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Weekly Market Notes Library

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Weekly Market Notes for June 06, 2013

Hello Market Friends:

When we were kids, my Mom made casseroles with excellent names like "Shipwreck" and "Tony's Delight". Her country-church cookbooks are full of dreamy-sounding recipes like "Divinity Fudge", "Ambrosia Salad"--and some really weird items, such as "apple" pie made with Ritz crackers instead of fruit. I guess the logic would be that you don't have to peel the crackers, in case you were wondering. Thankfully, my Mom never tried that one; her apple pies were legendary. All this nostalgia got me thinking about what my kids will remember about the food I make for them. My recipes don't have such evocative names, but the ingredients that go into our meals have wonderful farmers and farm stories connected to them, so our menus conjure plenty of images, too! Here are a couple of 'market-centric' dishes we've been enjoying at our house recently:

Roast Asparagus & Tomato Pesto Pasta

• a pound of asparagus from Pine River or Woolerdale
• a pint of cherry tomatoes (we don't have local yet, but thanks Plan B for bringing some in)
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup of nuts (cashews, almonds or walnuts)
• fresh pepper

Heat the oven to 375 degrees, put the asparagus and tomatoes on a a pan, drizzle with oil and roast until the tomatoes start to collapse. At the same time, roast the nuts on another pan for a few minutes. Chop the asparagus into bite-size pieces, and put half of it in a food processor with the nuts, reserving a few nuts. Process, adding enough oil to make a thick pesto. Blend in cheese and add pepper to taste. Cook about a pound of pasta, saving a cup of the cooking water when you drain it. Toss the pesto, remaining asparagus and roasted tomatoes with the pasta, adding some of the cooking water to make the sauce coat the pasta nicely. Sprinkle the rest of the nuts on top.

Bok Choy Salad

• two small or one large head of Ted's bok choy, chopped into bite-size pieces
• half a box of your favourite Kind Organics sprouts
• one mango or 1 1/2 cups of pineapple, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 1/2 cup nuts or sunflower seeds
• green onions, green garlic or radishes, chopped or sliced

Toss all and dress the salad with a dressing made from:

• 2 Tablespoons roasted sesame oil
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• juice of half a lime
• 1 Tablespoon agave syrup or honey

Bon appetit! Here's some news from our growing list of vendors:

From Urban Harvest: "Hello all you gardeners. Hope you are not being discouraged by the weather. Last year we planted most of our crops in mid June and still had great crops. In fact, we planted 2 lbs of potatoes in mid-July and got 20 lbs of potatoes in the fall. So be hopeful. You can also take advantage of our 4 for $10 for all of our vegetable plants at this week's market. We will also have seeds, seed potatoes, minerals, flowers and herbs. Happy June." Colette

Sosnickis' contribution: "We're baack!! Thanks for your patience with our farm - we promise to make up for it with some amazing seasonal produce! With the birth of our daughter and the loss of our mother, it has been a bittersweet ride this spring. Sophie was always the type to work through the hard times, and her son Ben carries on that tradition. The fields are looking good and Sophie would be very proud! Coming with Ben to Dufferin are our field Lettuces and bunches of BEETS from the 'covered fields' (aka Greenhouses) and other spring treats! We've been taking some time to try something new this year - biofilm. We've put drip irrigation under the black biodegradable mulch on our tomatoes, melons and cucs! We are hoping to save on costs with weeding and overhead irrigation and considering we're a bit late with planting this year (cold spring, then rains) this mulch should provide faster root growth and perhaps a better yield. We shall see. We are happy to be back, have a great feeling about the new season ahead and can't wait to share news about the strawberries -- coming soon! Crop looks excellent !!" Jess & Ben

Knuckle Down news: "Hello Dufferin Grove. There has been some wet weather up here at Knuckle Down Farm; last week the bridge that gives me access to my garden almost got washed away! Thankfully the rain let up this week and my resilient little seedlings are happy for the sun. I have some beautiful red lettuce that is begging me to bring it to Market and a few bunches of perfect radishes too. Who am I to turn them down? I am looking forward to seeing your familiar faces on Thursday." Jenny

It's so great to have more of our farmers back, and a bigger selection of good things to eat each week. Be sure to enjoy the full circuit of our setup.

See you at the market!

Anne Freeman

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