Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Vendor Information for 2010

Thank you for your interest in vending at the Western Wake Farmers’ Market (WWFM). The WWFM held its inaugural season in 2009. We started this market in an untapped area in Western Wake County that serves Cary, Morrisville, Apex, and western Chatham County. In 2009, 32 vendors sold produce, meats, seafood, cheese, eggs, artisan breads and pastries, wine, coffee, plants and flowers, and a limited amount of non-food crafts.

Our market is somewhat unique in that it was conceived by a group of Wake County moms with a desire to feed their families with locally grown food and then organized for the community. Our board and executive committee is comprised of about 10 women who support the market through vendor management, sponsorship, marketing, and special events. Everyone on staff is a volunteer, with the exception of a paid part-time market manager. Hence, the farmer or crafter’s job is to sell, and our job is to support the market administratively and to get customers in our virtual door, so to speak.

In addition to providing consumers with direct access to the farmers who grow their food, we educate the consumer on how to make healthy, local food choices that are environmentally sustainable. By partnering with local agricultural, environmental, and green organizations, as well as cooks, gardeners and other experts from the community, we further our educational mission. In addition, we also facilitate the donation of farm food to people at risk of hunger.

If you are interested in becoming a part this dynamic farmers’ market, please review our Vendor Application Process.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Nature’s Beauty Through the Camera Lens

Congratulations to market volunteer and shopper Kirsten Lechner for her honorable mention in the Cary Photographic Artists 2nd Annual Photo Exhibition. Kirsten’s “ARTichokes,” which was taken at a market in Germany, won the honorable mention, and two other pieces, “Eggsistential” and “Clouds in the Seine" were accepted for the show at the Cary Senior Center. Kirsten photographed “Eggsistential” at the Western Wake Farmers’ Market.

Last summer, several photos Kirsten took of produce at the market were featured on a seasonal lunch menu at Herons in The Umstead Hotel and Spa. You also may have seen Kirsten’s work at the Fall Craft Festival held at the market in early November.

The show featuring Kirsten’s pieces and some 90 other works of art continues at the Cary Senior Center through Dec. 18 with a special artists’ reception on Dec. 4 from 5:30-8 pm. Kirsten’s photos are online at www.shutterfly.com/pro/ASimpleFocus/photos.

It’s a Wrap: Market Closes for the 2009 Season

We thank all those who helped to make the inaugural season of the Western Wake Farmers’ Market (WWFM) so successful. From the vendors who were willing to give our new market a chance, to the volunteers who helped make it happen, from the experts and musicians in our community who willingly shared their talents with us each week to those who faithfully shopped the market, we say thank you!

The farmers’ market closed for the season on Nov. 21 with a post-market celebration for organizers, and vendors, along with volunteers, educators and musicians. Here are a few photos that marked the occasion, including the beautiful cinnamon twists from Tobi’s Home Baking that spell out WWFM!

The market will reopen on Sat., April 3. We look forward to seeing you then. In the meantime, we’ll update our web site with local food happenings, so keep the bookmark and check back.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A Wedding Story: Local Foods, Family and Friends

When Bryan Horton and Lindsay Ungewitter tied the knot on October 10, the menu for their reception was born out of Bryan’s passion--and Lindsay’s growing appreciation--for local food. They treated friends and family to a feast almost entirely local and seasonal. “I love that what I’m growing, eating and selling at the market is from my backyard. It’s part of me,” Bryan said.

Bryan lives and farms at Fickle Creek Farm in Efland, N.C., and sells the farm’s eggs, meat and produce each week at the Western Wake Farmers’ Market.

The Menu
Take a look at this mouth-watering menu. Appetizers included an assortment of cheeses, such as chevre, chicken bridge (manchego style) and Bryan’s favorite, Bloomin' Decadence --a camembert-style cow’s milk cheese that oozes at room temperature. Guests also enjoyed the last of the season’s figs, grilled pepper and onion sausage, and chorizo meatballs in tomato sauce.

For dinner, they feasted on pork shoulder roast with roasted radishes and fall vegetables, roasted chicken with herbs and garlic; kale and mustard greens with smoked ham hocks, pork bratwurst with peppers, onions, tomatoes and basil; roasted sweet potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes; late summer ratatouille; roasted pears, apples and sun chokes; a salad of baby greens that Bryan grew with a local honey vinaigrette, skillet cornbread with pork cracklins; cucumber radish salad; and pasta with tomato and fresh mozzarella.

Claire Leland, the couple’s friend and an amazing baker, according to Bryan, made a giant cupcake for the couple to cut into and a variety of cupcakes for the guests. Bryan’s favorite was the sweet potato spice cupcake!

Where Goodness Comes From
All the ingredients, with the exception of salt, pepper, olive oil and a few gluten-free items because of Bryan’s wheat allergy, were grown locally. Bryan estimated that 60 percent of the food at the reception, including all the meat, was from Fickle Creek. Other WWFM market vendors contributed to the local fare as well.

Bryan visited Hillsborough Cheese Co. for mozzarella cheese made two days before the wedding and the aged cheeses to round out the appetizer selections. He selected shitake mushrooms from Spain Farm, honey from The Farm Fairy, grits and cornmeal from Muddy Dog Roasting Co., and Wrenn Farms and Nursery’s apples and pears, which were especially important for the wedding’s pear theme. As Bryan said, “We are the perfect pair.”

Bryan dug up the sweet potatoes from the fields next to his home the week of the wedding, and Lindsey grew all the flowers for the ceremony and reception. Her friends and family gathered the night before the wedding for a party to make the bouquets and boutonnieres.

Gifts for the Bride and Groom
In an especially nice touch, gifts from friends were local too. The music was a gift from the couple’s friend Geoff Berry, and the catering was courtesy of Chef Chris Holloway of A Southern Season in Chapel Hill. Chef Holloway and Bryan became friends one winter when Bryan, who is a trained chef, was working at the gourmet market.

Bryan had proposed to Lindsay at the Bed & Breakfast at Laurel Ridge in Siler City, N.C., so they decided to get married there. Owner David Simmons, who is in the process of bringing all local foods to his B&B kitchen, graciously allowed Bryan to bring spinach, peppers, onions, sweet potatoes, eggs, bacon and sausage from Fickle Creek for breakfast. The tasty breakfast included bacon cooked with brown sugar, cumin and cayenne pepper. “It was like spicy candy—delicious!” Bryan said.

Sharing the Love of Local
Lindsay, a teacher at a Montessori school in Hillsborough, said, “Everyone who knows us knows how passionate Bryan is about local food. It was really neat that we could say he grew it and he put his energy into it. Often the bride handles so much, but Bryan’s energy and added input on the food made the day really special.”

Congratulations to the newlyweds. We thank them for sharing their local story with us and wish them many years of happiness and good eating!

Connecting Farms and Cities

National Farm-City Week, which begins Friday and continues through Thanksgiving Day, celebrates the relationships between farmers and those living in urban areas and highlights the growing farm to table trend. You can hear NC Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler talk about the importance of this week and learn more from the National-Farm City Council.

There are so many amazing things happening with sustainable farming across the country. Will Allen from Growing Power, Inc. in Milwaukee, WI, gave a speech last week at NC State called "Steps to Successful Urban Farming." Several team members from the WWFM went out to listen and came back inspired. "Will Allen makes getting your hands dirty sound glamorous, and I can't wait to start in my backyard," said Juliann Zoetmulder, WWFM president. You can find out more about Will Allen at http://www.growingpower.org/.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Gratin

Thanks to Market Manager Kim Hunter for sharing this seasonal recipe with market shoppers!

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash neck (peel neck of squash then thinly slice)
  • 2-3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced (about 2 ½ cups sliced)
  • 6 red potatoes, peeled and sliced (about 2 ½ cups sliced)
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • ¾ cup panko-style bread crumbs

Sauce

  • 3 TBS flour (plus more for pan)
  • 3 TBS butter
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups milk
  • 6 ounces goat cheese (can replace with another cheese such as cheddar or gruyere)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x11” pan. Place squash, sweet potatoes and red potatoes in pan, creating 3 or 4 layers, sprinkling each layer with about ½ tsp salt. Set aside.

To prepare sauce, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour to melted butter and whisk. Add cream to butter and flour, whisk gently for about one minute, allowing mixture to thicken. Add milk and stir gently. Heat mixture until steaming but not boiling. Stir in cheese and remove from heat.

Pour sauce over the squash and potatoes. Bake in oven for 35-45 minutes, until potatoes are tender and the top is slightly browned. Remove from oven and heat oven to broil setting. Top the dish with panko bread crumbs and broil for 4-5 minutes until browned.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Cheese-maker Is WCR Award Finalist

Hillsborough Cheese Co.'s Cindy West was one of three finalists for the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs (WCR) Golden Plow Award for 2009 sponsored by Bon Appetit Management Company. This award "recognizes excellence in growing or producing from nature's bounty and honoring a woman whose skill in farming or making artisanal products results in food that graces our plates while respecting the environment," according to WCR.

Congratulations to Cindy for this special recognition! If you have tasted Cindy's cheese at the market, you understand how she came to be among these finalists.

Originally educated in accounting, Cindy left to pursue her true love of cooking in both the United States and France. She eventually made her way to Magnolia Grill in Durham and later began making cheese so that she could be home with her children yet still work with food.


A self-taught cheese-maker, Cindy started making small batches of European style, cow and goat milk cheeses that she loved in France. Using only the freshest, most sustainably produced, local milk, Hillsborough Cheese Co. now sells cheese to numerous restaurants, wineries and farmers' markets.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Fall Crafts and Food Drive: Thank You!

A gorgeous fall day, beautiful handcrafted items, seasonal foods, e-scooters and lovely Celtic melodies: these were the ingredients for a great day Saturday at the market! Thanks to the more than 1,200 community members who came out to support local crafters, artisans and farmers at our Fall Craft Festival and who brought non-perishable foods for our Thanksgiving Food Drive!

Shoppers donated foods to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, which picks up donations from our farmers’ market vendors each week. Many items collected are being used for the Food Shuttle's BackPack Buddies program, in which kids are sent home on Friday with a backpack full of foods to ensure they have healthy foods to eat on the weekend. In the photo are market organizers and volunteers (from left, back row) Lisa Flanagan, Amy Lee, Samantha Malone, Teri Melcher Nelson, Grace Pagano, Jenna D’Amore, (from left, front row) Jennifer Gibbs, Kim Hunter and Amy Scott.

Beautiful scarves, jewelry, pottery, baby gifts, holiday decorations, woodworking and so much more. Many thanks to the crafters were willing to try out this new venue. Our community was very generous coming out in such large numbers to enjoy their unique creations and support them and the regular farmers' market vendors.

The market remains open for two more weekends with all the great seasonal produce, local meats, eggs, seafood, breads, desserts, coffee and more. Kale, swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, lettuces, sweet potatoes and turnips are just some of the seasonal produce abundantly available right now. Come talk to the farmers about how to prepare these foods if you're not sure how! They all have their favorite, simple recipes.


Remember: New market hours for Nov. 14 and 21 are 9:00 am-12:00 pm.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Craft Festival and Food Drive: This Saturday, Nov. 7

The market's Fall Craft Festival and Thanksgiving Food Drive will be held this Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 am-1 pm! Please note these hours are different than typical market hours! The farmers' market and the craft festival will open at 9 am this weekend. (Nov. 14 and Nov. 21, market hours will be 9 am-12 pm.)

More than 40 local artists and crafters will join us with their unique handcrafted items. Come see the fruits of their talent and start your holiday shopping!

The market is also hosting a Thanksgiving Food Drive on Saturday. Please bring non-perishable foods and canned goods to the Info. Tent for donation to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Requests for food assistance are up significantly this year with so many families in our area facing economic difficulties. Please share your Thanksgiving spirit by participating in this food drive.

Craft Festival Preview
In addition to our regular market vendors, our guest crafters and artists will have a wonderful variety of products available. Find the perfect hostess gift for Thanksgiving or a holiday get-together, teacher's gifts, stocking stuffers or a little something for yourself.
Here's a peek at some of the offerings at the festival: pottery, jewelry of various styles and techniques, baskets, natural soaps and lotions, gourmet toppings, photography and art, wooden toys and crafts, baby and kids' gifts, ornaments, cards and more!
The photo at the top features some of the work of Sarah Parker Heerman of Silverkiln Studio. Sarah, who uses pure silver, bronze and copper in her jewelry, will be equipped to take fingerprints on Saturday to make custom jewelry.
The bottom photo features a handmade bag by Angie Coleman, who offers a variety of gifts for babies, kids and women.

Market Opens April 3, 2010!

The market will re-open on April 3 for its second season. Mark your calendar and plan to be there for spring produce and much more! Details coming soon...