This Week at the Smart Markets Oakton Farmers' Market

This Week at our Oakton Market
Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
2854 Hunter Mill Rd.
Oakton, VA 22124
Map

Smart Markets is thrilled to host Celestun Nursery from Markham, Va., again this week. They will bring winterberry branches in two colors and lovely American holly wreaths. One of our favorite vendors from our Springfield market, Pete Lund, will bring us boughs, centerpiece arrangements, and evergreen and holly wreaths harvested and created by members of an Amish community in southern Maryland. And our old friends, the Tysons, are selling Christmas trees from West Virginia right up the road where Sunrise Valley Drive intersects with Reston Parkway (the former site of our Reston market.) The trees are lovely, and the prices are great.

All of these items were grown in this area and all are being cut each week between now and Christmas, so you cannot get anything anywhere fresher, and you know your money is supporting local farmers. How much better can you feel about splurging to decorate your own home?

All of your favorite vendors will be with us this week. I can’t believe the gorgeous goodies that Ignacio and Max Sr. are still picking from their gardens, but time is running out for them, so enjoy the greens and root veggies while you can. Or can or freeze what you can for the winter months. We had the best baby Brussels sprouts this evening with just a little bit of Trickling Springs butter. They almost overwhelmed the amazing porterhouse steak from Angelic Beef, but not quite. With all due respect for my husband’s skill at the grill, it would have been hard to undermine those steaks. We are already looking forward to the leftovers in a red lettuce, beet, fennel, carrot, and orange salad this weekend. Once I make it, I will share the recipe with you.

Heritage Farm and Kitchen will have turkey sausage this week.

We will have more news soon about new vendors joining us, and I am working on Emmanuel from Valley View Bakery to convince him to bring some of his fabulous soups to get us through the winter. Ask him about his spicy peanut butter soup served with chicken thighs and rice. It’s really good.

Celtic Pasties will have Beef & Guinness, Cottage Pie Style, Chicken & Pineapple, Chicken Alfredo, All Day Breakfast, Cheese & Onion, and a new Christmas Ham pasty.

From the Market Master

Even if you were brave (or crazy) enough to venture out this past weekend, I feel confident that your Christmas shopping days are not over, and neither are your party times. And for those of you who do not celebrate Christmas, I imagine that the festive spirit of the holiday that you may be celebrating will also capture your hearts and minds and that you too are planning to be with family and friends throughout December. Whether you are hosting guests at your own home, supplying food for celebrations at other locales or cooking up something to share with a family in need, most of you will be in the kitchen many more hours than normal this month.

Even without that additional demand on your creative cooking talents, just keeping up with the family meals will be hard to manage. Add to that the continuing commitment that many of you have made to utilize local ingredients as often as possible, even in the winter months, and I can see where the temptation to take the easy route to simple take-out meals will be overwhelming.

But what if the easy route led you through the farmers’ market and enabled you to keep your commitment? Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to remind you once again how easy that is, no matter how hectic your schedule is. And hopefully we will help you stay ahead of the demand with a supply of home-cooked meals and party foods that help you to keep the faith and meet your needs.

This week I am including links to some of our market favorites. These recipes have been the most requested and most complimented, and the most appreciated when we have prepared them on site for sampling or brought them in for a market sampling day. All can be made in quantity and frozen for future use; several can be served in a variety of ways, and all can be made with mostly local ingredients even at this time of year. Enjoy!

• Cheryl’s Sweet Potato/Apple Bake
• Spicy Sweet Potato and Apple Hash
• Casseroles for Kids
• Annie’s Winter Squash, Potato and Chicken Stir-fry
• Easier Than Pie Chili
• Creamy Succotash
• Janssen’s Own Red Beans and Rice
• Roasted Coriander Chicken Thighs with Bacon, Sweet Potatoes and Turnips
• Sausage and Peppers Over Pasta
• Tex-Mex Beef and Beans Chopped Salad
• Daddy’s Famous Spaghetti Sauce
• Daddy Bill’s Birthday Stew