Hi there
Week 8 is here and so are the peaches!
With the heat and long sunny days of July finally in full-swing, it's time for a real treat-- fresh, Ohio peaches. As many of you know, we didn't have a crop last year due to the long hard winter previously. When the temperature drops well-below freezing for a sustained amount of time (remember those -15 degree days on end?), stone fruit trees lose their ability to produce fruit. At the time, we didn't know if it was just going to be for one season's crop (still, as you can imagine, a huge loss for our fruit farmers) or more than that. But the fruit is in our hands and it's delicious-- fresh peaches in everyone's bags this week!
Quick note about these peaches-- they are what's called "Cling Peaches," as opposed to Freestone. This means that the flesh of the fruit clings to the pit, which is why my other term for them is Paper Towel Peaches. They make a mess, but they're delicious. And yes we will have extras for sale. We also will (very likely) have extra apricots for sale at the trucks this week, too.
Stone fruits ripen quicker on your counter top, so if you're planning on eating them within a few days, good to keep them out in hand's reach. Otherwise, if you store them in the fridge, the ripening process will slow and they'll keep much longer. Bring to room temp before eating as a snack, but cold peaches can be good used in baking.
Also, thanks to all of you who came out to support us at the Taste of Tremont! It was a blast-- at the very end of the event we had sold out of 1800 ears of corn, 40 gallons of slaw and a whole lot of beans and greens. Not to mention the 3 whole roasted hogs. It was a feast, and we can't wait till next year!
Here are some reminders and details about the program that are good to highlight:
Our classes tend to sell out, so sign up early!
One thing we really pride ourselves on at Fresh Fork Market is our education component-- we hold a bunch of different classes all year long on everything from Butchering to Raw Foods. And you guys love coming-- most of our classes sell out relatively quickly.
If a class comes up (like next week's Vegan and Raw Foods Basics on the 27th!) sign up quickly so we know how many people to expect and to make sure you get a seat!
If you have an allergy or food restriction, please let your Greeter know when you pick up.
When you get this lovingly typed up Newsletter every Tuesday, you get to hear stories about the farms, info about our new products, descriptions of events and most importantly-- this week's bag contents. If you notice something on that list that you have an allergy or a restriction against, do not despair. We're here for you: just let your Greeter know and we'll offer you a substitution.
And yes, we do have your allergy information on file if you put it in our system, but it is much faster (and more reliable) if you simply inform your Greeter that you have an allergy or a food restriction when you pick up your bag. It's not immediately visible on your home screen on our fancy handhelds, so it's safer and faster for everyone if you just let us know you don't eat pork or are allergic to onions.
However, this does not mean you get to swap out something just because you don't like it. You may never have tried beets that taste this good before, so don't judge a veggie before you try these ones! We also try to provide you with enough recipes and ideas to prepare everything in your bag each week (look through our website for more ideas), and we hope you learn some new go-to tricks for all these delicious, locally grown veggies.
Better than cage free: our chickens are pasture-raised.
For those meat-eaters out there, this is a special week: time for a whole chicken.
Our chickens live their whole lives outside in little mobile home units we call Chicken Tractors. They are moved to fresh pasture daily so they can pick and hunt for their own food as well as are additionally fed only non-GMO grains and are never given hormones or antibiotics. Read more about our chickens and they're raised in our Countdown to Summer Series: 8 Weeks to Grow Out a Chicken! 
