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October 28, 2008

Market News - October 28, 2008

From the Market Manager
   Many thanks to all of you for making this a spectacular year at our market.  Even the weather was cooperative (up to today.) We had 2 very hot days, and very little rain. But, even on those days you have been very faithful. I know that is because you have come to appreciate the freshness and flavor of the food, and the variety and beauty of the plants and other non-food items here.
   Our vendors work very hard at what they do in order to bring us the highest quality products, and your patronage affirms that.
   I have been told by several of our vendors that our market is their best market. Not necessarily with sales for some of them, but mostly due to the clientele and the other vendors. They like the fact that we are of many races and ethnicities and socio-economic groups. It makes it more interesting for them.
   Thanks to everyone who gave me money last week for the Smyth family We collected over $200 which I gave to Dan Smyth. With permission from the family, we’d like to organize a fund-raiser at some point as there will likely be expenses that won’t be covered by insurance. For those of you who might not know what I’m talking about, Sam Smyth, the youngest son of Dale and Mike Smyth from Trinity Farm, was in a serious accident almost 2 weeks ago. His spinal cord was severed and one of his legs was broken in several places. Sam is now at the Weldon Center at Mercy Hospital and according to his family has some pain, but also has many pain-free hours.

How to Contact Vendors
   Go to our website (address above) and you will find a vendor list. Several of our vendors have stores. Others who don’t have stores have products that you can purchase in the off-season.

 

Keep Your Local Money Local
   When you need something do you automatically go to one of the big box stores, or do you think of the local business which can provide what you need? Even if you have to go out of your way, please consider the locally owned business first. They are invested in their communities beyond paying taxes.

SEE YOU WHEN THE MARKET OPENS ON MAY 5TH!

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October 21, 2008

Market News - October 21, 2008

From the Market Manager    I am sorry to have to begin this newsletter with sad news. Sam Smyth, the 19-year-old son of Dale and Mike Smyth from Trinity Farm, was involved in a serious accident on the farm last Wednesday. A bale of hay (a big round one) fell off a truck hitting Sam, severing his spinal cord and breaking one of his legs in several places. The doctors have said that he will not walk again.

   Fortunately Dale said that he has his mental faculties and the use of his upper body, so eventually will be back at the farm in some capacity.

   The Smyth’s address is 4 Oliver Road, Enfield, CT 06082 should you wish to send a card/note to them. Dale is very religious, so has asked for your prayers, if you pray.

   It is easy for those of us who benefit from the hard work that farmers do to not realize that farming is hazardous work. In fact, it is one of the more hazardous jobs in the country.

   Sam will go to rehab either in Boston or New Haven. Mike and Dale have to visit both facilities to determine which one will be best for him.

Apple Cake Recipe

   The odd thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t have any eggs in it. I thought that it was a mistake, but it isn’t. Make sure you make the frosting, it’s delicious.

4 baking apples, pared, cored, and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup sugar

1-cup sugar

½ cup cold butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup raisins

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

Icing, Optional, but delicious

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 T. butter

1 T milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

(Instead of cooking the apples and water, you can use a cup and a half of prepared applesauce. If it has sugar in it, it doesn’t really matter.)

1. Cook apples and sugar together for about 8 minutes. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the apples are tender. Set aside to cool.

2. Place the sugar and butter in a large bowl. Use a mixer to beat the cold butter and sugar until they are thoroughly blended and the mixture is light and fluffy.

3. Mash the cooled apples with a fork and measure out 1-½ cups of applesauce and stir into the sugar-butter mixture.

4. Add the flour, raisins, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the apple mixture and mix well. Pour the batter into the pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (about 30 minutes if you use cake pans, about 45 minutes if you use a loaf pan.)

5. For the icing, place the brown sugar, butter, milk and vanilla in a small saucepan. Heat on medium until the mixture boils. Remove the pan from the heat and cool to room temperature.

6. Stir the confectioners’ sugar into the brown sugar mixture. If the mixture becomes too thick to spread on the cake, add ½ tsp. of milk and stir well. Repeat until the desired consistency is reached. (If you don’t cool the brown sugar mixture to room temp. and then add the confectioners’ sugar, it will be easy to pour onto the cake.)

7. If you use cake pans put the icing in between the layers and on top. It is very rich so the amount made is only supposed to be in those places.

This is a very moist cake. I made it in the loaf pan and the frosting dribbled down the sides very nicely.

This ‘n’ That

   By now it isn’t news to anyone that it’s increasingly difficult for some families to make ends meet. A simple way to help is to regularly donate non-perishable food. There are boxes at every church and synagogue, and some grocery stores have boxes near their front doors for contributions.

   If you can get into the habit of donating it will make a difference. They especially like to have protein-rich items to hand out.

    If you are going to have a party where gifts are to be given, perhaps you will ask your guests to bring books that you can donate to a school. Most of us have too much stuff already, so we don’t need more things.

   If you don’t recycle, please start. It saves our communities money, and it earns money for them/us.  It is embarrassing that Springfield has one of the lowest recycling rates in the state. And our city makes it so easy to do so.

   I bought the golden turnips from the Kitchen Garden last week. They are delicious. Try something different for a change. Parsnips perhaps. Peel, cut and cook some in salted water until tender. Then melt some butter with some brown sugar and mix together to coat. Yummy candied parsnips.  They’re good in soup also.

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October 14, 2008

Market News - October 14, 2008

From the Market Manager    

Have you heard the term localvore? My spell-check underlined that word since it isn’t well known. What it means is that you try to eat food that comes from within 100 miles of where you live.

   Here in New England it isn’t as easy to do that as if we lived in California or another warm weather state. When I have gone to farmers’ markets in California, in addition to everything we have, I have seen nuts, fish, citrus fruit, mushrooms, avocados, juices, and more. Even in February. You get the point. Something is always growing there.

   Here we have to store, can, or freeze fruit and vegetables. Local meat, poultry and dairy are available year-round.

   Even folks who try hard to be localvores allow themselves coffee, tea, and chocolate which certainly doesn’t grow in our climate.

    It’s good for us and our farmers if we make an effort to eat locally whenever possible.

   Chicoine Family Farm and Butler Farm are done for the season. Susan will have more beef for sale soon, so contact her at beefychic@aol.com if you want to place an order. Susan Parks (soap/lotion) will be back next week. Buy some of her products for gifts.

   OCTOBER 15TH IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE FOR THE NOVEMBER ELECTION. 

Friends of the Market

   Thanks to: Juanita Martinez and Frank Torre, Mary Ann & Fran Maloney, Kathleen Stevens, Marjorie Morgan, Dan & Emma Frazier and Susan Joel, George & Jan Cartier, Corinne Wingard, Elizabeth Capurso, George & Tito Stanley, Chuck & Irene Hayward, Pat Downes, Bill & Fidele Malloy, Roger & Terri Chapdelaine, Marion Mindel, J.D. Ayers, Robert Shanley, Kelly Turney & Steve Hilbun for their contributions this year. We have received over $500 from them.

   There is one more person who gave a contribution, but I have misplaced the form that she gave me last week, so please, let me know who you are so that I can thank you and give you an invitation to our annual vendor/friends party. I almost never misplace important things, but….

   Also thanks to Bonnie Sticca who gave me the Macy’s Shop for a Cause coupons which raised $135 for us.    This market is such a community effort.

October 19th Activities 

 

   You can do both of these things next Sunday. At 3PM, Western New England College will be having its annual Daniel Pearl concert. Daniel Pearl was killed in 2002 after having been kidnapped in Iraq. At the time of his death he was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal.   His family felt that the way to bring people together to remember Daniel, who loved music, was to have concerts all over the country.

   The concert is multi-cultural and it is free.

   From 4-7 you can enjoy the Springfield Preservation Trust’s Twilight McKnight Tour. You can purchase tickets at Flowers, Flowers on Sumner Avenue (at White St.), or go online to springfieldpreservationtrust.org to find out where you can buy tickets the day of the tour. 

Household Hazardous Waste Collection—October 25th

   There is one more opportunity this month for Springfield residents to dispose of household hazardous waste. You must make an appointment and you are limited to 10 gallons. Call 787-7840 to make the appointment and to get directions.

Winter Squash Soup

   Winter squash lends itself to recipes that are either savory or sweet. If you want a sweet soup add some apple cider to it. I am sure that you can find many recipes for winter squash soup if you go online. You can easily freeze the puree and go from there when you want to make the soup.

   Another thing to make with winter squash are squash muffins or rolls. They are a very pretty color too. If you see a recipe that calls for pumpkin pie spice, use cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, all or some.

Applesauce

   Last week many of you tried my home made applesauce. One lady tasted it and then said, “Macs and cortlands.” She was right! I looked at her in amazement.

   You can make applesauce with all kinds of apples. If you have a food mill it is EASY. Wash the apples, cut them in half, put them in a pot with a tiny bit of water on the bottom. Put on a low heat, cover and cook until they’re mushy. When they’ve cooled a little, put them in a food mill and in a few minutes you’ll have applesauce. You don’t have to peel or core them. Add sugar (or not) and some cinnamon and you are done. It freezes well.

   You can peel and cut up some apples and put them in a freezer bag to use later on for apple crisp or a pie. If you freeze  the amount called for in a recipe in one bag, it will be easy to have the right amount when you go to use them. Even frozen native apples will be better than the mushy things available in the winter.

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Market News - October 7, 2008

From the Market Manager     

Last week I was only a shopper as I took the day off due to it being the beginning of the Jewish New Year. It was odd driving into the parking lot, parking and going around to the different stands saying hello and purchasing what I needed. I was pleased to see how busy it was.

   This has been a terrific season. Every week (just about) was busy. Thanks! Some of you are beginning to whine about the market ending in a few weeks. I’m not sure you’ll get much sympathy from our vendors because I’m sure they’re exhausted.

   A sad note—one of our very regular shoppers, Melissa Mulcahy, died a few weeks ago. She came just about every week with her twin daughters Clementine and Florine. I remember her telling me that Florine Stettheimer was an artist, and that’s where her daughter’s name came from. I was at the Smith Museum of Art this summer, saw a painting by that artist, and mentioned that to Melissa one day. She was a delightful young woman who will be missed by many.

Interesting Places to Visit

   I mentioned the Smith College Art Museum. Make sure you check out the men’s and women’s restrooms in the basement, as they are works of art themselves. Mt. Holyoke also has an art museum and it’s free. The New Britain Museum of American Art is lovely; Saturday mornings between 10-12 you don’t have to pay a fee to enter. Then of course, don’t forget our Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield.  If you have a Springfield library card, the entry fee is waived. Worcester has an art museum as does Williams College, and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Museum also in Williamstown is always a treat. All of these museums are small enough to easily get through within two hours or less.

Springfield Preservation Trust House Tour—October 19th

   Save October 19th from 4-7PM for SPT’s McKnight Twilight Tour. McKnight is one of the largest late 19th century wood framed neighborhoods in New England. The tour is focusing on the area within a few blocks of the Thompson Street Triangle. Look for additional tour information at their website, springfieldpreservationtrust.org.

Voting, Where and When

   If you live in Springfield, go to springfieldcityhall.com/elections/index.php to make sure that you are listed on the voting list. This isn’t necessary if you haven’t moved, or if you recently voted in the primary election, but you should double-check. This website can also tell you where you should vote. The polls are open in the City from 7AM to 8PM. You may be inactive if you didn’t return the census form that you received last spring.

This ‘n’ That 

   When the traffic light turns to yellow, and you have time to stop, do you? Or, are you one of the many who think that the yellow light means that you are supposed to go through at a high rate of speed? Do you go through red lights? Do you know that thousands of people each year are killed because of that behavior?

   How much time do you really save by not stopping? One of our neighborhood residents who rides her bike and walks a lot said that she was at the corner of Forest Park and Sumner Avenues and 3 cars went through completely red lights one day when she was waiting to cross.

   Make a vow to yourself that you will stop this dangerous behavior so that you won’t be one of the people who kills someone. It’s that serious.

   Have you purchased numbers for the front of your house that can be seen from the street? Drive around your own neighborhood and see how difficult it is to read house numbers on most homes.

   If you use the driveway that goes behind the church to exit, you will end up facing Sumner Avenue. When ALL of the traffic on Sumner is stopped, check what the traffic on Oakland is doing, and then move out onto the street. This is especially helpful if you want to make a left turn during rush hour.

   Blue Moon Coffee Roasters can keep you supplied with coffee year-round. Dan will make home deliveries, so get his card, and stay caffeinated, or non if that’s your preference.

   This is the time of year to stock up on some vegetables that keep well for several months. Squash, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and onions, stay very well. I would put the parsnips and carrots in the ‘fridge, but the others don’t need to be refrigerated.

   Cook potatoes and carrots and mash them together with milk, butter, and a little salt. It’s pretty and tasty.

EBT, Debit, Credit Cards

   The wireless transfer machine is working properly now. It took about 45 minutes on the phone one day with a technical person to get it fixed. Sorry for any inconvenience a couple of weeks ago. 
   If you use your debit or credit card we will charge you a $1 fee to help defray our costs. For EBT there is no charge. 

  We use the token system which means that we give you tokens worth $2.50 each that you use like cash. The EBT is a different color from the others as those can only be used for food, while the others can be used for anything. If you don’t use all your tokens by the end of the season, they’ll be fine next year.  

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