June 26, 2010

Dear WCM Shopper,

Happy summer to all and welcome to vendors selling for this second session of the Market. Some, such as Vree Farm of Randolph with sweet corn, aren’t expected until later in the session.

Beets by Linda Nelson

Door County Fruit Markets of Egg Harbor, however, will be on hand with strawberries galore for the start of this session Saturday – and a good thing, too, since the heavy rain in our area this week was hard on the crop closer to Madison. Crystal Barnard calls these berries “the most beautiful tasty ones we have ever grown,” and that’s saying a lot considering her husband Jim has 50 years’ experience tending strawberries. I’m thinking of the way Marigold Kitchen, a downtown restaurant, serves sliced strawberries steeped in balsamic vinegar on pancakes with mascarpone cheese. If you try this, use a good balsamic that’s aged to mellowness. Shoppers also will find jams and jellies the Barnards’ explain are “made the old fashioned way – one batch at a time – from local Door County fruit grown without dangerous chemicals.”

Andrew Hutchison and David Lohrentz of Madison Sourdough had cream puffs for sale last week and say they’ll have them this Saturday as long as the weather holds. (Rain is not cream-puff friendly.) Besides their usual baguettes and other bakery, they plan to offer some specialty breads such as Sunflower Rye and Cranberry Walnut. To support this Market vendor in another way (or just get ideas for great sandwich combos using the bread), check out what Madison Sourdough is offering in box lunches for Concerts on the Square, which start Wednesday, June 30.

Think about what else you can find at the Market for Concert on the Square and other picnics, such as an array of cheese – including Diana and Jim Murphy’s Dreamfarm goat cheese from Cross Plains — with a Madison Sourdough baguette and a range of crackers from Potter’s Crackers of Madison; Tomato Mountain salsa made by Chris Covelli of Brooklyn to serve with tortilla chips; Brian and Julie Winzenried’s spinach or spicy cheese empanadas from Stella’s Bakery of Madison…and much more.

At home on hot summer days, you’ll be happy you purchased a mint plant earlier in the season – or that you can find fresh cut mint from vendors including Kristen Kordet of Blue Moon Community Farm, Oregon. Add a few sprigs to iced tea or try this recipe for a mojito: Put 12 leaves in a tall narrow glass with the juice of ½ to 1 lime and muddle (use a long spoon to gently mash it together so the mint releases its flavor); add 1 to 2 tablespoons agave syrup (or homemade or commercial simple syrup) and fill with ice; pour on 2 ounces white rum, fill with club soda and stir to mix.

In addition to the products already mentioned, shoppers likely will find broccoli, beets, summer squash, zucchini, flowers, plants, various fresh cut herbs, lots of greens, peas, radishes, leeks, shallots, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, turnips, bok choy, potatoes, green onions, eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk, ice cream, butter, meats, fish, dry beans, bread and other bakery, and specialty products.

Note: If you find rhubarb, you may want to buy enough to use now and freeze for later.

Thanks to shopper Jill Sakai for the great recipe using multiple Market ingredients. If you have a seasonal recipe to share, send it to kalliosandra@yahoo.com – or drop it off at the Information Tent. After it’s published in the newsletter, you’ll find a $5 gift certificate waiting for you at that tent.

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.

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.).

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
 

Recipe Corner

Orzo with Kale and Feta

Shopper Jill Sakai shares this recipe she made using the rice-shaped orzo pasta and “lots of seasonal ingredients from the market: garlic scapes, scallions, kale, tomato, and feta. I admit I’m not a huge kale fan, but this is how I like to eat it! This is how I made it this time, but it’s quite adaptable. You can try different veggies, or add shrimp, fish or meat. It works as a side or as a meal with a green salad (from the Market!) and some crusty bread (Madison Sourdough, perhaps?). Mmm!”

• ½ cup water
  2 cups chicken broth
  ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 cup orzo
  1 tablespoon olive oil
  2 cloves garlic (or 3 garlic scapes), minced
  1 scallion (or 1/2 onion), chopped
  1 medium bunch kale, ribs removed and coarsely chopped
  2 tablespoons lemon juice
  ¼ cup shredded Parmesan
  1 can great northern or other white beans
  1 tomato, chopped
  3 ounces feta, crumbled
• Salt and pepper to taste
  ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

Boil the water and chicken broth, then add the turmeric. Add the orzo and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Most or all of the liquid should be absorbed.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet. Sauté the garlic until fragrant. Add scallion and cook another minute. Add kale and cook uncovered about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then cover and cook another 5-10 minutes until tender and wilted (add 1 to 2 tablespoons water if necessary).

Stir lemon juice, Parmesan, beans, tomato, feta and kale mixture into orzo. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts before serving. Makes three to four main dish servings.

Baby Beets

This recipe is reprinted with permission of Toni Brandeis Streckert from her “Potluck! Home Cooking from Wisconsin’s Community Cookbooks” (Trail Books). She credits Anita Strobel’s recipe in “From Our House to Your House: Recipes from the Madison Curling Club.”

• 1 bunch small spring beets
• Sour cream, to taste
• Salt and pepper
• ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Cut off beet leaves, but leave 1-inch stems and root ends. Steam beets until just tender; cool in cold water. Cut off stems and slip off skins and roots. Cube cooked beets. Add sour cream to taste, salt and pepper as needed, and add a little squeeze of lemon juice. Heat and serve. Makes two servings.