Eggplant by Linda E. Nelson

Dear WCM Shopper,

Packing lunches for the kids again – or saving money by brown-bagging it at work?

Consider the Market options, such as Barnard Farms jam or Edelweiss Creamery or Schroeder Cheese and a Market tomato on Stella’s Bakery  or Madison Sourdough bread or ciabatta rolls (Tip: Keep bread from getting soggy by spreading peanut butter or almond butter on both slices of bread before adding the jam or by placing thin cheese slices on each piece of bread before adding a thick tomato slice in the middle); a sprinkle of Market raspberries with chunks of musk melon from Natalie’s Garden; a handful of cherry tomatoes, a stack of carrot sticks or slices of bell peppers from various vendors; an apple from Eplegaarden or Green’s Springs Orchard (Try the Zestar!), snack sticks from Hawks Hill Elk Ranch, a Honey Bee Bakery quiche made with Dreamfarm goat cheese, honey sticks from Bonde Bee or B’s Honey, a Thermos of milk from Sassy Cow Creamery, a carton of yogurt from Sugar River Dairy, and so much more. Bring the kids and let them shop for their own lunches!

My kids – now in college – are savoring the Market food I bought and/or prepared for their first weeks of school: pesto made with basil from Sai Vang of Windsor; fresh plums and blueberry jam from Jim and Crystal Barnard’s Barnard Farms, Egg Harbor; tomato sauce made from “scratch and dent” tomatoes from Dan Deneen of Black Earth Valley Produce, Mazomanie, and Vivian Green of Green’s Pleasant Springs Orchard, Stoughton; raspberries from Ka Vang of Madison (frozen so they’d last); and Pink Eye Yukon potatoes from Bill and Cathy Mayr’s Countyline Plants and Produce, DeForest.

Remember the Market options, too, for your Labor Day gatherings, such as Jordandal beef and pork from Eric and Carrie Johnson of Argyle, chicken from Kay Jensen and Paul Ehrhardt’s JenEhr Family Farm of Sun Prairie, elk from Joel and Cheri Espe’s Hawks Hill Elk Ranch  of Monticello and more. Many vendors are offering eggplant, which would be great grilled and topped with diced tomatoes and oregano, or used for the grilled salad recipe below. For a grilled dessert, halve Barnard Farms plums and remove the pit, grill cut side up first then flip and grill until done al dente, and finish by drizzling with honey before serving.

Another dessert option is, of course, Sassy Cow Creamery ice cream. I hope last week you got to sample the Peanut Butter Fudge (tastes like Reese’s peanut butter cups) and the Purple Cow (white and dark chocolate in black raspberry ice cream).

Ever since tasting Sassy Cow Creamery’s Raspberry Lemonade ice cream, I’ve been thinking about that flavor combo. It’s a winner, so when I saw a recipe for Fresh Raspberry Lemonade, I knew it would be good with Market raspberries – and a great end-of-summer drink for Labor Day picnics. That recipe is below, as well as one for Spicy Pickled Beets provided by shopper Bill Fenske. Any shopper sharing a recipe using Market items will receive a $5 Market gift certificate, which can be picked up at the Information Tent at the Market. Send your recipe to kalliosandra@yahoo.com or leave it at the Information Tent with your contact information.

Shoppers this week likely will find apples, beans, beets, bread and other bakery, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, butter, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, cheese, chicken, crackers, cucumbers, dry beans, eggplant, eggs, 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, peaches, pears, peas, plants, plums, potatoes, radishes, raspberries, rhubarb, shallots, summer and winter squash, sunflower oil, sweet and hot peppers, tomatoes, turnips, watermelons, yogurt, zucchini and specialty products.

Honorees: Winners at the recent American Cheese Society competition in Seattle include Dreamfarm, Cross Plains, for Fresh Goat Cheese with Pesto; Edelweiss Creamery, Monticello, for Cellar Aged Grass Based Gouda and Grass Based Emmentaler, and Hidden Springs Creamery, Westby, for Driftless Honey Lavender. Congrats to all!

Help wanted: Volunteers are needed to staff the Information Tent for shifts from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. or 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturdays this fall. If you’re interested, chat with Elizabeth Wellenstein at the Info Tent or send her a note at cewellenstein@gmail.com.

The Recipe Corner

Spicy Pickled Beets

Bill Fenske used onions and a variety of beets from JenEhr Family Farm when he prepared this recipe.

• 4 pounds beets
• 3 cups thinly sliced onions
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 sticks cinnamon, broken
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole allspice
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2½ cups cider vinegar
• 1½ cups water

Wash and drain beets. Leave 2 inches of stems and tap roots. Put beets in a large saucepot. Cover with boiling water and cook until tender. Drain. Remove peel; trim ends. Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add beets and cook until hot throughout. Remove cinnamon sticks. Pack hot beets into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Ladle hot liquid over beets leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 30 minutes in a boiling water canner. 

Raspberry Lemonade

The recipe adapted from “The Best American Recipes, 2004-2005” (Houghton Mifflin Co.) is simple.

• 6 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 cups raspberries
• 12 lemons
• Mint sprigs (optional)

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes); set sugar syrup aside to cool to room temperature. Puree raspberries in a blender or food processor, strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Pour the sugar syrup over the seeds in the strainer over the bowl to capture any remaining solids. Pour the raspberry-sugar syrup mixture into a large pitcher and stir in the lemon juice. Serve over ice and, if you like, garnish with mint sprigs.

Grilled Eggplant Salad

This recipe is adapted from “How to Grill” by Steven Raichlen (Workman Publishing).

• 2 eggplants (about 1 pound each)
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into 3-4 long wedges
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 bell peppers
• 2 onions
• Lemon juice
• Driftless Organics sunflower oil
• Fresh garlic
• Salt and freshly ground black
• Fresh garlic, minced
• Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cut several slits – ½ inch wide and deep – in each eggplant and insert garlic wedges. Grill on preheated grill on high heat, turning with tongs and grilling until skin is charred all over and flesh is very soft, about 20-30 minutes. Let cool on a plate.

Halve tomatoes and grill on high skin side down for 3-5 minutes, then flip and repeat; chop. Grill whole bell peppers on high about 4-6 minutes per side, turning so they’re evenly charred; place hot peppers in a dish and cover with plastic wrap for 20 minutes to cool, then pull or scrape most of the skin off; discard stem, veins and seeds; chop the remaining flesh. Quarter onions and arrange on bamboo skewers; cook on high heat 4-8 minutes per side, turning until browned on all sides; chop.

Peel as much of the burnt skin from the eggplants as possible. Chop eggplant and combine with other chopped grilled vegetables. Season with the lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, additional fresh garlic and parsley.

Happy shopping – and spread the word about the Market to your friends and neighbors: 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. Make sure to tell those with young children to come and play along with the Moldy Jam Band, which usually performs when the weather is good (and not at the crack of dawn).

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