Strawberries by Linda Nelson

Dear WCM Shopper,

I’m still thinking about the Sassy Cow Creamery mint chocolate chip ice cream I had last week and wishing I would have bought vanilla to bring home to enjoy with my strawberries. Among the many great features of this Market is that I could arrive last week after 11 a.m. and still find lots of popular produce — such as strawberries and pea pods — since we WCM shoppers aren’t competing with restaurateurs who buy in quantity.

And once you’ve tasted these Market berries you won’t be satisfied with supermarket showy but tasteless strawberries. Our vendors’ strawberries are so good it’s hard to get home with any left to use in a recipe, but if you do, here are a couple of ideas. First, you could start the day with orange juice whipped up in the blender with a couple of handfuls of fresh strawberries. And if you want an adult beverage later in the day, a strawberry margarita might hit the spot: Put 2 ounces each of triple sec and tequila, the juice of half a lime, a teaspoon of sugar and 2 cups of strawberries in the blender and blend until smooth; add about 2 cups of ice and pulse until crushed.

A breakfast or dessert parfait would be great, too, layering sliced strawberries with plain or vanilla yogurt from Sugar River Dairy of Albany, ending with a sprinkle of granola or drizzle of Brad Moore’s honey. My family polished off our berries from the Yang family with crepes, so I never got around to making strawberry shortcake – but am including some sauce recipes that would be great with your favorite shortcake.

For those who buy in quantity to store long-term, the Wisconsin Berry Growers Association offers advice:
“Freezing is recommended for long-term storage.  All berries can be prepared with or without sugar or syrup; be whole, chopped, sliced, mashed or pureed. For freezing they should be packed in an airtight container, leaving 1-inch of head space. Without sugar, frozen berries should be used within three months. With sugar, berries can be safely frozen for up to one year.”

Besides finding more strawberries next week, shoppers can expect more peas. Ka Vang is among the vendors featuring sugar snap peas good for snacking on as is (even without a dip), shell peas to pop open and remove the peas for cooking,  and sugar snap tips so good for stir-frying. Shoppers also likely will find flowers, plants, radishes, leeks, fresh cut herbs, shallots, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach and various greens, turnips, bok choy, potatoes, green onions, rhubarb, eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk, ice cream, meats, dry beans, bread and other bakery, and specialty products. The first Market session ends June 19, so make sure to visit vendors who’ll be leaving soon, such as those selling plants and one selling chocolate.

TerraSource Chocolates’ Josie Pradella of Madison makes vegan dark chocolates with high quality local, organic and fair trade ingredients. Her flavors are not what you’d easily find elsewhere: aronia (aka chokeberry), sea berry (aka sea buckthorn), rhubarb, blackberry, blueberry, brandied pear and more. Her latest addition is Share Square Chocolates, a small package with a square to eat, a square to share and best yet, she gives a $1 of each sale toward the purchase of solar ovens for women in Haiti. She just sent off a check for nine ovens – and she welcomes donations of $50 for the purchase of an oven, two sets of Share Squares and recognition through her newsletter, website and press releases. Also, keep TerraSource in mind for fundraisers by school, church and community groups, who would keep $1 a package. And, please think of TerraSource for wedding and shower favors, which come in boxes embedded with prairie seeds for later planting. Note: Josie says fans can freeze the chocolate but should use freezer bags.

Thanks to shopper Kristen, who responded to my earlier request for a radish recipe. She – and anyone else who shares a recipe using Market ingredients – will have a $5 gift certificate waiting at the WCM Information Tent.

Recipe Corner

Radish Dip

Market shopper Kristen Panther wrote, “I finally found a way to get my husband to help me eat my radishes. So good, even people who claim to not like this vegetable can’t help but snack on this dip. Add the larger amount of radish/onion for a bigger bite.”

• 8 ounce block of cream cheese (low fat or fat free works as well), softened
• 10 to 15 radishes, quartered
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves
• 2 to 3 green onions, white and green parts, coarsely chopped (when garlic scapes or green garlic are in season, substitute these for garlic and onions)
• Worcestershire sauce to taste (I use about 1 tablespoon)

Blitz in a food processor until creamy. Great on crudités or as a sandwich spread.

Simple Strawberry Sauce

Recipe from Wisconsin Berry Growers Association

• 2 pints strawberries, washed and sliced
  1/2 cup sugar (more or less to taste)

Combine berries and sugar, stir gently; chill 1-2 hours or overnight.  Use sauce on ice cream, shortcake, angel food cake, pound cake, puddings, waffles, crepes, or just enjoy with a touch of cream.

Kirsch-Strawberry Sauce

This recipe is adapted from “Maida Heatter’s Book of Great American Desserts.”

• 3 pounds (10-12 cups) washed, hulled and dried strawberries
• 2 tablespoons Kirsch (fruit brandy)
• 1 cup Tomato Mountain strawberry preserves

Drizzle Kirsch over the sliced berries, toss gently and let stand a few minutes. Melt the preserves on low-medium heat in a small saucepan. Pour the melted preserves over the strawberries and stir gently. Serve on shortcake, pound cake, ice cream or whatever sounds good!

Invite your friends and neighbors to the Market: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. 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.

Tell them to bring the kids to play along with Moldy Jam, the Market house band that plays in fair weather at reasonable times (not before 9:30 a.m.).

Vendors provide free coffee at the WCM Information Tent for those who shop earlier. When you are at the tent, 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