Tag: Cape cod

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Best five things to buy at Log Cabin Farm Stand, Eastham, MA!

July 25, 2019

Log Cabin Farm Stand, Eastham, MA

Next time you visit a farm stand, try playing a little game. Rank the top five items! You’ll feel more mindful of the freshness of the food. You’ll probably notice a few items you might overlook if you just rush through your visit.

It’s fun! I make a farmstand5 ranking for every stand I visit. Here are the five best things to buy at a quaint, roadside farm stand in New England! Today I poked around the Log Cabin Farm Stand in Eastham, Massachusetts, a little more than half way up Cape Cod.

#5 Fresh (and cheeky) corn on the cob

Yes! Fresh corn season arrived. Notice the cheeky sign above the corn. In New England, we pull off the husks, boil it for about half an hour, then eat it right off the cob. My friends from France always thought it was so funny. Guess they always cut the kernels off first. How do you eat your fresh corn?

#4 Assorted potatoes

Love the colors. What a beautiful potato salad these three kinds of spuds would make! It makes me want to chop up some celery and pickles for a potato salad tonight. Oh yeah, gotta have pickles in my potato salads!

#3 Adorable, colorful cherry tomatoes!

The Log Cabin Farm Stand only had two little containers of these brightly colored rainbow cherry tomatoes left by midday! Guess everyone wanted a fresh, tomato salad side dish with dinner tonight. There was a big container of fresh-picked basil to slice up and add to the tomatoes, a little sea salt on top, yum!

#2 Seasoned firewood

Firewood is just one of those special farm stand finds I had to highlight here. At $10 per bunch, they’re a good money-maker for the farmers. Plus, everyone loves a bonfire on a cool summer night. In Eastham, you can wake up early (I mean E-A-R-L-Y) and wait in line for a permit to make a bonfire on one of the National Seashore beaches! Makes for an amazing night, staying warm by the fire, watching the seals swim by.

#1 Handturned wooden bowls

A local, Cape Cod tree cutter turns his extra wood into handcrafted bowls. So beautiful. I held each one and looked closely at the different grains. A tag on every bowl identified the species of wood. The fourth one in – the one with all that grainy character – lives in my kitchen now.

A quick preview of Apple season before you read on…

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Best 5 items at Longnook Meadows Farm Stand, Truro, MA

July 28, 2018

On the last day of our summer vacation, we followed a small sign off Route 6 that lead us to the Longnook Farm Stand.

 

#5
Fresh basil

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You know the basil is fresh if it hasn’t started oxidizing (aka turning black). The leaves on this basil were perfect. It had been picked with care.

Bonus tip: to help keep your basil looking green longer, coat the leaves in oil, stack them, roll them up and slice with a sharp knife.

 

#4
Coffee

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Wait, they didn’t grow this coffee. I know, but it’s still a good idea. When I first saw this coffee for resale at this neighborhood stand, I shrugged off including it in a farmstand5. But then I started to warm up to the idea. farmstand5 is about showcasing variety. The family who runs the farm found something they liked it so much, they offered it to their customers. That resonates.

 

#3
Red leaf lettuce

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I keep coming back and staring at this photo. Just a simple head of lettuce leaves trimmed in beautiful purple hues. Makes me want salad with dinner!

 

#2
Thai garlic

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Some extra effort came into play to bring this garlic to the farm stand. It had to be harvested and cured before it was ready to be placed in its basket for sale. Thai garlic is special. It gives your dishes a spicy kick.

 

#1
Native honey

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Talk about special, this farm stand offered self-branded local honey. As our vacation comes to an end, I love the idea of bringing home a little bit of Cape Cod. It will bring back happy memories every time we open the jar.

 

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Rose’s Berry Farm Stand, Hartford, CT

Back to farmstand5 full list.

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Best 5 items at Fancy’s Farm Stand, Orleans, MA

July 23, 2018

The family’s vacationing on Cape Cod this week. Like every year, we don’t really vacation in moderation. My husband, kids and I joined 20 extended family members here. At least we don’t all try to squeeze into the same 3 BR, 1 BA house anymore.

With a little extra family time on our hands, my sister helped me put together this #farmstand5 for Fancy’s Farm Stand in Orleans, Massachusetts.

#5
Heirloom tomatoes

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These vine-picked tomatoes are enormous, full of flavor and naturally bright color. Our #5 pick is in honor of my five-year old who just announced to everyone that she eats tomatoes now.

 

#4
Beach Plum jam

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Hugely popular on Cape Cod where small, purple beach plums mature slowly on bushes around ponds and sand dunes. I normally don’t eat carbs for breakfast, but beach plum jam on my homemade beer bread is pure, edible comfort.

 

#3
Cantaloupe melons

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I think I would have put these at #4, but my sister’s vote moved them up a spot to #3. Our kids like to color the skin with non-toxic markers. When it is cut up like a watermelon, they have a lot of fun choosing the piece they’re going to eat based on the artwork.

 

#2
Pluots

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Excuse me, did you just make that up? Nope, this enticing offspring of plums + apricots is a must-try sweet summer fruit.

 

#1
Sunflowers

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These medium-sized sunflowers are so perfect; they look like they might just last forever. Picked at exactly the right time, the stems are strong and straight. The leafy foliage is deep green and would be worthy of a vase of its own.

 

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Longnook Meadows Farm Stand

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