped up production – just in time for healthy egg dishes, colored eggs, and thinking about new ways to enjoy this classic staple protein. No wonder it is used so many ways at Easter.

Who needs a centerpiece with eggs like this? Many of these started out brown or blue and the addition of dye created deep, rich colors.

We hope you’ll take advantage of the many unique products M@D offers for your observance. You can’t go wrong with any of the sweet treats, jams, jelly or honey on your table. And if you opt for a great chicken over pork, this is the right place!

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Starting this week we are resuming our standard WEEKLY ordering schedule _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This beautiful dish (and yes, you can tell eggs are on our mind today) is a FRITTATA, a very easy and versatile dish that can be used for any meal. https://carlsbadcravings.com/frittata, is the best instructional site we’ve run across and will give you plenty of great ideas to incorporate your favorite flavors. Enjoy!

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. Thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!