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First CSA bag delivers the greens

April 24th, 2009 · local food

lettuces and other goods

Ahh… the first CSA delivery of the season. To say I’ve been eagerly awaiting it is a major understatement. I’m working my way through the bounty and couldn’t be happier about it. Piles of fresh-from-the-garden green things are an excellent antidote to winter.

The contents (clockwise from top left:

  • Spring salad mix
  • Spinach
  • Sweet potato (presumably cured last fall)
  • Pea greens
  • Chives
  • Mushrooms (shiitake)
  • Head lettuce (I chose a butter-leaf type)

Two goals

I have two goals for my CSA participation this year.

  1. Not to throw anything away (and adding to compost pile counts as throwing away). This is a repeat goal. I usually do a pretty good job, but I could do better, particularly where herbs and some greens are concerned. I intend to assess upon receipt of the goods whether I can and will really eat it all before it goes bad, and if there’s any doubt, I’ll preserve them, primarily through freezing or drying.
  2. Learn to like mushrooms. My CSA, Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance, has the good fortune or misfortune, depending upon your point of view, of having a first-rate mushroom grower among its producers. Mushrooms are something that I’ve generally tolerated, rather than liked or enjoyed. Therefore, I’m going to eat the mushrooms I get rather than give them away. After all, there are one of the higher-value (pricewise) goods in any given bag, and one reason I do the CSA is to expand my eating and cooking horizons. So far, I’ve used about half of this week’s mushrooms in a stir fry. I’ll keep you posted, and mushroom suggestions or recipes are welcome.

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Kansas culinary wonders finalists up for vote

April 24th, 2009 · Food in the news

The Kansas Sampler Foundation has the entries, and now it’s time to vote for your favorites.

8 wonders logoYou can see the list of nominees from which 24 finalists were selected and announced Thursday. Take a look at them, and vote for your favorites. All the places I mentioned are among the nominees, although not necessarily among the finalists. The cuisine is fairly representative of Kansas’ immigrant history, ranching past and present and general eating habits.

Here’s how I’d categorize the finalists’ specialties, with the number of restaurants offering that specialty:

  • hamburgers (including 2 drive-ins and one “loose-meat” burger place), 5
  • steak, 3
  • fried chicken, 3
  • Mexican, 2
  • Italian, 2

Plus one each of the following:

  • bakery
  • beer
  • barbecue
  • chili
  • delicatessen
  • Mediterranean Mennonite
  • “Rocky Mountain oysters” (aka calf fries) plus chicken fried steak
  • Vietnamese

Voting ends June 15. Anyone guessing the winners?

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New coordinator may be biggest change at market

April 17th, 2009 · Farmers markets

shoppers stroll at opening day of farmers market Opening day shoppers

The biggest change this year at the Downtown Lawrence Farmers Market may be in personnel, but look for some variations on familiar tunes. (Do go to the market web site and sign up for the market newsletter. It will keep you updated on available products and events.)

I got a chance to talk with new market coordinator Tom Buller this week, after Saturday’s auspicious opening. As you can see in the photos in this post, fair but cool weather graced opening day, a turnabout from the rain, wind and general unpleasantness that greeted the market the last couple of years.

I was surprised, especially given how cool this spring has been, at the amount and variety of produce available last weekend. Buller said he had the impression that more growers are learning how to extend the season with hoophouses, greenhouses and other techniques.

Graduated opening

bags of fresh spinach and parsley at April 11 market Spinach, herbs

One difference this year is that the market is opening and will close in increments. That is, it will have only Saturday markets until the grand opening May 2, after which the Tuesday and Thursday evening markets will resume. (Hour and location details here.) Then, in the fall, the weekday markets will stop at the end of October, but the Saturday market will continue until last Saturday before Thanksgiving. It’s a schedule that makes sense as the number of crops increase into summer and then decrease in the fall.

The opening last weekend with 30 vendors suggests that interest is high, despite the relative lack of promotion. The market board is going to try to increase attendance by both vendors and buyers for the weekday markets, Buller said. To that end, look for coupons for weekday purchases in the weeks ahead. They might also get some musicians or other special activities for those days, too.

Other ideas being talked about include carriage rides on Saturday mornings and a June breakfast event including demonstrations, to coincide with visitors from Japan as part of an exchange organized by the Kansas Rural Center and others.

The coordinator

liveplants Bedding plants

I also asked Buller a little about himself. He’s been a grower for himself on land he rents, and he’s worked for or with Wakarusa Valley Farms (which seems to be in the process of changing its web site-and offering a subscription service), one of the bigger produce operations in the area, Moon on the Meadow farm and the Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance. He also participated in the Growing Growers program in Kansas City.

It’s a tough job, trying to keep vendors and shoppers happy. It could easily be a full-time job (in my opinion), given the promotional, organizational and administrative tasks.

And, good news, he’s a morning person, a very helpful trait in someone who has to get things set up for the market’s 7 a.m. openings on Saturday. He and his wife have two children, ages 4 years and 5 months, so they have their hands full. I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing Buller the best in his new job.

Elsewhere

Buller has a tough act to follow. Former coordinator Mercedes Taylor-Puckett had more ideas for the market than she had time to undertake. She, meanwhile, is still involved with markets, doing statewide farmers market promotion and development in her new position with the Kansas Rural Center. Her job apparently includes a new blog, which I discovered today, called Kansas Farmers’ Markets, aimed at producers and market organizers. She has promised to be at the market this year but as a shopper.

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Spring is here, and local produce is the proof

April 15th, 2009 · Farmers markets, Food selection, local food

I’m hereby declaring spring, and not a moment too soon for my taste. How do I know it’s spring? Two ways:

  • DowntownLawrenceFarmersMktThe Lawrence Farmers Market opened on Saturday. Wind, rain, cold and gray skies greeted opening day the last couple of years, but not on Saturday. It was cool but brilliantly sunny, and about 30 vendors and lots of shoppers showed up to swoon over the spinach, herbs, green onions and bedding plants in evidence as well as meats and baked goods. More on the market in a moment.
  • Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance early bird delivery starts on Monday. Yea! Yea! Yea! I am SO ready for the greens to begin. I know that before summer arrives I’ll be worn out by all the spinach, lettuce, salad mix and chard that are headed my way, but right now I’m desperate for them! This cold spring has made me crave spring greens all the more. As I write this, I note that RPFA is full at its Community Mercantile and Johnson County Community College delivery points, but openings are available for the Franklin Center in Kansas City, Kan., and at Local Burger in Lawrence. Time and day information is available here.

Meanwhile, I came across the Kansas City CSA Coalition website, which lists CSA farms in the KC area (which for these purposes is very geographically large) and which ones have shares available if you’re interested.

Farmers Market

I had a chance to talk with the new Lawrence Farmers Market coordinator, and I’ll tell about that next time. My new office is great except for ongoing tech frustrations involving internet connections. These, um, challenges have interfered significantly with my writing. So, bear with me. I’m going to hope to give you an update SOON on what’s new and what isn’t at the market this year. I’ll also post photos of opening day.

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Ask Sebelius for veto on cow hormone labeling

April 13th, 2009 · Food in the news

Join the crowd of individuals and groups asking Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to veto legislation that will make it harder for dairies to provide information that lots of consumers want, namely whether a dairy’s cattle are treated for artificial bovine growth hormone (also known as rBGH or rBST).

Her contact info is available at the governor’s website. You can read the press release that announces a letter from 29 state and national groups asking for the governor’s veto. She’s most likely, though, to listen to Kansans. (At least I think so.) If you’re a Kansan, give her a call or send her an email.

Meanwhile, I apologize for my continuing scarcity. Between my move, technical issues (grrrrr) and another major undertaking, it’s been hard to actually get any writing done. I hope I’m at the end of the technical issues and the other project, and the move is done except for a few details. So…I’m hoping you’ll hear from me more.

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Cherry cobbler makes easy alternative to pie

April 6th, 2009 · Environment, Food selection, local food, recipes

cherrybaked

Sometimes (often!), easier is better when it comes to cooking and baking. Such was the case when I finally decided to pull the frozen cherries out of the freezer.

At first, I thought I’d make a pie, since I’m a pie lover and couldn’t seem to find other cherry recipes that inspired me. Clafouti, which is easy enough, just doesn’t grab me. If I’m going to do a fruit dessert, I want the fruit to be the focus.

Then I remembered the Fruit Cobblers in my cookbook, Recipes Worth Sharing. The recipe there is based on that of the late Judy Baird, who liked her recipes because they came from family and friends with “a memory attached.” By some definitions, at least, her recipe, which provides instructions for one topping and various fillings, is probably a crisp or crumble, rather than a cobbler, which typically has a biscuit-like topping.

No matter, they’re all good, and they’re all faster than making pie dough. Here’s the cherry version, based on Judy’s.

Cherry cobbler

  • 4 cups tart cherries, pitted
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tablespoons butter, softened
  1. In a bowl, combine cherries, 1/2 cup sugar, corn starch and almond extract. Stir until well-blended. cherriescoated
  2. Using a fork or pastry blender, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, salt, egg and butter until crumbly.
  3. Transfer cherry mixture to buttered 7 1/2- by 11 3/4–inch baking dish (or 9-inch square). Distribute flour mixture over the top. unbaked
  4. Bake in 350-degree oven for 45 minutes, or until fruit is tender and topping is lightly browned.

Notes: My cherries went straight from the freezer into this dish, which I suspect is why it took about 55 minutes rather than 45 minutes to get done.

The results: sweet-tart, with a nicely crispy top. Yum.

My freezer is now officially emptied of its summer’s bounty. This year, I intend to freeze more, so I can feast on the bounty next winter, rather than parceling it out as stingily as I did this winter. My freezer—and I—are definitely ready for spring.

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