This Saturday morning the Franklin Farmers market is hosting the “Get Fit Franklin” Mayors’ Healthy Cook-off from 9:30-11:00 am. This fun event is where Franklin Mayor Ken Moore and Thompson’s Station Mayor Corey Napier will compete in a healthy recipe cook-off. So who is the best cook between these two local mayors? You’ll have to come and taste and try to sway the two local celebrity judges. Miss Daisy King of Miss Daisy’s Kitchen and Mr. Andy Marshall of Puckett’s Grocery will be the judges to determine who’s the best Chef for the day in the kitchen!

We are excited to have Chef Michael Martin from Whole Foods Market of Franklin on hand supporting the Get Fit Franklin Mayor’s Healthy Cook-off. Two Weber Grills will be given away during the event. Be sure to sign up for the giveaway and enjoy tasting some local food prepared by two of our local Mayors! A Fun Day for all!

After market on Saturday I was hungry for some grilled pork chops. After walking thru the market and finding the local lettuces, carrots and strawberries, I had my plan!

These beautiful pork chops are from West Wind Farms located in Deer Lodge, Tennessee. Ralph and Kimberly do a magnificent job of creating as natural a habitat as possible for all their animals. You can taste the difference in all their Tennessee raised cows, chickens and pigs. All West Wind Farms animals feed off natural food that brings much more flavor to the meats.

After finding fresh lettuces from Beaverdam Creek Farm, carrots from Rocky Glade Farm and organic strawberries from Delvin Farms I was ready to roll! The produce coming into the market from our local farmers this year is exceptional with the nice balance of sunshine and rain we have received. The local lettuce leafs are large and colorful. The farm grown carrots are bright orange and sweet tasting. And, of course, this years crop of strawberries from Delvin Farms have been so sweet and juicy.

I grilled my pork chops on my Big Green Egg, which delivers perfect settings from the best possible grilling experience. The correct high temperature will deliver a juicy cut of meat every time. I start out at 500 degrees then quickly reduce to 400 degrees after 2 minutes on each side. I like to get some char going when I grill any of our local meats outdoors. Tenor and juicy is always my aim for the best tasting local pork chops off the grill. Add local pork chops with locally grown produce teams up for a nice light summer lunch after market. The sweet taste of carrots, lettuce, strawberries with a vendor and juicy just grill pork chop is pure heaven to my awaiting taste buds!

Thank you to all our Tennessee Farmers who bring the best of food to our local farmers market!

Strawberry Festival time is here! It’s the first sweet bite of spring and it’s the delicious main ingredient of the 5th annual Franklin Farmers Market Strawberry Festival which gets underway Saturday, May 16th beginning at 8am. It’s a fun celebration for the entire family with music, kids’ games, and plenty of delicious fresh strawberries grown on Middle Tennessee farms.

Mouthwatering homemade strawberry shortcakes, made by Norton Family Farm will be available. Topped with sweet berries from the farms of the market and a dollop of Hatcher Family Dairy whipped cream, the shortcakes are a festival favorite. We will also have strawberry donuts from Ellie’s Old Fashioned Doughnuts. Proceeds from the shortcake and donut sales benefit the Franklin Farmers Market and the Franklin Farmers Market Educational Foundation. The Franklin Farmers Market is a non-profit agricultural organization dedicated to keeping Tennessee farms growing.

A team of local judges will select the best tasting strawberries at the FFM and decide the winner of the “Strawberriest Booth” contest. This years judges will be:

Joe Dubin, WSMV Channel 4 Sports Team, Emmy Award winner and two-time Edward R. Murrow Award winner while at WKRN
–Marianne DeMeyers, President of Downtown Franklin Association, Owner of Tin Cottage
–Cassie Jones, Director of Sales for Southern Exposure Magazine & The Williamson Herald
–Chef Carlos Garcia, Homestead Manor’s Executive Chef
The Franklin Farmers Market Strawberry Festival is presented by Ford – Lincoln of Franklin.

Besides all of the fresh berries at the Franklin Farmers Market Strawberry Festival, festival attendees can also enjoy a wide variety of fresh produce and goods from Tennessee farms and beautiful, unique arts and crafts from local artisans. Admission to the Franklin Farmers Market Strawberry Festival is free. The Franklin Farmers Market is located at the corner of Liberty Pike and Franklin Road, behind The Factory.

Would you like to be a Strawberry Festival Volunteer? Visit our Volunteer sign up here. 

Would you like to be a volunteer for the 2015 Strawberry Festival?  We have Volunteer
opportunities throughout the day of our strawberry festival and the day before prepping strawberries. A Volunteer Schedule will be emailed to all volunteers. And you will receive some strawberries for your time!

If you are interested in volunteering, please do the following:

Please email Kristy Williams at kwilliams@historicfranklin.com by Thursday, May 14, 2015 at High Noon.  Provide your Name, Day(s) and Area(s) you are interested in along with your cell number.  You will receive an email in response to your request as well as a
schedule before the event.

FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2015

Washing and Slicing 25 flats of strawberries at 1st United Methodist Church, downtown Franklin

4pm till 8pm – Need 15 Volunteers

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015

Set Up Crew-Tents, games, moving the strawberries from Kitchen to tents,
etc.

6:30 a.m.-Need 6 volunteers

Shortcake Tent-Prepare shortcakes, Chair-Liz Norton

7:45 – 10:30 -Need 8 Volunteers

10:30 – 1 PM-Need 8 Volunteers

Children’s Area-Keep Game area cleaned and encourage children to share

7:45 – 10:30 -Need 2 Volunteers

10:30 – 1 PM-Need 2 Volunteers

Clean Up Crew-Pack up children’s games and the strawberry tent supplies

1 p.m.-Need 4 Volunteers

Did you know that the Franklin Farmers Market donated over 14,000 pounds of
fresh fruits and vegetables to the Giving Garden ministry for First  United
Methodist Church in 2014?  The Franklin Farmers Market has grown
significantly and we appreciate our great volunteers to produce the market
each week. We appreciate your time and consideration!!!!

Kristy Williams
Franklin Farmers Market Volunteer
kwilliams@historicfranklin.com

*If you still would like to volunteer after the deadline for sign up has passed, call Ryan Palmer, Events Manager at 615-310-3758, there may still be opportunities to volunteer.

Thank you on behalf of the Franklin Farmers Market!

I love cooking what I consider to be the best local breakfast you can eat with all ingredients coming from the Franklin Farmers Market behind the Factory in Franklin Tennessee. The eggs are farm fresh, the spinach, green onions and mushrooms have just been harvested the day before. The beautiful sweet strawberries top a freshly baked shortcake with local dairy cream. We are blessed to live in Tennessee rich with agriculture and farms dotting our entire state. There is no better taste than local farm fresh food! And we have the largest assembly of farmers at our Tennessee farmers market.

Sauté some fresh spinach, green onions and mushrooms

For breakfast, I used fresh farm eggs from Moonshadow Farm. Our market eggs are free range and have a bright orange yolk with a wonderful fresh flavor. Brenda of Moonshadow Farm treats her chickens like children, protecting them from hawks and wild animals. I sautéed some green onions and spinach from Rocky Glade Farm along with some blue oyster farm grown mushrooms from Colvin Family Farm. I used bacon grease from the market bacon I just prepared. Once slightly sautéed I then added two fresh eggs from Moonshadow Farm. I lightly scramble the eggs with the sautéed farm fresh ingredients just picked up at the farmers market.

Karen’s shortcakes are the best!

The most exciting part of this breakfast is the time of year it is. This best local breakfast is made possible by the star of the day, local strawberries from Kelly’s Berry Farm! We had over 1,200 pints of strawberries at the market and all we’re so beautiful and sweet. Karen of Norton Family Farm had her customer favorite shortcakes at market. These are the best tasting shortcakes you will find in Williamson County. With Karen selling out of her shortcakes by 11am, she was kind to save me two I could use for breakfast this morning. The whipped cream from Hatcher Family Dairy was the perfect white bed for the sweet strawberries to sleep in. Folks, this Best Local Breakfast, was better than the pictures communicate. It was simply “Local Fabulous”!

Come visit our market next week and enjoy fresh local food from the Franklin Farmers Market. Your taste buds will rejoice, and your body will be thankful for a week of nutritious local food. Our Strawberry Festival is May 16th! See you all Saturday, new summer hours 8am till 1pm!

Two Mom’s carry home flats of strawberries and a farm CSA from Delvin Farms

Grilled Skirt Steak from Bear Creek Farm

Are you considering local lamb or beef for this coming Easter Sunday? We have the largest assembly of local meat producing farms at the Franklin Farmers Market. All of our animal farmers are committed to raising their animals in a responsible and humane way. Local farm animals feed on farm grass and grain. Some farms will only grass feed their livestock for a leaner meat product with others finishing with a measured diet of grain adding some marbling to cuts of beef. We recommend you get to know the farmers from the Franklin Farmers Market. They are all Tennessee friendly with great information about how they raise and feed their animals. Once you taste the great flavor of local meats it is hard to eat anything else!

The natural color of locally raised beef

So what’s the difference between store bought, mass produced beef compared to local farm meats? With locally sourced meats, you have more flavor delivering a much tastier and enjoyable steak. Great meat flavor comes from the diet of what a cow or lamb eats. Our farmers are careful to feed their animals the best diet of grass with some farmers finishing with grain grown on their farm. When cattle and other animals are raised in extremely large quantities, you lose the local diet which reduces the flavor of well-cooked steak, lamb, chicken or pork. When farm animals are taken care of and fed well it leads to a tastier meat for your enjoyment.

I’ve prepared two examples of some great tasting meats from two of our local Tennessee farms. I’ve prepared a small lamb tenderloin from Hatcher Family Dairy and a skirt steak from Bear Creek Farm. Both cuts were grilled on a Big Green Egg delivering the best possible fire to hold in the juices for a perfect cooking experience.

Lamb medallions from Hatcher Dairy Farm, lettuce mix from Norton Family Farm and Red Potatoes from Kirkview Farm

For the lamb tenderloin from Hatcher Family Dairy, I brought the meat to room temperature before lightly seasoning. I seasoned a few minutes before hitting the grill with sea salt and a classic Tuscan blend of herbs, tomato flakes, and garlic. Because local lamb is tastier, I prefer not to overwhelm the natural flavor with anything too strong. I bring the grill temperature down to around 450 degrees and grill lightly for 7 minutes turning three times. This delivers a great tasting tenderloin of lamb I slice into medallions for a great lunch. Included are red potatoes from Kirkview Farm and spring lettuce mix from Norton Family Farms. I then sprinkled some fresh cut market chives.

Grilling on a high temp is key

For the skirt steak from Bear Creek Farm, I brought the meat to room temperature. Then added kosher salt and fresh ground pepper exactly 5 minutes before placing on my Big Green Egg with a temperature of 600 degrees. The secret to grilling a tender, juicy skirt or flank steak is the seasoning and hitting the grill at a very high temperature. The flank steak grilled on both sides for 3 minutes. Then reduced both vents on the Big Green Egg by 70% for another 90 seconds on each side. It takes some experience judging the correct time for this to work, but after a few tries you can figure out how to get that perfect medium rare. You don’t want to overcook skirt or flank steak, or it will be tough.

Left over skirt steak makes for nice slider snacks!

What’s great about grilling a large skirt steak is using the remainder for leftovers. Slice off what you want cold from the fridge and eat cold or heat up for a great slider snack! Don’t be intimated by buying too large a cut! You can always prepare additional meals for later in the week. There’s nothing better than great tasting local beef, lamb, chicken and pork from the Franklin Farmers Market. Enjoy getting to know all our local farmers, stop and ask them any questions, they are all very friendly with great tips for cooking.

From all of us at the Franklin Farmers Market we wish everyone a peaceful Good Friday and Easter Sunday Celebration!

Visit our Facebook Page to see a few more photos of these two grilling ideas.

Three of our market farmers swept the “Best Local Farm” category at this weeks 2015 Sizzle Awards.”  Congratulation’s to First Place winner Hatcher Family Dairy, Second Place winner Bear Creek Farm and Third Place winner Delvin Farms. When reached for comment, each of our farmers had this to say:

“Being voted Best Local Farm is a big credit to our Hatcher Milk drinkers. We are overjoyed to receive this recognition from our local customers. We appreciate all our customers thinking of Hatcher Family Dairy when casting their vote for this award.”

-Charlie Hatcher of Hatcher Family Farm

“What an honor to be included with such amazing farmers. Bill and I love Williamson County, our loyal customers, and our farming family. Thank you for voting for Bear Creek Farm.”

-LeeAnn Cherry of Bear Creek Farm

“We love our Williamson County customers. Thank you for voting our third place award. We hope to see you at your favorite farmers markets this summer.  We are working hard to deliver our best year of growing organic vegetables on the farm.”

-Hank Devlin, Jr. of Delvin Farms

We are also proud to share many of our market sponsors were also award winners. We hope you will support all our sponsors who graciously support our market each year.

Best Burger, 1st Place Winner Burger Up
Best Italian, 2nd Place Winner Amerigo
Best Local Bank, 1st Place Winner Synergy Bank
Best Healthy Menu, 1st Place Winner Whole Foods
Best Auto Dealer, 2nd Place Winner Ford Lincoln of Franklin

Congratulations to the Factory for winning First place for Best Event Venue!

The Franklin Farmers Market of Franklin Tennessee is blessed to have the largest assembly of Tennessee local farmers providing produce, meats and baked goods available to our customers each Saturday, all year long.

This year the 8th Annual Sizzle Awards were hosted by the Southern Exposure Magazine, Williamson Herald, and FranklinIS. The yearly Sizzle Awards give our community the opportunity to select their favorite local businesses they enjoy frequenting.

Chef Brittney Blackshear of Crepe A Diem is stepping off her Award Winning Food Truck for a Four Course Provencal French Dinner this coming Friday, March 27th. We all know Brittney and staff who support our local farmers with great food each Saturday at the Franklin Farmers Market. Brittney would like to share some of her favorite French dishes at POP Nashville, a unique dining experience in East Nashville. It will be a thoughtful dining experience with many of the local farm food you’ve come to enjoy each Saturday at market. Please join us in supporting Brittney as she moves beyond her Crepes for a memorable dining experience to be enjoyed by all!

You can purchase tickets at http://popnashville.xorbia.com/

Menu for the evening:

~Amuse Bouche~
Beef Tartar
triple l ranch beef tenderloin | minced shallot | cornichons | pilgrims produce farm egg yolk | bloomsbury farm sunflower sprouts | shaved comté cheese | black pepper crepe chip
French Kiss
pinot noir braised triple l ranch tender beef tongue | pickled garlic | shallot confit | house made baguette crostini
~Second Course~
Soup, Salad, & Bread
provencal stew with french flageolet beans | rice’s country ham | local leeks | swiss chard in a Rich Jambon Broth.
Grilled Delvin Farm Kale Salad
walnut citrus vinaigrette | noble springs dairy fresh chévre | pomegranate seeds
fresh house made baguettes | hatcher dairy whipped butter
~Third Course~
Duck Confit Vol-au-Vent
succulent duck confit | roasted root vegetable brunoise | brandied pear | toasted walnuts | in a puff pastry shell | creamy cauliflower celeriac soubis | gruyere cheese
~Fourth Course~
Crepe Suzette Flambé
delicate sweet crepes | orange grand marnier sauce
Can’t wait until the end of the month? You can find the Crepe A Diem food truck every Saturday at the Franklin Farmer’s Market with a special Brunch menu.

Enjoy@$45