Upcoming Events. Volume II, Issue VII Newsletter June 26, Featured Vendor June 26, 2014

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1 Volume II, Issue VII Newsletter June 26, 2014 Upcoming Events Today Be sure to visit Farmer s Market on the following dates: July 10 July 17 Jam and jelly making demonstration by Chris Schyma at 4:00 and 6:00 Seldom Herd Band Master Gardeners and CentrCare Health Market Watch Hello Farmers Market Shoppers! Berry season is upon us and in you will find deliciously sweet, fresh picked strawberries at the market this week, in addition to the list below and more! I say "more" because produce is growing so quickly I don't always know what vendors will be bringing. I love those surprises! Our featured vendor of the week is Greenbush Farms. Chuck Long owns and operates Greenbush Farms just outside of Milaca and specializes in fresh garden produce. He always has great tips for how to cook and make vegetables tasty! Chris Schyma will conduct canning demonstrations at the market this week at 4:00 and 6:00. Pick up a recipe card for strawberry jam, watch the demonstration, buy some strawberries at the market and try canning yourself at home! Chris says it's super easy! Homemade jams and jellies are so much tastier than those from the store, plus, they make great gifts!! Note: Remember to pick up your punch card. After 10 visits, you will earn a Market tote bag! Also remember to bring non-perishable food items to put in the Food Bank wagon at the Information booth. Follow us on FaceBook and check out the photos from the Farmers Market. Featured Vendor June 26, 2014 Chuck Long of Greenbush Farms is the featured vendor. Stop by and check out her delicious breads!

2 Monticello Farmer s Market Newsletter Volume II, Issue VII June 26, 2014 Market Watch I am always looking for new cookbooks! I also love Farmer s Markets and rarely get to any markets outside of Monticello, but an article in the recent Star Tribune Taste section provides a guide to many markets in the metro area. To find out more, go to Star Tribune Web site for blogs, videos, and recipes! Since I love cookbooks, here is my wish list for new cooking adventures; maybe they will be on your list! The New Midwestern Table by Amy Thielen, a Minnesota native with extensive Chef s education and experience. Amy lives near Park Rapids and has her own cooking show on the Food Network. Minnesota's Bounty: The Farmers Market Cookbook, by Beth Dooley, also a Minnesota food writer who contributes articles to the Star Tribune and has a few successful cookbooks on her résumé. Minnesota Farmer s Market Cookbook A Guide to Selecting and Preparing the Best Local Produce with Seasonal Recipes from Local Chefs and Farmers by Tricia Cornell. This book is the kind you keep on your nightstand for reading as well as recipe searching. Not just a cookbook, but a book filled with history and traditions and beautiful photos! What is on your reading wish list? Good to Know: Straw Bale Gardening So what s happening with the bale gardening? Not too much to report this week. The plants are growing, and one plant has a lot of tomatoes showing, and all have blossoms. One good thing NO WEEDS! Except, at the base of the bales, but those are really easy to pull out. I am happy about that, and I like the height of the plants there won t be any fruit on the ground. We have had a lot of rain, and the plants do take a lot of water. But perhaps the tomatoes will be the juiciest I have ever grown! The marigolds are still sort of sitting in the bales, so I have to think of something different to do for them. Stay tuned next week! Photo by Lynda Shindley 2

3 Monticello Farmer s Market Newsletter Volume II, Issue VII June 26, 2014 This Week s Recipes Vegetables and summer fruits are starting to appear at the markets. The colors and the smells are so attractive, and I want to buy everything and cook all day! Here are a couple of recipes to think about for the upcoming July 4 celebrations. The salad is tangy, dilly, and quiet delicious. The radishes add a very interesting bite to what is sometimes ordinary potato salad. The radishes also add a subtle crunch like celery would only the surprise hotness of the radishes adds interest to this salad. The roast vegetables will go great with chicken, pork, or fish (think Copper River salmon!). Leftovers can top a salad with a drizzle of oil-vinegar dressing. Have fun shopping for the ingredients and cooking! ~Enjoy! Potato Salad with Radishes in Creamy Dill Dressing Adapted from Minnesota s Bounty (page 174) by Beth Dooley Serves 4-6 Ingredients 2 pounds small, new potatoes (red or Yukon Gold) 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar 1 cup sliced radishes (7-8, depending on size) 3 green onions 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill ¼ plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream, which I used) ½ cup mayonnaise Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste Directions Boil or steam the potatoes until just done (depending on size, can take 20 minutes or less do not overcook them). Drain the potatoes, then peel and cut into quarters if small, or into 2-inch chunks. Put the warm potatoes in a large bowl and add the vinegar. Toss to coat and let sit a few minutes. Add the radishes, onions, and dill. In a small bowl, mix the yogurt and mayonnaise together, then add to the potato salad. Toss to coat with dressing, then add salt and pepper. If you like a more pungent salad, add a bit more vinegar. Refrigerate until chilled. This salad keeps for 2 days. Basil Roasted Vegetables Ingredients 2 Tbsp. fresh basil 2 Tbsp balamic vinegar 2 cloves chopped garlic 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1 yellow summer squash 1 zucchini 1 each: red pepper, yellow pepper, green pepper 1 onion 1 bunch fresh broccoli 2 carrots Sea salt, freshly ground pepper to taste You can roast these on a cool day, or use your grill! Mince the basil and mix with the vinegar, garlic, and olive oil. Cut all the vegetables into even, bite-sized chunks. Steam the carrots and broccoli together for about 4 minutes, then drain. Put all the vegetables on a large baking sheet with 1 sides. Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the vegetables; use your clean hands to toss the veggies and coat with the olive oil/basil mixture. Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and pepper. If roasting in the oven, preheat the oven to 425 F. Roast the vegetables for 35 minutes. If grilling, get the coals really hot; roast the vegetables over indirect heat, about 35 minutes. Remember to visit the Jam Making Demonstration today at 4:00 and 6:00. Chris Schyma will show you how to make delicious fresh strawberry jam that tastes like it just came from the strawberry fields! 3

4 Monticello Farmer s Market Newsletter Volume II, Issue VII June 26, 2014 Market Events by Lynda Shindley Farmers Markets in the 21 st Century When you shop today s markets, you are helping support the local economy. Aside from knowing where the produce originated, and getting the freshest food possible, here are a few facts about why shopping local at the Farmers Market is important. If you spend $100 at a farmers' market, then $62 goes back into the local economy, and $99 out of $100 stays in the state. If you spend $100 at a grocery store, only $25 stays here. So, where do you want your money to go? Farmers don't do deals. With the very thin margins, the prices are often incredibly fair and there's no room for bargaining. The best way to get a good deal? Be a consistent customer. It's not really about retail sales. It's about cultivating a relationship with people who are willing to spend a little bit more for something a whole lot better. Understand the cost. Local farm products would sell for much more in any specialty store, where there would be additional overhead costs and markups. Featured Vendor Chuck Long of Greenbush Farms You cannot miss Chuck s smiling face at the Monticello Farmers Market. That smile and beautifully displayed produce attracts market shoppers to his booth to try his variety of produce and home-canned products. Chuck is specializing in peppers, and this year he will have some unusual varieties. Just ask him about them, and he will give you a great story about the peppers and the best way to use them. He knows because he experiments with recipes and has tried several of his variety of peppers on everything from pizza to chili, to salsas. Last year, he grew ghost peppers. I bought one, and no one in the house would go near it. This year I purchased basil plants from Chuck, and they are doing super in the garden. Chuck is a fount of information regarding the products he sells. Stop by today and chat with him about his growing methods and great ways to use produce. You will come away smiling! What will you buy at the Market? Some products you will find at the market this week include: Strawberries -Zucchini -Asparagus -Spinach -Baby Greens - Rhubarb -Radishes -Sorel -Green Onions -Basil -Herb Plants - Vegetable Plants -Bedding Plants -Perennials -Trees -Shrubs - Artisan Breads -Pastries -Croissants -Pies -Bread -Buns -Finnish Pulla -Baked Goods including Lemon Bars, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars, Shortbread with Raspberry Glaze and Strawberry Muffins -Pretzels -Honey -BBQ sauce (6 varieties!) - Chicken -Beef -Duck -Non-GMO Eggs -Jams -Jellies -Pickles - Asparagus Pickles -Salsas -Mustards -Canned Goods Galore! - Kombucha -Kefir -Chaga -Handmade Soaps & Body Care Products -Wood Swings -Mason Jar Caddys -Hand Sewn Aprons - Children's Hair Bows -Headbands -Unique Key Chains & Lanyards -More Hand Crafted Items -FREE Chair Massages -and More! Vendors participating in this week's market include: Barthel's River Road Gold - Brenda Kumpula -Gardner's Garden - Hunz Farmz - Ivy Lane Garden Shop - Beck's Elk River Greenhouse & Vegetable Farm - Diamond City Bread - JT's Sweet BBQ Sauce - Schyma's Pickles & Preserves - Brown Dog Honey -Modern Roots - Greenbush Farms - Hasty Woods Tree Farm - Back 2 Health Chiropractic - Mister Dister BBQ Sauce - Sonnenburg Sonnenboxes -Lacey J Ranch The Monticello Farmers' Market excepts EBT, Credit and Debit Cards. Just stop by the information booth to swipe your card and get your tokens. When using EBT at the farmers market you can match tokens with up to $5 worth of Market Bucks each day! With tokens and Market Bucks, you can buy SNAP-eligible foods from market vendors and save unused tokens for future visits to the market. 4

5 Monticello Farmer s Market Newsletter Volume II, Issue VII June 26, 2014 Farmer s Market Vendor List Vendors Ivy Lane Garden Shop (plants, baked goods, jams, crafts) Rita McCooley Schyma s Pickles & Preserves (cucumber pickles, carrot pickles, fruit preserves) Chris Schyma Beck s Elk River Greenhouse & Vegetable Farm (plants, fresh vegetables) Barb Beck Diamond City Bread (artisan breads, cinnamon rolls, scones) Garrett Jordahl Greenbush Farms (produce and canned goods) Chuck Long Who to Contact Sara Cahill Farmers Market Coordinator Sara.Cahill@ci.monticello.mn.us Stephanie Ellingson Farmers Market Manager stephellingson@hotmail.com Lynda Shindley Newsletter Editor lyndas@izoom.net Back 2 Health Chiropractic & Massage Gardners Garden (Canned goods, produse, and soft pretzels) Jeff Gardner Sonnenberg/Sonnenboxes (hand-crafted wood items) Katie Philipsek Hasty Woods Tree Farm (landscaping plants) Grant Everson Grandma s Garden (plants, herbs, vegetables, baked good) Tamara Hanson JT s Sweet BBQ Sauce (3 kinds of BBQ sauce) Jeremy Teicher Nancy Swanson & Kristen Natysin (hand-crafted Items) Hunz Farmz (eggs, chicken, beef, pork) Dan Hunz Homemade Bakery (breads, Pulla loaf, caramel rolls, cinnamon rolls, hot dog and hamburger buns) Brenda Kumpula Lacy J Ranch (produce) Jim Lacy Barthel s River Road Gold (maple syrup) Heidi Barthel Modern Roots (natural skin/hair care, kombucha, kefir, Chaga, eggs) Meg DiMercurio Mark Christiansen (BBQ sauce) Brown-Dog Honey (honey and honey products) John Swanson The Farmers Market is held every Thursday from 3:30 PM to 7 PM. We are located in the Monticello Library parking lot. 5

6 Monticello Farmer s Market Newsletter Volume II, Issue I May 15, 2014 How many times have you read a recipe for fresh vegetables, but you had not idea how much to purchase? For instance, fresh broccoli salad calls for ½ pound of broccoli, but you have no idea how that converts to a measurable amount. If you have a kitchen scale, it s no problem! If you do not have a scale, you have to guess. The following handy guide will help you determine how much to purchase for cooking fresh vegetables. Asparagus Beans (string) Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Celery Cucumbers Eggplant Garlic Leeks Mushrooms Onions Parsnips Peas Potatoes Pumpkin Spinach Squash (summer) Squash (winter) Sweet potatoes Swiss chard Tomatoes Turnips 1 pound = 3 cups chopped 1 pound = 4 cups chopped 1 pound (5 medium) = 2 1/2 cups chopped 1/2 pound = 6 cups chopped 1 pound = 4 1/2 cups shredded 1 pound = 3 1/2 cups sliced or grated 1 pound = 4 cups chopped 1 pound (2 medium) = 4 cups sliced 1 pound = 4 cups chopped (6 cups raw, cubed = 3 cups cooked) 1 clove = 1 teaspoon chopped 1 pound = 4 cups chopped (2 cups cooked) 1 pound = 5 to 6 cups sliced = 2 cups cooked 1 pound = 4 cups sliced = 2 cups cooked 1 pound unpeeled = 1-1/2 cups cooked and pureed 1 pound whole = 1 to 1-1/2 cups shelled 1 pound (3 medium) sliced = 2 cups mashed 1 pound = 4 cups chopped = 2 cups cooked and drained 1 pound = 3/4 to 1 cup cooked 1 pound = 4 cups grated = 2 cups salted and drained 2 pounds = 2-1/2 cups cooked and pureed 1 pound = 4 cups grated = 1 cup cooked and pureed 1 pound = 5 to 6 cups packed leaves = 1 to 1-1/2 cups cooked 1 pound (3 or 4 medium) = 1-1/2 cups seeded pulp 1 pound = 4 cups chopped = 2 cups cooked and mashed Source: