Fresh Thoughts From Lyme's Ashlawn Farm

Each week during the season, Ashlawn Farm sends out a newsletter with news about who'll be at the Lyme Farmers Market on Saturday. This is the latest one as written by Chip Dahlke. 

Quiz Questions and Answers

It's time for our annual pop quiz. We like to spring this on you to help keep you informed on farmers market stuff and other drivel. The answers will appear in next week's newsletter.

1. Which state produces 70% of all eggplants grown in the United States?

New Jersey does. It is also the home of the most toxic dump sites in America.

2. What vegetable has a direct relationship between its smell and female arousal?

The cucumber. A lot of people guessed ghost pepper which is 100 times hotter than a jalapeno.

3. How long does it take for a chicken to hatch an egg?

21 days or thereabouts.

4. What is NOT a type of heirloom tomato?

Boone’s Farm. This is a cheap wine I used to drink in college.

5. What part of a steer does the hanger steak come from?

Hanger steak comes from or literally hangs from the diaphragm.

6. In the locavore movement how many miles is generally considered the extent for food to be grown from point of consumption or purchase?

100 miles is the most common answer. If you had a different answer, don’t let it bother you. You can pretty much set your own standard. It’s one of the few freedoms you have left.

7. Who is the world's most annoying vegetarian?

A lot of people guessed Tom Cruise, but according to Yahoo, the most annoying vegetarian is Carrie Underwood. I read that she used to be a Pillsbury Dough Girl. Go figure.

8. The birthplace of the farmers market in 1934 was

not Coventry, Ct, but Los Angeles, California. A bunch of farmers gathered in a vacant lot and began selling their produce.. I wonder if they were actually just trying to set up camp like in the Grapes of Wrath.

9. What is Quark?

Quark is a type of fresh cheese. It’s really good. You can get some from Pease Brook Farm at the market.

10. The names of the horses that appear at the end of the 
Lyme Farmers Market Newsletter are

Antonio and Little Man. Erica and Joe are our neighbors, Jack and Diane come from a song by John Cougar Mellencamp, and Daphne and Trudy are the names of my mother and aunt.

Rolling Tomato is Coming Saturday

Bob Currier is making wood fired pizza on Saturday. His brick oven is imported from Italy. That’s not very local, but who cares? At 800 degrees it cooks up a nice pie in about 2 minutes. By the time you order the pizza and get your money out it’s done. That’s really fast food. I wonder why Bob doesn’t start franchising these all over the country. Maybe he can start some controversy by saying he believes that vegetable marriage should only be between a male eggplant and a female eggplant. Our official position here at Ashlawn Farm is that we don’t really care what sex the eggplant is if it wants to marry. They’re all going to end up in the wok anyway.

Guest Vendors

Melizza Punzalan is here with her jewelry.

Dana Platt is coming with her tower gardens. These are contraptions that allow you to grow gardens in a vertical fashion. After a day of weeding in a conventional garden you can probably figure out why your back wants one.

Pam Fuller is unpacking her wind chimes for another Saturday. Our barrista, Harrison Guzman, had one up at the café last week and it was pretty cool. He hung it in front of the air conditioner and let the sea glass tinkle in the breeze. I really didn’t know that sea glass tinkled, but it does.

It’s Plucky Ducky Time. The crazy Fenton family rolls out their automobile attachments this week. These little yellow ducks are starting to pop up all over town. Every time a Mommy Van passes me by with one I just think to myself that there goes another weirdo.

Robin Thomas makes her first appearance at the market with Peaceable Beads. These are a little different than what we’ve had before. They should be a big hit.

Emily Macione is tie-dying some t shirts. Last time she was here she was making a “Springsteen For President” shirt. Who’s this guy Springsteen?

Lox and Loaded is back with their flavored cream cheese. Nancy Reagan would say yes to Lox and Loaded and no to drugs. I just threw that in, but it does sound like something she would say.

Annie Chittenden is making her market debut with Kindknit Artisans. Kindknit Artisans makes and sells beautiful knitted goods and donates the profit to local charities. They are a tiny light in our solar system that helps make a difference.

Farmers Markets Around The World

Translate this to sharpen your language skills and make this world a little bit smaller: Het spijt me, je chocolade is erg goed, maar om een echte s'more de chocolade moet komen van Hershey, Pennsylvania.