Time for Wine...At the Ballston Mega Market!
NEW to the Ballston BID's Mega Market tomorrow and the first Thursday in October is a Wine Garden where we will be offering complimentary wine tasting and glasses/bottles for purchase. Come out to enjoy the beautiful weather and flavorful wines outside at Welburn Square tomorrow from 3-7pm.
While enjoying your wine and shopping for some fresh food & unique art you will be able to enjoy live music from Jumpin' Jupiter, who will again be joined by Rodney Henry, "the Pieman" runner-up of the Food Network's hit show Next Food Network Star!
This month we welcome Will Artley, Executive Chef at Pizzeria Orso as our celebrity chef who will be preparing free samples of Herbed Goat Cheese and Citrus "Fondue". Most recently Artley was the Executive Chef at Evening Star Caf�, a popular Alexandria neighborhood restaurant where his menus reflected his passion for refined American comfort food. While at Evening Star, Artley was nominated by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington for their "Rising Culinary Star of the Year" award.
Artists booths include: Soffy Artisan Jewelry, Sendy Gift Shop, Kalise Art, Laurie Elyse Design, Jules Jewels Jewelry, Pet Tag Creations, & Soria's Closet. As well as vendor booths from AFAC & new Ballston Tenant, INOVA Health.
We hope everyone has satisfied their peach fix in for the summer because they won't be around much longer! Come and get them while they are still around and try that peach pie recipe you've always wanted to make. Last week was also the final week for blackberries, but we should have raspberries for a few weeks if the weather cooperates. You may have also seen another exciting berry at Mickley's Farm and Orchard last week; strawberries are back!
Greens are on their way to market! Most greens, like lettuce, kale, chard and arugula are cool-season crops. Which, as their name implies, means they grow best when the weather is cooler. Cool season crops often have two seasons, in the early spring after the last frost and in the early fall. You should expect to see collards and kale at the market this week!
Lattice-topped Peach Pie (Adapted by Juliet Glass, FRESHFARM Markets)
Two disks flaky pie crust
2-3/4 lb. ripe but firm peaches (about 8 medium)
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar), plus more to dusting on crust
Pinch table salt
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 beaten egg
Peel the peaches. Halve each peach, remove the pit, and slice each half into quarters. Put the peaches in a large bowl and gently combine lemon juice, sugar and salt. Let peaches sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours. Transfer peaches to a colander suspended over a medium sauce pan to collect the juices; you should have almost 1 cup of liquid (if the peaches sat for several hours, you'll have 1 to 1-1/2 cups liquid). Pour the juices into a small, nonstick saucepan set over medium heat. Boil down the liquid until it's syrupy, about 10 minutes, reducing in half. Set aside to cool for 1 or 2 minutes. Transfer peaches to a bowl with the cornstarch, the reduced peach juices, tossing gently.
Meanwhile, roll out your pie crust, and if doing a lattice top, cut one rolled out curst into strips (1/2 inch thick works for me). Place other crust into a 9 inch metal (not glass or ceramic) pie tin. Cover prepared crusts and keep in fridge, when not working with it. Put the peaches in a repaired tart shell, dot with cubed butter, and put either a second crust on top, or weave a lattice top. Crimp the edges, brush the top (but not the crimped edge) with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with sugar. Place in a freezer for 30 minutes. This will let the butter freeze up and make a flakier crust. It will also help prevent the crimping of melting off. As soon as you put the pie in the freezer, pre-heat your oven to 375 and put a cookie sheet on the lowest rack. Once the oven has been preheating for 30 minutes and the pie is done resting in the freezer, put in the oven and bake 50 minutes to an hour, until the top is bubbling and the crust is golden.