By 
Emporia Farmers Market. Aug. 15, 2009
I’m not sure but this may have been the first week for apples.
Mr. Solar, aka Shep, aka Farmer John, aka John Crisp, aka Rev. Crisp, prepares a reflector with which he will attempt to steal heat from the sun in order to cook food.
Alas, the sun did not cooperate. Milky clouds swamped the sky.
John Crisp and his wife Ramona own and operate Shepherd’s Valley Farm near Americus, a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture. I wrote a column about the place last year. And here’s a link to their Local Harvest page.
John Crisp, “Shep,” is very involved in community education, passing on information about organic gardening. He’s also involved with the Emporia Area Local Food Network which started a community garden this year.
It’s a smart idea to have safety goggles for when you’re looking at the sun-reflecting stuff.
Shep and another guy move a glass door – it will go over the bathtub cooker. (I’m not making this up.)
Solar pizza and fire extinguisher.
Solar hotdog in a Pringle’s can.
I had some things to do this morning so I didn’t stay around for Shep’s demonstration of how all these things worked and what all he could make/bake with his solar-powered cooking equipment. Fascinating stuff though.
There was a pop quiz at the Farmers Market today. Customers answered questions about how often they attend the market and some of their shopping habits.
A shopper (in yellow) is handed a strip of dots to use to answer the informal market survey.
Wild Sumac Lemonade made by Shep.
Rand Simmons, gazing meaningfully off into the distance. When I photographed him last week, Rand acknowledged that he’s something of a ham in front of a camera because when he was a little kid his mother took a photograph of him every single day and sent it to his father serving in Vietnam.
Rand hefts a sign.
I want to try some wild sumac lemonade! Did you try it? What does it taste like?
Kind of hard to describe, Kris. Tart, in a good way. And clean.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had sumac lemonade. Friends used to make it, but it’s been about 30 years now. Gee…. that sounds like a long time!
I made it once about 35 years ago.
The wild sumac lemonade is made from the red heads of staghorn sumac and is very high in Vitamin C; about 4 times higher than the equivalent in orange juice. It has a citrus kind of taste, tart, but pleasant – unlike anything you’ve ever had before.
Most Americans like things sweet, so we provided some local honey to add as a sweetener to tame the tart a bit. The color is a transparent red shading to pink. If you add honey, the color lightens some. Let me know if you’d like to come to the farm for a taste of sumac lemonade. There were quite a few good comments on the taste.
Sumac lemonade is sold in some farmers markets in the south. Now is the time to harvest the beautiful red heads. Although it’s hard to see the color, you can see some sumac heads in the bowl next to the jar on the left. I had just completed a field trip of the farm for a large group and was acting as their tour guide at the nearby Indian trail and earth lodge, giving an impromptu series of lessons on wild edibles where I harvested these heads.
We provided the blueberry lemonade also, which has been a real treat as well.
I just have to say one thing about that picture of Rand and the sign. It’s such a danged cute picture. Reminds me of my sons.
Men, if we’re lucky, stay about 12 years old, in part anyway. And I think Rand must have done that, as evidenced by that picture.
Rand must be a great guy. If I was his mother, I’d frame that picture.