Today, we once again visited the Countryside Farmers’ Market , which is held in Howe Meadow (Cuyahoga Valley National Park) on summer Saturdays. We had Stephen’s brother and parents in town and we were on our way to Hale Farm.  It seemed like a great place to stop.  It’s hard for me to turn down a market full of fresh and local items.

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It’s so nice to look at the pristine produce displays.

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There was music and dancing!

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We bought local cheese – aged cheddar ($5), Munster ($5) and aged gouda ($6).

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I stocked up on honey ($22).  So far, the honey from the Schmidt Family Farm in Medina is my favorite.  The first time we were at this market, they didn’t have any crystallized honey, but we were able to buy some this time.  She sold us the wholesale size in a mason jar ($10) with the stipulation that we bring her a jar!  We also picked up some honey on the comb ($10).  I asked Susan if we could come see the farm sometime.  She was definitely open to that.  I’ll be calling to schedule a visit.  I’m very interested in the honey process and I am sure that Nick would enjoy seeing it as well.  We had plans to grill local chicken brats for dinner and picked up some sweet corn to go along with it.  I was glad that it was $5 for a baker’s dozen.

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The item below is called a Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin).  I’m always game to pick up something new at the market.  It’s a squash.  It was $5 and it’s about the size of a pie pumpkin.

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Our guests bought a couple of items to take back to Delaware for friends and everyone had a great time.