I GOT CRANBERRY BEANS!!! ♥
We shelled them on the front porch at dusk.
Family wedding this weekend (and, unrelatedly, an old friend is in town as well) so I had neither the time nor energy to drive to Troy. Instead I went to the Schenectady market, which is very close but less well stocked. HOWEVER, the farm on Rosendale Road comes there, and they had cranberry beans! (Remarkably, I've never seen shell beans at the Troy market.) She had three quart boxes, and I said, "I'll take them all!" This yielded 3 1/2 cups of beans, which gives me a useful ratio: 1 quart of pods yields a generous cup of beans.
Also, the rumors I'd heard were correct. The little farm on Rosendale does have chickens, right in the heart of Niskayuna. Hmmmm. ;D
I also got some cute little pink-and-white eggplants; we'll see if they have a texture that I can live with. In any case, Josh will be sure to enjoy them. :) I got some purple peppers as well, and a lovely bouquet from Bergers for $5. As a bonus, it was presented in a to-go cup, so it was easy to carry in the car.
Speaking of flowers!! There's a booth at the Troy market- Homestead Farms- that sells custom bouquets. I learned a while ago that they do weddings, SO... rather than having flowers shipped from South America, farmed with child labor and toxic chemicals and what have you... I'm getting fresh field flowers for the wedding! (Furthermore, it's going to be a barn/garden wedding, with contra dancing, if you would like to go ahead and picture that. :D)
Anyway, Mom and I went to visit Homestead on Thursday, as I'd made arrangements to meet with Sara. It's a family farm, and Sara started running the cut-flower business a few years ago when she came home from college. We both really like her, as she's very down to earth. She was also thrilled that we wanted, you know, casual field-cut bouquets. Apparently she's had clients who want formal arrangements with calla lilies and roses... first of all, not her style, and second of all, why go to a local farm if you want flowers that they don't grow? :P
So our sense of style meshes well, and we had a lovely conversation overlooking the CSA cutting garden by the house. Afterward we had a chance to stroll around the rest of the farm, and visit the chickens and veggies and so on. It was also good to spend time with my mom, which I have been doing more often lately. (Josh's mom was out of town, unfortunately, but I instructed her to introduce herself to Sara at the market this morning, which she did. :))
Furthermore, despite my lack of planning, they haven't sold all their turkeys yet! So we will be able to have local turkey for my Favorite Holiday (tm).