Market to Menu Recipe Exchange: Macerated Berries

We enjoyed this Macerated Berries dessert last year when the stawberries were still in and the blueberries had just arrived! I followed the recipe exactly with one exception: I skipped the pistachios. Be sure to whip your cream instead of buying at the store--SO much better homemade! Despite the light reviews, this was incredibly easy, refreshing and delicious!

Local Cheese and Wine Pairings

Curious about local cheeses and which wines to pair them with? The May/June issue of North Carolina Wine Press magazine features “North Carolina Cheese Plate,” an article on a variety of local cheesemakers, including market vendor Hillsborough Cheese Co. The article tells the stories of these cheesemakers and also pairs different local wines with the cheeses. Check out the article and a local TV news segment about it.

Crop Mob Helps Out at Farm Front Gardens in Apex

Last Saturday, the Crop Mob gathered at Farm Front Gardens, in Apex to help farmers (and market vendors) Kathleen Smith and Benjamin Berry at their small farm. Composting, weeding, digging walkways, and catching cabbage moths were among the activities volunteers took part in to help.

Earlier this spring, we wrote here about Crop Mobs: volunteers who join together for a day to help small, local farmers. One of the biggest challenges small farmers face is the tremendous amount of labor these sustainable, environmentally-friendly farms require. Crop Mobs lend a much-needed hand to farmers in our area. If you're interested in learning more, check out Crop Mob's web site.

An Elegant Evening Celebrating Local Farmers and Food!

Herons Chef Scott Crawford prepared a beautiful menu for last Friday's market fundraiser, FRESH, A Celebration of Local Harvest! Many thanks to Chef Crawford and everyone at the Umstead Hotel & Spa who helped make this elegant evening possible, as well as the farmers who grew the delicious food!

We also greatly appreciate all those who purchased tickets and bid on the silent auction items from businesses and individuals in our community. Congratulations to all our auction winners!

Proceeds from the fundraiser help sustain the market and its hunger prevention and education initiatives! Here a few pictures from the evening (and even more are on Facebook).

Wow! Check out These Auction Items for FRESH!

It is almost here: FRESH, A Celebration of Local Harvest is this Friday, May 21 from 6-8 pm! Between the fantastic menu Chef Scott Crawford has planned and the many great items and services for auction that are still rolling, Friday's celebration is shaping up to be a special evening at The Umstead Hotel & Spa!

You can still purchase tickets online for $60/person. Please note: half of each ticket sale goes directly to the market and is tax-deductible! It's a great cause and a really reasonable way to enjoy beautifully prepared, seasonal and local foods at the Umstead!

For all those attending the FRESH fundraiser, please remember to bring your check book for the silent auction! We can accept checks and cash, but no credit cards. There is an ATM avaialble at the Umstead.

Classes and Workshops

• Private Cupping Session: Learn how coffee professionals select the coffees you buy, and learn how to brew the best coffee at home, Muddy Dog Roasting Co.
• 3-hour Private Cooking Lesson: Classic French Sauces, The Studious Chef
• Parent/Child Cooking Class, Classy Kids Cook
• Adult Cooking Class, Classy Kids Cook
• Child's After School Cooking Class, Classy Kids Cook
• Beginner Beer Homebrewer Class at Tir na nog & Home-brewing equipment, American Brewmaster
• 2 DIY Sustainability Workshops, The Abundance Foundation
• Special Occasion Make-up or Private Lesson, Radiant Beauty Makeup Artistry by Ashley, Ashley Bromirski

Fun Times

• 2 Tickets to The Color Purple at DPAC on May 26, Scot and Terri Johnson
• Round of Golf for 4, Lochmere Golf Club
• Round of Golf for 4, Prestonwood Country Club
• 1-week Summer or Track-out Day Camp, Cary YMCA
• Child Care, 6 hours each, RightTime Kids

Art/Jewelry

• Citrine & Sterling Silver Necklace, Martha Mary Jewelry
• 8x10 Market Prints, Matted and Framed: Yellow Squash, Radishes, Eggplants, A Simple Focus
• Custom-made girl's dress (size 2-7) and a matching 18" doll dress. The winner can choose the fabric and the size at the fundraiser! Victoria Hassik, Jump Rope Studio
• Apron Set for Child and 18" Doll, Victoria Hassik, Jump Rope Studio
• Silver Necklace, Silverkiln Studio
• Red Earthenware Pottery, Milly D'Angello
• Happikins Cloth Napkins, Molly McKinley
• Pottery Vase and $5 Gift Certificate, Imaginese
• Bracelet Featuring Kumihimo, Anciuent Art of Beading, Gems by Em, Emily White

Interior Design

• Color Consultation Services, Stephanie Finucane, The Right Hue
• 2-hour Interior Design Consult, Burke Designs
• 2-hour Interior Design Consult, Kim Gilmore Designs, LLC

Spa/Medical Services

• 1-hour Reiki II Treatment, Amy Lee, Certified in Reiki II Healing
• 1-hour massage, Whole Family Chiropractic
• $50 Gift Certificate and Loreal Hair Care Products, Joule Salon
• Signature Facial, Nirvelli Spa
• Allergy Screening without Needles, Advanced Chiropractic Center
• Chiropractic Consutlation, Advanced Chiropractic Center
• Nutritional Consultation and Ionic Cleanse Foot Bath, Advanced Chiropractic Center
• 3 15-minute Far Infrared Saunas, Advanced Chiropractic Center

Plus…

• Financial Advisory Consultation , 5 Hours, Bill Young, Edward Jones Investments
• Soji Modern Solar Powered Lantern, Yes! Solar Solutions
• $25 Gift Certificate, Ace Town & Country
• Mediation Consulting/Service, 5 Hours, JTK Mediation
• Love Remembered books, Amy A. Barrington
• All Natural Cleaning Products, Simply Gaia (No Dirty Business)
• $20 Gift Cetificate, Garden Supply Co.

The FRESH fundraiser tickets and silent auction proceeds will help sustain the farmers' market and its educational and hunger prevention initiatives. Support your farmers and your market! Thank you!

Saute Escarole with Green Onion and Garlic Chives

Thanks to Chef Sarig Agasi of Zely & Ritz for sharing a taste of his delicious Saute Escarole with Green Onion & Garlic Chives and Green Onion Vinaigrette at market today. Here is the recipe to try yourself at home.

1 head of escarole, cut by 4
1 bunch of green onions
1/2 bunch of garlic chives
1/3 cup cider
1/2 cup grape seed oil

Blanch the escarole and chives in salted water and shock in ice water. Chop the white part of the onions very fine and saute in a pan over mid heat with olive oil, salt & pepper. Add the blanched escarole and chives, and saute for 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and mix with the vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette:
Cut the green part of the onions and blanch in hot water and then put in ice water bath like the escarole. Using a blender, blend the green part of the onions with 1/4 cup cold water. Add 1/3 cup cider and 1/2 cup grape seed oil. Add salt to and pepper to taste.

(Option: leave the garlic chives out.)

Serve with roasted or grilled sausage and a local beer or glass of rose.

Crop Mob Heads to Apex's Farm Front Gardens Next Saturday

Earlier this spring, we wrote here about Crop Mobs: volunteers who join together for a day to help small, local farmers. If you're itching to get your hands dirty or just want to lend a helping hand for a great cause, you're invited to join the Crop Mob at market vendor Farm Front Gardens, 910 James St. in Apex on Sat., May 23 from 1-5 pm, with dinner at 5 pm.

What do farmers Kathleen Smith and Benjamin Berry need help with? They plan on mulching, planting, transplanting, weeding and digging beds. Bring yourself, wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, gloves and trowels if can help! Anyone is welcome, but please RSVP to Steve Horton so he can be sure there is enough food for everyone come dinner time.

Kathleen and Ben started their quarter-acre farmstead in 2009 and became a vendor at the WWFM this spring. Market shopper Kevin Gordon says he participated in a Crop Mob not too long ago in Hillsborough. "It was a lot of fun. I got to learn quite a bit about what goes on at a small farm (and how hard they work!), as well as a few tips for my own garden," Kevin said. He plans to go help Kathleen and Ben out next weekend.

Buy FRESH Tickets Today!

Shrimp and Grits. Strawberry Gazpacho. Blueberry Almond Tarts. Mmmmm...does that whet your appetite? Join us for FRESH, A Celebration of Local Harvest on May 21 for these seasonal, local dishes and much more prepared by award-winning Herons Chef Scott Crawford!

Ticket sales benefit your farmers' market! Details and tickets: http://fresh2010.eventbrite.com/

Scenes from the Farm Tour

Late last month, friends and I took our kids to several of the farms featured on the 15th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour. What a great way to spend an afternoon! It's loads of fun to watch the kids pet (and sometimes even hold) the baby animals, roam the farm fields and explore different ways to grow food.

What's more, it's amazing to learn about this rural, sustainable way of life, not very far from the suburban neighborhoods of Cary, Morrisville and Apex. It's not a glamorous lifestyle or a lucrative one, but local farmers are working so hard because growing good food in a healthy, sustainable way matters to them!

Some 40 farms and vineyards particpated in the Carolina Farm Stewarship Association (CFSA) farm tour, including several WWFM vendors. You can learn more about the tour and see videos and photos from the tour at CFSA's web site. Here are a few moments from our fun day!

Photos, top row: mushrooms growing on logs at ECO Farm; human kids with goat kid at Chapel Hill Creamery; Second row: pig grazing happily; Our Lady of the Hens sign at Pickard Mountain Community Garden; Bottom row: Baby chick love; glimpses of radishes; tomatoes growing in greenhouse.

CFSA hosts a spring and fall tour each year, and there are lots of other opportunities throughout the year to get out of town and onto the farms. Check back for more local food news!

Nourishing Community: Help Feed Those in Need

Food. We love it for the many different flavors, the colors, the textures, and, perhaps most importantly, for the memories created when we share it with family and friends. But at its most basic level, food is essential to nourish our bodies. Unfortunately in Wake County, there are too many people who are unable to feed themselves and their families with healthy foods.

At the Western Wake Farmer's Market, we provide a source for healthy, local foods in our area, but we also provide a way to nourish community by sharing with those who need help. WWFM partners with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to help feed the hungry because everyone is entitled to food. Farmer FoodShare and Plant a Row for the Hungry, or PAR, are two great programs than enable the market and our shoppers to nourish community.

Meet the Market Manager: Kim Hunter

Hi, I'm Kim Hunter, market manager for the Western Wake Farmers' Market. You'll see me at market at the Information Tent or strolling the market just about every Saturday this season.

I love being at the market because it feels right to buy and consume food from people that I get to know personally and who take pride in feeding the community and taking care of the land. And local food just tastes better!

Please email me, call me (919-349-4419) or stop by and say hello or let me know if you have any questions about the market or our vendors. I love meeting our shoppers, working with our volunteers and learning more about vendors all the time.

Where's the Flavor?

So in 2010, the question isn't "Where's the Beef?" but rather "Where's the Flavor?" according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. Author Mark Schatzker comments on how USDA rules, mass production and efficiency have compromised the taste of beef over the years. He points out that "cheap beef doesn't taste good. What we've gained in yield and efficiency, we've lost in flavor," he says.

All is not lost, according to Schatzker, however. He says that you can find an excellent steak by "combing the farmers' markets." He also notes that beef from grass-fed cows is healthier for you, as it has "less saturated fat, more heart-healthy omega-3s and is denser in vitamins and antioxidants."

If you've got a hankering for a good old-fashioned steak, take a few minutes to read the article, and then check out the beef vendors at the market next weekend, Coon Rock Farm, Fickle Creek Farm, Grandview Farms and Smith Angus Farm. Know your farmer, know your food!

Seasonal Salads from Chatham Street Cafe

Thank you to Chef Gayla Bonke of Chatham Street Cafe & Catering for joining us at market with two delicious salads featuring seasonal market ingredients. Thanks also for the recipes!

Panzanella Salad with Beans and Greens

Yields 8 to 10 servings

1 bunch red chard or mustard greens , trimmed and roughly chopped
1 bunch kale or turnip greens – trimmed and roughly chopped
(both bunches to total approximately 1 lb, once trimmed)
2 TBS olive oil
½ loaf day old French, Italian or ciabatta bread, cubed
1 cup chopped sundried tomatoes, drained
1 or 2 cans cannellini or white beans, drained
3 TBS balsamic vinegar
6 TBS olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper , more to taste

Trim and chop greens and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil, drizzle two tablespoons olive oil over greens and cover with another piece of foil and fold sides and ends together to form an envelope like tent for baking. Place in a 400 degree oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove, un-tent and let cool slightly. Be careful to not get burned by the steam.

In a large bowl combine bread, sundried tomatoes and cubed bread, whisk olive oil and vinegar and salt and pepper together, add greens to bread mixture and toss with the dressing. Serve immediately as a side dish or main vegan entrée.

Orzo Pasta Salad

Yields 8 to 10 servings

1 lb. orzo pasta (small rice shaped pasta)
1 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
8 oz crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
½ cup finely chopped parsley or cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a stockpot full of boiling salted water to a rolling boil, add orzo and cook til al dente’, approximately 8 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl.

Add sundried tomatoes, crumbled feta, chopped parsley or cilantro, olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss and serve, or cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Set salad out for a few minutes prior to serving to take the chill off.

This salad is also great at room temperature. To make this more of a hearty main course, toss in some roasted chicken or cooked shrimp.

Foodshare: 4,099 Pounds!

Shoppers and vendors have donated an estimated 4,099 pounds of healthy, local food for Farmer Foodshare so far this market season! Buy a bunch, Give a bunch, and drop foods off at the Donation Station. Thank you for your ongoing generosity this winter!

Social Media: Staying Connected

Social media networks have exploded in the last year or two. Tweeting has moved way beyond early adopters, and almost every business has a Facebook page these days. Our market, and many of our vendors, also use these tools to keep in touch and share news and information with those who want to stay connected.

The Western Wake Farmers' Market has more than 502 "likers" (formerly "fans," yes Facebook is always changing something) and nearly 300 followers on Twitter. If you would like to be plugged in to our latest news, check out pages and join in: Facebook and Twitter.

And our own Western Wake Eats newsletter, sent each Thursday morning, keeps you posted on the latest market events and news, plus what's fresh at market. Your privacy is important to us, so we never sell, rent or give your name or address to anyone!

Vendors Post Too

You can also get more information on at what's happening at some of the farms and businesses that come to market at their Facebook pages, along with information they are sharing about recipes and the local food scene:

• Coon Rock Farm
• Edible Earthscapes
• Fickle Creek Farm
• Grandview Farm
• Great Harvest Bread Co.
• Muddy Dog Roasting Co. and
• Smith's Nursery

Check all our vendors' web sites for information, photos, events, newsletters and blogs. Get to know them online and at market...know your farmer, know your food!