Eat Happy!

Everblossom Harvest Party

This weekend is one big harvest celebration. Elaine’s Everblossom Farm CSA Potluck Picnic and Harvest Party is Saturday, October 19, from 12:30 to 4:00. Details are available on our website: www.everblossomfarm.com. It’s rain or shine and friends and members are invited. If you’re curious about the Organic CSA and the farm, please visit us.

Dillsburg Farmer’s Fair

Also this weekend is the Dillsburg Farmer’s Fair.  My friends and I have grown up eating the fair food on the street, watching the pumpkin catapulting and the Children’s Parade on Friday night, marching with our high school band in the big parade on Saturday night, walking through the vintage tractors, cars and petting zoo. I am even close personal friends with a previous Farmer’s Fair QUEEN!

This year we are taking part in new ways. First, my husband Eric’s South Mountain Cycle Shop will ride their motorcycles in the auto and tractor parade on Saturday at 3:00 pm. Check them out at www.southmountaincycleshop.com.com.

Stiff Canning Competition

Secondly, this year I have bravely entered the Farmer’s Fair canning competition in two categories; Cut Tomatoes and Applesauce. Right away I must give credit to my dear friend, canning partner and CSA member, Elizabeth. She and I learned to can this year and had an awesome experience doing it. Thanks to her adventurous spirit with a careful and studious approach we learned how to safely and successfully store away tomatoes, apples and peaches. Also, special thanks to my Aunt Jeanne who gave us a hands-on lesson in canning tomatoes that I previously posted about.

Now that I have delivered my blue ribbon acceptance speech…please let me tell you I have not often been so intimidated as I was Tuesday night at the community hall dropping off my two fine little quart jar specimens for the judging.  I nervously chose the wrong line at first and after switching back and forth to fill out the proper forms, I found myself in front of two ladies taking their jobs as serious as a heart attack. They soberly took my jars and wrote out the tiny tags as I looked around at the other jars full of perfect little globes of beets, cherries, I’m not sure. I had a clear and strong urge to pick up my jars and apologize. Pretend like the whole thing was a big misunderstanding.

There is no doubt; I am an optimist. It’s not a bad way to go through life, but sometimes makes me feel silly as I was already regarding our pretty jars as “award-winning”. Just as any good mama should, I think they are beautiful — marbled yellow, orange and red heirloom tomatoes, and pretty applesauce that is pink from cooking the Honeycrisp apples in their skin. It made me smile (nervously) at my second thoughts that night and desire to rescue my babies and just take them right back home. Who needs to be judged anyway.

But, I was brave. I left them there and I will find out tomorrow how we stack up. If we lose, I will try not to make excuses about local politics. If we win, I will tell the world about it here. Stay tuned!