Cherry tomatoes by Linda E. Nelson

Dear WCM Shopper,

Among the many benefits of farmers’ market shopping is the ability to purchase the exact amount of the exact items you want – whether you’re buying for a crowd or one to two servings. I found some small but beautiful items last week at the Market just right for my husband and me – such as the perfect-for-two muskmelon and watermelon from Vivian Green of Green’s Pleasant Springs Orchard, Stoughton, and torpedo red onions, just right in a salad for two, from Countyline Plants and Produce owned by Bill and Cathy Mayr of DeForest. And then there was the mini patty pan squash from Ka Vang of Madison, cherry tomatoes from many vendors, honey sticks from Andrew Bonde’s Bonde Bee of Randolph and the mini sweet peppers from Mike and Cassie Noltnerwyss of Primrose Community Farm,Plains.

Those doll-size peppers would be the highlight of a crudite tray, colorful grilled kebabs or — if you’re in a Martha mood — you could stuff them with sautéed onions and cooked ground beef topped with Diana Murphy’s garlic goat cheese from Dream Farm of Cross Plains.

If you like your peppers bigger and a bit hotter than average, try the poblano peppers from Kelly Lor of Cottage Grove stuffed with sausage from Jordandal Farm owned by Carrie and Eric Johnson of Argyle, and topped with jalapeno Cheddar from Bryon Schroeder of Schroeder Cheese, Rewey. The recipe below also calls for fresh sweet corn, which has been plentiful at the Market.

The bi-color Triple Sweet from Jay Vree’s Vree Farm of Randolph is not to be missed, but I was happy I also tried the While Silver King last week. The ears are bigger and the kernels softer, which makes them great for eating now. For freezing, the Vrees prefer the firmer bi-color, which they say will taste like it’s fresh off the cob even six months from now.

On these hot summer days, corn on the cob, along with a salad of Market greens and hickory smoked trout from Jenny and Chuck Anderson’s Artesian Trout of Westfield — on the side or in the salad — would be a fine feast without heating up the oven. Fresh Market raspberries – or a mixture of Market berries – with Ron and Chris Paris’ Sugar River Dairy yogurt or Sassy Cow Creamery’s ice cream would finish off the meal in locavore style.

That’s the kind of menu to plan if you’re taking Willy Street Co-op’s Eat Local Challenge, which starts Sunday and continues through Sept. 15. While the co-op is organizing the challenge – with online sign-up  – the idea is to eat more local foods whether that’s from farmers’ markets, your own garden, CSAs or the co-op. Market shoppers taking the challenge are invited to let me know how it’s going – and to share a recipe using lots of locally grown or raised products.

For those focused on locally grown organic produce, Blue Moon Community Farm owned by Kristen Kordet of Stoughton now is certified organic. Congratulations!

We’ll miss Kopke’s Fruit of the Bloom, owned by Gordy Kopke of Oregon. Kopke’s last day was last week, though they encourage shoppers to keep planting perennials – especially considering some of the deals on plants now.

Among the surprises last week was asparagus from Paa Vang of DeForest. Shoppers this week likely will find apples, beans, beets, blueberries, bread and other bakery, broccoli, butter, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, cheese, cherries, chicken, crackers, cucumbers, dry beans, eggplant, eggs, fennel, fish, flowers, fresh-cut herbs, garlic, green onions, greens, honey, ice cream, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, meats, milk, muskmelons, okra, onions of all sorts, pasta, patty pan squash, peas, plants, plums, potatoes, radishes, raspberries, rhubarb, summer squash, sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes, turnips, watermelons, yogurt, zucchini and specialty products.

With all those choices, shoppers must have recipes to share. Stay tuned for a new way to use peaches next week. Today, check out this Summer Chopped Salad recipe provided by shopper Dina Vanderberg, who’ll have a $5 Market gift certificate waiting for her at the Information Tent at the Saturday’s market. If you have a recipe using Market products, send it to kalliosandra@yahoo.com or leave it at the Information Tent with your contact information.

Recipe Corner

Summer Chopped Salad

• Onions
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes
• Sweet peppers and poblano peppers
• Light vinaigrette dressing
• Black olives (optional)
• Feta cheese (optional)

Chop vegetables in equal sizes, toss with dressing and, if desired, add olives and top with crumbled feta cheese.

 Stuffed Poblano Peppers

• 4  poblano peppers
  Extra virgin olive oil
  1/2 diced onion
  2 cloves garlic, minced
  2 links Jordandal sausage
  1/2 cup Tomato Mountain salsa
  1/2 cup Market corn
  1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  Salt and pepper
  1 ounce Schroeder’s jalapeno Cheddar cheese, shredded

Sauté the onion in olive oil until tender; add garlic, cooking for another minute. Crumble sausage, add to the pan and cook until it begins to brown. Add salsa, corn, cumin, salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes.

To prepare the peppers, lay the poblanos flat and cut a T-shaped slit into the top. Pry the slit apart, and remove all of the seeds (wear gloves and avoid touching your eyes). Stuff the sausage mixture into the peppers. Top with shredded cheese and bake at 400 degrees until the pepper is tender and starting to brown around the edges, roughly 25 minutes.

Invite your friends and neighbors to the Market: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at Hill Farms State Department of Transportation parking lot at the corner of Segoe Road and Sheboygan Avenue, one block south of University Avenue and one block west of Hilldale Shopping Center.

 This week’s musical guests are Dark of the Moon, a women’s band based in Madison, Wisconsin, that plays traditional music from the British Isles, America, Scandinavia and other countries for dancing and listening. They specialize in music for contradancing, such as jigs and reels, and also play waltzes, polkas, schottisches, folk songs, Cajun, bluegrass, Klezmer and other traditional music. See http://www.mad-wi.net/darkofthemoon/ for more info.

WCM offers free coffee for shoppers and invites all to stop in at the WCM Information Tent to fill out a chance to win the raffle for a $5 WCM gift certificate.

Until next week,
Sandy Kallio
for the Westside Community Market

Send recipes to kalliosandra@yahoo.com.