Peach Pie and Other Treats

 Today was Winona Lake Farmers Market's last day of the season. I noticed at least 4 vendors "missing"; I haven't been for a few weeks so perhaps these vendors left earlier in the month. I bought some peppers to use in a stir fry. They were small and round; I had hoped they would have less seeds to clear out. Alas, they had more seeds. 

We ate the 4 small round pumpkin cookies with icing at lunch before I thought to get a photo. The marbled brownies I have put in an airtight container. We probably won't eat them for a few days because we have peach pie to eat. 

I baked the frozen Crane's peach pie from Michigan. It is tasty. 

I also bought a zinnia bouquet, most likely my last one of the season.

I could visit the Warsaw Farmers Market. It will be open thru October 28th. Next weekend is to turn cold, high in the 50's. Today we were high 70's. 

August 19th Winona Lake Farmers' Market

 My husband and I made a quick stop at the Winona Lake Farmers' Market enroute to picking up our grocery order this morning.

I indulged in my $5 bouquet of flowers. 

I would have preferred a different pie, but I did not want to buy a large pie. A tomato for bacon and tomato sandwiches next week, zucchini to saute tonight and some to grate to freeze to bake zucchini bread in the fall. In the little box are two buckeye candies. They rolled around some in the box that I had put in my bag of purchases. The tops are kind of messed up. 

Our weather is nice today; tomorrow starts a hot spell in the 90's thru at least Thursday. It was 50 when I got up this morning; I had to throw a light blanket over me around 4:30 a.m. I love autumn so I will be happy when it comes, though I will miss the summer produce and flowers. 

Warsaw Farmers' Market August 12th

 I went to the Warsaw Farmers' Market this morning. I ended up with a zucchini for tonight, little tomatoes, a pumpkin pecan muffin, and 4 stems of zinnias at 25 cents a stem. It would have been nice to have more colors to choose from for the flowers, but the price was good.

There are definitely fewer vendors than in past summers. I know The Farm and the micro greens/herbs guy have moved to the Winona Lake market. It is humid today but with a breeze. I parked my RAV4 over a block on Main Street so I didn't have to maneuver into a tight spot. 

My husband spent the morning with a Grace Village grounds maintenance guy, a young fellow who wants to sharpen his woodworking skills. At lunch last week in the GV dining room, a couple we have some connection with from our SIL asked if my husband could repair a table for them. It has lots of loose joints and a crack in the board where a marble slab sits. He usually doesn't go long without some project showing up.

Today's Farmers' Market Purchases

 

This morning I and two of my neighbors went to the Farmers' Market in Winona Lake. I bought the small bouquet above. Next to the vendor where I bought the flowers was a table selling peacock feathers. The lady said they raised peacocks. My backdoor neighbor bought 3 feathers (one white). I wonder if she gave short feathers to the flower lady since there is a feather included with my flowers.

Lots of produce this time. I bought green beans and small tomatoes. I also bought a blueberry muffin to share with my husband at tomorrow's breakfast. 

It is going to rain this afternoon and evening. I have a grocery pick up to do so I guess I will learn how to use the wipers in my new SUV. It was very pleasant in the Miller Pavillion where the Farmers' Market is housed with a slight breeze. 

My husband's sister wants to try Papa Vino's so we are going to lunch there today. Burgers, leftover pineapple beans from the condo lunch and social, and sweet corn tonight.

Winona Lake Farmers' Market

 This morning we went to the Winona Lake Farmers' Market. It is housed in the Miller Sunset Pavilion which during the winter had an ice skating rink. It was pleasant with a light breeze and ceiling fans circulating air. There are about a dozen vendors right now. Since its hours overlap with the Warsaw Farmers' Market Saturday time, I wondered if having two operating markets helped or hurt. There seemed to be a steady stream of shoppers here.

Since the building is new, this is the first year for the farmers' market. 

Mostly flowers/plants, honey, baked goods, some produce. 

I bought some peach turnovers and a small arrangement of zinnias.

I was surprised to see the zinnias which I usually associate with later in the summer around August. Since the remnant of my anniversary flowers were drooping, $5 for a replacement worked out well.

There was a skincare products vendor, a coffee roaster, and a man who was selling tubs to start growing mushrooms and also starter kits of these specialized mushrooms. I had never seen anything like this mushroom product.

Since the market goes until 1 p.m., it could probably support more than one lunch vendor. Bomy's has a store on Winona Avenue in Warsaw. 

The pavilion is in a nice setting near the post office and the lake.

The Symphony of the Lakes patriotic concert on July 1st is going to take place in the Miller Sunset Pavilion. In the past, they had a large tent for the orchestra. The news item said there would be some seating for the audience in the pavilion, but the overflow would need to bring their own chairs to set up outside. 

The item I was hoping to find was not at the Winona Lake market; that was strawberries. So, we stopped at Sweetcorn Charlie's on the way home.

I was able to perambulate the entire pavilion with no pain in my butt and legs. It appears my surgery fixed the neurogenic claudication from the stenosis and pinched nerve roots. I do still have some incision pain. I am looking forward to doing things I could not do the past 20 months or so: farmers' markets, art fairs, museum exhibits, browsing the shopping mall, walking nature trails.

Autumn Weekend

 Yesterday I visited the Kosciusko County Farmers' Market. I purchased some zinnias, cookies, and small tomatoes.

So far these zinnia stems have stayed straight, no bending like that one batch I bought earlier this summer. There were fewer vendors than during my last visit. The market supposedly runs through October so I was a bit surprised to see half a dozen absent. 

I had taken my blue Grace Village tote bag to carry my purchases. When I arrived at the tomato booth and went to put them away, I realized I no longer had the bag. I walked back to the zinnia booth and there it lay partway under the table where I had dropped it. Thanks be to God that it was still there for me to retrieve. 

It was cooler yesterday so I made soup for lunch. We enjoyed slices of La Brea Bakery Sunflower Honey bread and finished up with one cookie each.

Today we headed directly from church south on Country Club Road which took us to Indiana Highway 14. There we turned east toward Fort Wayne. My husband has been wanting to try Salvatori's restaurant on Illinois Road (Hwy 14). There isn't much fall foliage yet in our part of Indiana, but it was a pleasant drive. 

The menu displayed two prices. When I asked the waitress she said the less expensive price was for a half portion. I only ate half of my serving and I was full. I can't imagine what a whole portion looks like. We asked for take-home boxes. 

My food (ziti and a side salad) was good, but I don't know that I would drive so far to eat there. If I were in the area, then yes I would stop.

I have started to put out autumn decorations in my house. When I finish doing that this week, I will share with you, especially the new pillow covers I bought. 

We are entering my favorite season of the year. I look forward to the colorful changes.

Blueberry Time and Drooping Zinnias

 I haven't picked blueberries for a few years now. Instead I am buying Michigan blueberries in 5-pound boxes from Martin's, a local grocery store. I bought two boxes this week. I would have preferred to buy one box this week, and another box at the end of next week; but when I tried that last year, the blueberries were no longer for sale. I choose the firmest berries in the box to freeze. This year I ended up with 2 1/2 gallons. That means the rest need to be eaten fresh within a short time.

 One of the negatives of blueberry season is that it is usually during the hottest time of summer. I don't like baking and getting my house hot when we are in the 80's and 90's, but I always make a blueberry sauce to eat over ice cream and lemon pudding. 

The fresh berries go nicely with peaches and cantaloupe also. And I often eat some on my cereal at breakfast. 

This morning I went to the local farmers' market. I already enjoyed some fresh green beans from my sister-in-law earlier this week.

I bought a banana pepper, a zucchini, a medley of small tomatoes and an onion. I have never bought an onion from the grower before. We will have peppers and chicken sausage saute tonight using the banana pepper and some slices of larger red, yellow, and orange peppers from the store, part of the onion, and some of the small tomatoes. I might throw in a little zucchini, too. We haven't included pasta for several years. I sprinkle some garlic pepper on while cooking and parmesan before serving.

I was so pleased to see several vendors selling fresh flowers. The zinnias were a real bargain at 3 for a dollar. Unfortunately, now as I photograph them I see the heads drooping. According to the internet, placing some of the bottom stem in boiling water for several minutes will revive them. I then cut off the immersed stem and put the blooms in cold water in a vase. I am going to try that right after I finish here. 

The stems were not quite mature and should have been left on the plant longer before being picked re the internet. Last year the zinnias I bought in a bouquet lasted for days. We will see if this "fix" works. At least I am only out $2. It worked pretty well. I had one white bloom that was not drooping which served as a "control". The 5 flowers I put in the boiling water have a tiny tilt compared to the control, but they look good. I checked at 20 minutes, and they still drooped though looked a little better. At 40 minutes they had mostly straightened up. Certainly counter-intuitive way to fix the drooping.

I will try to buy ones that are not drooping at all next time though.

Now I can enjoy my flowers for a longer period.

I haven't felt very well this past week. The new med my doctor wanted me to try for my blood pressure has caused problems. I stopped taking it this morning. The pressure did decrease while using it, but I cannot live with this side effect. I will call her office Monday. 

Zinnias and More

Today my husband drove south to an airshow at Grissom Air Force Base. It is a day for "me time", setting my own schedule and agenda. I ate for lunch the last Costco hot dog (well actually there are two more in the freezer), the sole remaining Haagen-Dazs ice cream bar, Cheetos, and one healthy item (tomatoes).

I arrived at the Warsaw Farmers Market later than I had expected. Some vendors had dwindling supplies. I mostly wanted small sweet tomatoes and a small pepper for the lettuce salad tonight. Only one stall had this type of tomatoes, and I bought her last container. 

I've had a hankering for snickerdoodle cookies the past few weeks. I hoped I would find some at the market. There were several packages available.

I also splurged on a small bouquet of zinnias.

I got up later than usual this morning. I didn't sleep well last night. It was 10:30 by the time I headed for Warsaw. I stopped at the public library to drop off 3 donations. As I looked down the hall from the circulation desk, I saw a book sale was in progress. By the time I browsed, then bought some books, it was after 11. 

My last stop of the day was Walmart. I was surprised that it was not as busy as when I go on week days. I bought some items for my Operation Christmas Child box. Usually, I have good luck finding a tote bag or purse. Not today. I will have to look at KMart which is shutting down in our town. They haven't marked the prices down enough for me yet, but since it closes October 21st, more markdowns are coming. Or I will stop at Meijers to see what they have; or since I have several medical appointments coming up in Fort Wayne maybe I will look at Penney's or Kohl's there. 

Lots of stores are selling mums now and other autumn decorations. I am not quite ready to let go of summer; however, the trees are showing tinges of red and undertones of yellow. Mother Nature is reminding me that the season is about to change. It is so pleasant today that I have the doors and windows open and the AC off. It has been a good day so far and will be even better when my husband comes home and shares about his outing.