October at the Market

Shop at the Market and support your local ghoul
Photo by Mary Morgan - Ann Arbor Chronicle

Peppers and Chilies at the Market

We had an interesting improvised dinner from the Market this weekend that I thought I would verbally share.

It started when John, the Our Family Farm vendor, offered us a good deal on peppers. it seems the cool wet summer had made his peppers or chilies slow to ripen and now the danger of frost is near. So John had a excess of of many green peppers; bell peppers, wax peppers, jalapenos, and even green Thai chilies.

It is common in Mexican and Thai cuisine to use green chilies when a green sauce is desired, so it seemed logical to make a green dish. We did a variation of the Italian peppers and pasta but instead of using different colored bell peppers we used the variety of green ones we got from John.

The recipe is simple; saute the peppers, onions, and garlic in olive oil, add chopped tomatoes for color. We used all the types of peppers we had. The mild bell peppers, the jalapenos, even the Thai chilies. I sampled small pieces of each type of pepper so that I did not get the mixture too hot. I wanted it warmer than the traditional Italian dish but not super hot. John's peppers seemed quite mild so I used more jalapenos and Thai chillies than I would normally expect to use in this type of dish.

In keeping with the green theme we served it with spinach pasta, topped with grated Parmesan cheese and garnished with parsley. (Pastabilities Fettuccine and Parmesan from Sparrow's Market, parsley from our herb garden.)

It was really good! The process of improvising with available fresh ingredients is one of the things I like about the Market. It reminds me of past home cooking from the garden. To me, this is much more interesting and fun than searching for specific ingredients in the supermarket and measuring them to conform to a printed recipe.

We got the balance of the taste of the peppers and the heat of the chilies just right, but of course that is personal preference. In this case, I liked the result better than the standard dish that was the original basis. This won't always happen but when it does it is very rewarding and that is why I am sharing this experience. Sorry, no pictures, we ate it all.

Fall and apples at the Market

Alex Nemeth introduced another variety of apples to the market this fall, the Wolf River Apple. This is not a new hybrid, it would be more accurate to consider it a heritage apple. It originated as a seedling on the banks of the Wolf River near Fremont Wisconsin about 1880.

It was long considered a very good cooking apple. It appears to have fallen from commercial favor because the apple does not store well. Fortunately the trees have remained available.



One of the characteristics of the Wolf river apple is that it is very large. OK, that isn't a full sized bushel basket, but the apple is large. This means you don't have to peal very many to make a pie.

Alex told us the story of a friend of his that used to take the Inter-Urban to Toledo with her mother. Her mother often bought her a baked Wolf River Apple on the Inter-Urban. My mother also used the Inter-Urban to travel to Toledo where she met my father. I don't know if she ever bought a Wolf River baked apple or not, but when I heard the story and saw the apple I had to try them.




The recipe we used was just to core the apple, fill the core space with brown or maple sugar; bake and periodically baste with the sugar syrup. When my mother baked apples she cut them in half, cored them leaving a depression in the center. Then she filled this with brown sugar and often raisins and walnuts. I am going to try that method next time.

Here is a link to a blog by Alex and Agnes's daughter nemethorchards.blogspot.com

August at the Market

August is the beginning of the peak harvest season. Summer vegetables are there such as


ONIONS,


HERBS, and EGGPLANT. The summer fruit is also there



PLUMS, APRICOTS, and PEACHES

May at the Market

It is now May at the Market. Spring is in full bloom.


Dennis Sparr is back with many flowers and plants.
Linda Hormes is making her selection.


Early spring food has also appeared.


Asparagras from the Merry Berry Farm



and Ruhbarb from Alex Nemeth

First Spring Flowers at the Market

These daffodils were at the Market February 28. A little warmer March weather and they will be joined by many others.

Puzzy willows may not be generally considered as a flower, but they really are the flower of this shrub. Bruce Upston stated that these are field grown, not assisted by a green house so they are the first true native Michigan flower of the season at the Market.

Valentine's Day Dinner from the Market

The Farmers Market may not seem a likely place for the basis of a fresh locally grown dinner in February, but it is possible. We didn't start with the goal of an all local dinner but we were surprised how close it came.

First course was fresh salad greens from Brines Farms. I think february 14th was the first time Shannon Brines was at the Market in 2009. The earlier absence was hardly surprising considering the temperature and snow. I was quite happy to see his hoop house could keep a crop even under the January adverse conditions and deliver fresh greens with just a bit warmer weather and some sunshine.

The main course was an elk steak. The steak came from Gary, the beef/buffalo vendor at the Market, through his speciality food distribution company. It was not local and is not available at the Market. Gary has been at the Market all winter representing TMZ Farms and substituting a cut of beef or buffalo from them would have kept the main course local and from the Market.



The final element of our dinner, was dessert from the market. Two alfajores from Maitelates of the Market were an outstanding conclusion to a simple, but elegant diner, primarily from the Market.