Tranquil Farms

10/02/2021

Well, I have made a HUGE MISTAKE. While all other information given below is 100% CORRECT, The Italian Pantry in the link below is INCORRECT and is actually located in Maryland, so though I'm sure it's a lovely shop, please disregard it?!! (hangs head in shame and embarrassment).

MY friends' shop is located right here in Texas, actually across from The Woodlands Farmer's Market on Tamina. THIS shop is also called THE ITALIAN PANTRY and is owned by Greg and Jo Anna Zachary. Their phone # is 346-703-3052, and their address is 7515 Oak Bluff Dr., Ste. B, Magnolia, Tx, 77354. They've only been open a week and a half, and haven't yet set up a FB page, and may never. But please don't let that dissuade you from seeking them out for their ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC PRODUCTS!!! (I might add that they'll be carrying a few of our products as well, per this afternoon's discussion)..

The Italian Pantry is your personal introduction to authentic Italian cooking providing essential pa

10/02/2021

I am SO SORRY that we are NOT going to be able to be at the CONROE FARMERS' MARKET or the MAGNOLIA FARMERS' MARKET this weekend. We've been rather steamrolled by a combination of our youngest son Iain's Surgery last week (and his subsequent struggles...he's fine but vociferously uncomfortable), supply chain issues (Covid has so many things backlogged), and the fact that it's MY BIRTHDAY today!!!

We HAVE had the best MICROGREEN grow yet I've made up cases of APPLE CIDER SYRUP and PROPOSAL PICKLES. Sarah is hip-deep in freezing pie crusts for her pies., Darrell has been busy bottling up our various SEASONING mixes, and we're tinkering with some BRAND NEW PRODUCTS that we hope will surprise and delight you! So, not to worry. We WILL BE BACK to the CONROE and WILLIS MARKETS on the THIRD Saturday and Sunday of October.

In the meantime, we will definitely be resupplying BUSHELS AND BLOOMS on Hwy 105 between Conroe and Montgomery, just west of Vernon's Kuntry Katfish, as well as HEALTHY LIVING HEALTHFOOD STORE, a bit further down Hwy. 105 towards Montgomery.

09/30/2021

Lol. The conversations that we strike up with old friends and new ones are just amazing. I met a new friend at the Grocery Store this afternoon and when he learned we were organic farmers that sell our products at local area Farmers Markets, he asked if I knew anyone that made PEAR RELISH? No, truth to tell, this kind gentleman BEGGED. He said it makes the most marvelous accompaniment to Black-Eyed Peas and his Venison! The last jar he had had, he ate with 3 lbs. of Black-Eyed Peas that his wife had made for him...and him alone! He said he was in agony afterward, but that it was SO WORTH IT! Lol. Having never heard of this product before, I asked if he had a recipe. He said no, but that it was both sweet and savory. I asked if it had onions in it. Yes. So, I told him that I'd do a bit of research and development and see what I could do for him.

Now, I've found a number of recipes, most with onions and peppers, some with and some without mustard and hot spice. Each recipe includes rave reviews.

So, have any of YOU heard of PEAR RELISH, and what do YOU recommend? I thought I'd try out a few and start tinkering!

A piquant mix of pears, jalapeños and vinegar forms this tangy relish. Serve it with a standing pork roast or with pork chops or ham steaks. Chef Holiday Recipes Made Easy Delicious, Quick Side Dishes

09/30/2021

Bit by bit, poco a poco, our MICROGREEN FARM keeps improving. Each grow cycle is better than the last. It's kind of like that old saying "Good, Better, Best, never let it rest until your Good gets Better and your Better gets BEST!"

We grow our ORGANIC BABY VEGGIES (aka MICROREENS) in batches on shelving units specific to each Market that we attend. These precious babies luxuriate in a climate-controlled environment so that they aren't stressed (and get tough or bitter) by heat or cold or drought or monsoons. They sink their roots deep into our specific mix of sterile, all-organic Coir-based soil mix, minerals, and amendments. They get a consistent amount of time under our grow lights, and they are constantly strengthened by gentle breezes from fans on each shelf. They grow anywhere from 10 to 28 days, depending on the vegetable, right up until the evening before their intended Market, when they are harvested and immediately packaged, to give our customers the absolute FRESHEST and most deliciously nutritious products possible.

This particular growth cycle has been our best one yet, and is just sooo gorgeous that I HAD to share it with you all!!!

09/29/2021

Cool new thoughts about the importance and versatility of MICROGREENS as a food source for an uncertain future!

Starting decades ago as fashionable, high-value gourmet greens, today microgreens have gained popularity among consumers for their nutritional profile and high content of antioxidant compounds. Now, a new study suggests that the tiny plants have the potential to help provide global nutrition securit...

09/29/2021

And we thought WE had wild boar problems!

Entire families of wild boars have become a daily sight in Rome, as groups of 10-30 beasts emerge from nearby parks to trot down city streets in search of food in Rome's overflowing trash bins.

09/19/2021

We had an excellent time at the CONROE FARMERS MARKET today. We loved visiting with old friends and new, and were thrilled to meet up with Destiny from the Woodlands Crunchy Housewives Group!

Sarah and I are busy baking up fresh APPLE PIES in both traditional and no-sugar-added versions for you guys! Starting tomorrow, we'll also be attending the SMALL BUT MIGHTY PRODUCERS MARKET (all Farmers, and no Crafters) at the Bock's GOODGRASS FARM and Dairy In Willis, which happens just once a month on the 3rd SUNDAY, so we look forward to seeing you there tomorrow between 2-5 pm!

https://www.facebook.com/GoodgrassFarmLlc/

We are a Raw Cow's Milk Dairy (permit 481887) milking several dairy breeds including Jersey, Guernsey, and Brown Swiss

09/18/2021

Hey Guys! It's time for your bi-monthly reminder to come on out to the CONROE FAREMERS' MARKET tomorrow for your fresh, delicious, and nutritious MICROGREENS, your homemade PROPOSAL PICKLES, your selection of ORGANIC DIP and ORGANIC SPICE BLENDS, and YOUR APPLE CIDER SYRUP and CARAMEL SAUCE!!!

We've been soo pleased with ya'll's reactions to our health-promoting Organic Farm-grown and Farm-made PRODUCTS. Please keep sending us your feedback, as it's priceless to us. Several of our wonderful customers can't get over how our Apple Cider Syrup is not only delicious in a wide variety of culinary uses, but also puts out their ACID-REFLUX FIRE! If you have similar reactions to the alkalizing properties of our Syrup and Microgreens, please let us know as we're keeping an unofficial record of how people are being helped by this "Endangered American Food Way".

Another customer and dear friend, "H.R." reports how her surgeon can't get over how her blood markers have improved, and the only change she's made to her diet has been our Dehydrated MICROGREENS Powder! Here's our FB conversation on the topic, quoted with her permission...........................................................

"H.D.
I added extra microgreens to my Ricotta Bake tonight! My friends (the Epps) dehydrated theirs for the farmer's market. So I can put it into everything and get the benefits of it. When my medical team ran my blood before my surgery… they wanted to know what I'd been doing differently in the last 2 months because all my numbers of vitamins and minerals were so much better, above required for a healthy body! So I’m never quitting!
· Reply · 2d
Catherine Roman Epps
H. R., I am SO GLAD that you are doing so WELL!!! It's all I could have prayed for, dear heart. We may have to buy another dehydrator or two in order to keep up with the demand! Lol.

I put dehydrated Microgreens into our Shrimp Scampi the other night, and into last night's German Ham and Potato Hash!!! Did I tell you how great they are in our Potato Salad? OMG. All the great taste from the Proposal Pickles, plus the super nutrition of the dehydrated Microgreens AND very interestingly, the Dehydrated Greens absorbed the water that normally separates out of left-over Potato Salad so that it was just as good the next day as it was when freshly made!
· Reply · 1d
Catherine Roman Epps, I’m telling you… they are great in everything when powdered! And so easy to add to everything without little eyes or anti-veg eyes! Lol.
· Reply · 1d
Catherine Roman Epps
Absolutely! It's amazing that you don't have to change your everyday recipes by very much at all in order to improve your family's nutrition! Just 1/4 tsp. added into a recipe equals the nutrition in a 1/4 BOX of fresh Microgreens! Our son's therapist is in LOVE with not only the fresh Microgreens piled on her Caprese Salads but also the dehydrated AND our powdered organic Green Goodness dip/dressing/spice blend on EVERYTHING! It's so FUN enjoying these products with all of you creative cooks!!! Thank you so very much for sharing this with us! "

https://www.facebook.com/TranquilFarmsLLC
https://www.facebook.com/SarahEppsCakery

09/07/2021

I hope everyone had a nice and relaxing Labor Day Weekend! Usually, we attend HEALTHY LIVING HEALTH FOOD STORE's BIG SALE DAY (https://www.facebook.com/healthyliving2006/), on the first Monday of each month. Since today was that Monday but was a holiday, they are holding their Sale Day on TUESDAY, tomorrow, instead. So, Sarah's preparing more APPLE PIES!!! Come out to see us tomorrow afternoon and get your own FRESH APPLE PIES, as well as your fresh MICROGREENS and newly bottled APPLE CIDER SYRUP!!!

09/04/2021

For the first time so far, we'll be attending Farmers' Markets on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends. That means we're doing back-to-back Markets as last weekend was the 5th, and this weekend is the 1st! Not having a weekend in between Markets is TOUGH! But we're on schedule, busily peeling and slicing apples and BAKING FRESH APPLE CIDER SYRUP PIES (in Traditional AND No-Sugar-Added versions) for you guys for tomorrow, so the kitchen smells like Apple Heaven! That incredible scent just makes me HAPPY, and I bet it will make YOU Happy Too!! Lol. Please do come on out and get your fresh pies early, as we completely SOLD OUT last weekend, at BOTH Markets!!! Now that people KNOW about Sarah's incredible pies, we expect them to go even faster, so don't be late! ;)

We'll have all our other usual products that you've come to know and love, as well, of course...FRESHLY HARVESTED delicious and nutritious MICROGREENS, as well as shelf-stable dehydrated RAW MICROGREEN POWDER. We'll also have our new GREEN GOODNESS dip and dressing powders, as well as our Crispy Pic Pickles, etc.

We're really looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow and/or Sunday!

https://www.facebook.com/TranquilFarmsLLC
https://www.facebook.com/SarahEppsCakery