This Just In From Victory Farms-Great Variety!

I decided to post this portion of the e-mail from Victory Farms because I think it's a good representation of the markets right now....
"The garden is bursting with goodies right now - thanks to cooler weather and a little rain! We'll have LOTS of great greens, roots and fruits this Saturday from 8am-noon at the South of the James Market so come on by! We still have summer items like eggplant, peppers and cucumbers as well as some gorgeous ripening and green tomatoes plus cooking and salad greens and so much more!
We need to work through this week's Henley's Orchard inventory so we won't have the new varieties mentioned earlier until next week, but the ones we have are crunchy and sweet and great for apple pies and snacks too!"

It looks like lots of great stuff and tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day.
I will not be at South of the James this weeks, but will instead be checking out other area markets I don't normally get to. However, last week I got a huge bag of mustard greens, kale, sun gold tomatoes, a chocolate croissant, eggs, kohlrabi, 2 large bags of perfect looking green beans, 2 large heads of broccoli, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, eggplant, arugula, a very large and beautiful bag of salad greens mixed will violets, asain pears, apples, "country pears," red sweet peppers and probably more that I've forgotten. Next I'll have to post the menu plan for the week that all this great stuff inspired. Happy shopping...

Fresh, Local Food all Winter with the St. Stephen's Online Market

We have had such a wonderful, albeit hot, farmers market season at St. Stephen's, that we didn't want it to end! We knew it would be hard to convince folks to come out on the upcoming dark, cold mornings, so we developed an online farmers market.

Here is how it works:

• Go to http://onlinefarmersmarket.net
• Click the Join button
• You pay $50 for 6 months access to the site. Then, all winter long, and into spring, you order food from the vendors listed.
• You order and pay online over the weekend, then your order is sent and filled by the vendor who brings it to St. Stephen's on Thursdays for you to pick up! That is it- locally grown, artisanally produced food simplified.

Eli's Greens has three greenhouses full of veggies, Simply Abundant Farms will have lamb as well as Bronze and White Breasted Turkeys for Thanksgiving, Greenway Beef will have grass fed beef, Norwood Cottage will have their amazing breads- and the list goes on! Check out the Online Farmer's Market site for a growing list of participating vendors, and join today! Registrations are limited.

West End Farmers Market/ Storing Apples

(Although I like the double benifite of food as decoration, it may not be the best way for it to be stored.)

Here's some good info. on storing apples for the winter from the West End Farmers Market news letter. Just don't forget that the ethylene gas the apples give of will also ruin spring flowering bulbs you may be keeping in fridge till planting, along with causing other fruits and produce to spoil more quickly. I am lucky enough to have a second fridge, (okay, it's the beer and wine fridge) that I can store my apples in.
The West End Market will run through Saturday October 30, but will also hold two holiday markets on Wednesday Nov. 24 from 10a.m. to 4p.m., and Saturday Dec. 4 from 10-4.

"Apples can be stored for relatively long (3-4 months) periods of time. Cold storage at low refrigerator temperatures (35-40F/2-4C) is able to help minimize loss of nutrients. In addition, it's helpful to maintain some moisture in the cold storage area, for example, by inclusion of damp cheesecloth in the crisper bin of a refrigerator.


Over a period of time involving months, there is loss of total polyphenols from apples, including both flavonoid and non-flavonoid polyphenols. However, valuable amounts of polyphenols (and all other nutrients) remain. In some food traditions, cold storage of apples over the winter months is still counted on as a key part of dietary nourishment from fruits.

You've no doubt heard the saying, "one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch." Well, research studies agree. An apple that has been bruised from being dropped (or that has been damaged in some other way) will start to release unusual amounts of ethylene gas. This ethylene gas can pose a risk to other apples that have not been damaged and greatly decrease their shelf life. For this reason, it's important to handle apples with tender loving care, and also to remove any damaged apples from groups of apples stored in bulk."

2010 Hans Falk Lecture Series

The Hans Falk Lecture series looks into the "how, why and what could be" of our food choices. Focusing on the democratization of food, the VCU School of Social Work, St. Andrew's School and the Central Virginia Food Bank will bring expert speakers on sustainable agriculture, and resources for healthy eating.

The next lecture will be: The Democratization of Food- A Social Responsibility
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
7:00pm
St. Andrews School Auditorium
227 South Cherry Street

Open to the public

www.wbch.org or call 804.643.2717 for more info

Cooking with Fire

A couple of weeks ago, I got to go camping at Crabtree Falls with some (thankfully foodie) friends. After a glorious drive, on which I had no idea where I was, nor where I was going, I found that my lovely friends had set up camp by a stream. You can't imagine my relief upon my arrival- a tablecloth! Wine!

Turns out, we had each brought the essentials- olive oil, cutting boards, biodegradable soap, paring knives. And lots and lots of food.
When cooking with fire, it is important to have a plan. Or lots to drink. I had both.

Veggie skewers and Twin Oaks Tofu with skillet cooked polenta. And wine.

Skewers were soaked in water (thanks to a very forward thinking member of our party), tofu was oiled and herbed, and everything was well tended.
I didn't take photos of breakfast, but there were cinnamon rolls heated on the gas stove, coffee and omelets with leftover veggies and cheese. Well loved, we were. So, that was my bougie camping trip- the last one 'til the summer creeps back.

October at the Market

October is the best time to shop farmers' markets! Everything from summer veggies and fruits to autumn squashes and greens are available now.

Market haul from the Farmers Market at St. Stephen's:

From Wild T Bison Farms:

Raw Dog Food

Pastured Eggs

de Rochonnet delights

Chocolate peri peri spice rub

Night Sky Farms:

Chevre

Rosotv's Coffee:

8oz Mama Zu's Blend, whole bean

Flores Produce:

Parsnips

Tiny eggplant

Brussels sprouts

Broccoli

Figs

White onion

Sweet potatoes

Golden potatoes

Scallions

radishes

celery

carrots

red pepper

Epic Gardens:

Kale

H2O Collect:

Emporer shiitake mushrooms

Pearl Oyster mushrooms

okra

Evans Family Collective:

Alpaca yarn

Frog Bottom Farm

Kohlrabi

Arugula

Cilantro

Amelia Soap and Herb Company:

Cinderella Pumpkin

Norwood Cottage Bakery:

Curry Raisin Bread

Belllevue Baguette

Petit Bouchees:

Vanilla and Lychee Macarons

Almond Biscotti

Agriberry:

Golden Delicious apple

Honeycrisp apples

Eli's Greens

Cut flowers

Iron Chef Challenge

My brother Alex is the best cook I know. Seriously- with out a recipe, or much planning, he can take a pile of ingredients, and turn it into the best meal you think you have ever had. He is the cook at his house, but his girlfriend Miranda does the grocery shopping, so every night is like an Iron Chef competition for them. She comes home with a pile of stuff- and he works his magic on it.

So, when they came to visit this weekend, it was like the ultimate show- Alex and Miranda came down from New York to see the farmers market I have run for the past couple of years, bringing with them some fantastic dumplings from Chinatown. Our dinner on Saturday was to be based around those dumplings.

Between us, we must have picked up everything that wasn't tied down at the market Saturday. But, oh man, what a supper.

You have got to love a man whose idea of a pre-dinner cocktail is tequila. And ice.

We were calling this salad Deep Southern/ Asian fusion- battered and fried okra, raw kohlrabi, peppers, carrots, edamame, radishes, and greens with a black sesame and ume plum vinaigrette. Oh. My. Goodness.

And- the evening's centerpiece: dumpling soup. We started a broth right when we got home from the farmers' market, and boiled the shiitake mushrooms, carrots, onions, celery with star anise, szechuan peppercorns, hot peppers and salt for hours to make a rich broth. Then, we strained the veggies and Alex added sliced shiitakes, scallions and dumplings to the broth, making the most lovely, comforting and balanced soup. I wish I could tell you how- but only Alex knows.