Greetings Market Friends,
We are heading into June full speed ahead as our vendors get down to business. As the weather heats up, so do the lists of farming chores. But, the good news for us is that all that hard word yields delicious results.
I don’t know how many of you have read Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food, or how many of you have even heard of Michael Pollan, but I read his book this winter, and I had a real “light bulb” moment. The main lesson from the book is, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” And if you think about that, as simple as it sounds, it makes a whole world of sense. So, this spring I have started walking the walk (so to speak), and it has made an incredible difference in my life. I have lost 10 pounds and gained a whole lot of energy. AND, the great thing is that I can buy everything I need to “eat mostly plants” and my other “non-plant” organic treats (I am not a vegetarian. I love lamb sausage, for instance J) for the week at the Brookside Market. And I encourage you to please come by, and give fresh, local, organic foods a try!
This week we will also have our R&B duo, Doug and Benito returning to give us a little market music while we shop.
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 Blue Door Farm:
Broccoli-Woccoli-Occuli! The broccoli is looking great this week and I'll be bringing both regular broccoli heads and piricicaba, an italian type that is super tasty.
The cabbage is starting to mature and I'll have both green and red heads, most of them smaller heads perfect for one or two meals.
I'll also have: fennel, scallions, kale, tasty turnips, lettuce mix and the first of the season's carrots (oh so sweet). For you kohlrabi lovers I'll be bringing some, as well as garlic chives.
For those of you who have been thinking about buying a coreopsis, I will bring the remaining few. They are covered in lovely maroon flowers. Get them while they last!
I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the lovely weather this week!
Laura
From Bear Creek Farm:
A busy week here - finally got into the fields, avoiding a few loplollie areas, and have planted miles of tomatoes, squash, basil, melons, eggplant and more. What a relief to get the greenhouse emptied and the fields filled!
This week at market we'll have piles of broccoli, more asparagus than I expected, huge tender leaves of swiss chard and kale, the best red bibb lettuce we've ever grown, crisp green and purple kohlrabi, lovely cabbage and cauliflower and surely other things I've forgotten just now.
And for those who've yet to try kale - we've eaten massive amounts this week and I'm convinced it may be one of the best vegetables yet. (Ok, I really hadn't tried it over the last 10 years of growing it - my loss!) Jim has cooked it every night this week and everyone swears it is fantastic. He chops it up, adds chopped onions and dried cranberries, and steams it until tender. (I like butter on it, but the guys just season with salt and pepper.) Sometimes he tops it with chopped bacon - that's awfully good too.
Hope to see you all at market!
Robbins and Jim
Laine
From the KC Center for Urban Agriculture:
Life at KCCUA is good this week!
Enough rain, enough sun, the building is painted, the crops are coming in, the June newsletter (www.kccua.org) is complete, the crew is smiling, Katherine’s back from Japan and we’ll have shitakes this week! We are all pushing to get more spiffing-up done in preparation for the Urban Farm Tour on Sunday, June 28. Check out the website www.urbanfarmtourkc.com, and then purchase your (very inexpensive) tickets at our stand this Saturday. Thirty urban farms are participating and you choose which ones to visit. We are so fortunate in this town to have so many people growing so much fresh food! Far---out!
Besides SMILES and SHITAKES, we plan to bring BABY TURNIPS from the first field planting back in March. They should be perfectly crisp and innocently sweet. HERCULES and LITTLE FINGER CARROTS and DETROIT DARK RED BEETS are looking and cooking up great! Liberty is concocting a juice recipe using the carrots, ask her about it. KOHLRABI is coming and has become our favorite snack on the farm. We will have the very beginning of our SUMMER SQUASH crop including everyone’s favorite green and yellow zucchini, patty pans and beautiful zephyr! We’ll bring our world-famous MICROMIX (that will also be featured Saturday night at the Bluebird Bistro during their monthly Farm to Table dinner. Always an event, the crew will be there, too, to enjoy the community and of course, excellent local food). BRAISING MIX is getting changed up a bit this week as we find different greens to add. Change is the spice of life! If you haven’t tried this fantastic mix yet, try it this week. FENNEL is prime, GARLIC SCAPES are perfect and the BROCCOLETTES a treat for any meal or snack. SWISS CHARD, KALE and SALAD MIX will be in their usual places on the table alongside PEASHOOTS and WATERCRESS. We have CUCUMBERS coming out our ears; please take your fair share home. The CABBAGE has survived and thrived through the wet spring. We are so proud of those nice heads! ARUGULA is back (thank goodness). We’ll have a short supply of SPINACH, lots of HEAD LETTUCE; spicy bunches of MUSTARD GREENS and a nice selection of fresh herbs from a WEED-FREE herb bed. We are nearing the end of the TRANSPLANT season, so get what you need this week or next. Let us know if you are looking for a specific plant, we may have it in the greenhouse.
See you at the market! Come early, stay late and thank you all for eating local food and supporting the BROOKSIDE FARMERS MARKET!
From Bread of Life Bakery:
Hello Market Friends,
Many happenings are going on here at the Crowther house. We will have our daughter Amanda gone for a few weeks, preparing to go to Belize the end of June. I know we will miss her in the Bakery and at home while she is gone for 6 weeks. Luke will have to take her place so he may miss her more than the rest of us.
Chris and Luke will have burritos, breads, baked goodies, quiches and Coffee to offer as usual. Bethany made some more Jam this week and our Bluegoose (blueberries and gooseberries) is really good on toasted Multi grain bread. Josiah's farm produce will be Russian Kale (great for juicing), collards, gooseberries, and eggs.
Hope to see some of you on Saturday,
Luke, Chris and Kathy
From Wells Family Farm:
Hi everyone, along with our great tasting beef!, Diatomaceous Earth, Bug Repellant, soybeans and Red Clover/Burdock seeds, we should have Gooseberries to bring to market on Saturday. Wish me luck with the picking. They have awful thorns.
See you at market,
Kim & Sharon
From Eastwind Gardens:
Hello Brooksiders,
We will be bringing more yummy goodies for your eating pleasure, SUGAR SNAP PEAS are sweet and crunchy, beautiful rainbow CHARD, three varieties of KALE(a great spinach substitute) SPRING ONIONS, HERBS, mild and buttery LETTUCE MIX and of course, our beautiful, long lasting, FLORAL BOUQUETS!
See you there,
bruce, maureen,
tim, ninah, maegan and the rest of the gang @ Drumm Farm Garden(Eastwind Gardens)
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Farmers' Community Market at Brookside
Saturdays, 8am to 1pm
under the white tents at theBorder Star Montessori School
63rd & Wornall, Kansas City, MO 64113 << Map it!
The Farmers' Community Market at Brookside is Dedicated toCreating a Unique Partnership between the Community andFarmers who provide High Quality, Local and Organic Productsin 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, 
