Westminster Farmers' Market

Westminster Farmers’ Market Report from Maple Heights Farm

Remember to cast your vote for your favorite farmers’ market at Local Harvest!We have over 25 votes now.To make it into the top 100 we need about 100 votes and that means we need your vote.The top market receives $5000 that would be put toward market improvements.So please take the time to vote!

Rain, Rain, Rain.For those of you who couldn’t make it to the market, we had about 10 vendors (including a new vegetable producer) and loads of vegetables, breads, meat, jams and preserves, and plants.It was touch and go deciding if it was worth running the market, risking it in such a downpour.When we arrived to see so many vendors already set up, we weren’t sure if there would be any customers.There were!And plenty!No matter the weather, we all have to eat, right?And for this week I am expecting a beautiful day!

Next on my list is a re-read of Michael Pollen’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma.A quote from Michael Pollen, though not from this book, that is meaningful to me is “You are what what you eat eats too”.An important consideration in our diet is not just what we eat, but how that organism has eaten too.This applies to the bee that makes your honey, that carrot that is fed on compost and castings, the chicken that feeds on sunshine and bugs, and the cow that grazes on fresh grass, buttercups and fresh air.Anything less than a natural diet for our food only provides us with a sickened food chain that is not fit for human consumption.Michael Pollen takes the reader from the cornfields of Iowa to hunting grounds of wild boar in California.Each step in this process, the reader develops a better understanding of the simplicity of food – real food.

Our market is now so completely stocked with in-season vegetables and some fruits.You can really build your dinner around the vegetables.Have you tried each vegetable our market has to offer?If not, ask about simple cooking recipes for a new vegetable.Often when we are trying a new vegetable, we cook it in butter.That way we can get used to the flavor more easily – and our kids are much more likely to enjoy it.Then in subsequent trials we cut down on the butter after they are used to the new flavor.One vegetable that you may have eaten your entire life, but perhaps never cooked fresh from the garden is beets.We eat almost NO canned vegetables with the exception of beets.Canned beets are okay!But if that is all you have ever had, you have never really tasted beets.You simply cut the top off, wash them and put them in water.Leave them to boil for about 20 minutes.Then, plunge them into cold water just so you can handle them.Then peel them by scraping a knife backwards, towards you.So imagine that you are going to peel an apple with a paring knife.Just flip the knife blade away from you (instead of towards you) and move the knife in the same motion as if paring an apple.The skin will practically fall off.Keep dipping the beet in cool water if it gets too hot.Now, the treat is (if you have never had a fresh garden beet) that this is one of the tastiest, sweetest vegetables you could imagine.In our market we have several varieties and I recommend you try them all.They are high in folic acid, potassium, calcium and antioxidants (betacyanin, which is what gives beets their rich red color.).

This week we (at Maple Heights Farm) will be completely restocked on pork and beef.We will have our usual breads: Cinnamon, English Muffin, Finnish, Hamburger Rolls.We will also bring our limited supply of vegetables which should include mixed variety of carrots, zucchini, beets, winged peas, and cucumbers.All our vegetables are grown with no pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers – not even “organic” pesticide.And Meghan is still running her coffee shop so enjoy the market while you are sipping on coffee or her ginger iced tea.

Useful items that vendors can use at the market: Canning jars.If you are buying items in canning jars, and you do not need them, please consider returning them to vendors.If you find it easier, you can place them in the recycle bins and we will get them to where they need to be…

You can read our “Family, Farm and Food” blog at www.MapleHeightsFarm.com. See you at the market!And thank you for your support!

Kerrie Hertel

About this report: please consider forwarding it to your email lists.The more customers we can remind to attend the market, the better the market will be.Vendors that do well each week keep coming, supplying you with more products.I am happy to add anyone to the list and would like to increase the circulation of this report for the sake of the market.If you are receiving this as a forward and want to be added to the list, just email me and I’ll add you to the list.