Dearest Connoisseurs of Funky FARM FRESH FLAVOR -
The funk and the flavor will continue, as always, this Friday at the BADSEED Farmers Market from 4-9 PM. Your gregarious gang of growers will bring you the freshest ORGANIC foods straight from the dirt.......(rain or shine). I beg you - STAY OUT OF THE SOULLESS SUPERMARKET THIS WEEK!!! Come see your favorite farmers instead. We dance on command, we bark on command, we do tricks, we do it all!!!.....We do it for you!.......as long as you support our cause and BUY OUR TURNIPS!! Local Food has never been so ridiculous. Join the Food Circus and come see us this Friday at the BADSEED!
Okay.....I have no idea where that little "circus jive intro" came from. When I set-out to write this weekly "market e-mail" I had no intentions of barking on command, or doing tricks come Friday. However, my fingers typed it despite me so I guess I'll have to deliver. Perhaps you will shed some pity on me considering the fact that I am a 9 month (give or take) pregnant farmer battling the forces of nature from sun-up to sun-down and losing!!! Oh the good life....
 I think perhaps sleep deprivation, over-work, 13.5 acres of land to manage, and a full grown baby punching me from the inside out is causing me to go a bit "batty". I'll stop before I really get wacko on you. However, if you cannot resist my idiocy and somewhat poor humor, tune into CENTRAL STANDARD on KCUR at 10 AM Wednesday morning. Farmer Dan and I will be on the air talking about our City-Wide Residential Composting Program that launches on Sarturday, June 4th along with our big URBAVORE Farm & Farmstand Opening.
 PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD and please SAVE THE DATE !!! We have been working like dogs to get to this point and we are dying to share the "fruits of our labor" with all of you on June 4th.
Moving right along....
RIGHTEOUS RECIPES For Rockin' Roots & Spring Greens: Listen-up Courageous Culinary Warriors - I have a couple great recipes submitted by some lovely ladies featuring spring goodies fresh from the field available at this week's market!!
**Check out these RAPTUROUS RADISH SANDWICHES (click on the link!!) brought to you by my favorite "local foodie" and bodacious blogger, Emily Akins. These succulent little sandwiches are sure to tantalize the taste buds of your tenacious tea-party guests. They are simple, fresh, and delightful!
**Next up we have a totally wicked sauteed turnip recipe brought to you by my very own hard-working farm apprentice and Foodie Extraordinaire, Rachel Meyer. Rachel is a nutrition coach and personal trainer who celebrates seasonal, whole foods. Check her out at www.foodwithrachel.com !! Recipe is as follows:
Turn-UP the Greens 4 Tbsp butter or Olive oil 2 1/2 cups turnips, chopped small 2 1/2 cups cabbage, chopped small 2 cups loosely packed greens, coarsely chopped (bok choy, turnip greens, etc) 1 tsp onion powder, Jamaican jerk seasoning, garlic powder 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Heat wok or large skillet to medium heat. Add butter or olive oil and turnips. Stir until turnips are coated in oil. Add all spices and stir to coat turnips. Stir frequently for about 3-4 minutes as turnips soften. Finally add cabbage and greens and stir for an additional 3 minutes to soften. Serve alone or on top of a whole grain such as rice, barley, or quinoa.
SEXY VEGGIE OF THE WEEK
 This week's Runner-Up is Luscious Lettuce Head in a lovely assortment of gourmet varieties including Red Sails, Speckled Batavian, Strawberry Cabbage Lettuce, Lolla Rossa, and more.
These leafy ladies are sure to please with smallish, tender heads full of subtle flavor and earthly delight. Our heirloom lettuce crop is a favorite of the deer this year, so get em' while you can. Supplies may not last long.....(in fact, those four-legged bastards might get em' all before Friday's harvest so keep your fingers crossed!!).
This week's Grand-Prize-Winner is the radiant and ravishing Ruby Red Turnip. Her scarlet red skin and crisp, white flesh will simply send you "turnip connoisseurs" over the edge.
 Brace yourselves!! I don't need a bunch of turnip perverts passing out in sheer ecstasy in the middle of the market.....
This oriental style turnip is crispy and well-flavored; excellent for both salads and cooking. These blushing beauties don't like the heat, so snatch em' up while the temperatures are mild and the harvest is heavy.
Photos are attached. You know the drill - print them out, blow them up, and plaster them all over the men's room!
THIS WEEK'S ORGANIC OFFERINGS -
URBAVORE Urban Farm A project of BADSEED - Brooke Salvaggio & Daniel Heryer 5500 Bennington, Kansas City, MO 64129 Welcome to URBAVORE - an off-grid, diversified, urban farmstead in the heart of KCMO. Born in 2011, URBAVORE is working towards the creation of an “edible oasis” that brings organic growth, sustainable life, and creative solutions to a city neighborhood. We grow an extensive variety of heirloom vegetables noted for their unique appearance and extraordinary flavor, as well as an array of culinary/medicinal herbs and edible flowers. URBAVORE is a non-certified, beyond organic operation dedicated to respecting both the health of the individual and the environment. It is our aim to build community and collective consciousness through the universal pleasure that comes from eating good food.
*RUBY RED TURNIPS *LUSCIOUS LETTUCE HEADS (in assorted gourmet varieties) *Oasis Gourmet SALAD TURNIPS *Radiant RADISHES in Easter Egg *"Sex in a Bowl" Signature Salad Mix * Red Velvet Lover's Gourmet Lettuce Mix * PURPLE HAZE Spicy Mustard Madness * "Asian Invasion" Specialty Salad or Stir-Fry Mix * Bodacious Braising Mix (with baby kale and rainbow chard) *Peppery & Perfect ARUGULA *ORGANIC HERB TRANSPLANTS
Lew Edmister & Destiny Riggs 17th and Belleview, Kansas City, MO 64108 For the “meanest greens” in town, check out Lew and Destiny's gourmet selection of urban-grown goodies. They grow a mouthwatering array of lettuces, spicy mustards, arugula, and gourmet salad mixes on KC’s west side. Other tasty morsels include heirloom tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, okra, and filet beans. New For 2011 -RUSTIC BREAD straight from Lew’s hand-built wood-fired oven. YUM! OFFERINGS From the Lips of Lew: " okay, my fine fooded friends - for those of you out there who haven't quite gotten your seasons down and your local harvest timetables correctly adjusted to kansas city time and temp., let me just say that this week we definitely WILL NOT have heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn. sorry! also, remember, DOLE is a four-letter word! and i don't mean our much-beloved former kansas senator. i'm talking about those folks who gas bag those 5 ounce packages of greens that can't ever, ever, ever, hold a candle to the wonderful organic little leaves we produce for your pleasure weekly. destiny and i are bringing you a smaller assortment of salad mixes this week, but no less mouth watering than last week. when these mixes come-on it's like gangbusters, and last week was it. this week is just a bit less. we'll only have three hundred bags this week. ( i've been known to exaggerate) topping our list will be SPICE ON SPICE, arugula and mustards bouncing around making your mouth salivate. GOOD GREENS was popular last week, as well it should be and it will be backed up by my version of ALL-STAR mix. you arugula fiends will have to wait one more week for the next planting to kick in. the TOSCANO kale is kicking in this week along with RED RUSSIAN for a return to its proper place at the head of the kales - all purpose sweet tasting devil that it is. I have actually gotten a fixation on SWISS CHARD. maybe it's because it wont quit growing. but we'll have another good batch this week, along with the sweet PARSLEY couldn't get done last week. also our first picking of CILANTRO. many of our perennial herbs wont be around for more than another couple weeks, but don't wait to get your own kitchen herb plot in with THYME, SAVORY, LEMON BALM, and lots of GENOVESE BASIL. I'm already getting orders for smoked peppers (bring 'em on), but you can still grow your own with our mostly set-on ANAHEIM and HUNGARIAN HOT peppers.
8531 E. 81st Terrace, Raytown, MO 64138 John has been growing organically since 1984!! He plants, weeds, and harvests all his own crops on urban land that has been chemical free for over 20 years. Produce includes a wide array of vegetable offerings as well as apples, peaches, and pears in season. John is originally from the far off lands of Hawaii where he comes from a long line of pearl divers!! Now he spends his days out of the ocean and in the dirt, growing righteous foods for the Kansas City community. Lucky us! 19801 NE U.S. Highway 69, Liberty, MO 64068 Despite full-time jobs, Stan and Carmen Biggs still find time to organically grow an impressive array of colorful vegetables, greens, and storage crops on 7 fertile acres in Mosby, MO. Stan started out growing nutritious foods for his family as a 4-H project as a small boy. Stan’s passion for gardening was renewed when he met his wife Carmen, who grew up on her family’s 1,500-hectare farmstead in Romania that had passed through many generations. Today they cultivate the earth together, bringing well-fed customers delicious homegrown foods every Friday night at the BADSEED Farmers Market and through their Community Supported Agriculture program. OFFERINGS: *Spinach *Kale *Oriental Mix *Green Onions *Easter Egg Radishes *Red & Green Lettuce Mix *Baby Head Lettuce
"We purchase innoculated mushroom blocks from a Certified Organic supplier and place them in our growing trailer & cellar. There we water & harvest & get them to market as fresh as possible. We grow SHITAKE & OYSTER MUSHROOMS. We also have over 100 laying hens that produce wonderful, fresh, brown FREE-RANGE EGGS. We do our best to REUSE, RECYCLE and REPURPOSE our RESOURCES."
*Oyster Mushrooms (in limited quantities) *Recycled Yard Art including vintage garden stakes!! Parker Farms All-Natural Meats Tom & Paula Parker Richmond, MO "We produce all-natural gourmet beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and eggs. All of our beef and lamb is 100% grassfed. They are never fed any grain, animal by products, antibiotics, or injected with growth hormones. We have been practicing Management Intensive Grazing since 1997. It is our goal to care for all of the livestock that we have been blessed with, in as natural and humane a manner as we can. Our chickens for meat and eggs are also raised on pasture with green grass under their feet as much as the weather in this part of the world allows. Our hogs are fed grain, but do live outdoors with dirt under their feet. We do not use any petroleum based pesticides or fertilizers on our pastures. We believe that healthy people, and healthy animals start with healthy plants and a healthy, biologically active, soil community. Our meats are available at the BADSEED Market or through our Community Supported Agriculture shares." *Ground Beef Patties *Pork Brats **Pastured Chickens coming in June!!! **Pastured Thanksgiving TURKEYS available for PRE-ORDER!! Talk to Paula Parker at market so she can order enough babies!!!! *Tea Towels, Hand-made Teas, Candles, and Gourd Bird Houses from the lovely Parker Girls!! Jacqueline Smith & Sarah Hoffman Weston, MO "Life is too short to eat grocery store cheeses! Green Dirt Farm, LLC invites you to try our HANDCRAFTED ARTISANAL SHEEP CHEESES created with milk from our very own PASTURED ewes. You can be assured of a richness and depth of flavor unique to the rolling bluffs of Weston, MO. Also on the menu is 100% GRASS-FED LAMB which is of unsurpassed quality, tenderness, and flavor." OFFERINGS: *Grass-Fed Lamb *Artisan Sheep's Milk Cheese in aged and fresh varieties New Traditionalist - Artisan Bread Chris Glenn Kansas City, MO Chris produces old-world, rustic loaves from the finest locally-grown and milled flour on the market. His breads are made from a sour-dough "starter", lovingly kneaded, and baked to perfection in a wood-fired oven. Flour and water never tasted so good! *Country Loaf (a tangy, crusty organic pain au levain) *Whole Wheat Loaf (crusty and rustic yet mildly sweet in flavor, coated with toasty bran!) | |