Market News - May 25, 2010
From the Market Manager
Last week a few people told me that they had to drive around some to find a parking place. Wow! No one was complaining though as parking is very available here. Park in the driveway if you need to; there’s plenty of room.
One of the ways that we’ve tried to make our market as convenient as possible is to have prepared food for you to eat at the market, so you can have lunch here and shop almost at the same time. We have a table and chairs set up next to the market table and the hot dog vendor. The hot dog vendor (Patti) also has meatball and eggplant grinders made by her mom Vivian Bobrowski aka Noni hence the name Noni’s Grinders.
Check out the green crate at the market table regularly as new recipes appear often. Once something is out of season, the recipe that includes that item is removed. I hope that you try new things from the market, and if it’s something that needs to be cooked, that you try cooking it a different way than you usually do. We all have to eat, so it might as well be interesting.
While going around to do the Census enumeration, I’ve noticed several houses that have no numbers, or numbers in such obscure places that they might just as well be missing. Having numbers visible from the street is a safety issue.
The positive side of doing the Census enumeration is that I’ve met several of my neighbors from adjacent streets. (I’ve also earned a few bucks.)
Today we welcome Rick Rubin whose business is Rick’s Sugar Coated Pecans, but he also has other nuts and home made granola.
A Favorite Poem
This is from a book called When I Am An OLD WOMAN I Shall Wear Purple
(For those of you who don’t know humus is another word for compost, and it’s a play on the word posthumous)
Post Humus by Patti Tana
Scatter my ashes in my garden
So I can be near my loves.
Say a few honest words, sing a gentle song, join hands in a circle of flesh.
Please tell some stories about me making you laugh.
When I’ve had time to settle, and green gathers into buds, remember I love blossoms bursting in spring. As the season ripens remember my persistent passion.
And, if you come in my garden on an August afternoon pluck a bright red globe,
Let juice run down your chin and the seeds stick to your cheek. When I’m dead I want folks to smile and say—That Patti, she sure is some tomato!
New Century Theatre
NCT begins its 20th season in June. They are located in the Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts at Smith College. The theatre is air-conditioned and the seats are very comfortable. Go online to newcenturytheatre.org, or call them for a brochure—413-585-3220. They also have Paintbox, a children’s play series. I always loved taking my children and grandchildren to plays. They liked it too.
Consider a Farm Vacation
One of the ways to have a lovely, low-key vacation is to go to a farm. Go to the Mass Department of Agricultural Resources and go to Agri-tourism for Massachusetts’s listings. If you do the same thing for other states, you’ll find listings there also I’m sure. My family went to a farm in New Hampshire (we were living in NH at the time) twice, and it was a great way to spend a week. My children are all in their 40s and they still remember it fondly except for my daughter’s memory of her fall off a horse.
Update on Sam Smyth
Many of you know that Sam, son of Dale and Mike Smyth from Trinity Farm, was seriously injured on the farm in October ’08, and is paraplegic. Sam is doing well. He went back to UCONN this past semester, and will be living on campus in his own apartment in the fall. He has a landscaping business, so if you need work done, he and his helper can do it. One of the things he bought as a result of the overwhelming generosity of you and many others is a riding lawnmower. If you’d like to hire Sam, speak to Dale or Mike at the market.
Food Environment Atlas
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed a food environment atlas. It is a resource for lots of information by state and county about the local food environment such as grocery stores, summer lunch programs, percentage of students receiving free or reduced price lunches, and much more. Just put in U.S. Food Environment Atlas into your browser, and you will get it. It’s evident that lots of work went into this.
Have you heard the phrase “food desert?” That means that there aren’t sufficient full service grocery stores in an area to serve the population properly. If you don’t have a grocery store close enough by, and you don’t have a car, how do you get groceries? Cab, bus? Sure a cab will drop you off at your house, but a bus won’t. How far would you have to walk to get from the nearest bus stop to your home?
Recipe
I know that lots of people buy salad dressings, but if you make your own you will save money and it will be tastier. It couldn’t be easier. Keep different olive oils and a neutral oil (canola for example) on hand. Also have different kinds of vinegar. Keep fresh lemons in the house. Then, have a variety of herbs and spices in your cupboards.
A vinaigrette is so simple. Mix olive oil, a vinegar that you like, or lemon juice, add salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and then some dried herbs like dill weed, or Italian seasoning. Taste it, let it sit a little bit for the dried herbs to absorb some liquid and toss on a salad. You can certainly use fresh herbs when they are available. Just put them right into the salad.
I use the neutral oil when I am making an Asian style dressing with a light vinegar, sesame oil, and other ingredients. I don’t want the olive oil taste for that dressing.
Add some fruit to a tossed salad; it adds a touch of sweetness, but isn’t too sweet.
MARKET BAGS ARE $5, OR A RAFFLE TICKET FOR $1 FOR A CHANCE TO WIN ONE.
