news from the memphis farmers market

at the memphis farmers market this weekend: sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, different varieties of peas & beans, and lots of tomatoes. also: locally made ice cream by chef stephen hassinger, west wind farms' eggs, poultry, pork, and beef, food demoes by felicia suzanne's felicia willett, good dog rescue, and more.

meet leah chase of dooky chase's

there's a great article on leah chase, of famed new orleans joint dooky chase's in the current issue of
stop smiling, a chicago-based magazine. in the same issue: interviews with new orleans mayor ray nagin and john t. edge.

get out of the heat

and get into the luxury-appointed, airconditioned kitchen at the viking cooking school in east memphis. kid and teen summer camps are next week, plus grilling classes, cake decorating, pasta workshops, and more. (click here for the july class schedule.) pair your newfound cooking skills with the just-picked fare available at the memphis farmers market, and you'll be unstoppable!

from across the water...

there are some great articles on food/green tourism in the U.K. right now: go here to read about eco-friendly hotels in the observer (don't miss stories about conservation efforts in jordan, eco-friendly rock festivals, and extra-healthy spas while you're there), and go here to read about the great food ride in the telegraph.

the herb is the word!

I'm growing basil, lemon balm, mint, oregano, sage, tarragon, and thyme in my garden this year - and I'm already salivating thinking about what I'm gonna plant next year, thanks to the books I've gotten recently: hints & pinches: a concise compendium of herbs, spices, and aromatics with illustrative recipes and asides on relishes, chutneys, and other such concerns, by the indomitable eugene walter, and the encyclopedic herbalist in the kitchen, written by gary allen and recently released by the university of illinois press. next on my list: a visit to possum creek herb farm, located in soddy daisy, tennessee, clear on the other end of the state!

pick your own produce

now that summer is finally here, many memphis epicures have begun thinking about picking blackberries, blueberries, and peaches at places like jones’ orchard, up in millington, tennessee, or the north mississippi-based nesbit blueberry plantation, operated by george and pat traicoff.

however, the surprise cold spell that the region endured earlier this year has killed all hopes of local fruit and berry crops.

“the farm is actually not opening this year, because we don’t have any fruit,” pat traicoff told me. “over the years, we’ve had incidents that took a certain pecentage of the crop, but this is the first time in history that we’re closed.”

“we’re selling some berries from south alabama, and peaches from south georgia, but we’re not offering any picking this year either,” reports juanita jones of jones’ orchard. “we do have a few blackberry plants that survived, but we’re picking those ourselves. at the orchard, we’re growing vegetables this year – homegrown cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, squash, and peas that could be planted after the frost.”

most of the blueberries and blackberries offered at schnuck’s, kroger’s, and the local easy way produce stores hail from mexico and california, although strawberries from mississippi and louisiana are often available. buy as fresh as possible – and from as close to home as possible – and store your berries, unwashed, in the refrigerator until use.

got a real hankering to get out in the field? go here to see who's got what growing in west tennessee right now. or go here to learn about north mississippi crops.

ripley tomato festival this weekend

I've been eating my cherry tomatoes for a week - and my big boys are just beginning to ripen. but this weekend, I'll have to abandon my home garden for a trip north to the ripley tomato festival. can't wait to see what heirloom varieties the local farmers are gonna show off! also, on the other side of the state, the grainger county tomato festival, scheduled for the last weekend of this month.