For over a year now, Urban Cookhouse in downtown Homewood has been serving up delicious dishes with local flare. Owners Andrea and David Snyder chose Homewood for its bustling, dense population and central location when they decided to open a fast-casual restaurant with a focus on local fare. Not only do their fresh vegetables taste better than store-bought produce (most are picked the day before), but buying local veggies also reduces the impact of transporting food on the environment. Did you know most produce travels 1,500 miles before arriving at your grocery store? That is the distance from Birmingham to Winnipeg! Most of all, by using local foods, Urban Cookhouse aids family farmers from our neighboring counties.
Photo courtesy of www.inhomewood.com
Working with a year-round menu at Urban Cookhouse, the Snyders have found only one problem: the restaurant alone cannot sustain their farmers. In response, Urban Cookhouse partnered with the Homewood Chamber of Commerce to open a weekly Farmers Market, allowing farmers to sell their produce on a much larger scale. Beginning in the summer of 2010, the Market has now grown from the Track Shack curb to the SoHo parking lot. Each Saturday from 7:30 am until 12:30 pm, farmers and artists line the lot while customers peruse the local goods. In addition to the mouth-watering summer fruits and veggies, handmade jewelry booths, created by two Homewood High School graduates, are new to this year’s Market. Another crowd-favorite, Bare Naked Noodles, sells an assortment of pastas including lemon-parsley malfadine, porcini mushroom linguini, and even chocolate varieties. Each pasta comes with a recipe detailing cooking directions and how each noodle is best served. Is your mouth watering yet? The Farmers’ Market ends its Summer 2011 run on Saturday, August 27th.
Find information below on several of the Homewood Farmers Market’s vendors:
Back Home Farm: Organically grown produce from Sylacauga, Alabama.
Bare Naked Noodles: Sell over 100 flavors of dried pasta and fresh-frozen ravioli, sauces and pestos, each handcrafted in small batches using every facet of traditional Italian pasta making techniques. Available directly to consumers in very limited places such as select farmers’ markets around the country and a few specialty gourmet retail stores.
Cahaba Confections: Specialize in scrumptious baked goods made with all natural ingredients as well as no additives or preservatives. They use only the freshest creamy butter, organic sugar, organic flour, organic vanilla and whole eggs as well as Ghirardelli chocolate.
Caroline Pruet: Student at Savannah College of Art and Design who makes and sells handmade jewelry.
Christy Turnipseed: Sells vintage book necklaces.
Goodman Farms: Fresh cut flowers
Harvest Farm: Operated by Trent Boyd, a 5th generation farmer from Fairview, Alabama. Harvest Farm grows a variety of produce including 10 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, strawberries, figs, corn, field peas, squash, beans, blueberries, and blackberries. All of their products are produced as naturally as possible.
Lagniappe Bread: Selling homemade sour dough loaves, banana bread, apple bread, zucchini bread, apple cake, teacakes, and cheese straws.
Monroe Sausage: 100% Hickory Wood Smoked sausage. Monroe Sausage is smoked longer for better flavor and made using only premium pork and the finest seasonings.
Mulberry Woods Nursery: Grow and sell native plants and potted herbs.
Owl’s Hollow: Owl’s Hollow Hydroponic Farm was established in May 2001 and is operated by Rod Palmer. Their products are grown floating in water, which contains all of the nutrients they need. Leaving the roots attached allows the vegetable to stay fresher in storage and keep their crisp flavor longer.
The Peach Man: The Peach Man, Kenneth Easterling, is well known in Homewood and has been selling his harvests from the back of his pickup truck on 18th Street for years. He joins are market during peach season, selling 12 unique varieties of Chilton County peaches!
Rosedale Youth Garden: Operated by Nehemiah’s Quest, this youth initiative creates simple, modern gardens on vacant lots in the Rosedale community. Local youth are hired to build and plant the gardens, providing them with paid work experience as well as a chance to create something beautiful in their own neighborhood. Fertilization for gardens is provided by recycled vegetable compost from Urban Cookhouse.
Urban Cookhouse is located in downtown Homewood at 2846 Eighteenth Street South. You can also find them online at www.urbancookhouse.com.
The Homewood Farmers Market is located at Soho Square, 2850 19th Street South, Homewood, Alabama 35209
To see pictures from the 2011 Homewood Farmers Market, click here.
Article written by Maggie O’Connor
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