Madison Sourdough

Even “the best market in the universe” needs feedback!  Even though the season has ended, you still have time to take our customer survey…click here. It’s quick and easy and we’re eager to know what you think; this is your chance to tell us what you like or how we can improve.

This is how we started the market last April..bundled in layers to shed as the sun comes up.  Madison Sourdough has been with the Westside Community Market since the wilderness days; treat yourself to lunch in the charming shop on Willy Street.  The MSD Facebook fanpage is regularly updated with menu changes…it’s too bad that the photos can’t be scratch n’ sniff.  (Today’s recommendation is house made chai tea and a brownie)

Dolci's Italian American Sweets

You don’t have to wait for spring to see Sandy Hunter of Dolci’s Italian American Sweets.  You can find the cookies at Metcalfe’s and Fraboni’s  or call her (241.5445) for special orders.  Be the hero of the next gathering and bring one of her Italian cookie cakes.

Veggie and flower artisans at Ka Vang

Herb n Oyster

Herb n Oyster will be at the MadWest market.  You’ll need mushrooms for the Thanksgiving gravy.

The next generation of cheesemakers at Schroeder's

You've seen Ed at two vendors: Happy Valley and Black Earth

Can't have a market without dedicated volunteers! Jill will be at MadWest market too.

Isabel helps out a lot

Natalie's Greenhouse

Yang family

Get Honey Bee Bakery goodies at MadWest

Jordandal: MadWest, DCFM et al

Primrose will be at MadWest at the Lussier Education Center - Gammon Road just north of Memorial HS

Pecatonica Valley: at MadWest also

Stella's: at MadWest and everywhere

Tomato Mountain will be at DCFM

Do you have a stack of Murphy's yummy little breads in the freezer?

get fresh tortillas every week at MadWest and DCFM

Flyte Family Farm

JenEhr Family Farm

Bonde Bee

RP's Pasta

Kelly Lor flowers and veggies

Lor Chang

Countyline Produce

Green's Pleasant Springs Orchard

Wetherby Cranberries

Edelweiss Creamery

Blue Moon Community Farm

One more market to get the root cellar stocked or to fill in the gaps of the Thanksgiving menu.  (Thanksgiving is only 23 days away…yikes!)  Most of the veggie vendors have good supplies of winter squash, and it’s time to take yourself by the seat of your culinary pants and try a new variety.  Try Moregold in a butternut recipe or Delicata as a pie filling.

(Don’t have a root cellar but really want one?  Get the neighbors together for a community project and build this. Or begin digging on your own and the neighbors will be over even faster.)

This is also the last week to graze the market for breakfast  from Stella’s, Honey Bee Bakery, Dolci’s Italian American Sweets or Madison Sourdough (click here for a photo of Madison Sourdough’s new toasted barley bread) with your cup of complimentary(the vendors treat you) coffee or cocoa from Metcalfe’s.  When you get your coffee at the Information tent, please take a minute to fill out our customer survey.  You can also tell us what you think in our online survey…click here. (All confidential, of course)

You can still visit Jordandal and Pecatonica Valley at the new MadWest winter market at the Lussier Education Center; Hawk’s Hill Ranch will ship their products …ask Cherie for details when you pick up some of their popular smoked elk sticks.

You might want to bring extra bags or more muscle to help carry all the good things still to buy at the last market: Wetherby cranberries, sweet, white, blue and red potatoes, apples and pears from Pleasant Springs Orchard(cider too) or Future Fruit, all of the root vegetables (you must get some of the cover-of-the-seed-catalog perfect  leeks at Happy Valley), and slip in a few packages of GittOrganic tortillas which freeze well too.

Don’t forget to pick up more pinto bean flour.  A special newsletter and  blog post are coming with our recipe innovations.  You still have time to get your recipes included. Send to :  cravingsymmetry@yahoo.com

Making a Meal of the Issues? Here are some meaty ones:

NPR’s food blog, The Salt, discusses offal here.

Slate magazine’s “Explainer” section asks a difficult question about horses, here.

Slate also wonders about  food stereotyping here.

The Chicago Tribune has the full story on what’s crawling around with the kids in fast food playgrounds.

Recipes!

As promised, here the recipes from Chef Kevin Appleton’s demonstration last Saturday.  (I’ll have a few copies at the Information Tent )  Kevin said that he would make them available at Vom Fass too.

If you’ve been waiting to pick out the best Halloween pumpkin, this is your weekend!  Country Bloomers lines them up for your inspection and easy selection.  They’ve brought a few warty ones; check out Countyline Produce for even stranger pumpkins that make us wonder what’s going on out there in the squash patch.

Chef Kevin Appleton from Vom Fass will be with us one last time this season beginning at 9:30 am; he’ll stroll the market to choose ingredients for his signature recipes. Don’t miss this chance to talk foodie with the Chef and sample his creativity.

Some vendors offer you the chance to pick your own brussel sprouts from fat stalks like these at Real Foods. (Other vendors have them nicely packaged in grab and go bags if you prefer.)  Here’s the link to that honey mustard glazed roasted brussel sprouts recipe from Edible Madison magazine in case you missed it a few weeks ago.

Have you tried kale chips yet?  Even the most kale resistant  people will love them…really!  I give my bundle of kale–and other organic greens–a dip in a sink full of salted water to remove any wee beasties, then dry and tear into pieces.  (Remove the stem of course; it’s good chopped and sauteed later.)  A light spray of cooking oil or a toss with a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with crunchy salt and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  I put parchment paper on the baking sheet because I’m a busy(lazy) cook.  (Also, my baking sheets are decades old and now look like something I couldn’t put under the dog’s dish without camouflage.)

You certainly could use a seasoned salt–I tried a batch with garlic and celery salt…yum.  I saw 4 ounce bags of kale chips for $6.79 at one swanky grocery store this week.  Shameful, given how inexpensive kale is at all the veggie vendors right now.  (Sandy at Dolci’s Italian American Sweets brags that her convection oven finishes kale chips in 10 minutes.)

Black Earth Valley gets bragging rights for this beautiful celery with stalks big enough to stuff with cheese from Edelweiss, Schroeder’s or Dreamfarm.  (This is will be Dreamfarm’s last market day, so be sure to visit the stand one more time.  Dreamfarm cheeses can be found at Willy Street co op, east and west, through November; after that, you can add Diana’s goat cheese to your spring anticipation list.)  Or you could make a celery-scooping dip with cottage cheese from Murphy’s or Sugar River Greek style yogurt.

Don’t forget to stop by Dolci’s, Stella’s, Madison Sourdough, or Honey Bee Bakery and ask which which of their sweet treats freeze well.  You’ve got some freezer space for goodies between Vivian Green’s cider and Wetherby cranberries.

One of the topics in spring bird chatter is the housing shortage; stash a few of these gourds in the basement, and they’ll be dry enough for making bird condos by the time you feel a rush of cabin fever crafting.

This is the next to last Westside Community Market for 2011 at the Sheboygan and Segoe site; several WCM vendors will be at the new MadWest Market inside the Lussier  Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd.  More details about that in next week’s newsletter and a definitive list  of where to find your favorite vendor during the winter months.  Meanwhile, do take a minute and ask the management of your regular grocery store to carry your favorite vendor products.  Create a little buzz and encourage them to support your local foodshed.

Dolci’s Italian American Sweets are also available at:

Fraboni’s, both the Monona and Regent St. locations; Gino’s Deli on Verona Rd; & Metcalfe’s.  Sandy also takes special orders: call her at 241.5445

Jordandal (link  for upcoming events) is also available at: Dane County Farmer’s Market, (Monona Terrace and the Senior Center); Metcalfe’s; Hy-Vee; and the new MadWest Winter Farmer’s Market.

Making a Meal of the Issues?

The New York Times reports on another way to get fat on Wall Street  here.

Emily Dickinson fans probably know all about her baking talent.  NPR blog, The Salt, story here.

Did we have to have the British tell us  it’s the deep fat fryer that gets us into trouble, not the potato?  BBC story here.

There’s a lovely audio essay from poet Katharine Jagoe and Wisconsin Life called “Fall Leaves” that you absolutely shouldn’t miss.  Listen here and let the words lift you up where you belong.

Recipes!

Several of us having been working on Flyte Family Farm’s pinto bean flour recipes.   We have developed some great ones…so many that I’ll put them in a special blog post soon.  Meanwhile, you’ve still got time to have yours included : send to  cravingsymmetry@yahoo.com.  (Or any other recipes using vendor products that you want to share.)  The pinto bean flour sold out quickly last week…hurry!

Sandy Hunter  (Dolci) sent in these recipes…and another… sweet potato pancakes… that will be in the blog posting

GOAT CHEESE AND BEET RAVIOLI 8 servings

For the Filling:

6 to 8 ounces beets, scrubbed

¼ cup fresh goat cheese (choice of your flavor) (Dreamfarm)

1 small egg lightly beaten

1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2-3 tablespoons finely chopped leeks (Happy Valley)

1 minced garlic clove

Salt and ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.   Wrap the beets in heavy-duty aluminum foil, place in a shallow pan, and roast until fork-tender, 45 minutes. Remove and let cool. Peel the beet, cut it into small chunks, and puree in food processor along with the goat cheese, egg and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble the ravioli:

Beet Filling

1 pound Wonton Wrappers (or RP’s pasta sheets)

Brush the edges of wonton wrapper with water and spoon 1 tablespoon beet filling into the middle .  Place another wonton wrapper on top of filling then; press the edges lightly together with a fork.  Set aside.  Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers.  NOTE: to make smaller ravioli’s — brush edges of one wonton and spoon a little less than 1 T beet filling in its middle then, fold the wonton in half making a half circle; pressing the edges lightly together with a fork.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the ravioli, quickly return to a boil, and cook until tender yet firm, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving the pasta water.

1/3 cup fresh tarragon leaves coarsely chopped

1/2 cup unsalted butter cut into 8 equal pieces

Just before the pasta is done, ladle 1 cup pasta water into a large sauté pan. Add the chopped tarragon and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the butter, one piece at a time, whisking until melted before adding the next piece. Continue until the butter is mixed well together making a creamy sauce.  Slide the drained ravioli into the warm sauce. Toss gently into the sauce, adding more pasta water if needed.

FRIED APPLE PANCAKE RINGS 4 servings

To make hot apple cider syrup:

2-3 cups Apple cider

1 Tablespoon Lemon juice and 1 Teaspoon Lemon zest

½ Teaspoon Cinnamon

Stir apple cider, lemon juice, zest, and cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid by half, to a syrup consistency.

1 Cup Bisquick Baking Mix

1 Egg

1/2 Cup Milk

1 Teaspoon cinnamon

Zest of 1/2 Lemon

Beat baking mix, egg and milk until smooth. Add cinnamon and lemon zest to batter mixing well.

2 Medium (unpeeled) Apples, core & cut apples crosswise in 1/8-inch slices

Using a toothpick dip slices into batter. Cook on hot griddle until golden brown, turning once. Serve hot with apple cider syrup.

Web Extras!

Try a  borscht recipe from Kitchen Gardeners International to use some of the beautiful market beets.  While we’re thinking of beet soups, here’s the link to a charming cooking series on You Tube called Feed Me Bubbe.  Bubbe is not at all like my grandmother(s) and somehow exactly the same.  After a long day in the hard old world, it would be so nice to sit at Bubbe’s kitchen table…  I bet you will like her too.

The Splendid Table features two soup and two dessert recipes here.

Want another bit of advice about perfecting a cup of coffee?  The Serious Eats blog wonders about cleaning coffee filters here. The paper ones.  Yes.

October and April share their weather if not our hopes for the future; the cool season greens come back to market: spinach, lettuce and this pretty Tatsoi at Countyline Produce.  It’s tasty raw, dressed as salad or briefly wilted in a stir fry and beautiful enough to be  floated in a bowl as the table centerpiece.  (Those tiny little potatoes under the Tatsoi need only some olive oil and rosemary to make you look like a culinary master. ) You could begin shopping a recipe for a fritatta or a Spanish omelette from here: potatoes and garlic at Countyline; eggs just next door at Pecatonica Valley; cheese at Edelweiss, and then cross the market for mushrooms at Black Earth Valley. Hey presto!  Saturday night’s supper!

Naturally, all the root veggies are terrific roasted, but try kohlrabi with a Hispanic flair: peel and slice, drizzle with fresh squeezed lime juice, dust with salt and cayenne pepper.  The young turnips just coming back to market are good this way too.  Included on a relish tray next to their brassica cousins–the ubiquitous broccoli and cauliflower who get all of the nutritional praise–snackers will love the flavor they can’t quite identify.

Country Bloomers is bringing  lots of  carving pumpkins to the market–so many that we’ve put them in their own stall between Dreamfarm and Lor Chang.  You can park right behind them and roll your pumpkin to the car!  (The pie pumpkins are in Country Bloomers usual space with the flowers.  Need an incentive to bake a pie pumpkin?  Here’s a recipe for salted pumpkin caramels.  Big bragging rights if you make these!)

An autumn nip in the air makes cranberries fly….out of the market that is.  Last week, shoppers were buying entire cases to stash through the winter; better get yours soon….three market Saturdays left to stock up.  The Wetherby Cranberry Company website has recipes and storage tips for you.  Some shoppers say that they like that weirdy, wiggly stuff in the can, too; you can carve your initials in it and so on.  But it’s not so good for pie or muffins.  Ask Kathy about how she uses the sliced, frozen Cranberry Bits as a waffle topping; you’ll search out that waffle iron that you stored in the garage a decade ago, or at least turn the toaster around to check for the proper frozen waffle setting.

Surely you’ve tried these little sweet dumpling squashes by now.  You can cut the top off and stuff with so many good things….smoked sausage, sage and onions, curried rice or the usual butter and brown sugar.  They’re often called “single serving size” but that must refer to polite people who can resist a second helping of something so tasty.  Delicious cold too, in a lunchbox or as a vitamin A power snack.

Just had to show you what the bees having been making  all summer long.  From B’s Honey while it lasts.

Making a Meal of the Issues?

We’re definitely past the sweet corn season, but I just had to share this amazing method for shucking corn with you.  (Maybe I’m the last person on earth to learn this trick which solves all those pesky things about shucking corn that annoy me.)  The 2 minute video is also good example of how no one is ever to old to use the interwebs.

Here’s another story-from the Chicago Tribune-that we probably shouldn’t giggle over.  A person would have to be plenty angry to waste cupcakes like this.

The next time you turn on the ventilating hood in the kitchen, think about this story from NPR’s food blog, The Salt.

Recipes!

Here’s Jill’s recipe using Flyte Family Farm pinto bean flour.  The fish was “outstanding” she says.  You could substitute chicken or pork chops for the fish.  Send us your idea for using pinto bean flour and win a market gift certificate!  (Soon, though!)  Jill is at the Information Tent from 7 to 9am if you’d like to talk to her about the recipe.

Tortilla Crusted Tilapia

2 tilapia fillets

¾ cup pinto bean flour

2 eggs, beaten

3 cups finely crushed tortilla chips

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1-2 cups Canola Oil

Rinse the tilapia and pat dry.

Place beaten egg in shallow plate or dish.

Place pinto bean flour in shallow plate or dish.

Mix salt, pepper and crushed tortilla chips and place in shallow plate or dish.

Dredge both sides of the fillets in egg to coat.

Dredge both sides of the fillets in the pinto bean flour to coat.

Dredge both sides of the fillets in egg again.

Dredge both sides of the fillets in the tortilla chips to coat.

Fill bottom of fry pan with about 1 inch of canola oil. Heat the oil on medium high heat until hot.

Place the tilapia fillets in the oil. Fry until golden brown, about 3- 5 minutes. Turn the filets and fry the second side until golden brown and fish is done inside.

Bean Advice

*Tasty way to cook dry beans: drain and discard the soaking water.  Cover  with 1-2 bottles of your favorite Wisconsin micro-brew beer (or wine) and then water to 1 inch over the beans.  Simmer until tender and use in your favorite recipe.

*The solution to bean…um…intestinal burbling is to… eat more beans!  Once you’ve established a population of bean digesting microorganism pals,  you won’t have anything to blame on the dogs after dinner.

*Use any hummus recipe with your favorite cooked beans.  Often, it’s the skin on the bean that gives some people digestive issues.  Buzz the beans up in a food processor, and notice how quiet the dogs are.

Here’s a recipe for homemade tater tots from Cook’s Country/America’s Test Kitchen.  Wouldn’t it be great to have a batch of these in the freezer? (Why not use those blue potatoes and scare the kids on Halloween?)

Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil

Instructions

• 1. Whisk 1 cup water and salt together in bowl until salt dissolves. Pulse potatoes and salt water in food processor until coarsely ground, 10 to 12 pulses, stirring occasionally. Drain mixture in fine-mesh strainer, pressing potatoes with rubber spatula until dry (liquid should measure about 1½ cups); discard liquid. Transfer potatoes to bowl and microwave, uncovered, until dry and sticky, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
• 2. Stir flour and pepper into potatoes. Spread potato mixture into thin layer over large sheet of aluminum foil and let cool for 10 minutes. Push potatoes to center of foil and place foil and potatoes in 8-inch square baking pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing it flush to pan. Press potato mixture tightly and evenly into pan. Freeze, uncovered, until firm, about 30 minutes.
• 3. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat oil in Dutch oven over high heat until 375 degrees. Using foil overhang, lift potatoes from pan and cut into 1¼ by 1-inch pieces (6 cuts in 1 direction and 8 in other). Fry half of potato tots, until golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally once they begin to brown. Drain on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and place in oven. Bring oil back to 375 degrees and repeat with remaining potato tots. Serve.
• Make Ahead: Cool fried potato tots, transfer to zipper-lock bag, and freeze for up to 1 month. To serve, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place potato tots on rimmed baking sheet and bake until heated through, 12 to 15 minutes.

Web Extras!

A candied jalapeno recipe from the Foodie with Family blog , here. (Sounds yummy! Natalie’s Greenhouse and Prairie Farm Produce have heaps of jalapenos.  I’d use a few red ones in the recipe too.  Or what about  substituting those gorgeous little Thai hot peppers from Ka Vang?)  There are many other good things at the same blog.  Here’s the recipe for  Baked Pumpkin Cider donuts.  You could also use any of the winter squashes in place of the pumpkin.

The Splendid Table has big gooey sandwich recipes this week.

The Brown Eyed Baker blog has…oh my!…a recipe for pumpkin whoopie pies with maple cream cheese filling and a link to a recipe for s’more whoopie pies. (I bet that you could substitute honey from Bonde Bee or B’s Honey for the maple syrup.)

In case you thought that vegans were too virtuous for sweet goodies, check out this version of a famous Canadian treat from One Green Planet.

Wetherby cranberries are back at the market which means that it’s time to talk about end of season issues.  We’ll come back to the cranberries in a minute. (The apple in the photo above is the rare Hidden Rose, available–and selling out every week–from Jean and Romy Statz.  It’s more tart than tired old Granny Smith and cotton candy pink all the way through.)

If you build your holiday celebrations around particular roasts or poultry, you need to speak to your vendors soon.  Jordandal has lamb; Hawk’s Hill Elk Ranch has holiday suggestions and can ship if needed; Pecatonica Valley can still talk turkeys with you (but not for long), and you’ll be glad for a stash of their popular smoked sausage sticks to use in baked beans, antipasti salads, lunchboxes etc.  Make this holiday celebration a locavore feast!

Now…about the cranberries.  Certainly you know that they’re not just an accessory to the Thanksgiving table anymore, that you can pile up the bags in the freezer without further processing and that their medicinal and nutritional qualities are legendary.  But now Wetherby’s presents them in an even easier to use form, Berry Bits which are sliced, lightly sugared and frozen in a microwavable container.  You can quickly top waffles, cereal and add a couple of tablespoons to a pan sauce for chops or chicken. It’s the best local convenience food since your veggie vendors started cleaning the spring mix for you.  The boxes stack neatly into a corner of even the smallest freezer.  Kathy brings them to the market in a cooler–her stand is next to the Information Tent–and she has a brochure with a recipe for cranberry salsa.  Don’t dawdle!  It’s nearly mid October.

You could use Wetherby’s Berry Bits to top the thick Greek yogurt from Sugar River Dairy.  If you are trying to get more probiotics into your diet, note that Sugar River has active live cultures.

You can power shop at Westside Community Market;  across from Sugar River Dairy is Dreamfarm where you’ll find artisanal goat cheeses and fresh eggs.  Blue Moon Community Farm is next door with that excellent garlic and the  scallions that you’ll need to make an herb dip with Sugar River Greek yogurt; Potter’s Crackers (the link takes you to a Wall Street Journal article about the tasty crackers) is beside Blue Moon for sweet potato onion crackers to pair with the dip and the goat cheese. (The WSJ wants you to put goat cheese on the grilled corn crackers.)

Country Bloomer mini gardens in a mini pumpkin

You can park right behind the vendors which is good because this week Country Bloomers is bringing a truckload of  just harvested carving pumpkins.  (Here are photos from the Food Network’s Halloween Wars to give you some creepy ideas.)  Bring the kids and stroll around the pumpkins to find the one that speaks your name.   Country Bloomers has another wave of lisianthus, too, reblooming during this gorgeous Indian summer.

New varieties coming! Beans can save the world!

Flyte Family Farm adds several new varieties to their dried bean selection this week: northern, navy, dark red kidney, yellow eye, European soldier and Calypso.  Heirloom beans all carry a story in their names whether it reflects the best place to grow them (northern), where they originated or some anthropomorphic characteristic (kidney, yellow eye.)

The red shape on the European soldier bean is supposed to resemble the silhouette of a toy soldier according to some people. Others say that the name refers to the bean originally carried by the British army  (Redcoats).  Since the variety was  a common baking bean in 18th century New England…well, you do the math.  It does retain its shape during a long simmer and absorbs all the good things you put into the pot with it.

Do heirlooms taste better?  Oh my yes.  Flyte Family Farm beans haven’t been sitting in a dusty warehouse for years, and all the heirlooms have a specific use depending on how soft or firm they remain after cooking.  (Navy beans make the best white bean hummus ever.)  You know how smart and snobby you’ve gotten over those heirloom tomatoes that you used to be so dim about?  Prepare your table and palate for heirloom beans!  (And buy fresh!  Last winter I brought home a sack of great northern beans from a local grocery  that had an extra protein source in the bag… with legs…ewww.)

Also at Flyte Family Farm are some of the most delicious English cucumbers  that you will ever taste–nearly as sweet as melons and selling out fast every Saturday morning.

Beautiful display at Jen Ehr

The cauliflower at Jen Ehr is amazing …both the Snow Crown type and the Mandelbrot romanescoes.  Here’s a great method to cook them both without  gloppy, high calorie sauces. (You’ll love cauliflower steaks.)  Get there early for the frilly red mustard which is yummy raw in salads and on sandwiches, or in a stir fry.  Congratulations to our own Kay Jensen who will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award for Ethical Leadership and Community Service from the School of Business at Edgewood College this Friday. Kay is co-owner and farmer with her husband Paul Ehrhardt  of JenEhr Family Farm.

Who cares for the last rose of summer when you can have these?

Why anyone would begrudge a glorious sunflower for having pollen, I can’t feature, but here are the modern pollenless sunflowers at Natalie’s Greenhouse for those of you who care about such things.   Treat yourself, or gift another to a bouquet of autumn sunshine now….time grows short.  (And two flower holidays are this weekend: Sweetest Day and Bosses Day…if you have the sort of boss who appreciates flowers that is.  If not, how about a sack of fresh heirloom beans with award winning smoked elk sausage from Hawk’s Hill Ranch?)

Making a Meal of the Issues?

Here’s a story about the perils of eating funeral refreshments without an ingredients list.  And no, you are not supposed to giggle. (We might expect this sort of thing to continue as Baby Boomers say goodbye.)

You know that bananas can’t be grown in Wisconsin right?  Time to find local sources of sustainable potassium that aren’t harvested by third world slaves.  Here are a few better ideas.  Still in a state of denial about the banana dilemma? Check out  this book while you’re munching sweet potato fries.

Monsanto slips on its multiple personality disorder in this story from Earthjustice.  (sidebar:  best motto from an environmental organization ever… (say this is a BIG voice)…Earthjustice!  Because the Earth needs a good lawyer!)

Here is THE spookiest video that you might ever see… from Robert Krulwich and his NPR blog about how a virus invades your earthsuit-about 3 minutes long.

Recipes!

Thanks–and a market gift certificate–to Cheryl B. for sharing her savory pie recipe:

Sweet Potato and Steak Pie

PASTRY:

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into pats
5-7 tablespoon cold water

For those who are pastry-challenged, store bought pastry works too. (Or the vodka pastry recipe from America’s Test Kitchen)

FILLING:

1 6oz steak, cubed (can be beef, bison, elk, even chicken if you prefer)
1 sweet potato, medium sized, peeled and cubed
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 small turnip, peeled and chopped
1 15 oz can beef broth (if chicken use chicken or vegetable broth)
1 tsp grated ginger
1-2 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Fresh ground black pepper

Put flour and salt in mixing bowl. Add butter and cut into flour with pastry cutter. Add water until dough is formed. May look a little crumbly but will hold together when rolled into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge
to rest about 30 minutes. When ready to use pastry let it sit on counter 20 minutes before rolling out. This will make two pastry crusts.

Brown the steak cubes, then remove from the pan. Fry the ginger, garlic and onion, followed by sweet potatoes, pepper and stock. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer for about 15 minutes until thickened. Return the steak to the pan for the last 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Separate homemade pastry into two balls and roll into rounds. Place one pastry in pie
dish. Cover the 2nd pastry with a towel to keep from drying out. Add
the steak mixture to the pie. Top with second pastry and crimp the edges.

Prick a few steam holes through the pastry top then place in the oven for 30-40
minutes until crispy and brown.

Belgian Onion Soup by way of Wisconsin

This recipe, from Epicurious, features beer in the stock and obviously, you’ll want to substitute one of the terrific local brews if you can decide which one to use. Let us know your recommendation and receive a market gift certificate as thanks.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 5 large onions, halved and sliced thin
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 shallots, sliced thin
• 750 milliliter local beer
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 4 bay leaves
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 4 slices Madison Sourdough baguette for garnish
• 1/2 pound Gruyère type cheese from Edelweiss or Schroeder’s for garnish
• Sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat a wide pot or cast-iron on medium heat. Add the butter and let it blister.

2. Add the onion and cook uncovered. Let them sit for about four minutes and then stir. Repeat until the onions have all begun to brown, at least twenty minutes.

3. Add the olive oil, garlic, and shallots and stir in the same fashion as before, once every five minutes, until the garlic and shallots have caramelized.

4. Add 2 1/2 cups of the beer and crank the heat to just shy of high. Let the beer boil off until there is half as much beer volume as onion volume.

5. Add the stock, bay leaves, thyme leaves, and white pepper. Cook until the liquid has reduced by about two finger widths. Taste the soup and add salt to adjust. Cook for at least an additional twenty minutes before garnishing. In an ideal world, you would let the soup sit a day before serving it. (Just be sure to reheat it.)

6. Take a slice of  Madison sourdough baguette and cut it to fit your bowl or cup. Set atop the soup and cover with several slices of Gruyère type cheese from Edelweiss or Schroeder’s. Broil until brown and serve hot, topped with extra thyme.

Web Extras!

Here’s an heirloom bean soup from the New York Times featuring yellow eye beans from Flyte Family.

The Splendid Table features a salmon recipe from Jacques Pepin’s new book and a crock pot spinach and lentil soup with Indian influences.

Here’s a list of three ingredient recipes for fast suppers that will come in handy some day.

Monticello’s monthly posting of Mary Randolph’s recipes recreates the pepper vinegar that Thomas Jefferson liked.

Send your contributions to : cravingsymmetry@yahoo.com.  There’s interesting stuff on our Facebook page too.  You can see it without a Facebook account; check it out.  Add to the conversation!

Some of us want this beautiful bowl at Flyte Family Farm as much as we want the tomatoes

It always seems odd to me that so many people love a green pepper which is an unripened  fruit that will eventually turn red, yellow or orange and yet get squeamish about a green tomato which is an  unripened  fruit that will eventually turn red, yellow or orange.  Don’t care for fried green tomatoes?  Here’s a link to green tomato chow chow and green ketchup and another to green tomato spice cake with brown butter frosting.

Think about this: you could make–and freeze–zucchini cake, beet cake, carrot cake, green tomato spice cake and the chocolate winter squash cake recipe I haven’t shared with you yet, and  have a vegetable garden of clever desserts to take to a holiday potluck.  Fortunately, beets, carrots, zucchini and green tomatoes are available at all the WCM veggie vendors.

This is Delicata winter squash, the first of a breeding breakthrough a few years ago in a series often called sweet dumpling or sweet potato squashes.  This type has a smooth, fine textured flesh sharing more in common with a sweet potato than a stringy acorn type.  You can poke a hole in Delicata and microwave for 15 minutes or roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes to brown the skin.  The skin is edible and tasty too.  Really!  The crispy skin makes a neat package to carry a vitamin A blast in a lunchbox.  Delicata stores well into December.

Have you learned to cook celeriac yet?  Looks gnarly, but it has a delicate celery flavor and can be served raw and  shredded as a cole slaw type salad, roasted or added to mashed potatoes. (If you like that old timey Swedes and Taters, try the same method with celeriac instead of rutabagas.)  The green tops, which have a much stronger celery flavor,  can be added to soups or greens.

B's Honey in generous sizes

Here’s a winter’s supply of local honey from B’s Honey to go in your pantry next to that  maple syrup that you bought last spring from Sunnyhill Acres.  (Oh…you didn’t stash maple syrup??  I called Sunnyhill on your behalf and guess what?  Sold out until next spring.  The smoked sheep sausages are sold out until later in the winter.)  A gallon of honey calls for sharing and you could decant it into your own pretty jars for holiday gifts.  Bonde Bee still has those cute little honey bears too.

You will often hear romanesco cauliflower referred to as a “fractal”.  Fractal actually describes a set of concepts from complexity theory which gets…well, pretty complex, but you might know one of the ideas as the Law of Unintended Consequences where one thing just keeps leading to another thing especially if the things are annoying.  Mathematician  Benoit Mandelbrot is the fellow who brought fractals to our attention, and we should probably rename this vegetable after him.  A Mandelbrot cauliflower is delicious cooked as you would broccoli and is a beautiful addition to a relish tray.  (I once frightened some dinner guests  who took it for an uncooked sea creature.)

Moldy Jam

We’ve been blessed with music on these lovely Indian summer mornings.

The Bad Hats....the only thing they're bad at as far as we can tell.

Making a Meal of the Issues?

Here’s the story of the Chicago schoolworker who ate–for a year– photographed, blogged and published a book about the shameful junk that passes for school lunch in the Land of Family Values, the Richest Country in the World, and the Democratic Example for the Planet and well, you know where you are.

Here’s an interesting story about making your own salt.  If you find this idea intriguing, read the book “Salt: a history of the world” which actually is a page turner.  (Really.)

If you love to read cookbooks, and now cooking blogs, here’s the link to….gasp… 50 global foodie blogs.  Excellent procrastination.

Recipes!

This recipe from Edible Madison would be perfect with Vivian Green’s Harrow Sweet pears which are absolutely wonderful. Be sure to get some for fresh eating too.

PEAR PECAN SPICE CAKE WITH CARAMEL DRIZZLE

Cake:

1 cup flour, plus some for the pan
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. each baking soda and cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 to 4 ripe pears (3/4 to 1 pound total), peeled and diced
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
3 Tbsp. milk

Caramel drizzle:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. each shortening and butter
2 Tbsp. milk
Dash of salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Garnish:

12-16 pecan halves

Heat oven to 325 degrees. For cake: Butter and flour an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in bowl. Stir in pears, pecans, butter, egg, and milk. Spread in pan. Bake 30-35 minutes. Cool cake completely.

For caramel drizzle icing: Bring brown sugar, shortening, butter, milk, and salt to boil in a saucepan. Cool it a few moments. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.

To serve: Run knife around cake edges, remove from pan and use a long, thin-bladed knife to halve the cake horizontally. Spread some icing over bottom half. Top with second half. Spread remaining icing over top, allowing some to drizzle down the sides. Garnish with pecan halves.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with beer and honey-mustard glaze

Another recipe from Edible Madison for those of you who missed it.  The glaze would good over a roasted Mandelbrot cauliflower too.

1 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. beer
2 Tbsp. grainy mustard
2 tsp. honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If Brussels sprouts are mixed sizes, cut the largest ones in half. Toss with olive oil and some salt in a bowl. Pour onto a cookie sheet and roast until starting to brown on the edges, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine garlic, butter, beer, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for a couple minutes, stirring often, until thickened. Toss roasted Brussels sprouts in glaze and serve. Makes 4-6 servings

Web Extras!

The Underground Kitchen offers a unique  fall CSA  of cured meats here.

Heidi Swanson’s blog features a Buttermilk Maple Pie recipe.

The Splendid Table has an Asian inspired  recipe for chicken thighs and  butternut squash with goat cheese and walnut crumbles this week.  (Plan to stop at Dreamfarm for the cheese.)

Here’s an entirely different take on pumpkin pull apart rolls from Vegandad blog.

Send your contributions to : cravingsymmetry@yahoo.com

]]> http://www.westsidecommunitymarket.org/uncategorized/bittersweet-october/feed/ 0 http://www.westsidecommunitymarket.org/uncategorized/goodbye-september/ http://www.westsidecommunitymarket.org/uncategorized/goodbye-september/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:31:47 +0000 bmorton http://www.westsidecommunitymarket.org/?p=1744

“By all these lovely tokens,September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather, and autumn’s best of cheer.”
-   Helen Hunt Jackson, September, 1830-1885

Autumn’s best of cheer is available everywhere in the market.  Country Bloomers has these gorgeous chrysanthemums and flowering kale to renew your summer containers or start new ones for fall.   Add some asters from Mary DeBlock and create a picture to mirror the sugar maples against the sky. (She’s at the end of the market next to Ethel Ann’s Savories and Sweets where the orange tent glows.)

Kelly Lor has one more chance at summer with these bouquets of giant dahlias–sometimes called dinner plate dahlias.  These are the flowers that you’ll remember in January, so treat yourself, or a friend, now.  There are still sunflowers and zinnias up and down the market at Natalie’s, Ka Vang and Prairie Farm Produce…no canning required to save this harvest; you’ll preserve the memory in your heart.

Flowering kale pretends to be a rose when it has been cut just right and  lasts half way to forever if you change the water in the vase every couple of days.  It loves cold, so you could even put them in a crock outside and let the neighbors think that you are a very clever gardener.  (You don’t have to admit that Sai Vang grew them.)

Countyline Produce has fantastical gourds that make us wonder how far a plant will go to protect its seed.  This gourd looks like it could slither away if you turned your head for an instant.  (Don’t you want to put some googly eyes on it and give it a name?)  This type will often dry well–although the color will change–and you could drill a doorway next spring as a peculiar birdhouse for the garden that will remind the neighbors that you were also the person who had the flowering kales on the doorstep until December.

Not to rush the winter holiday season, but now is the time to speak to your favorite vendors about poultry and roasts if you want to reserve something special.  This is also a good time to cook stocks in quantity and freeze for later.   Check with Hawk’s Hill,  Jen Ehr,  Jordandal and  Pecatonica Valley for ideas.  Those smoked meat sticks that so many people munch on a Saturday stroll through the market would also be good sliced thin and added to a corn bread stuffing or layered with cheese from Edelweiss or Schroeder’s on top of Potter’s Crackers or Dolci’s flatbreads.  (Sandy, of Dolci’s Italian American Sweets will return to the market in October; I told her that we would gossip about her while she’s gone.  Maybe we should get some chalk and graffiti the asphalt in her stall.)

What are all these people looking at?

Chef Kevin Appleton of Vom Fass is chopping a baguette from Madison Sourdough for a panzanella salad.  (The recipe is below if you didn’t get a copy at the Market.)  The Chef brings specialty vinegars and olive oils from Vom Fass to spotlight perfect vendor produce.  He also topped pears from Door County Fruit with goat cheese from Dreamfarm and drizzled  date balsamic vinegar over all.  He’ll be with us one more time on October 29th.

Making a Meal of the Issues?

Here’s a lesson from NPR on how to use lemongrass.  The Hmong vendors at the market all have fresh lemongrass, and you’ll love it once you try it.

Want to really rile people up?  Have a diversity bake sale and price the cupcakes according to race!  Oh, and give all women of whatever ethnicity an extra 25 cents off.  Do this is super liberal Berkeley, CA and see what happens.  Another NPR story here.

David Lebovitz was a pastry chef at Chez Panisse until he moved to Paris to blog about the “sweet” life there. (He conducts chocolate tours in Paris and Switzerland; reserve yours now.  Take me along, and I’ll tote the luggage for you.)  His blog is a fascinating armchair vacation.  Here’s a recent post.

Here’s an excerpt from Christopher Hitchen’s latest book  (Arguably) on fine dining and wine.

Recipes!

Panzanella – Kevin Appleton

Dressing:

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup Vom Fass Don Carlos Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

3 tablespoons Vom Fass Aged Spanish Red Wine Vinegar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes

1 cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

12-14 ounces stale French or country-style bread, torn or cut into 1″ cubes

1 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced thin (chiffonade)

Core tomatoes and cut into cubes (halve or quarter them if small). Toss with dressing  and let sit for 5 – 10 minutes.

Fill a large bowl with ice water. Add the bread and allow it to soften (no more than 5 minutes – don’t over soak!). Scoop the bread from the water, gently squeeze out as much water as possible and rub through your fingers into the tomatoes and dressing. Add the basil over and toss gently. Serve right away or set aside at room temperature for a couple of hours.)

Note: Fresh bread can be dried by cutting and then microwaving for 1 to 2 minutes or baking in a 300 degree oven for a few minutes.

Raspberry Citrus Dressing – Kevin Appleton  (used on the frilly mustard greens from Jen Ehr)

1 tablespoons shallots, minced fine

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup Vom Fass Waldburg Raspberry Cassis or Pomegranate Vinegar

2 tablespoons Vom Fass Waldburg Honey Vinegar

1 tablespoon local honey

1/2 cup Vom Fass Cru Cravenco or Cru Ranieri Extra Virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Superb leeks at Happy Valley

Leek and Olive Tart from (ahem!) Martha Stewart

Web Extras!

A new magazine for those who love baking is coming.

This week’s edition of the Splendid Table is here.

A pull apart pumpkin bread recipe that reminds me of that old monkey puzzle bread.  I can hardly wait to try this some drizzly afternoon with fresh pumpkin from the market.  Don’t we feel extra virtuous when we cook a pumpkin?

I love the story that this recipe for Musician’s Tart was a way long ago to pay them.  (Will play for food?)

Share a photo of your market shopping and win a gift certificate!  Send  (jpeg) photo, video, poetry, crayon drawings to cravingsymmetry@yahoo.com

Jenny Chipault's photo would make gorgeous print

This week’s market photo was sent in by Jenny Chipault, who writes: “…we woke up at 6:45 AM on Saturday to get to market.  Goal: Green’s cider!  We secured our gallon of cider and also picked up lots of other fruit - ground cherries from Blue Moon Community Farm, two kinds of apples from Green’s Pleasant Springs Orchard, and peaches and plums from Door County Fruit.  The fruit was  beautiful, composed in the  crystal bowl-a gracious wedding gift- that seemed destined for the purpose; it needed only a Renaissance painter to capture the light from the blush on the peaches.”

Our thanks to Jenny and a market gift certificate too!  Who’s next?  Take a photo, write a poem, color a drawing of your shopping…or what you did with it….and send to the address at the end of the newsletter.  Share your market morning and you could win too! (Winners will be posted on our Facebook fan page also.)

root veggies at Jen Ehr

It’s cool enough to use the oven again and  there is a paintbox of root vegetables ready for roasting, all the colors of a slow September sunset wanting only a slick of Driftless Organic sunflower oil and twigs of thyme and rosemary…no other recipe needed.

Remember when all carrots were orange?  While everybody was swooning over heirloom tomatoes, heirloom carrots were being rediscovered and now yellow, red and purple are widely available; they make a beautiful salad.  Big Agriculture has never wanted to bother with these varieties and they were almost lost, but this is exactly the sort of thing that your local farmers do best.

Towers of purple carrots at Sai Vang

Sai Vang, Happy Valley, Jen Ehr, Blue Moon Community Farm, Primrose Community Farm all have heirloom root vegetables…you have only to choose your palette.  Don’s Produce has freshly dug sweet potatoes-purple skinned! (The next time you make oven baked sweet potato fries, try a dipping sauce of warm pineapple jam and chopped jalapeno peppers…mighty tasty. Prairie Farm Produce has fat jalapenos, and Ka Vang has boxes of  tiny Thai wicked hot peppers.)

I was amazed to hear someone expressing doubts about blue potatoes at last week’s market.

Amaze your friends and family...blue french fries, or latkes, or hash browns!

This is another veggie that isn’t Big Agriculture friendly, but the local grower does superbly.  Some are blue skinned and white fleshed while others are blue all the way through( Have you ever been blue all the way through?) and I challenge you to find a taste difference blindfolded.   This variety at Driftless Organics fades a bit outside during cooking, but it’s the coolest shade of royal purple on the inside.  I make a blue potato salad with sliced red onions, pistachio nuts and a raspberry vinaigrette to play with the colors.  (It’s delicious too.)  Ka Vang has a smaller, new potato size.

The very best root vegetable, garlic at Blue Moon Community Farm;get yours before I get it all!

Chef Kevin Appleton from Vom Fass and MATC  joins us again this Saturday at 9:30 with a demonstration featuring  luscious Vom Fass oils, vinegars and fresh vendor produce.  Stop by the Information Tent for new ideas and samples.  (I’ve been ripening pears from Door County Fruit in case Chef Kevin wants to use them.  It’s a heavy burden of temptation to have perfect pears in the frig singing “eat me” every time I open the door.  And the scent!  Must be strong.  Must be strong.)

The fall edition of Edible Madison is out and several WCM vendors are featured:  Diana Murphy from Dreamfarm talks about her love of the goats and her artisanal cheeses;  Carrie Johnson of Jordandal inspires with her story of how a farming business evolves; Pleasant Spring’s Orchard owner Vivian Green explains apples, cider and offers delicious recipes and storage techniques. You’ll want a hard copy of this edition…there’s a recipe for pear pecan spice cake with an caramel drizzle (Oh dear, those pears in my frig are calling again.  Does anyone remember Meg Ryan explaining pears to Nicholas Cage in City of Angels?) and another for roasted brussel sprouts with a honey mustard glaze.  (B’s Honey and Bonde Bee can help with that.)  The honey mustard glaze would be great with root veggies too.

Black Earth Valley golden raspberries

There is still great fruit at the market: some watermelons available at Flyte Family Farm; Black Earth Valley and Yang Vang have red and  golden raspberries; Door County Fruit has plums to sing harmony with those pears.  Cranberries arrive on October 8.

Stock up on your Italian cookie supply-they freeze well-because Sandy at Dolci Italian American Sweets will be kidnapped by aliens for two markets after this week, and you might develop a terrible longing for biscotti while she’s gone. (She’ll be back in October.)

Making a Meal of the Issues?

Remember Baskin Robbins and 31 flavors?  Could that business model work for another food product?

Communication is everything and good design can save the world…here’s an urban trend that let’s you talk back.

Are you an Alton Brown fan?  Here’s his blog.

Get ready for the  great pumpkin shortage of 2011.

Recipes!

Black Bottomed Apple Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb tart apples, peeled, halved, cored and cut in 1/2-in. pieces (4 cups)
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp unsalted stick butter
• 6 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 3 Tbsp each oil and unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp each baking soda and cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 12 regular-size (21/2-in.-diameter) muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Stir in apples, 1/4 cup brown sugar and the butter. Cook, stirring once, 5 minutes or until apples are caramelized. Let cool.
3. Meanwhile beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup brown sugar and the egg in a small bowl with mixer on medium speed 1 minute or until smooth, light and fluffy. Set aside.
4. Put remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and rest of ingredients (except cooked apples) in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk until well blended. Divide evenly among muffin cups. Top each with 1 Tbsp apples, 1 heaping Tbsp cream cheese mixture, then the remaining apples.
5. Bake 30 minutes or until cheese mixture has puffed and set. Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes before removing from pan to rack to cool completely. Remove paper liners before serving.

Simple Asian Longbeans (if you haven’t tried these delicious longbeans/noodle beans/yard long beans yet, that’s ok.  More for me!  They’re inexpensive, easier to process and you can tie them into interesting knots.  I simmer briefly and roll in a malt vinegar viniagrette, but this stir fry recipe is good too.)

1 pound Chinese Long Beans, washed and trimmed to 3″ lengths
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Heat up a wok or your family heirloom cast iron skillet, add oil. When shimmering, add minced garlic. Fry just for a few seconds until fragrant. You want to make sure that you don’t wait too long before adding the garlic to the oil, otherwise the oil will be too hot and the garlic will burn.

Add your long beans, fry in wok for 30 seconds, tossing the garlicky oil all over the beans.

Add water, oyster sauce and soy sauce. Cover the wok. Let the beans steam for 5 minutes on medium heat. Check to see if beans are almost tender, but not too soft. If not, re-cover and steam an additional 1 minute. Uncover, let the rest of the liquid evaporate, about an additional minute.

Web Extras!

Starting your Christmas crafting early?  Here’s a unique idea from the Dinasaur Dishes blog.

The Splendid Table newsletter has a ragged egg and spinach soup recipe and a method for baking a casserole where you plunk a head of garlic in the middle of the mixture and have baked garlic ready when the rice and chickpeas are.  Clever!

The blog from Two Lazy Gourmets has a recipe for Rosh Hashanah (September 28 & 29th) honey cake that will make you want to stock up on local honey.

Foodies at the Chicago Tribune remind you that tomato season is almost over and here are ten more things to do with them.

Send photos and so on to : cravingsymmetry@yahoo.com

Savvy Shopper Cheryl wins a market gift certificate for this photo!

Last week, we featured the photo that Savvy Shopper Julie sent of her market cornucopia and offered a market gift certificate to encourage other local foodies to share the bounty.  Here is a portion of Cheryl B’s shopping–she went back for more.  The tomatoes are scratch ‘n dent, she says, but they look pretty tasty.  Cheryl gets the $5 market gift certificate this week.

Be a photo journalist and send us a picture of your market purchases.  (The address is at the end of this newsletter.)  If you want to brag up your favorite vendor, include the details when you send the photo.  Making a market video?  Send that too.

After the market, you can attend a program featuring  Barbara Wright, chef and local foods activist  who returns to the Monona Library, at 1 pm on September 17th,  to show you how to make delicious and fast meals with fresh locally grown foods. Learn quick cooking techniques, share samples, stories and recipes. A don’t miss program. Register online, by phone (222.6127) or in person.  (Park the kids in the Children’s Library and indulge in cooking talk with actual grown-ups.)

Movie Star leeks at Jen Ehr

The allium family is just like yours, eclectic and useful in specific situations….garlic, shallots, onions, chives, ramps, lilies, and the aristocratic leek.  Most of the family is easy to grow; just poke a bulb into the soil and wait until harvest.  To get leeks (from Jen Ehr) like the ones in the photo takes a bit more farmer’s magic.  These are the sort of leeks that snobby Europeans, particularly those from a country south of the UK but north of Spain, assumed couldn’t be grown in the colonies by mere colonists, but here they are, Wisconsin grown and ready for a cockaleekie soup.  (With bread from Madison Sourdough, this is a perfect September dinner and fun to say too.  “What’s for dinner?  Cockaleekie!”)

You could crumble Potter’s Crackers into the Cockaleekie, but the new flavors are a little aristocratic themselves and might be better spotlighted with cheese on the side.  Ask Nancy what cheese she recommends with her grilled corn and caramelized onion crackers.  (Probably a goat cheese from Dreamfarm or something delicious from Schroeder’s or Edelweiss.)

Disappearing cider at Green's Pleasant Springs Orchard

Cider time at last!  The cider sells out quickly, so the usual advice pertains….get to the market early–particularly this week as Green’s Pleasant Springs Orchard is bringing Honeycrisp apples.  An enthusiastic fan of Green’s cider sends this bulletin: “…Real smart shoppers will fill freezers with gallons of  Dick & Viv’s cider after drinking  a small glassful from each to allow for expansion. Then, bringing a thawing jug to a holiday event  will be a fabulous dinner contribution.  And, next summer, frozen cider will be an amazing refreshment, if  one can really postpone gratification until then.” Postponing the pleasure is the key of course.

Another way to preserve the cider goodness is to turn the beverage into a kitchen treasure: in a wide shallow pan, boil the cider until the volume is reduced by 2/3.  Watch carefully as the liquid evaporates because it can scorch rapidly.  You’ll eventually have an intensely flavored cider syrup that is handy for many good things and will last for weeks in the fridge or months in the freezer.  Once you taste the syrup, supply will be more of a problem than storage.  Use it to glaze poultry or pork, brush over apple pie crust or cinnamon bread, drizzle over toast and Yumbutter or butternut squash, mix with some of the maple syrup from Sunnyhill Acres that you saved from the spring harvest and add to baked beans.  (I have two quarts of Sunnyhill’s syrup waiting for cider syrup….an alchemy of early spring and late summer sunshine.)

(Sorry; had to brag about having the Sunnyhill maple syrup stashed.  I anticipated this moment last April, but not the idea that I would move to a new apartment and the syrup is packed in a box that looks like all the other boxes.  I will have to sit very still and quietly for awhile until I hear it humming a little sugar song.)

Do you have a pie recipe for these ground cherries?

Other summer fruits are still with us.  Flyte Family Farm has watermelons, Phia Vang has luscious raspberries, and Door County Fruit brings pears and plums.  Delicata squash–from Primrose Community Farm is sweet enough to qualify as a fruit, and Don’s Produce has sweet potatoes.  (We need someone to send in a sweet potato or squash pie recipe.)  Now that it’s cool enough to fire up the oven, try some sweet potato fries.  And try this fruit from Blue Moon Community Farm while they’re still available.  Kristin says that the ground cherries sell out every week, so no dawdling.

Don’t forget the garden!  Morningwood is bringing grasses and other perennials to their last market session.  Now that you see all the grasses blooming, don’t you wish that you’d planted a few last spring?  There’s still time to refresh your autumn garden with dreams of next spring.  Country Bloomers has big fat chrysanthemums  every week to inspire you to pretty up those sad old summer containers.

Making a Meal of the Issues? Monsanto gives you even more reasons to eat local and carry an umbrella.

Here’s another idea to even out our food distribution problem for people who live in food deserts.

As you read this story, note the odd language and  be grateful that you have local alternatives to Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO’s) and support your own  farmers like Jordandal, Hawk’s Hill, Pecatonica Valley and Jen Ehr. The author is excited because the FDA will now list several other strains of E. coli as meat processing adulterants and require testing.  Yes!  those strains were always there, but weren’t regulated!  Yikes!  And even Big Ag admits that more bad boys could be in their meat products, but tests aren’t available to detect them.  Be glad to pay what your food security is worth and buy local.

Recipes!

Gazpacho

(from The Vegetarian Epicure)  sent in by Cheryl B. who recommends that you keep a batch of the Gazpacho in the frig for fast meals.

1 small onion, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded

3 tomatoes, peeled and diced

1 small pepper, seeded and diced

3 eggs

1/3 c. olive oil

1/4 c. vinegar

1 c. tomato juice

Puree all above in blender (may be in 2 batches).

Add: 1-2 cloves garlic

2 tbs. Lemon juice

2 tbs. Brown sugar

1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper

salt

1 tsp. Dill weed

Empty into large soup pot.  Heat very slowly stirring constantly with wire whisk, and simmer no longer than 2-3 minutes (until eggs are set).  Take off heat and continue stirring occasionally while it cools.

Add: 2 Tbs. Mayonnaise, put back in blender at high speed for a few seconds (very short time). Pour into bowl or tureen and chill. Garnish with watercress or fresh diced veggies and serve. (I just use croutons.)

Skillet Apple Cake

(this recipe from the King Arthur Flour website is easy and delicious.  Lots of other good ideas there too.)

Apples

• 4 or 5 large tart green apples (such as Granny Smith), cored and sliced (about 1 1/2 pounds); about 18 ounces prepared, about 5 1/2 to 6 cups
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons boiled cider
• 1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice, or your favorite combination of sweet spices
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Cake

• 1 1/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup warm milk
• 1 large egg
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• coarse sparkling sugar to sprinkle on top, optional

Sunflowers and a seriously efficient shopping cart

Gather ye sunflowers while ye may….I’m not going any further with that thought.  You know where it leads.  For now, warmer weather returns next week and these happy sunflower faces are pollenless, no shedding.  September icons during the pause that is not summer, nor yet autumn, they remind you that there is still time to turn your face to the sun.

Let's put Julie in charge of the world hunger problem

There are  many ways to be a part of your local food web: you can join a CSA program from a local farm like Primrose Community Farm or Jen Ehr, participate in a punch card program at Blue Moon Community Farm or shop up and down the market and develop the week’s menu as you go.  Send a photo of your locavore cornucopia, and you could win a  market gift certificate. Market Diva Julie composed this picture of her shopping last Saturday  which she will cook into a week’s meals for two vegans plus a potluck dish to share.  (Yes, very busy people do cook!)

Notice the package of Gitto tortillas in Julie’s shopping?  You already know how delicious they are, but after watching this video by Lubing Creative, you’ll be amazed at the dedication and hard work  that goes into each package.  The tortillas are versatile too, savory or sweet.  I fold mine into origami shapes, put in the toaster and then spread with Yum Butter and Door County Fruit jam.  Or, try them with Yum Butter Asian Jazz, sliced scallions and rice noodles drizzled with tamari–sort of a tortilla spring roll.  Greg shows you another idea at the end of the video.

How about a box of cookies for Grandparents Day?

Sandy Hunter has new cookies at Dolci’s Italian American Sweets; she’s worked out all natural icing colorants too.  When you stop by for a sample, ask to see the photo of her cookie cakes…a custom designed tower of cookies to celebrate any occasion.  (How about a cookie cake for Columbus Day? Or treat your co-workers who were expecting the same old bagels or donuts.)

Wisconsin Trails magazine features our own Kristin Kordet of Blue Moon Community Farm in the September issue as one of the New Kids on the Farm article. But take a look at the beautiful photograph of Kristin; new kids never look that competent and determined.

Gleaners

If you come late to the market, you may see these community spirited fellows collecting donations from the WCM vendors for the food pantry.  Feel the need to volunteer?  Talk to the men in the red vests about becoming a gleaner.

Sunday, among other things to commemorate, is also Grandparents Day.  You could make a market picnic brunch  with goodies from Ethel Ann’s Savories and Sweets, Honey Bee Bakery, Sugar River Dairy yogurt, Madison Sourdough or Murphy’s little quick breads. There are luscious melons at Real Foods, Green’s Pleasant Springs Orchard, Primrose, Flyte Family Farms, and Natalie’s Greenhouse. Add flowers from Kelly Lor, Pa Vang, Country Bloomers or  Ka Vang and you can skip that tired old buffet at a crowded restaurant.

Making a Meal of the Issues?

This article from Mother Jones magazine might finally open your eyes about devastatingly expensive cheap strawberries really are.   Support local fruit!  Plums and pears are ready at Door County Fruit and apple season is just beginning.

NPR explains how food calorie measurements are made by blowing up a fruit cake.

Slate asks if a great cookbook can make you a great chef.

Recipes!

Savory Plum Chutney (great dipping sauce for chicken from Eating Well)

Ingredients:

• 4 plums, (about 1 pound), pitted and chopped
• 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• Pinch of crushed red pepper, or to taste

Method:

Combine plums, vinegar, honey and crushed red pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the plums start to break down, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor and pulse several times into a coarse puree.

Chocolate Beet Cake (do you have to ‘fess up about the beets?  Nope.)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, Canola or corn oil
• 1 1/2 cups grated cooked beets
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• powdered sugar, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine flour, soda, salt, sugar and cocoa in a bowl; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs and oil. Beat in vanilla and continue beating until well blended. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until well mixed; stir in beets. Pour into a greased and floured 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25 to 35 minutes, or until cake bounces back when touched lightly with finger.

Cool in pan on a rack. Frost cooled cake or dust with powdered sugar.

Web Extras!

Everybody’s heard about fried butter on a stick at the Texas State Fair, but here’s who won the most creative fried food award.

Heidi Swanson’s beautiful blog features her Magic Sauce recipe this month.

So what’s the deal with the General Tso guy and his chicken?  The New York Times–and others explain here.

Craving a Belgian waffle?  Here’s the recipe.