Farmers Market -

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– Many of you have opinions on the ”can you cook cucumbers?” debate. Maids:

My roommate says she used to cook burritos in her microwave in college using tortillas, rolled with cheese and cucumbers inside. Sounded disgusting to me, but she has a palate I respect so maybe cooked cukes aren’t so bad?

I don’t know about these cuke burritos, but I’m definitely going to start ranking my friends by how much I respect their palates.

– JoeHoya and the Mrs. coin an amazing term for the frustration found in fava beans:

We LOVE fava beans and make it a point to buy them in bulk during their all-too-brief season at the farmers’ market. But the prep is definitely a pain in the ass. Elizabeth refers to favas as the Beans of Diminishing Returns because you buy them by weight and then promptly through out half of what you paid for in the form of the outer and inner pods.

– Finally, anyone who can get worked up about indefinite articles in convenience store advertising is welcome at ES. BigOldCar:

The thing that bothers me most about the Hoagieman commercials is that the song ends with:

“At the Hoa…gie…Fest!
At the Wawa!
The Hoa…Gie…Fest!
At the Wawa!”

Why “THE” Wawa? Why not “your,” or some other gap-filler? But the definite article doesn’t belong here, and it bugs the shit out of me!

I don’t get the Sgt. Pepper theme, but it’s so interesting-looking that I’ve come to accept it.

I cannot, however, get past that improper article.

(Photo: inSinU8)

in Veggie 2 comments

by Roo de Loo

Texas Tuesdays, Part III: Farm to Stomach

photos: Matthew Wexler

Roo de Loo’s final installment on the Austin food scene...

After several days of indulging on barbecue, breakfast tacos and margaritas, I thought I’d take a brief respite and check out Austin’s burgeoning urban farm scene before hitting the town for one final culinary rodeo.

My first stop was Springdale Farm, located just a few miles from downtown Austin. Created by landscape horticulturist Glenn Foore and his wife, Paula, the couple’s farm is just under 5 acres of land surrounded by modest homes and more than a few cars that have seen better days. There was a torrential downpour the afternoon I visited, but Glenn and Paula welcomed me with open arms and umbrellas as they stood under a leaky muslin farm stand. We chatted a bit about sustainability and the locavore scene. Glenn’s eagerness to further engage the community is apparent through Springdale’s participation in urban farm tours, on-site dinners and their own Community Supported Agriculture program.

Next stop was Boggy Creek Farm—the vision of Larry Butler and Carol Ann Sayle, who have been growing commercially since 1991. They are USDA-certified organic, which doesn’t come easy. Carol, with a wide toothy grin and sunspots from long days in the field, reminded me of a modern-day Aunt Eller, proclaiming, “We’re all about the soil, but we don’t know everything!” She enthusiastically bantered about the challenges of the small farmer as I wandered the grounds, stumbling across fresh strawberries, spring onions and some plucky chickens who found their way under my feet.

Although I hadn’t done anything more than chat up some locals and sneak a mouthful of red leaf lettuce right from the ground, I was craving a coffee break as if I had been harvesting all morning. I dashed off to nearby Progress Coffee, a hip coffeehouse located in a converted warehouse on Austin’s near east side. Progress Coffee is “fair trade, organic, shade-grown and custom-roasted by hand in small batches.” It’s so peaced-out, I think may have seen the Dali Lama at the barista making my double latté.

An Alternative to the Butter Treatment

This past Saturday was my first day working at the Mt. Pleasant Far Mar. Yes. Far Mar. I think that’s what the folks in Oakland, CA call the farmers market and the Mt. P owner is from there so that’s how it goes. I love a good abbreviation so I’m all for it.

I have a feeling this season I’m going to be trying out a bunch new vegetables. Or at least vegetable that I don’t normally buy.

My friend Violette, a French girl, is a natural fan of radishes. She slices them and serves them with salty butter. While I cannot deny the simple goodness of this treat, I’d love to find more ways to enjoy this spicy vegetable. And not just in salads. Help me find creative alternatives.

Can you spin radishes into a sauce?
Use as a vehicle for a dip?
Serve under eggs?

Suggestions welcome.

in Veggie 7 comments

by gansie

Lessons From Rotted Okra

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions anymore. Well, only kinds to start smoking. But I would like to make two resolutions for the upcoming farmers market season. The picture above perfectly exemplifies my two points.

1. Experiment
I’ve only tried okra from other people’s cooking and I had mixed feelings on the vegetable. (This was a good memory.) I bought some at the far mar but I was so nervous with what to do with it that I let it go bad. I need to be brave this season and

2. Not Waste
There was really no reason for this lovely, furry green rod to rot in my fridge. Part of the problem is my lack of courage in dealing with the finicky okra, but the other is I will buy too much. Everything looks so gorgeous at the market and I want to buy it all. I need to come prepared with a plan and not just buy all of the beautiful produce I can carry.

in Personal / Veggie 6 comments

by 80 Proof

Artsy Photo of the Day

Eatin’ good ain’t cheap.

(Photo courtesy of someone named Gansie)

in Photos / Veggie 0 comments

by 80 Proof

Artsy Photo of the Day

Sometimes in life do you feel like you hear footsteps?

Well, that happened to me late tonight as I watched TV by myself. Only this time, the footsteps did not involve the inevitable emergence of the big 3-0 on the horizon. No, tonight they belonged to Gansie, who imitated Usain Bolt at the 50M mark in her attempt to make it to the bathroom before her bladder broke. Drinking with the girls always seems to bring out the final sprint down the hallway from Gansie.

So it is down to me to throw together an unexpected post for tomorrow morning. I leave the faithful readers with my old stand-bys, some artsy photos. In this case, let’s take a moment to reminisce about last year’s farmers market and the readily available photos it provided:

in Personal / Photos 7 comments

by gansie

10 Things I Learned From One Day as an Assistant Manager of Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market

Sitting on my couch, drinking a stout with my friend Gee and watching the Phils losing game, I saw an email come in from the director of the Mt. Pleasant Farmers’ Market. Rebbie’s usual assistant couldn’t make it and she asked if I would be interested in helping her out on Saturday. I replied immediately with a YES.

Those of you living in The DMV will know about the relentless rain in the past few days. But as I emailed a few neighborhood friends to visit me, I wrote that never was I so excited to be out in the rainy cold for five hours on a weekend morning.

I mostly stood by a table that said “market manager” and when I was asked questions I would have to hope that the actual manager would be close by. I also took charge of the credit card machine: shoppers can swipe their debit cards and receive tokens in exchange. So besides learning how to work that gadget, I picked up a few other things from being on the other side of the market.

10 Things I Learned From One Day as an Assistant Manager of Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market

1. Access. Farmers markets, of course, provide sustainably grown produce and artisanally crafted breads and cheeses to the community. But who is that community? Markets are finding ways to accept government food assistant programs to make sure that everyone can enjoy thoughtfully grown fruits and vegetables. I learned that one kind of program only allows for purchases of fruits and vegetables and not breads, cheeses or flowers. I agree with Belmont, who worked for a vendor this market season, on this one: “never underestimate a well placed bunch of flowers to lift the spirits.”

2. Gold Lamé Tights. Many shoppers remember to bring cash so in the large gaps of time between the debit card-token exchange, Rebbie, Patrick (see #3) and I dished about market fashions. Yes, someone pulled it together to wear gold lamé tights before noon.

3. Bike Repair. Farmers markets offer more than just food. Mt.P holds a free bike clinic and showcases local musicians. In the most crappy of weather that was Saturday not many people brought by their bikes, which left more time to chat about food and the point of slouchy boots.

4. Honeycrisps. This type of apple is so trendy right now. I don’t usually favor one brand over another, but 80P started requesting this one by name. While waiting for the bathroom key (see # 5) I asked the orchardist why honeycrips were so popular. Apparently there cell structure is different than most apples and they have 4 times the amount of pectin. If I understood this correctly, pectin makes the apple crunchy. Therefore honeycrisps are hella crunchy. Don’t even think about baking with them.

5. Bathroom Key. The bathroom key is the hottest item at the market.