This Week at the Market: Benny's Fruit Stand/Rebert Farm

Yesterday, my daughter was asking repeatedly -- okay whining -- about Pixie Stix, those little tubes of colorful flavored sugar. She had purchased several at the pool's serve-yourself candy cart (that bane of many a parent) and wanted to eat them one after another. She got upset that I said no, telling me that she had spent her own money and everything. Things escalated, as they are bound to during that pre-dinner hour when everyone is tired and hungry but unable to admit either, and we ended up doing battle. Again. Over candy. How many of you have been in this situation? I bet that, if you're a parent, this scenario is all too familiar. Well, here's where the story gets good. I got my daughter out of her room by telling her that I was going to prepare something for her that was even tastier than candy, but she had to give me a chance. We went into the kitchen, and I pulled out a handful of cherries, some corn, and a peach. We rinsed the cherries and I asked her to eat just one. She did. Her eyes lit up. She ate another and another, and admitted that they were way better than Pixie Stix. We had fresh corn -- nothing on it -- and a small quesadilla for dinner, followed by that fresh, ripe peach, thinly sliced for dessert. And she admitted the corn and peach, too, were way better than the Pixie Stix. Crisis averted, and a very nice time for us to reconnect -- and stop fighting -- over food.

This Saturday at Cheverly Community Market, Benny's Fruit Stand/Rebert Farm brings us the very best alternative to the candy cart that you could possibly imagine: fresh, ripe peaches, nectarines, plums, blueberries, ginger gold apples, zestar apples, sansa apples, and summer rambo apples, which are juicy and tart. Bring your kids over and let them choose the fruit they want to purchase, then open your very own home alternative to the candy cart. You'll be glad you did.

Food for Thought Fridays: Eating Icons

Today's Food for Thought Friday offering comes from Portland, Oregon's Farmer General, a small blog with terrific writing. Actually, it's a wonderful, thoughful site to peruse -- -you could easily wile away a perfectly good afternoon during which you should be gardening or doing yardwork or some such by exploring the writing on Farmer General. And it would be worth every moment spent.

Today, Joseph Conway caught our eye with "Eating Icons", which examines consuming the icons of Maine. We do it in Maryland, too. When you think of Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay area, what comes to mind? Why blue crabs, of course. What other icons do we consume? It's Food for Thought.

Anticipation!

We're more than ready for those wonderful tastes of summer -- strawberries, beans, peaches, corn... My stomach is growling in agreement as I write this! Well, Maggie here couldn't wait another minute. She had to have corn this weekend. She has deep midwestern roots, so I can't say I blame her. We picked out the best-looking ears at the store, shucked them and boiled them for only a minute or two. This was our Saturday lunch. No butter, no nothing to get in the way of that sweet, delicious, pure corn. There may have even been a few kernels eaten raw. And just think how much better it will be this summer, when we can walk up to Cheverly Community Market on a Saturday morning and return home with bags full of the best stuff on earth: fresh produce, in season!