August 2006 Weekly Updates
(Please note: Archived material contains some out-of-date information. Check current portions of web site for details on this year's market.)
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006
Subject: [WCM-Friends] Market Update - Saturday, August 5th
> Hello,
> At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from
> another person.
> Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have
> lighted the flame within us. Albert Schweitzer.
>
> As the dog days of summer bear down, it gets just a little harder
> to go out to the fields, or stand in a hot kitchen, or work in the
> greenhouse or barn...but last Saturday during record breaking heat
> you all came out and we do not take that lightly. We are
> grateful. Thank you.
>
> I made an interesting trade last week. I gave Lisa from Wisconsin
> Cheesecakery a couple of apples and she came back to me with an
> cranberry oatmeal cookie. It was a pretty good looking cookie so I
> also threw in a couple ears of sweetcorn. Well, I came out ahead
> on this deal, that cookie was so delicious, packed with
> cranberries. I never noticed Lisa had cookies, as I was focused on
> her cheesecake. I invite you to take some time this Saturday to
> really look around and discover all the little bonuses at the
> Westside Community Market. The variety is endless.
>
> So many veggies and fruits, bakery, honey, dairy, plants, cut
> flowers...and I'm thinking there just might be MELONS this week!
>
> Come, get a free cup of hot coffee and really enjoy a Saturday
> morning stroll - sunny, low 80s and low humidity, that's going to
> feel mighty good!
>
> Oh, one more thing. If you know Romie and Jean Statz (my mom and
> dad) stop in at their stand and wish them a happy anniversary.
> They will be celebrating 50 years together this weekend. Quite a
> milestone. How did they do it? Farming...no time to fight!
>
> Again, thank you all. We'll see you tomorrow,
>
> Joan for WCM
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Caribbean Corn and Vegetable Bake (from a Copp's grocery flyer
> long ago)
>
> 2 T. olive oil
> 2 t. cumin
> 1 t. salt
> 3/4 t. each sugar and thyme
> 1/2 t. black pepper
> 1/8 t. cayenne pepper
> 4 ears sweet corn, shucked and broken in half
> 1 lb. halved plum tomatoes or firm tomatoes quartered
> 4 medium red potatoes, quartered
> 2 medium onions, cut in thin wedges
>
> Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together first six
> ingredients until blended. Coat a large roasting pan with foil.
> Spread corn, tomatoes, potatoes and onions in pan. Pour oil
> mixture over vegetables and toss gently to coat. cover with foil.
> Bake, stirring once or twice, 30 minutes or until vegetables are
> tender. Serve immediately.
>
>
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Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006
Subject: [WCM-Friends] Farmers' Market Today
You're working too hard...take a break and a stroll through the
Westside Community Market this morning from 7a.m. - 1p.m. behind
Dunham Sports at Westgate Mall.
Sweetcorn, melons, apples, dairy, eggs, meat, cutflowers, bakery and
more. Enjoy!
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Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006
Subject: [WCM-Friends] Westside Community Market Update - Saturday,
August 12th
Hi all,
Well, another great weather Saturday on its way - sunny and 80. It
doesn't get any better than that. The word PLEASANT is rarely used
in an August forecast and I've seen it used several times this
morning - enjoy!
Another week where you can really take some time and look around at
the Westside Community Market. I took a look around last Saturday
for lettuce as I had a couple requests for that (it must be BLT
season). I looked at 1:00 and Mike from Primrose Produce still had
nice lettuce left as did Beth at Platt's Prairie Farm Produce. I
found beautiful baby carrots and raspberries at Vang Family Farm.
You will find absolutely everything you want tomorrow. Sweetcorn
will be bountiful, along with beans, summer squash, sweet onions,
heirloom tomatoes and so many other veggies. AND: muskmelon,
WATERMELON and the eating apples are starting to come in. Along
with all kinds of meat, chicken, farm fresh eggs, dairy, bakery,
honey, preserves, beautiful fresh bouquets, blooming plants,
perennials, nursery stock and more - such a great time of year.
One of the staples in my Saturday shopping at the WCM is the German
Beer bread from Stella's - it is so soft and my little ones eat the
skin (2-year old's word for crust) too. This week I was trying to
come up with supper one night and thought of french toast. All I had
was my German Beer bread and I didn't want to waste it on french
toast but I had to, I was desperate for an easy quick meal. Well, it
was not a waste by any sense of the word. It made fabulous french
toast. Of course, topping it with whipped heavy cream from Blue
Marble Dairy didn't hurt either. Go ahead try it, I dare you!
I got a great tip from a customer last Saturday - cooking sweetcorn
in the oven. I put the directions in the recipe corner below. It's
nice not having to boil a big pot of water if you already have the
oven on. Thank you John, and to all who have given me so many great
tips and recipes over the last few months (keep 'em coming). I am
also including a tasty salad recipe from Mr. Food, "ooh it's so good!!"
See you tomorrow,
Joan for WCM
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Recipe Corner
Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob
(Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence of the Food Channel)
4 ears fresh corn (or more, or less)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place corn husks directly on the oven rack and roast for 30 minutes
or until corn is soft.
Peel down the husks and use as a handle when eating.
(That's right, folks, you don't have to soak the corn in water or
remove the silks or anything)
Warm Honey-Walnut Dressing and Salad
2 T. peanut oil
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1/3 c. honey
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. bottled Italian dressing
2 heads bibb, romaine or lettuce of your choice cut into bite size
pieces.
fresh raspberries or sweet cherries
Place the oil and walnuts in a medium saucepan and warm over medium
heat until the nuts are slightly brown.
Add the honey, maple syrup, and Italian dressing: reduce the heat to
low and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until hot, stirring frequently.
Place the lettuce in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Top
with raspberries or pitted sweet cherries.
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Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006
Subject: [WCM-Friends] Westside Community Market Update - Saturday,
August 19th
Good morning folks,
"I live alone, I just can't use that much." I hear this a lot and we
vendors understand that and hope you won't hesitate to ask for a
smaller portion than that displayed. I've noticed that many of us
start with three ears of corn on our pricing signs, but that doesn't
mean we won't sell you one or two. Please, ask. A great product I
noticed last week for single people or perhaps someone whose husband
doesn't like cantalope are the Starfire melons. Have you seen them?
They are a softball sized muskmelon, and very tasty. They would also
be great for entertaining, just cut them in half and fill the middle
with blueberries or raspberries, what a picture that would be.
I found the melon at Green's Pleasant Springs Orchard stand, and they
are also beginning their plethora of apples: Early Blaze, Ginger
Gold, Zestar, Whitney Crab, and Williams Pride, just to name a few.
MATERS! We got your maters. Tomatoes are just exploding this month,
with green, purple and pink heirloom varieties, cherries in many
colors, huge slicers, small salad sizes, green ones for frying,
yellow low-acids, and all great for salads, or just eating as is
with a touch of salt. I also happened to mention BLT's in last
week's email; lots of people informed me they make all WCM BLT's.
Yep, we even have bacon, check out Ruegsegger Farms and Jordandal
Farms for several varieties.
And don't forget about making some fresh salsa (I won't let you, see
recipe below). Great with chips for a lazy evening on the porch. I
searched out some hot peppers last week and found them at Lee Pao
Xiong's stand. They don't take up much room in the "crisper drawer"
of the fridge, keep some on hand this time of year. Lee Pao Xiong
also had lots of good lookin' baby zuchinni.
I think you all know the rest of the drill...great dairy, honey, farm
fresh eggs, a wide variety of meats, canned goods, preserves,
beautiful cut flowers, blooming annuals and perennials, and more!
Have you seen the new weatherman in town? Channel 15's morning
anchor Randol White... he tried his hand at forecasting Monday and
nailed it! What do you think for tomorrow Randol? I'm thinking the
rain is going to clear out by early morning, maybe around 6:30a.m.
and then a scattered shower or two after about 2p.m.
Ok all, see you tomorrow.
Joan for WCM
-----------------------------------
This week's recipe is from Lisa at Wisconsin Cheesecakery. I made
it earlier in the week, very easy and very tasty. With that title
how could I not include it in a Farmers' Market Newsletter?
Farmers' Market Fresh Salsa
3 tomatoes (approx 1 lb)
1 bunch cilantro
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 green pepper
3 hot peppers of your choice
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or your favorite)
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cumin
Place garlic, onion, green pepper, hot peppers, and cilantro in food
processor. Process until well chopped. Add vinegar, lime juice,
salt, cumin and tomatoes. Process on pulse until tomatoes are
uniform sized.
Serve immediately, or chill for a few hours to allow the flavors to
develop.
Keep refrigerated and use within 5 days.
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Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006
Subject: [WCM-Friends] Westside Community Market Update - Saturday,
August 26th
Hi all,
Since way back in June I've been "putting up" all kinds of fruits and
veggies. I will call it that, as I lump freezing and canning and
making jams all in one category. Maybe you have started to
"squirrel" stuff away, too. Maybe you just can't give any more
zucchini to the neighbors (from your one plant) or maybe you've
realized how easy it is to get lots of stuff from the Westside
Community Market. Buy a box of tomatoes or cucumbers or sweetcorn,
etc. and pull your car right up to the vendor, they'll help you load
it. (If you have questions about canning or freezing, many of the
vendors can give you lots of helpful hints. I also find lots of
great ideas/recipes on the internet.) Or, share some treats with a
friend. I've never had a neighbor turn down fresh sweetcorn!
Here's another great thing about Westside Community Market. Did you
know that the vendors who sell processed goods at our market buy a
lot of their ingredients from the same vendors you do: Lisa the
Cheesecake Lady has baked cobblers the last few weeks, and is selling
them by the slice. Two weeks ago it was triple berry (raspberries,
blueberries, and blackberries), with all berries from the Westside
Market! Before that it was apple, with the apples from our market.
As Cam, the Madison Sourdough baker, would say: "Killer Cobbler!"
Watch for cherry cheesecake with sweet cherries from Barnards; Lisa's
been stockpiling ingredients at the Market.
And Blue (have you met the lady named Blue?) from Shady Blue Acres
loves to make her produce pilgrimage each week. She used blueberries
from Flyte Family Farm for their blueberry jam, beets from Happy
Valley Farm, tomatilloes from Primrose Produce for Salsa Verde,
apples, dill and rhubarb for a variety of goodies, just to name a few.
Personally, I can't believe the variety of produce and baked goods,
dairy, honey, meat, flowers, plants and so much more now in the
height of the season. I go a little crazy sometimes, but every time
I open my fridge during the week I think of all the great vendors who
produce such quality products.
Sometimes, when I take the abundance for granted, I get hit with a
dose of reality. Early Thursday morning we got hit hard with very
damaging wind, hail and rain. As we took our first look around in
the daylight it was sobering. Nearly every side of every tomato bush
and apple tree hit, flowers laying in the mud. The storm came from
all directions, leaving in its wake so much unusable produce. As we
all stood with our heads in our hands, we felt glad that we all could
stand with our heads in our hands. No one was hurt, the house was
still standing, and I had a lot "squirreled away". Someone once
told me that "weathering the storms" was to give you practice
weathering the next storm - I had no idea they meant literally!
Ok enough. Please, come join us for a free hot cup of coffee and
take advantage of the great abundance.
Oh, one last thing; thanks to all the vendors who contribute weekly
to the foodbank folks, who come through at the end of every market
and load up with extras for those in need.
See you tomorrow,
Joan for WCM
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Recipe Corner
Party Corn Relish (Go ahead, try this even if you aren't having a
party)
4 ears corn, kernels removed (slice off)
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (I don't peel anything!)
2 plum roma type tomatoes cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/3 c. sweet onion diced
1 t. finely minced jalapeno pepper
1 t. very finely minced garlic
Juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 T.)
1 T. olive oil
2 T. flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1. Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Blanch the corn
kernels for 2 minutes. drain, rinse under cold water and drain
again. Remove to a large bowl.
2. Add the cucumber, tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and garlic to the
kernels: toss together gently.
3. Before serving, toss with the lime juice and olive oil. Season
with salt and pepper. Toss with the parsley. Serve immediately or
refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
(from the Sunday paper Parade magazine
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