Grapevine May 3 2009 Market

this week
- What's Coming To The Market?
- Cooking Ideas - Nettles

The Market's 8th season starts this Sunday. The market season ran for 22 weeks back in 2002. We started adding winter dates in late 2003, adding months and market sessions through the years. This upcoming season will run 30 continuous weeks until November 22nd. We'll move to our twice monthly schedule in December.

There are a number of events happening this weekend. There will be free plant starts for the first 500 customers this Sunday. Josh Kadish is back for Jam Day with Josh. Rieke Elementary will be holding its annual Art Fair down in the gym. Finally, our neighbor, Food Front Cooperative Grocery, will be holding an event, "Gear Up For Gardening" with helpful tips, information and recipes to get your garden going. They will be featuring an interactive planting table geared toward inspiring younger gardeners.

See you on Sunday!

Eamon Molloy
Market Manager

What's Coming To The Market This Week?

Asparagus, fiddleheads, morels, nettles, radishes and rhubarb top the list of seasonal vegetables being harvested this week. You will also find kale, chard, spinach, lettuce, raab, broccoli and cauliflower. Apples and pears will be available as will kiwi.(Small amounts of greenhouse grown strawberries MAY be available. Check Twitter feed on Sunday morning for an update.) For all you gardeners, there will be a wide assortment of vegetable starts, perennials and trees.

Check the availability list for the complete list of who's coming this weekend and what they expect to be selling. The list is posted Thursday afternoon and updated through the weekend. You can find Sunday morning updates on our Twitter feed located in the right column of the list page.

IN
Chanka's Catering
Deep Roots Farm
Red Dragon Nursery *NEW*
Salmon Creek Hydroponics
Salvador Molly's
Savory et Sweet

OUT
Ancient Heritage Dairy (back May 10)
DeNoble Farm (back May 10)
Garden Color (back May 10)
Kookoolan Farms ( back June 28)
Vanveen Bulb (back May 17)


Cooking Ideas - Nettles

Springwater Farms has been bringing nettles to the last few markets. Several people stopped me at the last market and asked how to prepare nettles. Here's is a recipe from Deborah Madison courtesy of Culinate.com. Enjoy!


Nettle Soup
From the book Local Flavors by Deborah Madison and Culinate.com

Ingredients
6-8 oz. nettle leaves (a plastic vegetable bag, filled)
1 cup sliced fresh onions, green garlic, plus greens, or scallions
1 small potato, thinly sliced
6 cups chard leaves, thinly sliced
~ Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
6 cups chicken stock, water, or vegetable stock
1/2 cup cream, hopefully organic cream from a dairy near you

Steps

1. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Using tongs or wearing gloves to handle them, plunge the nettles into a bowl of cold water and swish them back and forth, then drop them into the boiling water for two minutes. Drain and coarsely chop. Discard any large stems.

2. Melt the butter in a wide soup pot and add the onion and potato. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chard, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the stock or water. Bring to a boil, add the nettles, and simmer until the potato is completely soft, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Puree the soup until smooth, then return it to the stove. (If the nettles were stemmy, pass the soup through a food mill.) Add the cream and taste for salt. Season well with pepper and serve plain or with whole-wheat croutons browned in butter.

You can find a printable version of the recipe here.

Grapevine 2009 Market Preview

You're right, there is no market this week. As promised, here is a preview of the upcoming market season. May 3, 2009 marks the beginning of the 8th year of the Hillsdale Farmers' Market. Since its inception in 2002, the market has grown from 20 vendors in a 20 week season to 45 vendors in a year-round market running twice monthly in the winter and weekly in the summer. The weekly season extends into November this year running until the Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 22, 2009.

When the market returns to the weekly schedule, the no pet policy will again be in effect. Animals may return to the market in December.


See you on May 3rd!

Eamon Molloy
Market Manager

Who is Coming To The Market This Season?

Most of your favorite vendors are returning this season. A few vendors have altered their schedules. Here are the altered schedules:

Ancient Heritage Dairy - alternating weeks starting May 10
Blossom Vinegars - monthly
Kookoolan Farms - last market of the month starting June 28
Salubrious - alternating weeks starting May 3

There are also a few new vendors. Greenville Farms from Forest Grove has been at the market this winter and joins the market for the summer season as well. Sid and Lou Ann will be bringing eggs, fruits, vegetables and jams. Red Dragon Nursery from Happy Valley will be bringing a variety of Japanese Maple trees. Greenleaf Farm from Jefferson is a certified organic farm bringing berries and vegetables. Lastly, while not a new vendor, De Noble Farm is coming back to Hillsdale with artichokes, brussels sprouts, broccoli, tomatoes, calla lilies, crocosmia, and delphinium.

Here is the complete list of vendors as of April 22, 2009.

(o) = certified organic

Cheese
Ancient Heritage Dairy
Fraga Farms (o)
Jacobs Creamery

Fruits and Vegetables
Ayers Creek Farm (o)
Baird Family Orchards
Cherry Country (o)
Creative Growers (o)
Deep Roots Farm
DeNoble's
Draper Girls' Country Farm
Gathering Together Farm (o)
Gee Creek Farm (o)
Greenleaf Farms LLC (o)
Greenville Farms
Happy Harvest Farm LLC
Liepold Farms
Market Fruit/Packer Orchards
Rick Steffen Farm
Salmon Creek Hydroponics
Springwater Farm
Stephens Farm
Unger Farms Inc.
Vicki's @ Sun Gold Farm, LLC

Prepared Foods and Bakery
Blossom Vinegars
Boyco Foods
Copper Crown Fine Foods
Fressen Artisan Bakery
Nonna's Noodles
Salubrious *April 30 2009 UPDATE - OUT FOR SEASON *
Souper Natural, LLC
The Brownie Farm
The Smokery

Flowers and Nursery
DeNoble's
Farris-Seaman Plants
Garden Color
Gales Meadow Farm
Herr's Family Farm
Red Dragon Nursery
Vanveen Bulbs, Inc.
Vicki's @ Sun Gold Farm, LLC

Seafood
Columbia River Fish
Linda Brand Crab
Wild Oregon

Meats and Eggs
Greenville Farms
Kookoolan Farms
Pine Mountain Ranch
Sweet Briar Farms

Ready to Eat
Alotto Gelato
Chanka's Catering
Salvador Molly's
Savory et Sweet
Sweet Briar Farms
Tastebud


Opening Day Festivities
As long time shoppers know, we always do something on Opening Day. This year is no different. Josh Kadish will be playing music and we'll be giving away plant starts to the first 500 customers.

Fellow Hillsdale Business and Professional Association member and neighbor Food Front Cooperative Grocery is holding an event entitled "Gear up for Gardening". The event runs 11am -5pm and will include helpful tips, information and recipes to get your garden going. Food Front will be featuring an interactive planting table geared toward inspiring our younger gardeners. The event is taking place at the store just a few steps away from the market.

Grapevine April 19 2009 Market

this week
- What's Coming To The Market This Week?
- Cooking Ideas Alu Gobhi (Potato-Cauliflower Curry)

The market session this Sunday marks the end of the winter schedule. There is no market April 26th but we will be back to begin the 8th season on Sunday May 3, 2009. The weekly season will end on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 22, 2009. When the market returns to the weekly schedule, the no pet policy will again be in effect. Animals may return to the market in December.

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, I will be sending out a market preview on April 23rd. There aren't too many changes but we will have a few new vendors and a few vendors have changed their schedules.

Verdura Culinary Gardens will be at the market again this Sunday and on April 19th to help you with gardening questions.

See you on Sunday!

Eamon Molloy
Market Manager

What's Coming To The Market This Week?

Cauliflower and broccoli along with several kinds of raabs will be available this week. Another sure sign of spring, radishes, leeks, nettles, asparagus and morels will be available as well. You will also find kale, chard, spinach and several kinds of salad and braising mixes this week. Apples and pears will be available as will kiwi.

Check the availability list for the complete list of who's coming this weekend and what they expect to be selling. The list is posted Thursday afternoon and updated through the weekend. You can find Sunday morning updates on our Twitter feed located in the right column of the list page.

IN
Happy Harvest Farm
Linda Brand Crab
Sweet Briar Farms

OUT
Deep Roots Farm (back in May)
Garden Color (back in May)
Vanveen Bulb (back in May)

Cooking Ideas - Alu Gobhi (Potato-Cauliflower Curry

Trying to decide what seasonal item to focus on for the recipe can be tricky in the spring and fall. When Jeff Rosenblad of Happy Harvest Farm called and told me that he had a lot of cauliflower, I immediately thought of this recipe. There are a lot of recipes around. Some recipes add peas, others add carrots but at its core, alu gobhi is about cauliflower and potatoes. It's really not hard to make and it tastes great. Enjoy!


Alu Gobhi

Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
1 lb potatoes (not russets) peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 onion thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
salt


Steps
1. Heat the oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat.

2. Add the mustard seeds, stirring constantly. When the seeds begin to change color and pop (about 30 seconds), add turmeric, garlic, ginger and optional cayenne. Stir briefly, add onions, lower heat to medium and cook until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes and cook for until the tomatoes soften, then add cauliflower and potatoes. Stir everything together, turn heat to medium low, cover and cook until potatoes and cauliflower are soft, stirring occasionally. If vegetables appear too dry or start to stick to pot, add up to ½ cup of water. When vegetables are soft, add masala, stir together and cook for 1 minute. Taste, adjust seasonings, salt to taste, add cilantro and serve.

You can find a printable version of the recipe here.

Grapevine April 5 2009 Market

this week
- What's Coming To The Market This Week?
- Getting Your Garden Ready
- Cooking Ideas - Early Spring Soupe Au Pistou

It's April and we are in the last month of our winter schedule. The last two winter market dates are April 5th and April 19th. The market begins its 8th season on Sunday May 3, 2009. By customer and vendor request, we have extended the weekly schedule into November. The weekly season will end on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 22, 2009. When the market returns to the weekly schedule, the no pet policy will again be in effect. Animals may return to the market in December.

I am working on the vendor lineup for the upcoming season. Instead of a market letter, I will be sending out a market preview on April 23rd. There aren't too many changes but we do will have a few new vendors.

Verdura Culinary Gardens will be at the market this Sunday and on April 19th to help you with gardening questions. Edgemaster will also be at the market to sharpen your garden tools. The rain will eventually stop and the temperatures will rise, so why not plan for the summer? In the meantime, there is a great selection of seasonal foods available to eat.

See you on Sunday!

Eamon Molloy
Market Manager

What's Coming To The Market This Week?

Kale, chard, spinach and several kinds of salad and braising mixes will be available this week. You should also find several kinds of raabs. There will be some asparagus available too. Apples and pears will be available as will kiwi.

With Passover starting the evening of April 8th and Easter on the 12th there will be a higher than usual demand for eggs. Kookoolan Farm, Greenville Farm, Fraga Farm and Sweet Briar Farms will all have eggs this week.

If you are planning ahead for your Easter dinner, Sweet Briar Farms will have pork and Draper Girls Country Farm will have lamb and goat. Both welcome pre-orders. You can reach Sweet Briar Farms at 541-683-7447 and Draper Girls at 541-352-6625.

Check the availability list for the complete list of who's coming this weekend and what they expect to be selling. The list is posted Thursday afternoon and updated through the weekend. You can find Sunday morning updates on our Twitter feed located in the right column of the list page.

IN
Kookoolan Farms
Market Fruit/Packer Orchards
Vanveen Bulb

OUT
Ayers Creek Farm (back in July)
Garden Color (back in May)

Getting Your Garden Ready

Don't know where to start when planning your garden? Verdura Culinary Gardens will be at the market April 5th and 19th to help you out. Caroline and Larry Lewis started up the business to help Portlanders, even people with little experience or time to garden, grow organic food in their own yard. Verdura Culinary Gardens designs and maintains organic vegetable gardens in raised beds. The gardens are designed to be compact and intensively planted, therefore requiring far less space than conventional row gardens. Caroline and Larry will be available for questions and will have a demo raised bed for you to see.

While it is still too cold to plant tomatoes there are many other plants you can put in the ground now. Nancy Seaman from Farris-Seaman Plants will have more Hellebores, including a few doubles. Yarrow, maybe some Monarda 'Jacob Kline', some Polemonium 'Stairway to Heaven', Salix (both curly willow & the Dappled willow), Lavender 'Gross', & white seedless grape plants will be available as will some herbs, including chives, rosemary, & greek oregano, & possibly others. Sungold Farm will be bringing vegetable starts, peonies and other perennials, herbs and possibly a few hanging baskets. Gales Meadow Farm will be bringing a wide assortment of starts. Anne listed them in the last newsletter. If you can't find your copy, you can find the newsletter here.

Cooking Ideas - Early Spring Soupe Au Pistou
Caroline Lewis is not only an expert garden designer, she is also a trained chef. Caroline studied under another regular market shopper, Robert Reynolds. Caroline writes about gardening and cooking at Culinate. (You can find her articles here.) This recipe accompanied an article Caroline posted recently. I like the recipe for the same reason Caroline does - it hints of the summer to come. Enjoy!

Early Spring Soupe Au Pistou

Ingredients

4 Tbsp. olive oil
3 medium leeks, dark green parts trimmed and discarded, light green and white parts thoroughly washed and cut into ¼-inch slices
~ Kosher salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups homemade chicken stock (or water; avoid canned chicken broth)
1 (15 oz.) can Roma tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 medium turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup cooked and drained flageolet or cannellini beans
1/2 bunch of white or red Swiss chard
1/2 cup Israeli couscous, acini di pepe, or orzo pasta
~ About 1/2 cup pesto

Steps

1. In a large heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium and add the leeks and a generous pinch of salt. Stir, cover the pot, and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook the leeks gently without browning, stirring occasionally, until they are limp and tender. Increase the heat to high, add the garlic, and sauté, stirring, one minute. Then add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.

2. Add the tomatoes, herbs, carrots, turnips, celery and beans, and bring back to a boil. Simmer until the vegetables are just tender, about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cut the ribs out of the chard leaves and set aside. Cut the larger leaf pieces in half or quarters lengthwise, stack eight or ten leaves, and cut into ¼” slivers crosswise. Make sure they’re not too long – no one wants long strands of anything hanging off his soup spoon! Continue until all the chard is sliced, then add it to the soup pot. Add the pasta, stir, and simmer the mixture until the chard is tender and the pasta is cooked, about 15 minutes.

4. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Add a dollop of pesto to each bowl, swirling it in, and serve.

5. Serving note: Crostini spread with goat cheese make a wonderful accompaniment.

Notes

Feel free to substitute types of greens, types of beans, and other root vegetables as supplies — and your whim — dictate. In the photo above, we used kale, cranberry beans, and a rutabaga instead of the chard, beans, and turnip.

Printable version of this recipe may be found here.