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Saturdays May 14th – October 8th | 8 am to Noon
Beargrass Christian Church, 4100 Shelbyville Road
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Farm in the Spotlight
Hambley Farms
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Hambley Farms is our Spotlight Farm this week. This vegetable farm between Lanesville and Corydon, IN was started in 1986 by Charles and Elaine Hambley. The family produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and Charles and Elaine are often helped by their incredibly accomplished sons: William, James, and Bryan, who grew up on the farm. Their strategy is simple, grow the highest quality produce and distribute it through local farmers markets, establishing a relationship with customers and focusing on quality. You can find them on the Shelbyville Road side of the Market with a double booth and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
They grow a variety of tomatoes, many of which are heirlooms, including Celebrity, Big Beef, Brandywine, 4th of July, and Grape. Vegetables include green beans, potatoes, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, egg plant, and kale. Peppers include jalapeno and other hot varieties, sweet bell, and herbs and spices. Squash and melons include yellow, spaghetti, zucchini, and cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon, and cantaloupe.The Hambleys pride themselves on high quality, good tasting produce from hardy vegetable plants. When they began having trouble getting the quality of vegetable plants they wanted, they began cultivating their own. Now, the first few weeks of April they do a booming business selling vegetable plants at area farmers markets. They aren't worried that they'll put themselves out of business for vegetables later in the season because they constantly work to make sure their produce is as high a quality as possible.
Charles and Elaine combined have more than fifty years of experience growing and selling produce in the Louisville area and enjoy one of the best reputations around. Marketing their produce exclusively at Farmers Markets including our own St. Matthews on Saturdays as well as St. Francis in the Fields and Bardstown Road, makes Saturdays a very busy day for the family. On Mondays and Fridays they are at the Crescent Hill Farmers Market and Tuesdays find them back at St. Francis in the Fields.
For many reasons, health concerns, contamination scares, and a growing appreciation for organic, artisan foods - more and more consumers are looking for a direct relationship with producers. The Hambleys inspect each and every piece of their produce to make certain it meets approval. Where else can you get fresh things, right out of the ground? Surely not at a supermarket with a traditional supply chain.
Creating a relationship with a farmer helps ensure repeat business and its fun for everyone involved. James, William, and Bryan, the Hambley's sons, grew up working farmers markets throughout the Louisville area. After more than a decade in corporate America, Charles and Elaine bought the farm in 1986 and began farming full-time in 1989. By the age of 12, each of the Hambley sons was running a farmers market booth, weighing produce, making sales, and talking to the people they would ultimately feed. It's a job they each enjoyed as evidenced by their continued frequent appearances at the market despite the fact that one is a medical doctor, another is a medical resident, and the final son is a well respected science teacher. The boys still love working the markets and always want to help when they are home.
It was the boys who led the Hambleys to farming vegetables. When one son was 5, and the family farmed tobacco with a grandfather, he asked Charles why he and Elaine didn't smoke. After he explained that smoking was bad for you, the obvious question came about why they grew tobacco. The Hambleys knew they had to make a change, and began vegetable farming shortly after. Thirty-plus years later they are still at it and we hope they will be for a long time to come. Instrumental in introducing our Market Committee to many local farmers when the St. Matthews Farmers Market began, the Hambleys are a wonderful resource for the entire local farming community and advocates of the local food movement. We are lucky to have them at the St. Matthews Farmers Market.
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What's at the Market this week?
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Have you tried Sherwood Acres sausage? They offer several varieties and all their meats are delicious. Red, ripe raspberries are in season and bountiful blueberries are nearing the close. You may find some succulent black raspberries but come early! Small pickling cucumbers are in, as is baby squash. Tomatoes, peas, beets, green beans, carrots, leafy lettuces, fresh onion, granola, crusty breads, artisan cheeses, butter, olive oil, popcorn, and local beers, and wines are all for sale. Fresh lamb, beef, chicken, pork, brats, and eggs are all available for purchase. Gallrein Farms will have corn! Bi-color corn will be available. You can find beautiful blooming cut flowers, annuals and perennials for your yard, handmade crafts, and everything in-between. Check our website vendor list to view the booth locations of your favorite farms. Our alternate vendors are Blueberries of Daviess County, Beaded Treasures, Kandies of Kentucky, Scarlett's Bakery, Splendid Bee, Tim Burton's Maplewood Farm. The Bourbonauts will be entertaining!
http://www.smfarmersmarket.com See you soon! |
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Featured Recipe
Burgers on the Grill with Herb Butter
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Hamburgers immediately came to our mind this week. Grilling expert, Steve Raichlen, suggests making your own herb butters. Using fresh herbs from your garden or the farmers market, chop the herbs finely and mix with a stick of pure, melted butter. Form the butter back into a stick and wrap in wax paper. Chill. Once chilled, cut into pats. Then, fold a disk of the herb butter into the center of a freshly made hamburger before grilling. As the burger grills, the butter melts, keeping the meat moist and luscious even when cooked through. Many of our vendors offer local grass-fed beef.
To make great hamburger patties, wet your hands with cold water and divide 1 to 1-1/2 lbs. ground beef into 4 portions. Using a light touch, pat each portion into a thick patty formed around a slice of the butter. Season with salt. For the toppings, any or all of the following, Bibb or red leaf lettuce leaves, thin slices of raw or grilled onions, and sliced red ripe tomato. Brush and oil the grill grate prior to cooking. Cook about 5 minutes per side or until cooked through.
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Maker Story
Maria Louisa Salsa Burritos
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The Burrito Tent has been going strong for nine seasons. Danny Overton started selling burritos and tacos at the invitation of his mother who had just begun packaging and selling her popular Maria Louisa Salsa at the St. Matthews Farmers Market. The salsa is still very much in production and you can now find it at various Kroger locations as well as in the breakfast items each week.
The Overton’s have had a number of different people work the booth over the years and the majority of the people you see are family. Just about everyone in Overton’s family has worked the market at one time or another, and the list includes: Donny’s wife, mother, step-mother, mother-in-law, step-sisters, brother, sister, brother-in-law, and his three kids (although at times under protest).
In addition to the delicious salsa, you will find farm fresh eggs from Duncan Farms and locally made chorizo (Mexican sausage) from Garey Farms. The potatoes are hand-cut and fried fresh all morning.
The idea for the breakfast burritos came from years of eating similar recipes in Donny’s mother’s kitchen; she is an awesome cook. The burritos also include black beans, cheese, hot peppers upon request, and fresh baked flour or corn tortillas.
Overton says, “The people at the market make all the work well worthwhile. Over the years we’ve developed a great following and the gratification you get from making people happy is its own reward. Perhaps one day we will start our own restaurant but until then we have these summer Saturdays.”
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Our Tomato Tasting is scheduled for Saturday, August 3. Many of our farmers are beginning to have a variety of delicious heirlooms for purchase. Most everyone knows tomatoes, which are actually a fruit, are very good for you. They are high in nutrients, including Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and lycopene (one of the most powerful antioxidants), provide a great source of fiber, and are naturally low in calories. There are certainly many good reasons to pass down heirloom tomato seeds, they reliably produce tomatoes that have a pronounced tomato flavor, tend to be juicier and have delightful (not mealy) texture.
Some of the varieties you may have heard of are Brandywine, Black Cherry, and Green Zebra. Heirloom tomatoes grow in a rainbow of colors such as dark red, persimmon, lime green, yellow, purple and even black. They come in large, cherry, round, oval, squatty, pointy and everything in between. Try some this weekend! See the photos from past Heirloom Tomato Tastings here. Looking forward to it.
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