Is there a better time of year to enjoy shopping at a farmers’ market? With the hot weather behind us, mornings are brisk and fresh, perfect for strolling amid the just harvested autumn produce and locally grown food.
Picture your Saturday:
After returning home with a full haul from the Old Town Auburn Farmers’ Market, you simmer fresh ingredients over a low flame all day. While they cook up into a delicious soup, you lounge in your favorite chair with a book you’ve been saving for a lazy day, grazing on raw veggies, fruits and locally harvested honey throughout the afternoon.
Old Town Farmers’ Market is the perfect place for you to gather up locally grown food in preparation for your Thanksgiving dinner or to simply stock up on groceries for the week.
What’s in Store for You at the Old Town Auburn Farmers’ Market this Fall?
With offerings ranging from apples to winter squash, you’re sure to find what you need to create everything from homemade pies and soups to autumnal feasts.
There are countless flavors and textures, not to mention far-reaching health benefits, found in the fresh goods made available by our local PlacerGrown foothills farmers.
Here are some of the seasonal offerings you’re likely to find at the Old Town Auburn Farmers’ Market this fall:
Apples
Ranging from very sweet to very tart, and crisp in texture, California grown apples are as varied as they are abundant and delicious. Bake them into a pie or crumble, make some homemade applesauce, or just enjoy a crunchy, juicy, healthy whole apple anytime of day.
These crunchy treats are low in calories, while high in vitamin C and fiber with no cholesterol or fat. The health benefits of eating apples are vast, especially because of their rich antioxidant content.
Harvest Season: Late Summer - Early Winter
Arugula
A bitter green with an aromatic, peppery flavor, arugula is popularly used in salads. Make a healthy Thanksgiving side dish by combining arugula, cranberries, toasted pecans and goat cheese for a salad that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Nutrient-rich, this green is high in antioxidants, has detoxifying powers, and helps lower levels of bad cholesterol while raising levels of good cholesterol.
Harvest Season: Fall
Garlic
These bulbs are comprised of aromatic cloves that, when cut or broken open, have a very strong, pungent odor. Garlic adds a great depth of flavor to roast vegetables, mashed potatoes, and more of your favorite fall dishes.
Closely related to the onion, garlic contains enzymes and antioxidants that help with the healthy formation of bones, with calcium absorption, and with proper thyroid function. Garlic may even boost your immune system and help stave off seasonal colds!
Harvest Season: Summer
Beets
These small to medium, round root vegetables have a warm, earthy flavor and are delicious oven-roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Nutritional little powerhouses, beets are very high in fiber, which may protect against heart disease.
Harvest Season: Early Summer - Late Fall
Broccoli
With large flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like structure branching out from a thick, edible stalk, broccoli has a flavor similar to cabbage but slightly more bitter. There are countless broccoli recipes that you can try this fall; try it steamed, oven-roasted, or even enjoyed crunchy and raw.
Very high vitamins and nutrients, studies suggest broccoli contains immune supporting antiviral properties.
Harvest Season: Early Fall - Early Summer
Eggs
Poached, over-easy, sunny side up, or scrambled - no matter how you prepare your eggs, you will love the farm fresh quality offered up by local vendors at the Old Town Auburn Farmers’ Market.
Eggs offer big health benefits in a small package. Eggs are high in vitamin B2 and selenium as well as many other vitamins and nutrients, and are a high protein food.
Fresh, Year-Round
Bok Choy
This Chinese cabbage with deep green leaves atop tender white stalks has a slightly bitter taste. Try it stir-fried or sauteed with lemon and garlic.
Eating Bok Choy helps one maintain healthy muscle and nerve function, along with countless other health benefits. It is associated with a reduced rate of cognitive decline when it comes to conditions like Alzheimer's disease.
Harvest Season: Fall and Winter
Cucumbers
Grown in a wide variety of colors, sizes, shapes, and textures, from white, yellow, orange-colored to the more familiar green. Cucumber size and shape varies from short to long, slightly oval to round, with skins from smooth and thin to thick and rough. Cucumbers have a high water content and are highly refreshing, making them a perfect food to eat the day after you’ve had a rich and decadent holiday feast. Cucumber salad, anyone?
This veggie (okay – technically fruit, from the same family as watermelon) is packed with potassium and magnesium, good for both your bones and your heart.
Harvest Season: Spring - Fall
Cabbage
Thick, deeply veined, and waxy broad-leafed green, cabbage is grassy, sweet and cruciferous. Try it oven roasted with mustard vinaigrette or add hazelnuts and lemons for a delectable cabbage slaw.
Eating cabbage decreases one’s risk of type 2 diabetes and aids in cardiovascular health. An all-around veggie powerhouse.
Harvest Season: Fall - Mid Summer
Carrots
Purple, white, yellow, red, and - most commonly - orange, this crunchy root vegetable has flavor combination of sweet and bitter. Make a hearty, creamy carrot soup or bake up a batch of tender, carrot-cake muffins this fall.
From improving vision to cleansing the body of toxins – and everything in between – carrots offer countless health benefits.
Harvest Season: Late Fall - Late Summer
Kale
This green has large crinkly leaves range in color from dark green to purple and has a slightly bitter flavor. Kale can be the star in soups and salads. Try a kale stuffing recipe this year for Thanksgiving!
A legitimate superfood, kale protects against prostate and colon cancers, eases lung congestion, and is beneficial to your stomach, liver, and immune system.
Harvest Season: Late Fall - Spring
Honey
How sweet it is! A natural sweetener, honey can range in consistency and flavor depending on the nectar source of the bees that are producing it. Add a drizzle of honey over baked brie and serve with toasted nuts and cranberries for a decadent holiday appetizer.
As for the health benefits of this sweet treat, honey has natural anti-microbial properties and is a natural remedy for soothing sore throats.
Fresh, Year-Round
Thanksgiving Feast Farmers’ Market Shopping List
Local vendors will have farm fresh produce that you can take home to slice, dice, and transform into a feast to remember this holiday.
Head on over to the Saturday Farmers’ Market in Old Town Auburn and check these items off of your list:
- Leeks
- Onions
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Scallions
- Snap Peas
- Spinach
- Winter Squash
- Mandarins
- Persimmons
- Pomegranates
- Potatoes
- Pumpkins
Dessert idea: Pick up pumpkins to use for whipping up fresh pumpkin puree for your homemade pumpkin pie or – for a standout holiday dessert that nobody will forget – make Pumpkin Bread Budding from Bootleggers Old Town Tavern and Grill's delicious tried and true recipe.
Don’t Forget to Pick Up Fresh Cut Flowers
Looking for the perfect touch to finish your holiday table? Adorn your home or gift a loved one with a bouquet of beautiful, seasonal flowers from the Old Town Auburn Farmers’ Market.
Local flower farmers are sure to be present with beautiful fall flowers, such as lavender, sunflowers, freesia and gerbera daisies.
Did you know that there are health benefits to having flowers in your home? They can boost energy, mood, air quality, creativity, and even productivity.
On Saturday morning roll out of bed, throw on a cozy sweater, grab a basket and head to the Old Town Auburn Farmer’s Market to stock up on all the seasonal, fresh produce and goods you can carry.