Volume II, Issue IX Newsletter July 10, 2014

Market Watch Hello Farmers Market Shoppers!

It's Riverfest in Monticello this week and there's plenty of fun to be had around town! For a list of the events visit the Monticello

Chamber of Commerce website. This week we have Seldom Herd Band performing at the Farmer’s Market. Listen to their great Bluegrass-style music while you shop for great products! Note: Remember to pick up your punch card. After 10 visits, you will earn a Market tote bag! Also remember to bring non-perishable food items to put in the Food Bank wagon at the Information booth. Follow us on FaceBook and check out the photos from the Farmers Market.

Featured Vendor July 10, 2014 Beck’s Elk River Greenhouse and Vegetable Farm. Look for the Featured

Vendor sign, which will point to their booth.

Upcoming Events

Be sure to visit Farmer’s Market on the following dates:

Today The Seldom Herd

Playing at 4:00 PM

July 17

July 31

Master Gardeners and

Four Legg Fish Bluegrass Band

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Market Watch

So what’s happening with the bale gardening? What a difference two weeks, extra fertilizer, and lots of rain/water make!

All the plants have tomatoes set on the vine, and they look great! I am sure it’s still close to August before one becomes ripe, but if you haven’t noticed, the summer is going really fast!

Still no weeds, and no sign of any kind of blind. The straw bales are starting to shrink at bit, and as the plants keep growing, they more and more water. There is one plant in the ground, and it’s still smaller than the plants in the straw.

So far, I still like growing the plants this way. I should have had a few more bales, but maybe next year! (And, yes you do see pea pods on the fence!) Stay tuned next week!

Good to Know: Straw Bale Gardening

8 Quick Ideas for Farmers Market Products 1. Roast vegetables, including cherry or grape tomatoes, and mix with unique shaped pasta. Toss with a pesto made

from fresh basil. 2. Buy herbs and make herb butter. Top grilled meats with a pat of herb butter and let the flavors melt! Or use the herb

butter on oven roasted chicken and vegetables. Keep herbs in a bowl by your stove to have handy any time. 3. Use honey, maple syrup, fresh strawberries, or herbs to make your own, copycat, cream cheese schmear for bagels or

hearty breads. 4. Walk through the market, then create meals and buy everything you need from the various vendors. See how many

meals you can create instead of going to the grocery store. (Meats, vegetables, herbs, seasonal local fruits, eggs, condiments, sauces, breads, and sweet baked goods—many, many staples are at the market!).

5. Buy gifts at the market. Crafts are available and more unique than mass produced items; don’t forget luxurious skin care products.

6. Know someone who needs a “care basket?” Pick up great canned products and give to a new mother or shut-in senior. Or pair unique jams with fresh breads for a breakfast basket.

7. For tasty snap peas, put in a steamer basket, brush with butter and steam until crisp-tender. Sprinkle with chopped fresh chives, dill, or thyme. Or top with that herb butter you made!

8. Toss fresh, crisp vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, kale) into a salad to add to your daily vegetable intake. Better yet, make an omelet.

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Panfried Kale From the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 whole Large Bunch Of Kale, Or 2 Regular Bunches

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil • 5 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced • Salt And Pepper, to taste • 1/2 Lemon, Optional

Thoroughly rinse the kale in cold water, soaking if necessary to remove grit. Tear the kale into pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and quickly stir it around to avoid burning—30 seconds or so. Throw in the kale and use tongs to move it around the skillet. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and continue cooking until slightly wilted but still crisp, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the kale to a plate and serve! Option: Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the top.

This Week’s Recipes

It seems like it was a long time coming, but now our vendor’s booths are brimming with vegetables. Whether vegetables are the main focus of our meal, or the side dish, buying the freshest from the Farmer’s Market ensures you get the vegetables at the height of their nutritional value. Try these easy, tasty vegetable recipes for your next meal or picnic. ~Enjoy!

Grilled Zucchini Roll-ups (Makes about 16) ( a d a p t e d f r o m H e a l t h . c o m ) Ingredients • 3 small zucchini (about 1/2 pound each), cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (they will look like flat pickle slices) • 1 tablespoon olive oil • Salt and pepper to taste • 1 1/2 ounces fresh goat cheese (or try ricotta if you don’t like goat cheese) • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley • 1 clove garlic, minced fine • 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice • 2 ounces fresh baby spinach (2 cups lightly packed) • 1/3 cup small basil leaves 1. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium. 2. Save the outermost slices of zucchini for another recipe because you want white part of zucchini on both sides; brush the rest with oil on both sides. Sprinkle the zucchini slices with salt and pepper. Grill until tender, about 4 minutes per side, and you have nice brown grill marks. You can prepare the zucchini a day ahead and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 3. Combine the goat cheese, parsley, garlic, and lemon juice in a bowl, and mash together with a fork. 4. Put 1/2 teaspoon of the cheese mixture about 1/2 inch from the end of a zucchini slice. Top with a few spinach leaves and a small (or half of a large) basil leaf. Roll up and place seam side down on a platter. Repeat with remaining zucchini slices. You can make these up to a day in advance; store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Note: If you don’t want to fire up the grill, try grilling indoors on a stove-top or electric grill—just so you get those nice grill marks.

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Vendors participating in this week's market include: Hunz Farmz - Ivy Lane Garden Shop - Beck's Elk River Greenhouse & Vegetable Farm - Diamond City Bread - JT's Sweet BBQ Sauce - Schyma's Pickles & Preserves - Brown Dog Honey -Modern Roots -Hasty Woods Tree Farm - Back 2 Health Chiropractic - Mister Dister BBQ Sauce - Sonnenburg Sonnenboxes -Lacey J Ranch The Monticello Farmers' Market accepts EBT, Credit and Debit Cards. Just stop by the information booth to swipe your card and get your tokens. When using EBT at the farmers market you can match tokens with up to $5 worth of Market Bucks each day! With tokens and Market Bucks, you can buy SNAP-eligible foods from market vendors and save unused tokens for future visits to the market.

What will you buy at the Market?

Market Events

by Lynda Shindley

Featured Vendor Beck’s Elk River Greenhouse and Vegetable Garden

Beck’s is a well-known greenhouse and vegetable farm along Highway 10. Since 1959, three generations have kept the farm going. They grow everything you could want, and sell their produce at 14 farmer’s markets. So, if you are out and about at other markets, you can probably find their produce in Maple Grove, Rogers, Zimmerman, Princeton, and all the way into Little Canada. Though the strawberry season is over, they do have 6 acres of strawberries where you can pick your own, or buy several quarts. Be sure and stop by to say hello to Barb. This week they will have zucchini, onions, kale, snap and snow peas, new potatoes, and yellow summer squash.

Some products you will find at the market this week include: -Cucumbers, Broccoli, Green Beans -Rhubarb -Leeks, Garlic, Herbs -Summer Squash, Zucchini -Peas, Sugar Snap, Shelling & Snow Peas -Potatoes, Yukon Gold & Baby Red -Onions, Green Onions, Radishes, Radish Pods -Lettuce, Kale, Baby Greens, Spinach, Napa Cabbage -Baked Goods, Breads, Pretzels, Pastries -Honey, 100% Pure Maple Syrup -Flowers, Perennials, Trees, Shrubs -Canned Goods, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Mustards, BBQ Sauce -Hand Crafted Items, Wood Crafts, Hair Accessories & more! -Natural Body Care Products, Insect Repellent, Soaps, Lotions, Sunscreen -Kombucha, Kefir, Chaga FREE Chair Massage -& MORE!

The Seldom Herd The Seldom Herd is the guest entertainment at Farmer’s Market this week, starting at 4:00 PM. This fun Bluegrass Band is sponsored by Uptown Eye Care and Omnivision and Learning Center, which will also have booths at the market this week. They will be providing information about eye health and be available for questions.  

Check  out  the  Website  for  The  Seldom  Herd  to  learn  more  about  Andy,  Jeanne,    George,  Janet,  Greg,  and  Gary.  

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Farmer’s Market Vendor List

Vendors Ivy Lane Garden Shop (plants, baked goods, jams, crafts)

Rita McCooley

Schyma’s Pickles & Preserves (cucumber pickles, carrot pickles, fruit preserves)

Chris Schyma

Beck’s Elk River Greenhouse & Vegetable Farm (plants, fresh vegetables) Barb Beck

Diamond City Bread (artisan breads, cinnamon rolls, scones) Garrett Jordahl

Greenbush Farms (produce and canned goods) Chuck Long

Back 2 Health Chiropractic & Massage

Gardners Garden (Canned goods, produse, and soft pretzels) Jeff Gardner

Sonnenberg/Sonnenboxes (hand-crafted wood items) Katie Philipsek

Hasty Woods Tree Farm (landscaping plants) Grant Everson

Grandma’s Garden (plants, herbs, vegetables, baked good) Tamara Hanson

JT’s Sweet BBQ Sauce (3 kinds of BBQ sauce) Jeremy Teicher

Nancy Swanson & Kristen Natysin (hand-crafted Items)

Hunz Farmz (eggs, chicken, beef, pork) Dan Hunz

Homemade Bakery (breads, Pulla loaf, caramel rolls, cinnamon rolls, hot dog and hamburger buns)

Brenda Kumpula

Lacy J Ranch (produce) Jim Lacy

Barthel’s River Road Gold (maple syrup) Heidi Barthel

Modern Roots (natural skin/hair care, kombucha, kefir, Chaga, eggs) Meg DiMercurio

Mark Christiansen (BBQ sauce)

Brown-Dog Honey (honey and honey products) John Swanson

The Farmers Market is held every Thursday from 3:30 PM to 7 PM. We

are located in the Monticello Library parking lot.

Who to Contact

Sara Cahill Farmers Market Coordinator Sara.Cahill@ci.monticello.mn.us Stephanie Ellingson Farmers Market Manager stephellingson@hotmail.com Lynda Shindley Newsletter Editor lyndas@izoom.net

Monticello Farmer’s Market Newsletter Volume II, Issue VIII July 3, 2014

How many times have you read a recipe for fresh vegetables, but you had not idea how much to purchase? For instance, fresh broccoli salad calls for ½ pound of broccoli, but you have no idea how that converts to a measurable amount. If you have a kitchen scale, it’s no problem! If you do not have a scale, you have to guess. The following handy guide will help you determine how much to purchase for cooking fresh vegetables.

Asparagus 1 pound = 3 cups chopped

Beans (string) 1 pound = 4 cups chopped

Beets 1 pound (5 medium) = 2–1/2 cups chopped

Broccoli 1/2 pound = 6 cups chopped

Cabbage 1 pound = 4–1/2 cups shredded

Carrots 1 pound = 3–1/2 cups sliced or grated

Celery 1 pound = 4 cups chopped

Cucumbers 1 pound (2 medium) = 4 cups sliced

Eggplant 1 pound = 4 cups chopped (6 cups raw, cubed = 3 cups cooked)

Garlic 1 clove = 1 teaspoon chopped

Leeks 1 pound = 4 cups chopped (2 cups cooked)

Mushrooms 1 pound = 5 to 6 cups sliced = 2 cups cooked

Onions 1 pound = 4 cups sliced = 2 cups cooked

Parsnips 1 pound unpeeled = 1-1/2 cups cooked and pureed

Peas 1 pound whole = 1 to 1-1/2 cups shelled

Potatoes 1 pound (3 medium) sliced = 2 cups mashed

Pumpkin 1 pound = 4 cups chopped = 2 cups cooked and drained

Spinach 1 pound = 3/4 to 1 cup cooked

Squash (summer) 1 pound = 4 cups grated = 2 cups salted and drained

Squash (winter) 2 pounds = 2-1/2 cups cooked and pureed

Sweet potatoes 1 pound = 4 cups grated = 1 cup cooked and pureed

Swiss chard 1 pound = 5 to 6 cups packed leaves = 1 to 1-1/2 cups cooked

Tomatoes 1 pound (3 or 4 medium) = 1-1/2 cups seeded pulp

Turnips 1 pound = 4 cups chopped = 2 cups cooked and mashed

Source: http://www.almanac.com/content/measuring-vegetables-recipes