We're very excited to introduce our new Market Manager, Liz O'Leary, to you!
Tell
us a little about yourself… (how long you’ve lived here, family, what you do
around town…) We moved to Cheverly almost 11 years ago. At that time we only
had our oldest son Dermot and I was pregnant with our daughter Erin. We had our
other son Declan five years ago. We found Cheverly through friends who had
grown up here. We were immediately attracted to what a vibrant, friendly
community it was. It didn’t take us long to settle in and become involved in
many of the community organizations around town, I’m on the boards of the local
nursery and Catholic school. The great thing about Cheverly is what a
supportive community we have.
Why
did you want to get involved with Cheverly Community Market? I absolutely love our
market and I’ve enjoyed watching it grow over the years. I wanted to get
involved because I’m excited about our potential, about where we are going. I
see us as a child you’ve watched grow and now we are entering our school years.
You can’t help but get excited about what we are going to do. Adolescence may
be ugly but just wait until we reach adulthood!
What
would you like people to know about the Market? I want people to know
that even though we are a small market we have everything a larger market might
have. We have such amazing vendors.
I like to think of us as feisty!
What
are you looking forward to during the upcoming season? Seeing our old vendors
return and welcoming our new ones. It’s like returning after school break and
all your friends are there waiting for you.
What
are the most important factors to you in buying food? How does purchasing
products at farmer’s markets fit into your shopping plans? Whenever possible I
try to purchase fresh over packaged. I also try and choose whatever is in
season and pick recipes accordingly. With three children in the house we are
always busy. I find that planning my meals for the week helps take the pressure
off what to make for dinner. When I shop at the market I work into my menus
whatever I find at the market that looks good that week. I try and buy my
pantry staples there too–peppers, herbs, greens, etc.
What’s
your favorite meal to cook? Well, I grew up in the south so my obvious favorites are
go-to Southern staples- fried chicken, gumbo, stuffed peppers, etc. We always
had four to five different vegetables on the table at each meal. My grandmother canned
everything from my dad’s garden. We would eat homemade pickles and chow-chow
all winter long. Summer was the best though, because we would have always have
fresh tomatoes and cucumbers on the table. Also–whatever fresh vegetables my
dad had picked that day. I will die dreaming of my grandmother’s creamed peas
with new potatoes.
Do
you do all the cooking in your house? Do your kids cook? My husband Pat and I
try and share the cooking in our house. Whenever possible we try and cook
together. He’s a bit more adventurous than I am–throwing recipes to the wind.
I, on the other hand, enjoy researching new recipes and finding the perfect
one. I even test recipes for Cook’s Illustrated. My cooking style has changed over the years–less fried foods
and more emphasis on healthy and fresh combinations. It’s about finding a
balance. Our kids do cook as well, and can make some basic meals for
themselves. We try to include them in the process whenever possible. My
grandmother taught me to cook, to which I attribute to my lifelong love of food
and cooking. I hope my own children develop this love the way I did.
Please help us welcome Liz. We're thrilled that she's with us!
Thank you to everyone who attended the first Market of the 2009 season, and a very special thank you to the vendors and volunteers who made such a spectacular day possible! The weather was perfect, the band sounded great and there were amazing treats to eat and drink with friends, either at the Market or at home. We're already looking forward to our next Market! 
This week and next, we'll be posting new photos on 
