Dearest Eaters & Die-Hard Local Foodies -
Listen Up: THE SUPERMARKET WILL SUCK OUT YOUR SOUL & LEAVE YOUR TASTE BUDS UNFULFILLED. Let your local farmers HEAL YOU FROM THE INSIDE OUT one bite at a time. TRUE SALVATION in the form of "earthly delights" and "heavenly eats" are but a Farmers Market away. BADSEED will salve the soul and tame those grumbling bellies this Friday from 4-9 pm with homegrown goodness yanked straight from the midwestern dirt!
Remember, this is "walmart one stop shopping" for the conscious consumer. Load up on heirloom vegetables, mean greens, grass-fed lamb/beef/pork and poultry, free-range brown eggs, artisan cheese, raw honey, local flour, and more. An ethical-alternative FOOD CULTURE does exist! BUT if you don't swallow it, us Farmers cannot continue to produce it. Farmers and Eaters must work together to support one another. We live to FEED, and you live to EAT! So, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???
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Yeah, yeah....you are probably wondering what's with the local food sermon?? I don't normally get quite as "preachy". The truth of the matter is that this worn-out farmer has a bit of a bone to pick. I'll try to make it short and sweet!
Basically, the BADSEED Farmers Market is in a major SLUMP!!! Despite winning Farmers Market of the Year (in the entire state of Missouri) and receiving considerable press recently for our efforts with URBAVORE & our City-Wide Composting Program, the market is slower than it's been in two years! My farmers are getting grumpy, and as for myself (a farmer/vendor AND the market manager), I am throwing my hands in the air wondering what more I can do! What happened to our beloved customers???? I know you guys (all 2000 of you) still read the e-mails. (I only get about 1000 responses a week!!). BUT week after week my farmers are going home with way too much product.....(gorgeous fruits and veggies that deserve a home in YOUR BELLY...not in their compost pile). I cannot "guilt" you into supporting local food & that is not my intention. However, it is sooooo important to remember that BADSEED is truly a "grass-roots" effort made possible by a hard-working community of farmers & eaters who believe in a wholesome alternative to Industrial Food & Factory Farming. Despite the intentions of those who sow the seeds, that alternative is completely dependent on the consumers. If we grow it, and you don't eat it...guess what?......we cannot afford to keep growing it! The supermarket will always be there. BADSEED may not. Come out this Friday. Show us some LOVE. We miss you!!!!
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Special EVENT This Friday:
As part of the KC Urban Farms & Gardens Tour, BADSEED will be screening "Truck Farm".
Filmmaker Ian Cheney plants garden in back of 1986 Dodge pick-up. 5 and 6 p.m. This Friday, June 24. Free! 1909 McGee.
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On the Baby Front -
Yes, I know.....(many of you are more interested in hearing about that brand new baby that I grew, than the veggies that I grow!!). So, for the sake of humoring all those "baby lovers" I will just say a few things about sweet little Percival James Heryer who is officially two weeks old today!!
He's doing splendidly! His eyes are the color of a stormy sea, his skin is pink and supple, and he smells like milk & honey. I am IN LOVE. However, infatuation doesn't replace sheer fatigue. After 27 hours of labor my body is beat-up and it will be tough getting back out to the field. It's funny though - I thought compared to my insane farm schedule, motherhood would be a breeze. However, I got more done around the house and in the office while working 12 hours a day in the field than I do now - at home all day long with little Mr. James. He is quite demanding! But, I shouldn't complain. Poor Farmer Dan has the shorter end of the stick. He never sees his son! To keep the farm afloat in my absence, he is pulling ridiculous hours. It's always "do or die" around here. Father's Day was the first full day he actually got to spend with Percy. They are incredible together! If you don't believe me, check out the picture of the two of them. Two peas in a pod.....
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Sexy Veggie of the Week
This week's Runner-Up is the oooh so voluptuous, incredibly creamy GOLD BALL TURNIP.
This buxom babe is queen of the root vegetables. She dominates the dirt with her big, buttery body and gigantic greens. This exceptional gourmet cooking turnip originated in Northern Europe in the 1850's. These 3-4 inch roots are perfectly shaped amber globes with a mild & creamy golden flesh and a buttery flavor. Roast em' with olive oil and herbs, cream em' with milk and honey, or mash em' with loads of garlic! Whatever your do, COOK THESE BABIES UP! Our crop is absolutely bangin' right now! We will have loads of these golden beauties for the next few weeks. They store for months so go WILD! FYI - Turnips are the new Beet!!!
This week's Grand-Prize-Winner is none other than the
FREAKING FABULOUS FRESH FAVA BEAN.
FREAKING FABULOUS FRESH FAVA BEAN.
All over the globe, in cultures new and old, Fava Beans or Broad Beans are celebrated. America is a little slow to catch onto the craze!! These large, buttery beans with a delightful nutty flavor can be easily removed from their green, leathery pods and eaten fresh in a variety of dishes. In China they are fried (causing the skin to split open) then salted & spiced producing a savory and crunchy snack! In Egypt they are prepared into a hummus-like dip by taking the mashed, cooked beans and adding oil, garlic, lemon, salt and cumin and serving it with thick slices of bread. In Greece they are eaten in a stew combined with artichokes. In Portugal, they are made into a Christmas Cake! And in the Netherlands, the fresh beans are sauteed with butter and savory....the green pods saved as their velvety insides are thought to cure warts when rubbed!! This is a specialty item that you cannot find at many Farmers Markets in the KC area. Last week we had the mother-load; this week we will have limited quantities. So come early for this ultra sexy/ultra versatile bean and load up!
SEXY 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 Ave., 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.
OFFERINGS:
*BODACIOUS BEETS (in Cylindra, Chiogga, and Detroit Dark Red)
*FAVA BEANS!!
*BULB FENNEL!!
*RED BORE KALE, WINTER BORE KALE, & RED RUSSIAN KALE
*RAINBOW CHARD !!!!
*Oasis Gourmet SALAD TURNIPS
*RUBY RED Oriental Turnips
*GOLD BALL Turnips (buttery and delicious)
*GARLIC SCAPES
*"Sex in a Bowl" Signature Salad Mix
* Red Velvet Lover's Gourmet Lettuce Mix
*JAPANESE Giant Red MUSTARDS
* Succulent Braising Mix (with baby kale and baby swiss chard)
*Peppery & Perfect ARUGULA
*Fresh PARSLEY
*Fresh Dill
Herb'n Gardener
Lew Edmister
17th and Belleview, Kansas City, MO 64108
For the "meanest greens" in town, check out Lew's gourmet selection of urban-grown goodies. He grows 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:
" i'm not sure how much volume i'll have, but i will have, for the first time this year, french filet beans. get them early, they wont last long. i'll have little scarlet red turnips and the so popular hakurei salad turnip as well. my first bed of tender and babyish mesclun comes in this week along with another bed of arugula and finally the sweet'n tender salad mix that wasn't ready last week. my trusty beds of chard are still chugging out those tasty leaves and there will be baby kale thinnings - neatly bunched this time. the rest of the kale needs to take a break for a week."
JJ Farms
John & Judy Kaiahua
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!
OFFERINGS:
*Kale
*Swiss Chard
*Nappa CABBAGE!!!
*A few ZUCCHINI & Peppers!!!
*LETTUCE Heads
Bigg Blue Farm
Stan & Carmen Biggs
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:
*
Zucchini – black and early prolific
*Yellow crook neck summer squash
*Cucumbers – Marketmore slicers & possibly a few picklers??
Turnips –Tokyo, Purple Top, Golden
Lettuce - various head and leaf
Carrots!!!!
Kohlrabi
THE FIRST TOMATOES.....just a few!! (Early Girl & Goliath, limited quantities)
*Cucumbers – Marketmore slicers & possibly a few picklers??
Turnips –Tokyo, Purple Top, Golden
Lettuce - various head and leaf
Carrots!!!!
Kohlrabi
THE FIRST TOMATOES.....just a few!! (Early Girl & Goliath, limited quantities)
PJ's Mushroom Farm
Paul & Judy Miller
916 SW State Route 13, Leeton, MO 64761
yopjmiller7569@yahoo.com
916 SW State Route 13, Leeton, MO 64761
yopjmiller7569@yahoo.com
"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."
OFFERINGS:
*Shitake Mushrooms
*Farm-Fresh Brown Eggs
*Recycled Yard Art including vintage garden stakes!!
**PJ's will be absent this week, but their delicious eggs will be available!!
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."
OFFERINGS:
*Ground Beef & Patties
*Pork Products: Chops, Brats, Breakfast Sausage, Italian Sausage, & Spare Ribs
*Lamb Cuts: Ground Lamb, Shoulder Steaks, Rib Chop (butterfly cut, loin chops), Leg (bone in whole, shanks, lamb liver)
**Pastured Chickens (just a few available....come early!!)
**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!!
Green Dirt Farm
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!
OFFERINGS:
1) Whole Wheat Loaves
2) Country Loaves
3) Sicilian Loaves
2) Country Loaves
3) Sicilian Loaves
Miller's Honey
Les MIller
Independence, MO
Les Miller only produces the best damn RAW HONEY on the market. No joke!! He is an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to sustainable bee keeping and uses 100% natural and holistic methods for managing his hives which range from 60 to 100 at any given time. His honey is sold in various quantities, and 1 gallon jugs are available on request! Bees wax candles and other by-products are also available for purchase.
OFFERINGS:
*Raw Honey
*Bees Wax Candles
Get Real Food Co.
Sean Henry
Kansas City
"At GetReal Food Company, we're committed to creating incredible beverages made with real foods that are naturally brewed. Hand-crafted by real people who truly care about the details, from what they make to how they make it, from what they put in their bodies to what you put in yours. The result is a series of beverages that create a new expression of soft drinks and mixers."
OFFERINGS:
*Kombucha
*Micro-Brewed, All-Natural SODA!!
Puddin Head Coffee
Harry Lee Murrell
Kansas City, KS
Harry is proud to offer both roasted and green sustainable whole bean coffees from different regions around the world. All coffee beans sold are certified organic, Fair-Trade and/or Rainforest Alliance, available in 1# packages. Coffee is drum roasted in small batches to ensure its freshness for KC customers. "Coffee with a conscience" is available by the mug for only $1 and samples are free!!
OFFERINGS:
*Rain Forest Blend
*Ethiopian
*Peruvian
*Decaf
Other goodies include:
Certified Organic Flour from Heartland Mill
Freshly ground & locally grown whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, unbleached all purpose white flour, malted all purpose flour for bread baking, & blue corn meal !!! A bakers dream.....
Remember:
LIVE NUDE VEGETABLES!! and other organic delights...
EVERY FRIDAY AT BADSEED
Yours Truly,
Brooke
-farmer and mistress of the BADSEED
BADSEED
* REGULAR HOURS thru November 18
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