Celebrating the Abundance of the Season

Many thanks to our special guests at Saturday's market: Herons Chef Scott Crawford, Butterfly Lady Suzanne Tilton and face painter Lynne Sue Fischer! Thanks also to the shoppers who celebrated Abundance Day and the vendors who provided great raffle prizes for 21 lucky winners! (Winners can pick up their prizes at the market next weekend.)

At left, young shoppers Maryanne and Samantha show off their butterfly painted faces, courtesy of Lynne Sue. At right, Chef Scott shares his sweet and sour eggplant and talks with shoppers about how he prepared the dish.

Be sure to visit the market next week for more great seasonal produce, local meats, breads, desserts, plants, coffee and more! Chatham Street Cafe Chef/Owner Gayla Bonke will be in the Education Tent on September 5.

Ode to the Fig

So at 41 years of age, I’ve discovered the fig. Sure, as a child I ate Nabisco Fig Newtons, but I’m not sure that counts as eating a fig.

At the risk of seeming unworldly, I’ll admit that that I probably couldn’t have identified a fig, and I certainly had not tasted one…until last month. First, I tasted one at the farmers’ market while on a nutrition tour there. Loved it! I learned that not only was it tasty, but packed with nutrients and fiber. So I bought some, and ate them all within an hour of getting home. Within a few days, a sign popped up in the front yard of a house I pass several times a week. “Fresh Figs” the cardboard sign read. I stopped there. Nice lady and plenty of fig trees. She puts the sign out whenever the figs are ripe and she’s home to sell them. Shortly after that, I celebrated lunch out with friends at Herons in The Umstead Hotel & Spa. (My youngest was off to kindergarten, and I was free to eat lunch out again!) Herons was offering a special three-course market menu featuring local ingredients. Dessert involved figs. Loved it!

So you see a pattern here. With my new love of the fig, I’ve been searching online for fig recipes that look good, and I have found quite a few. So far, I’m still just popping them into my mouth for a snack. They ripen so fast, after all. Maybe next fig season I’ll actually cook something with them. If you have a favorite fig recipe, share it with us at info@westernwakefarmersmarket.org.

Insulated Market Bags are Here!

Recyclable insulated tote bags sporting the Western Wake Farmers' Market logo are now on sale! The bags will help keep your fresh food hot or cold and is a perfect way to promote your local farmers' market around town. Every bag sold at $7 each equals a small donation to help keep the market up and running. Stop by the market tent before the limited supply is gone!

The WWFM is growing with the help of our sponsors, volunteers, fundraisers, and your support. Buy a bag, spread the word about the market, or offer to volunteer an hour of your time one Saturday...you can help make a difference.

Herons Chef to Serve Up Sweet and Sour Eggplant

In celebration of Abundance Day on August 29, Herons Executive Chef Scott Crawford will share his sweet and sour eggplant, made with market ingredients. Make sure you stop by for a taste and to talk with Chef Scott about how he uses local, seasonal ingredients! (Photo: Chef Scott at the market in July)

Through August, Herons is offering a lunch special featuring a 3-course market menu for $20. Contact Herons for details.

The Beauty of the Butterflies

Butterfly expert and breeder Suzanne Tilton, aka the Butterfly Lady, will share her NC-native caterpillars, live monarch butterflies and lots of great information about butterfly gardening with market shoppers on August 29. In this photo, Suzanne and her helper, Adrienne, demonstrated some differences between butterflies and moths when Suzanne visited the market earlier this summer. Caterpillars that turn into butterflies form a chrysalis, like this green one Adrienne is in, and caterpillars that turn into moths form a coccoon. A photo story about Suzanne's visit to the market is posted at her web site.

Wanted: Raffle Prize Winners

Market vendors will celebrate “Abundance Day” on August 29 with plenty of raffle prizes for market shoppers! How can you win? It’s easy…

1. Sign up to receive Western Wake Eats, the weekly market e-newsletter.
2. Print and complete the raffle ticket at the bottom of the newsletter.
3. Drop it off at the market tent by August 29!

Only newsletter subscribers are eligible to win! Western Wake Eats is mailed each Thursday morning with information on what’s fresh at market, plus news on experts in the Education Tent, local musicians and special events.

Pull Up a Chair and Have a Seat

Next weekend when you visit the farmers’ market, take notice of the new tables and chairs near the musicians. Lora Pritchard, an Apex resident and regular market shopper, generously donated money toward the purchase of the tables and chairs.

Lora’s donation is in memory of her grandfather, Arthur Wayne Neel, who passed away in June. He was a farmer most of his life, and in later years, he kept his own small garden with vegetables and flowers. Lora said he was well known around town in Tazewell, Virginia, for his garden.

Along with her husband Ewan, and daughters Kira, who is five years old, and Ellie, who is 11 months old, Lora has been shopping the market since shortly after it opened in May. “We come every week that we’re in town, and we love it. We love the atmosphere. It’s a nice way to spend time with family.” Lora said they enjoy eating breakfast at the market, listening to the bands and buying the fresh breads, vegetables and fruits. Lora’s daughters are especially enjoying the juicy peaches right now!

The Pritchard family has visited other markets, but Lora said they love coming to the Western Wake Farmers’ Market. “It has the best variety and atmosphere, and it fits our family best.” We’re glad to have you and your family, Lora, and thanks for your donation!

Fall Farm Tour Set for Sept. 19-20

You have learned a lot about local farmers at the Western Wake Farmers’ Market, and now you have the chance to tour up to 20 farms during the 4th Annual Eastern Triangle Farm Tour! The Sept. 19 and 20 tour, sponsored by Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and Whole Foods Market, features 20 farms, including market vendor Melvin’s Gardens and Spain Farm.

The tour is available Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. and helps connect you and your family with where your food comes from, who is growing it and how it is being grown. Be sure to visit Melvin’s Gardens on Sunday at 2:30 for storytelling fun! Nationally-known storyteller Ron Jones, who grew up on a dairy farm, will share music and stories there.

Complete details, including a map, information on each farm and special events are available here. Tickets may be purchased in advance online or at Whole Foods Market in Cary at Waverly Place. Advance tickets are $25 per car for all the farms (includes both days). Tickets purchased the day of the tour are or $30 per car for all farms or $10 per farm.

Tasty Bytes of Food Information

So it seems there’s a new blog out there each day. Anyone can host a blog on any topic he or she wants. Free speech in its ultimate form! In the last year, I’ve found that I really enjoy food blogs, almost as much as I like to read cooking magazines. I love some of them for their great recipes and photos, some for the quick information, and some for their educational value. Here are a few I check out regularly:

Stacey Snacks: Stacey is all about cooking with food in season, and she includes great photos to go with her recipes. I made her leek and asparagus quiche in the spring with market eggs and asparagus and loved it!

Mouthful: This newly named News & Observer blog is a wealth of information for foodies! Get the latest on restaurant happenings, cookbook author visits, wine dinners and more in our area.

In the Field: This blog highlights programs of the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. That may sound a bit dry, but the blog postings have some nifty bits of information about local food events and recipes for seasonal produce.

Little Homestead in the City: This online journal chronicles the life of the Dervaes family in Pasadena, CA, where they grow 6,000 pounds of produce on 1/5th of an acre in the city and live as green a lifestyle as they can. It’s fascinating—their life is so different from my suburban life here in Cary.

Cooking Up a Story and The Daily Table address healthy eating in a sustainable way…and what that means. It’s been an education!

A few market vendors blog too: Coon Rock Farm and Muddy Dog Coffee. (You can check out web sites for most market vendors here)

How about you…have any favorite food-related/eating local blogs? Send us a note at info@westernwakefarmersmarket.org and tell us why. We’ll share the link.

Chef Sarig's Cool Gazpacho

Thanks to Chef Sarig Agasi (left) of Zely & Ritz for celebrating National Farmers’ Market Week with us and serving his refreshing gazpacho on August 8! Chef Sarig used market ingredients to make this delicious soup.

Thanks also to nutritionist Marda Heuman (right) for sharing her expertise about the health benefits of eating the foods available at market.

Summer Gazpacho

Ingredients

• 12 large heirloom tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 English cucumber or other seedless variety
• 1 sweet pepper – any color
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbl Salt – real salt, sea salt or kosher salt – not course
• 2 tsp Black Pepper – freshly ground
• ½ cup sherry vinegar
• 12 leaves of fresh basil
• Cherry tomatoes

Preparation

Cut, core and dice tomatoes. Peel and dice onion. Scrape seeds out from cucumber and dice – keep skin on. Take out seeds and dice pepper. Peel & dice garlic.

Mix all the above ingredients in a large stainless steel bowl. Add 2 Tbl salt & 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Add sherry vinegar and cover with plastic wrap. Marinate vegetables in refrigerator over night. Add fresh basil leaves just before blending well in blender.

To Serve

Serve cold and garnish with cucumber slivers and a few sliced floating cherry tomatoes. Serves: 10-12, depending on serving size.

Eating Local: What Does It Mean and Why Does It Matter? Part II

In Part I of this article, we talked about a new trend in which huge corporate chains are positioning themselves as “local” and how different that is from our market’s definition of local. Now here is more about why eating local matters in North Carolina and nationwide.

1. Health & Taste. Foods harvested locally are picked ripe, which means they are at peak nutritional value (and taste!). Grass-fed beef, for example, has about half of the saturated fat content than traditionally fed cows and is much higher in Omega 3 fatty acids. These help to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and also reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, joint pain and some skin ailments.
2. Environment. Foods grown locally have a minimal environmental impact, compared to grocery store foods. These foods travel an average 1,500 miles on our nation’s highways and even further in crates flown around the world. Locally grown foods do not require processing, warehousing and packaging, which all have negative environmental repercussions.
3. Animal Welfare. Unlike factory farms, local farmers allow their cows, pigs and chickens to graze in green pastures in the open air. They are not fed engineered corn or injected with growth hormones to make them grow faster. They are grown and fed naturally.
4. Economy. Buying food from local growers helps sustain and foster the community in which we live and save family farms. It keeps the dollars local and helps farmers make a reasonable living. At the market, farmers retain 100 percent of their profits.
5. Land Preservation. Supporting local family farms helps prevent further development of land for business and preserves our state’s agricultural history. Unlike huge industrial farms, local farmers rotate and diversify their crops, which helps to replenish nutrients in the soil. This, in turn, packs the produce with nutrients.

The Informed Buyer

For more information about why corporate America is jumping into the “local” trend, take a look at The Dirty Tricks Behind Local-washing. For information on some differences between local and industrial farming, check out this series: The Truth about Frito-Lay’s “Lay’s Local” Marketing Campaign. For more on why eating local is important, check out The Sustainable Table web site.

When we eat local, we eat in season. It’s a bit old-fashioned, admittedly, but food really does taste best when it’s in season. Come to the market every Saturday for the freshest food in town.

All About Honey Bees...

The first Sat. in August at the market we learned a ton about bees and their important role in making healthy & sweet honey! Thanks to Sandra Sarlinga from "The Farm Fairy", many questions were answered about these incredible creatures:) It was really interesting to be able to watch the bees at work right there at the market! Typically gathering the bees for a short trip short not be so hard, but apparently when it rains, the bees become all a buzz. Thanks Fabian, (Sandra's bee-mate and husband) for taking a few stings to bring them to share with us! If you missed a test taste during the education, you can try the yummy honey their bees produce by visiting their tent at the market. Look for "The Farm Fairy" sign:)