The Grapevine: My Recent Ground Cherry Discovery
By Rosalyn Queen on August 24, 2023 from The Grapevine
Over the past couple of months, I have been volunteering at the Clarksburg Farmers Market, which is held every Saturday morning. I love to see the fresh vegetables and fruits. I have been living on fresh tomatoes and corn.
But every time I walked by one booth, I noticed these containers of items that looked like little lanterns, or they looked like something that was 
wrapped in parchment paper. Well, after much observation I finally asked the vendor just what these were. She graciously took one and peeled back the wrap and snapped off the little fruit and held it out for me to take and eat. Much to my surprise it had a good taste. It tasted like a mixture of fruits, maybe pineapple, and orange.
wrapped in parchment paper. Well, after much observation I finally asked the vendor just what these were. She graciously took one and peeled back the wrap and snapped off the little fruit and held it out for me to take and eat. Much to my surprise it had a good taste. It tasted like a mixture of fruits, maybe pineapple, and orange.
This really sparked my interest, so I immediately got on my iPad and looked up ground cherries. There is a wealth of information. You can find out how to plant them, care for the plants and how to cook them. There are many delicious recipes using this fruit. The one that most appealed to me was the chocolate covered fruit. You prepare it just as if you were making chocolate covered strawberries. You peel the husk back leaving it still connected to the fruit and dip it in the chocolate. The husk adds a unique decor to your table.
This fruit was made available to me by Sue Richardson of Richardson Farm located in Fairmont. She is at the market every week offering a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. If you have not stopped by the market, I urge you to do so to help support our local vendors.
Talking about vegetables, my tomatoes are not doing well, they remain small and as they ripen they seem to have a rotten spot on the bottom. I really hope they correct this and furnish me with a batch for a good salad. I think I am going to get a batch of peppers.
Just wanted to mention two events that the Progressive Women’s Association co-sponsored this past week. The Business After Hours was co-sponsored with Sutter Roofing and was a great event and had a great turnout. What a great way to interact with other businesses in our area. The other event was a luncheon to honor Carrie Davis, who participated in the West Virginia and National Miss Amazing contest. What a warm and caring way to honor Carrie.
It is Italian Festival time and I hope to see you all on the street. It looks like it will be a great festival.
Take care, be safe and until next week “Now You Have Heard It Through The Grapevine.”
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