Garden to Table

It’s that wonderful time of the year to wander the farmer’s markets in Zionsville and Trader’s Point Creamery, visit local stands and begin harvesting the vegetables and herbs from your own garden.  Beyond fresh salads, what to do with all the zucchini and tomatoes that come on at once?  What's the best way to cook beets?

 “The New Southern Garden Cookbook” by Sheri Castle may feature mostly regional foods but you just might want to give the crispy Zucchini and Potato Skillet Cakes with tomato jam a try.  

 

 If you didn’t grow your own this year, after perusing the gorgeous “The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table”,  by Amy Goldman
you might want to plan on doing so next year.  




 More books are on display to inspire your meal planning.

To market, to market . . .

Summer means farm-fresh.  To learn what locally-grown products are available in your area, visit Indiana’s Local Foods & Agritourism webpage.  To search for farmers' markets and pick-your-own farms and orchards, click on The Farmers' Market Online Directory.  For news, events, and information related to agriculture, natural resources, homemaking, and 4-H visit Purdue University's Extension for Boone County.

Locavores will be pleased to note that The Zionsville Farmers' Market (at the corner of Main and Hawthorne) will be open from 8 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. every Saturday morning from May 19 to September 29.  In addition to fruits and vegetables, the Market offers a variety of bread, pastries, cheeses, farm-fresh meats and eggs.

For those who’d like more information on growing their own food or preparing meals using locally grown ingredients, the Library has bushels of tempting books ranging from the classic, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, to The Locavore’s Handbook: The Busy Person’s Guide to Eating Local on a Budget by Leda Meredith, to my favorite, the very funny Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter.  Stop by the display in Teen & Adult Services and take your pick.

Eating With the Seasons

You may have been hearing terms like slow food , locally grown and ethical eating a lot lately and may wonder exactly what they mean. I began to understand them after reading Barbara Kingsolver’s wonderful Animal Vegetable Miracle, A Year of Food Life. Her family moved to a farm deciding to eat and drink only what they or their neighbors could produce – for an entire year. With subtle humor, an unpreachy style, beautiful prose and fascinating research, she describes the experiment.

According to Kingsolver “the average food item on a U.S. grocery shelf has travelled farther than most families go on their annual vacations. True fact.” Personally, I had never thought of the environmental impact my love of Costco fruits and vegetables available in quantity all year round could have. I have even more incentive to plant a vegetable garden and hope for better weather than last summer.

We have chosen some wonderful books from our collection for display on the 2^nd floor. Look there for more books on the slow food movement, vegetable gardening, canning and preserving and lots of beautiful cookbooks for seasonal eating and serving up the harvest – whether it is from your own garden or one of the great local farmer’s markets coming soon. The Zionsville Farmer's Market starts June 4th on the corners of Main and Hawthorne Streets.

Also, please consider attending the Friends of the Library meeting on Wednesday May 18^th at 10 am to learn more about becoming a Friend of the Library and hear a presentation by Amy Rhodes of the Traders Point Creamery .