by Erin Sweeney
Special to The Weekly
This is a great time of year for enjoying fresh, local produce, baked goods, dairy, meat and more
at your local farmers markets. During the 2014 growing season, we wanted to share information
with readers of the Weekly about the many farmers markets in this area. Each week, vendors or
customers from local farmers markets will share tips and photos about unfamiliar foods you can
find at your local markets, fun recipes to try with seasonally available produce, and highlights
about specific farms that you can meet at the markets.
Did you know there are 12 farmers markets in Penobscot County? Find out which ones they are
at the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets website http://www.mainefarmersmarkets.org/
shoppers/.
Three of those local markets offer a 25 percent matching discount for customers paying with SNAP/EBT (sponsored by Food AND Medicine): Bangor Farmers Market 11 a.m,-2 p.m. Sundays at Harlow Street parking lot across from the library; Ohio Street Farmers Market 2-6 p.m. Wednesdays at the Bangor Grange across from Finson Road; Brewer Farmers Market 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Brewer Auditorium parking lot on Wilson Street.
The vegetable of the week is cucumbers. Look for them at your local farmers market, as they
are starting to crop up as the weather gets a bit warmer. There are many types of cucumbers:
Garden (wide, smooth skinned, dark green, most common cucumber, best for salads), Kirby (the small, bumpy ones good for pickling or crunching on), English (the thin, long, dark green ones with only a few seeds, great for salads), and Lemon (round, yellow ones that are sweet with few seeds, good for pickling or salads). There are even more — be sure to ask your local farmer which variety he or she is selling.
This week’s recipe:
Cucumber Salad
2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced into rounds
¼ cup vinegar (white wine is best, or you can use red wine or regular white vinegar)
¼ teaspoon salt
Half of a red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (you can use dried if you need too, but better with fresh)
Directions:
In the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar and salt. Toss in the cucumbers, red
onions and fresh dill. Cover and chill for at least 15 minutes. Serves 4 as a side dish or appetizer.
Erin Sweeney is the agriculture organizer at Food AND Medicine, a nonprofit organization located at 20 Ivers St. in Brewer. For information about FAM and its programs, email
fam@foodandmedicine.org, call 989-5860 or visit foodandmedicine.org.