perfect conditions for the savvy shopper

sun frosted pastries at Ethel Ann's Savories and Sweets

This is how we began the Market last week…with a steady rain much appreciated by gardeners and early shoppers .   The earliest shoppers don’t mind a warm rain; their hardiness is rewarded by first choice of the best products off the  truck and easy conversation with the vendors.  After a morning that began moist and sleepy faced, we got a second chance at dawn when the sunshine lit up the bright orange tent at Ethel Ann’s Savories and Sweets at the east end of the Market.

The weather looks superb this Saturday for the Community Action Coalition’s Community Gardens Bike Tour which begins at the Sheboygan Community Garden just across the parking lot from the Market.  You can pick up munchies-to-go from many vendors before joining the event: apples from Epelgaarden, Green’s Pleasant Springs Orchard, and The Statz’; peaches, cherries, and apricots from Door County Fruit; smoked sausage sticks from Hawk’s Hill, Jordandal, Pecatonica Valley, Jen Ehr; cups of yogurt from Sugar River Dairy; cherry tomatoes from any of the veggie vendors; Pa Vang still has a few quarts of strawberries every week and asparagus too!; cheese from Edelweiss, Schroeder’s and Murphy’s;  all sorts of luscious treats from the market bakeries, Stella’s, Honey Bee, Dolci, and Ethel Ann’s Savories and Sweets; Yum Butter has jars of peanutty biking fuel and don’t forget a few honey sticks from Bonde Bee and B’s Honey!

Westside Community Market is user friendly in every way

With a complimentary cup of coffee–at the Information Tent–you can have a splendid pre-bike tour breakfast under the maple trees at the west end of the Market.

These high summer markets are the ones we waited for all last winter.  Everything is in season now and many customers buy bulk quantities of their favorite produce for preserving.  Ask the vendors about pricing and availability. (They can often help you to fetch the bounty to your car.)

Lisianthus-famously long lasting-at Country Bloomers

Some glories of summer can only be preserved in your heart…..flowers remind you to be in the moment.  The lisianthus bouquets at Country Bloomers sell out almost as fast as the peaches at Door County Fruit.

sunflowers and sparkly shoes at the Market

Pasque Flower Farm returns to the market this week to bring you another chance at adding native plants to your landscaping.  Prairie grasses in bloom are almost better than a summer perennial bed: Indian grass seed heads backlit by the September sun to an amber glow and as soft as kittens to the touch, prairie dropseed, famous as one of the few scented grasses, little blue stem, thriving in dry, harsh locations where other plants sulk, and  most majestic of them all, big blue stem, turning dramatically purple as the nights get colder.

“If heaven is no more beautiful than this, I shall be content” wrote an early settler about the prairie in bloom.  Isn’t it time to get rid of that boring monoculture lawn and plant some native poetry?  Here’s a  link to a cool idea from the Leopold Center where they know native landscaping design.

Making a Meal of the Issues? Public Radio International’s weekly broadcast of Living on Earth had an excellent episode about “buycotting” as opposed to boycotting.  What a great idea…boycotts can take years, even decades, so let’s turn the paradigm around and buycott instead.  You’ll find the transcript here.

Are you up for a one month eat local challenge?  Here’s the link to sign up for Willy Street Co-op’s program, “How Local Will You Go?“  Naturally, the vendors at WCM will be glad to help with the challenge!
Let”s Cook!

Summer Squash Casserole

(adapted by Amazing Volunteer Jill from The Best of Cooking Light 2) serves 8

8 cups sliced zucchini  (Yes!  8 cups! or about 2.5 lbs)

1 cups chopped onions

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups cooked rice or quinoa

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese divided

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 T Italian seasonings  and/or 1/2 cup torn fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

2 large eggs lightly beaten

cooking spray

{preheat oven to 350}

*Combine first 3 ingredients in a dutch oven; bring to a boil.  Simmer 20 minutes until tender.  Drain and roughly mash.

*combine zucchini mixture, remaining ingredients and stir gently.  Pour into sprayed 13×9 inch baking dish; sprinkle with 2T Parmesan and bread crumbs.

*bake at 350 for 30 minutes until bubbly.  Optional: broil for 1 minute at the end of baking to crisp toppings.

And from the New York Times, we borrow this recipe:

Fettuccine With Zucchini

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

1. Place zucchini in a colander, toss with salt and set aside to drain in sink or over a bowl 30 minutes.  (Don’t skip this step-you’ll be pleased with the results.) Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy sauté pan, add onion, pine nuts and garlic and sauté over low heat about 10 minutes, until onion is soft and nuts start to brown. Rinse and drain zucchini and add to pan. Sauté about 20 minutes, until tender.

2. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta, cook pasta about 3 minutes and drain, reserving about 1 cup pasta water. Add pasta to sauté pan, cook over low heat about 5 minutes, to blend ingredients, adding pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in parsley, cheese and additional olive oil and serve.

Web Extras!

The New York Times has a half dozen eggplant recipes here.

Love sriracha sauce? Here’s the recipe along with 6 other condiments you can make at home. (Dead Guy Barbecue Sauce? Old Bay aoli? They’re here.)

Here’s a recipe for carrot fettucine with shrimp-the carrots ARE the fettucine- and a blog about cooking from the CSA box–Jax House.