Downtown Cary Farmers Market

Community Health Day

Cary’s brand new Maximized Living Health Center will be doing Free Health Check ups and Computerized Nerve Scans for the public on Saturday July 24th from 8am until 12 noon. A doctor and a nurse will be doing the NASA developed testing for all ages at no charge as part of a community outreach on behalf of Downtown Cary Farmers Market. Find out more at their link http://www.maximizedliving.com/

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TerraSoul Farm – new produce vendor appears at Market

Clark and Jessica of TerraSoul Farm are featuring yellow pear tomatoes and golden chard, sustainably grown locally, without pesticides. They’ll be bringing in more vegetables as the season progresses, so look for them to be here regularly.

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Salem Gardens

Michele at Salem Gardens also has sometimes hard to find flat leaf parsley, as well as Thai and Genovese Italian Basil. As Michele will not be here next weekend, get all this today!

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Rogers Cattle Company at Market on Saturday

• Premium Angus Beef

• No added hormones or antibiotics

• Grass Fed, Grain Finished for Superior Quality and Flavor

We will be at the Cary Downtown Farmers Market on Saturday with a variety of Angus beef cuts including steaks, hamburger patties, stew beef, short ribs and soup bones.  Our specialty packs are available (see below for details).  We are also taking orders for quarters and halves of beef that will be ready for delivery in a couple of weeks.   Please send any special requests to rccbeef@gmail.com

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Cary Scavenger Hunt today Celebrating Koka Booth Anniversary along with Cary Citizen

The Cary Scavenger Hunt is a celebration of 10 seasons of world-class entertainment at Koka Booth Amphitheatre. Awesome prizes include 10 VIP tickets to the REO Speedwagon/Pat Benatar show or a Private Party Tent for 20 at “Movies by Moonlight.”

Participants will all gather at Booth Amphitheatre at 9 AM on Saturday, July 24. Teams will receive their clue packets and have until 3 PM to solve the clues and get back to the starting point.

10% of the proceeds from the Cary Scavenger Hunt will be donated to the Cary Community Foundation to fund cultural arts programs in Cary.

Get more info at Cary Citizen, our online news service, at this link: http://www.carycitizen.com/cary-scavenger-hunt/

It’s Tuesday, come to Market

Remember, produce, eggs and honey are available Tuesday afternoons from 3-6pm at the Market. We are one of the few local markets who do have a second market day, so take advantage of this!

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Conrad Farms now at Market

We have a new vendor of Flowers, locally-made honey and coming soon, late summer fruits. The Conrad Farms folks had wonderful blackberries and now have blueberries, and will have more as the season progresses.

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Westwood Back Porch String Band back this Saturday – enjoy lively bluegrass

The Back Porch folks will return this Saturday, so if you missed them last week, this is your chance to enjoy some foot-tapping music. Look at our Musicians page to read their story, see all the places they’ve performed, starting at the Westwood Baptist Church, where they are members. Instead of paying them a fee, we’ve made a donation to their community fund. If there are any other groups in the community who would like to perform at the market, give us a call – it adds so much festivity to the market.

Tomatoes are one of the few fruits – or veggies – that reallllly love this hot weather. Or that mostly love this hot weather. If they don’t self-saute in the fields. Which means that this is the time to whip out the pans and the freezer containers and preserve some of that summer freshness and rich flavor for the rest of the year. So don’t be shy – buy a few more than what will take you through a week’s worth of tomato sandwiches and make a little sauce. By the end of the summer, you’ll have enough of the best to last until tomato season 2011.

One hint about skinning tomatoes if boiling up water feels like too much heat, energy and trouble; cut them in half and grate them into a bowl . It takes only a few seconds and reduces the steps of skinning and pureeing into one easy one.

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Piedmont Pottery is back Today

The folks at Piedmont Pottery are back in the market today, with everything from bowls and vases to garden plaques and ceramic jewelry. Check them out, and check our Calendar page to see when they’ll return.

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Westwood Back Porch String Band plays Today

The Westwood Back Porch String Band is back and they really play up a storm. Very fine music and lots of fun to watch. They’ll be here next Saturday as well, and they’re free to watch – although I’m sure they love donations, too!

Blueberry Pie Right Here

Here is Barbara Norris’ special pie recipe, and please notice that you don’t have to fire up the oven to get this, if you buy a pre-cooked pie shell!

Mrs. Norris’ special Blueberry Pie

And for the Kids. . . .And then the bigger Kids

We’ll have face-painting for the kids, as well as free popsicles for as long as they hold out, so get here early. Also, Honey-Baked Hams will have some edibles available – get here early, these folks are popular for a reason.

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Bill Mann Plays Great Jazz to Cool the Heat

Bill Mann, who has played for us a time or two before now, will be here on Saturday to play saxophone and use his cool jazz to check the heat. Yes, it’s cooled down a bit, but not quite enough, so come round and listen.

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Salem Gardens – Think Containers

Salem Gardens still has perennials and annuals for mid to late summer planting – just be sure and plant them at evening to give plenty of time in the cool of the night, to get over transplant shock, and remember to water daily until they’re fully rooted.

OR, get one of her pre-planted container gardens and voila! Instant deck or patio greenery.

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Queen Beads features bracelet making for kids – Free

Come round to Queen Beads booth to design a small bracelet for any child who wants to decorate themselves with something other than lots of melted ice cream – and she’ll do it for free. Her other designs are very pretty, so come and see them too. Maybe treat yourself to some decoration. . . .

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Grilling out for the Fourth – Our Beef, Pork and Chicken folks come Through

Sharon Rogers says . . . Please let me know if you would like to pre-order some of our Rogers Cattle Company Angus Beef for pick-up this Saturday 7/3  at the Cary Downtown Farmers Market.  I will not be at the market but Renee Parker with Parker Farms Pork has graciously offered to deliver any beef orders that I receive.  We have a variety of Angus beef cuts currently available including steaks, roasts, ground beef, hamburger patties, stew beef and soup bones.  Just let me know what you would like by Friday at noon and I can have it ready for you on Saturday.  We also have our specialty packs (click here) if you are needing lots of beef to feed your July 4th crowd!

Just to round things out and remind everybody, don’t forget our other vendors,  the bakery folks will all be out here with good things for eating. The pottery and woodworkers will be at other farmers’ markets or at crafts fairs, but will return soon. Check out Calendar for Piedmont Pottery and T&J woodcrafts for their next visits.

Summer Ingredients for Outdoor Cooking

All the ingredients for Midsummer Outdoor Cooking are here in the farmers’ market – just in time for the outrageous heat waves we’ve been having. Don’t steam up your kitchen – all the meats, corn, cabbage for slaw and berries for fresh desserts are now in the market.

A great tip if you don’t want to spend all that time heating up the kitchen, waiting for the water in the pot to boil for the fresh corn that Scott Spahr and our other produce vendors have on hand. Shuck the corn and wrap each ear individually in clear plastic wrap, then put into the microwave on high for a minute to a minute-and-a-half. Carefully take it out and let it cool for a little, then unwrap and slather on whatever butter, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and other goodies you all prefer to decorate with. Really fast and lots of energy saved as well as getting the freshest corn to the table FAST.

This works for lots of other veggies as well, like green beans. Just put into a container with a little water in the bottom to produce steam, cover with plastic wrap, heat on high until they’re as tender as you like, let cool, and dress with butter, toasted almonds, any other seasonings and toppings that appeal.

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Summer Music – Backporch String Band

Visit our Market today to hear the Backporch String Band play old-time music. They’ll be playing here several times throughout the summer. Visit our Calendar to see the dates.

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Piedmont Pottery Ceramics and Jewelry

Eclektikos will soon be known as Piedmont Pottery, and their new website is piedmontpottery.com They have vessels, wall plaques and jewelry, both beaded and ceramic, like this little fish pendant. Visit them at their website and at the market the weekend following July 4th. Please visit our Calendar to see the other dates you’ll find them here.