Greetings Market Friends,
[reposted from 5/14/2009]
Looks like the weather is shaping up for a great weekend. It is exciting to move along into the warmer growing season. As you will read below in our vendors’ section, the list of market goodies available for purchase is growing. This being “greens season” (as I like to call it), our vendors will have lots of different salad mixes and other greens for braising or sautéing. At our house this week, we had bok choi sautéed with spring garlic from Blue Door Farm. It was quite tasty, and oh so easy to pull off even on a work night. I have included the recipe in the recipe section, so that you can try it. It would work with any number of greens. Be adventurous—swap out a new, fresh market veggie you may have never tried for an old frozen stand-by this week. You may find that you have a new favorite.
We are not sure if we will have music this week. We are working out the kinks with the music schedule at the start of this new market season. I promise in the near future we will have it back down to a science. Kim at Roaring River will host a children’s craft though. Read her section below for details.
As always we look forward to seeing you every Saturday from April through October from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the heart of Brookside at the corner of 63rd and Wornall. Also, check us out at www.farmerscommunitymarket.com.
See you Saturday!
Franki
Now from our vendors:
From Bear Creek Farms:
Surprise, surprise - another wet week here, though we feel so lucky not to have had the flooding and tornadoes that others got. We watched the radar on the computer and it sure looked like Sweet Rose Farm must have been really flooded again - boy, do we know how that feels and it just isn't fun.
But with that said I am amazed that some things are actually trying to grow. We'll be bringing asparagus, several kinds of kale, a little rhubarb (it really wants some sun!), more of the tiny cauliflower, green onions, beautiful head lettuces and whatever else we might find.
On another note - we are really trying to eliminate as much plastic as is possible from our lives and from our market stall. Many of you are so nice to bring extra bags and provide bags for your produce - we do appreciate that! But we are going to stop using plastic produce bags - we will have paper ones on hand - so if you are aghast at drippy greens in paper bags please try to remember to bring some plastic ones. (Of course we'll continue to have some rolls of produce bags for a bit, but hope we can transition to no plastic ones over the next few weeks.)
Keep your fingers crossed for a sunny Saturday!
Robbins and Jim
From Roaring River Bakery:
Hello market fans!
Last weekend was wonderful and the moms were out in full force. I hope all the Mother's out there had a great weekend. Our two new products; Breakfast Bagels and Prairie Bread, have been very well received and will get to stay in the rotation. To everyone that missed having cookies last week - sorry, sorry, sorry. It will not happen again, at least this week.
The Roaring River Bread Company is sponsoring this weeks children's activity. We have had plenty of April showers so come on by and make some May flowers. Bring the kids this Saturday and they can make beautiful tissue paper flowers to celebrate Spring!!!!
See you Saturday!
Kim
From Blue Door Farm:
Wow. Head lettuce in spades folks. My favorite, yummy butterhead (Pirat) will be back, along with other lettuces in all colors, shapes and sizes. Give head lettuce (and this farmer) a purpose in life - eat a lot of salads this week.
New on the table will be some .... gorgeous? kohlrabi. Can I call it that? It's just such an odd looking vegetable that gorgeous seems a bit much. All the same - big, tender and nary a nibble from the bugs on the leaves. Does anyone out there cook with kohlrabi leaves? If so, I'd love to hear your recipes.
Also on deck - Spring Garlic! Prize Choi! Salad Mix! Golden Frill Mustard! Radishes!
Also making an appearance, but in slightly smaller quantities:
- Swiss Chard (come early - the deer sure did)
- Broccoli Raab
And yes, the nasturtiums will be returning, along with blooming baskets, coreopsis, violas, marigolds and more. Herbs and veggie transplants will be available for a few more weeks too.
See you Saturday,
Laura
From Green Dirt Farm:
We had a wonderful time at the Farm Table dinner last week, and our guests seemed to enjoy it too. The food prepared by Chef Patrick Ryan was awesome! Come out to the market and get information about our other upcoming events- including the cheese appreciation event this coming Saturday evening. We will be featuring natural rind cheeses (including some of our own) paired with American micro-brewed beers. We will have all of our cheeses at the market this Saturday. The Bossa we wrapped this week is fantastic. Come visit with us and take some home to try!
Hope to see you at the market.
From the KC Center for Urban Agriculture:
Hel---lo, Brook-side Market!
Sun!
What a difference a few days make. We actually had to water in the field this week. So much dryer out there than anytime this spring. We’ve begun to catch up on tilling, seeding and transplanting. Things look hopeful!
We are excited to see how this season plays out…always an experiment, always challenging and absolutely thrilling in all ways! Life on the farm is good.
So-
Liberty, Leslie and myself are staffing the produce stand this Saturday. Daniel has the day off, deservedly. Katherine will be dashing to the airport. She is part of a group of KC farmers and sustainable ag supporters who are travelling to Japan to learn and share practices with growers there. Then, later in the summer KC will return the hospitality when a Japanese group visits here.
From the farm, we’ll bring…
Broccoli and cauliflower, if you come early. Fennel, kohlrabi and squash blossoms will also come out of the field…summer is just around the corner. I can almost taste it now!
We’ll have a huge harvest of cucumbers. Turnips, beets, carrots and radishes are decreasing in supply now, but we’ll bring what we have. We’ve also replanted, so there should be more a little later. Scallions are still beautifully delicious and we will have plenty.
All the usual greens will be on the table. Kale and Swiss chard are doing wonderfully this year and we all should eat our hearts out since they are so good for us. Braising mix, everyone’s new favorite, and salad mix will be bagged and ready to go. We have gorgeous head lettuce to share. Micro mix, pea shoots and watercress are loving this weather and taste yummy right now. We’ll bring a large selection of cut herbs, some spinach, but sorry, it will be another week before the arugula is ready for harvest.
Lots of transplants will also make the trip to MO. Heirloom tomatoes of many varieties and sizes, cool weather crops, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, peppers and herbs will be available. Ask one of us if you want something you don’t see and we can probably hook you up next week. We’ll also be happy to share advice…we are usually full of it!
See you at the market!
From Bread of Life Bakery:
Hello Brookside Friends,
What a lovely week for yard and garden work. Things grow better with a little more sun than what we have had lately. Our family has had a busy week of helping Josiah with his garden and moving cows. We did not get much help garden help from Chris and Bethany since they hold hands all the time. Maybe next week we will separate them while they work in the garden. Gabriel's chickens are growing fast and will be going out with the other poultry soon. We will have eggs this week and some will be blue from our Araucanas. I love the variety of eggs we get when we have a few different breeds of chickens.
Josiah is bringing greens, french breakfast radishes, Lettuce mix and arugula to the market this week. He hopes to grow his own gardening skills this year and he has the support and encouragement from the other vendors which is a huge blessing to him. He learns quite a bit from the other farmers, and Brookside has a very nice group of farmers working together to bring the best to the Brookside community.
Our baked goods this week will be the usual whole grain breads and goodies with the addition of the raspberry bars (by request) vegan brownies with walnuts and Hannah's homemade pretzels. The Breakfast Burritos will have spinach, garden onions and potatoes added to them. The Sausage burritos have Benedict Builders sausage in them along with some veggies. Come early though, Chris sells out fast.
Come by and get a cup of Puddin’ Head Coffee and shop the market.
Luke, Chris and Kathy
From Wells Family Farm:
Hey everyone, come on in and get the best beef possible! Grillin' was never
so good!
See ya Saturday!
Now for a recipe to inspire your market shopping list:
Sautéed Greens with Garlic (from www.wholefoods.com)
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 large bunches greens (chard, collards, kale or mustard)
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Few pinches red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Method
Rinse greens well. Tear or cut leaves away from stems and discard stems. Coarsely chop.
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Cook garlic and pepper flakes in oil briefly, then add greens, a few handfuls at a time, stirring in between.
Stir in vinegar and salt. Cover. Cook until just tender, 2–10 minutes, depending on the type of greens and your preference.
Nutrition
Per serving (about 7oz/203g-wt.): 80 calories (35 from fat), 4g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 510mg sodium, 10g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 2g sugar), 4g protein
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The Farmers' Community Market at Brookside is Dedicated to
Creating a Unique Partnership between the Community and
Farmers who provide High Quality, Local and Organic Products
in an atmosphere that is mutually beneficial, wholesome and fun.
The Market also helps to support the Border Star PTA.
Photo: 
Kim Severson wrote about this new trend in her article for the New York Times, 
