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September 30, 2008

Market News - September 23, 2008

From the Market Manager 

   Our weather karma almost held out last week. We had a deluge prior to the opening of the market, a little more rain and then it cleared up for the last 4 hours. So, thanks to all of you who showed up. The farmers sold more by being there than if they hadn’t shown up.

   Six more weeks left to this market season. Every week we have new customers. I hope that it only takes one visit to the market to make a regular customer out of them. I don’t know about you, but I am seldom at the grocery store this time of year.

Farm to Cafeteria

   For several years now there has been a movement which is making progress in getting local food into school and business cafeterias. By purchasing locally grown/raised food participants can cut back on fruits and vegetables purchased from large distributors in favor of working individually with local farmers.

   That can be more expensive and may involve more work—from procurement to preparation—food directors are saying that it pays dividends in fresher, better-tasting produce that more kids eat.

   Signing up more kids for school lunches can help the bottom line as schools receive a per-student subsidy from the Agriculture Department’s National School Lunch Program. At the same schools are bolstering local regional agricultural economies.

   One school system in Saratoga Springs, NY is going to bring some farmers into classes to talk about agriculture this school year. They want their students to know where their food comes from.

   I remember when I had a Fresh Air child from New York City one summer many years ago, I took him with my own children to a nearby farm and asked at the farm stand if I could bring them into the field to show them how some vegetables grew. The boy from New York was stunned to see food coming out of the ground.

   There are challenges to having the farm to cafeteria program. It is often more expensive as small farmers have higher production costs. It takes more effort to prepare a fruit or vegetable “from scratch.0” Another challenge is that buying local means that the menus have to be adjusted to local growing seasons.

   If you’d like additional information about this go to the Community Food Security Coalition website. They’ve been working on this issue for years.

Celery, Corn, etc.

   Not a lot of growers grow celery in our area as it’s not as mild or broad stemmed as what we see in the grocery stores. But, it is SO flavorful. If you like to cook with celery, I recommend that you buy some from Red Fire Farm, the only farmer at our market who grows it. Make sure you use some of the leaves also.

   Last week, 10 days after purchasing some corn from Riverbend Farm, I cooked the last two ears. I thought I had them, but they were buried in the ‘fridge. So, I thought it would be starchy, but decided to cook them anyhow. It was delicious. Rick said that his variety is Providence, and although the seed is more expensive than many others, he likes it because it stays sweet. I’ll second that.

   Before you cook your winter squash, poke a couple of holes in it with a knife and microwave it for about 8-10 minutes. Let it cool and then you will be able to cut it easily.

   I hope you try many varieties of squash as they are all a little different from each other.

Emergency Preparedness: Individual and Family Survival 

   The Springfield Department of Health & Human Services will be having neighborhood trainings to introduce you, your family and neighbors to emergency preparedness. Their learning objectives for this training are:

  • Develop a family survival plan
  • Create a family survival kit
  • Know what/where resources are available
For more information please contact them at 787-6761 or bafrederic@springfieldcityhall.com. That is Bettye Anderson Frederic’s contact # and email.

Shop for a Cause

   This is the last week for the Macy’s coupons. The shopping date is September 20th at any Macy’s store. $5 for the coupon and we get to keep all of the proceeds. They are at the market table.

EBT-Debit-Credit

   Sorry for the difficulties last week with the wireless machine for the above cards. Turns out the machine was never programmed to take EBT cards. It will be fine this week.

   If you’d like to purchase lots of tokens at one time, that is perfectly fine. That way you don’t have to go to an ATM machine or run out of money while at the market. As I said last week, we are going to charge a small fee when you use your credit or debit card. It will help to defray our expenses. Each token is worth $2.50 no matter which card you use. The tokens for EBT can only be used for food, while the others can be used for anything at the market.

Gift Certificates    You can purchase a gift certificate for use this year or next year. I expect that most of our vendors will return to the market next year.

   They are available in multiples of $2.50. It’s a great idea for someone who has too much stuff. They always have to eat.

 

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Market News - September 16, 2008

From the Market Manager 

   When my daughter was in college one of her teaching assistants was from Argentina. One day she paid him a compliment, and he said, “Oh Jennifer, you’re going to give me a boiled head.” whereupon she told him that his translation was a little off.

   I am getting a “boiled head” from all of the compliments about our market. Last week someone told me that I was irreplaceable. I hope that isn’t true. While I have no plans to stop managing the market anytime soon, someday I will, either by design or default.    As much as I love the compliments, it is so very important that everyone who is part of this market be appreciated. As I say so often, the quality and the variety of the goods that are brought to our market is overwhelmingly excellent. The vendors show up on time, their displays are attractive, they are unfailingly pleasant, and they are generous. Each week someone from the Open Pantry comes to pick up surplus food, and they never go away empty-handed.

   I am often asked what I attribute the success of this market to. I think that there are primarily 3 things:

 

  1. There is a lot of publicity about the value of buying locally grown/raised food.
  2. Lots of concern about food safety.
  3. Once someone has tasted food from a farmers’ market, they realize how delicious it is, and they want to continue having tasty food. 
     
   One other thing that I think is important is the sense of community that we get when we become a regular customer at a farmers’ market. I sometimes joke with groups who stand around and talk for a while by telling them that they’re going to have to pay rent if they stay 5 minutes longer. You may meet a friend or neighbor in the grocery store, but not with the regularity that you do here.

   So, thanks to all of us for making this farmers’ market so special.

Riverbend Farm--Hadley

   Rick Wysk has been farming since he was 5 years old when his uncle gave him a patch of dirt in which to grow vegetables. When he was 8 he started growing vegetables to sell.

   Except for the 10 years that he worked for Stop and Shop, he has farmed most of his life.

   Rick’s family has worked with him on the farm. He now works with his sister Ann Marie, and his Aunt Betty. In training are his twins Richie and Olivia, 3½.

This ‘n’ That

   I think that there are several things everyone should know how to do and we should teach these to our children before they go to college. In no particular order they are:

Laundry

Drive

Cook

Use a checkbook

Learn how to save money, energy, water, etc.

Iron

Clean

Shop for food and clothing

Budget

   I often tell young people that if they learn how to cook they will save lots of money, plus they will be better nourished and they will have food that they like.

   Happy autumn! This is such a glorious time of year (until November when it gets dark early and COLD.) Many of the vegetables that we buy now can be kept for several months. I’m thinking specifically of winter squash, potatoes, and onions. You can certainly do some prep work and put some things in the freezer. Last week I sautéed leeks, carrots, and celery which is the beginning of a leek/sausage soup. That’s in the freezer, so when I’m ready to make the soup I’ll already have the native vegetables to make the soup delicious.

   Roast some tomatoes with olive oil, garlic and some seasonings, puree it and freeze it, make the beginnings of summer squash soup (onions, squash, broth.) Puree it and then when you’re ready to make the soup, add cream or yogurt and seasoning and you’ll have a summer soup whenever.

Eat the View

   CISA-Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, will once again have their annual delicious fundraiser at Look Park in the Garden House on October 3rd from 6-9 PM. It includes a buffet composed of local foods by local restaurants and caterers, live music, and a live auction. The cost is $75 per person, and well worth it. To reserve your ticket, go to buylocalfood.com or call 413-665-7100. (Our own Faye Omasta from Hickory Dell Farm is a past president of CISA.)

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September 08, 2008

Market News - September 9, 2008

From the Market Manager
   We finally have the wireless transfer machine so that we can take EBT/debit/credit cards. We are using the token system. If you want to use your card you must come to the information (market) table and get your card swiped. We will give you tokens for the amount you wish in increments of $2.50. Except for EBT we will be charging a small fee to defray our costs. You use the tokens just like cash.
   There will be NO tokens available on September 30th, so please plan ahead.
   Last week I had an easel set up with a pad asking the question “Where do you live?” We haven’t done any kind of a survey for 4 or 5 years. The last time a survey was done it was done by UMASS, and it was more involved. Interestingly the results are similar. The largest  percentage of our customers come from our neighborhood of Forest Park, and the next largest group comes from Longmeadow.
   What really surprised me was the number of people that I spoke with who came from other places such as Palmer, Agawam, Westfield, etc. Our reputation as an excellent farmers’ market has spread throughout the region.
   I hope that you take a look at the green crate each week to find recipes that might be new to you. I put one in a couple of weeks ago for an eggplant pasta sauce. It’s from an Italian cookbook that I’ve owned for years. Everything I’ve made from it has been delicious. I’d never made this eggplant recipe, but I did this weekend. It’s a keeper. You could make it now and put it in the freezer as there’s nothing in it that won’t freeze well. And—so many of the ingredients are in season now. Several people came up to me at the last two markets and told me that they’d made it and that it was delicious.
   Here’s a comment from one of our market regulars, Susan Joel: “There is such positive energy at the market. Folks are friendly and warm; it feels like community.”
And that’s the truth.
   Paul and Marie Vadnais (Cozy Eats) will return on the 30th after their sojourn at the Big E. They don’t sell olive oil and vinegar there as they said they’ve had too many $25 bottles of olive oil stolen from there in the past, so they sell something else.

   We have had few problems with thievery at our market, but recently a jar of jam and one of the market carts were stolen. A farmers’ market is such a special place, where patrons can put a face to the people who do the work to bring them their food, that most people wouldn’t even think of stealing. But, there are always those who will take what doesn’t belong to them with no second thoughts.

Friends of the Farmers’ Market
   Thanks to our newest “friends” Juanita Martinez and Frank Torre, J.D. Ayers, and Kathleen Stevens. We appreciate your support.
   We have new “Friends” brochures that we hand out or that you can pick up at the market table. They’re yellow. Your contribution benefits the market directly—no middle men (or women.)

Stock up
   We have 7 more weeks of the market after this week, so now is the time to start buying extra to have throughout the six months that we aren’t here.
   Berkshire Mountain Bakery’s bread freezes beautifully. Defrost it on the counter and then put it in the oven to warm. You’d never know you hadn’t just bought it.
   Look around the market and you will find many items that would make good gifts throughout the year.

Shop for a Cause
   September 20th is the day that the Macy’s coupons will be used, so if you haven’t purchased one yet from the market manager, please do so. They’re $5, good at any Macy’s store, and you will get extra discounts plus there will be different activities throughout the store that day. The market keeps all of the money from the sale of the coupons.

North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival
   Saturday and Sunday, September 20th and 21st from 10-5 you can enjoy the festival now in its 10th year. Artists, music, healing arts, chef demos, garlic cuisine, entertainment, regional agriculture, renewable energy. Held at Forsters Farm, 60 Chestnut Hill Road in Orange, MA. Get more information from www.garlicandarts.org or 978-544-9023. It’s a nice ride from here.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Depot for Springfield Residents
   Here’s another way in which Springfield helps its residents do the right thing. On 3 Saturdays, September 13th, October 11th, and October 25th, from 8-12 you can bring household hazardous waste to Indian Orchard and leave it there. This is by appointment only so call 787-7840 to get an appointment and get the exact address.
 

Did you Know?
   That Massachusetts is first in New England in direct sales from farmers to consumers and seventh in the U.S? We are  first in the country for average direct sales per farm at $24,900. We are second in New England for honey production at over 167,000 pounds. Women owned farms are now at 21% up from 18% in 1997, and we are 13th nationwide in organic sales. Agriculture is big business in Massachusetts and you are helping with this success by your participation in this farmers’ market.
 
Today’s Recipe
   French toast made with Berkshire Mountain Bakery’s bread. Ideally the bread you use will be a day or two old. Dip it in a mixture of eggs and milk or cream, make sure it has absorbed some of the mixture, and cook it gently in butter. Serve with jam, syrup, fruit sauce, cinnamon & Sugar or plain, your choice of course. Enjoy!

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September 03, 2008

Market News - September 2, 2008

From the Market Manager
   A few years ago someone said to me that because I was such a good cook she was sure that I never made mistakes. I told her that everyone who cooks makes mistakes and that no-one sees them because we throw the mistakes away.
   Last week I made a mistake, but didn’t throw it away. On Monday I made the mixture for zucchini pancakes that I was going to cook at the market on Tuesday. I tested the mixture by making one; it came out perfectly. So I put the mixture in lots of containers, chilled it, and on Tuesday put them in the cooler and went to the market. When I went to make pancakes, the mixture wouldn’t come together properly. I was ready to throw the whole lot away and someone suggested that I call it zucchini scramble aka zucchini mush. So I did. It tasted fine except they weren’t pancakes.
   Here’s my mistake—I didn’t use it the same day I made it. You must use the mixture shortly after you put it together. Don’t bother to salt it after you shred it, but if you have time let the squash sit in a strainer to let some of the water in it leach out. Even though I hadn’t added anything to the mixture, it got too watery.
   But—all was not lost. I had one quart left over, so I added a couple more eggs, a little more flour and more grated cheese and baked it. It was delicious. It puffed up nicely when baked.

Shop for a Cause
   There are still some Macy’s “Shop for a Cause” coupons left. On September 20th, if you go to any Macy’s store with this coupon, you will be eligible for additional discounts on many items. Macy’s has this program for non-profit organizations throughout the country. The organizations keep all of the money from the sale of the coupons. If we sell them all we make $500. They are at the market table. They’re $5 each. Buy one for yourself and a friend. 

What’s Fresh?
   A better answer might be, What isn’t? This is such a fabulous time of year with so much available at the market. I hope that those of you who would like to try preserving food will do so. If you have a freezer, it’s easy, if you don’t it’s a little more involved to can something, but not hard.
   Make Faye Omasta’s roasted tomato sauce (recipe in green crate.) It’s easy and freezes beautifully. You can freeze tomatoes and use them for sauces right from the freezer. Either core them and put them whole into a plastic bag, or puree them and freeze the puree. Freeze peaches by blanching them, slip off the skins, cut or mush them up and freeze in containers. Applesauce is easy. Use imperfect apples, one variety or several, wash, cut up, add a tiny bit of water to the pot, and cook until mushy. Then put them in a food mill or a chinoise and add sugar or not after they’re pureed with some cinnamon and freeze in containers. Or, if you don’t have a food mill, peel and core the apples and cook without the skins until mushy. Add the sugar and cinnamon and freeze.

   A nice way to cook onions is to quarter them, drizzle with a little olive oil and some kosher salt, and roast them until they are done. (You determine when they are done—they take awhile to cook.) Cover them lightly with foil (too tight and they will steam, not roast.) You might want to move them around the pan a couple of times. Don’t use a pan that crowds the onions. A cookie sheet with sides works well.

The Kitchen Garden
   Caroline Pam and Tim Wilcox, parents of Lily and proprietors of The Kitchen Garden, have been coming to our market for only a few years. This year they are farming in Sunderland on their own farm that they purchased last year. In one year they married, bought a farm, and had Lily.
   Caroline and Tim have interesting backgrounds. They didn’t grow up on farms. Caroline is a University of Chicago graduate, and Tim is a Hampshire College graduate. They met at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. Both have worked on farms in Italy, and Caroline is also a culinary school graduate.
   They grow over 150 varieties of vegetables, many of which are heirlooms and/or Italian in origin. They farm without using pesticides or artificial fertilizers.
   Lily will probably not have any stranger anxiety as she gets older as she is often passed from person to person when she is at the market. If you have any cooking questions about their produce, they will certainly be able to advise you.

This ‘n’ That
   Do you have house numbers that are really visible from the street? Drive around and look for house numbers. If you can’t find them, or see them, look at yours and determine if yours are similar. Everyone should have numbers that are large enough to be seen from the street. Forget the numbers that are written out; they’re worthless. Imagine an ambulance trying to find your house in the dark….
   Do you leave the water running when you brush your teeth? It is estimated that a typical tooth brushing with the water on uses one gallon of water. That’s 720 gallons a year per person. Multiply that by 150,000. That’s 109,500,000 gallons per year. So, if you think that what you do as far as conservation doesn’t matter, think again. It all matters.
   So does recycling. It is absurd that only 8% of households in Springfield recycle paper, plastic and metal. Not only is it good for the environment, it SAVES the city money and it EARNS the city money. Why wouldn’t anyone want to participate in something that is so beneficial?

Dip for Fruit
1 ¼ cups yogurt or sour cream
1 T honey
1 T chopped crystalized ginger
1 T chopped fresh mint

Stir together, yogurt or sour cream, honey, ginger and chopped mint. Cover and chill until ready to serve, then transfer to a serving bowl. Cut up whatever fruit you like, and dip into sauce before eating.

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