Saturday, March 22, 2014

Somerville Winter Farmers Market 2014

Spring is finally here!!! Except for the snowstorm that appears to be headed our way, but regardless, good things are coming.  Summer farmers markets are headed our way and a new farmers market will be opening in Watertown!  I love to hear that more cities and towns will have access to local food!  The market will begin on June 5th and run on Thursdays from 3-7 at Arsenal on the Charles.  Sounds like a beautiful spot for a farmers market.  I will keep everyone updated as I hear information about this market.  Another great thing about Spring is Union Square Farmers Market will be opening a few weeks early this year on May 17th.  

Even though it's not technically winter anymore, many of the winter farmers markets are still open.  My farmers market visit this week was to the Somerville Winter Farmers Market.  I went to this market for a few reasons...I needed breakfast sausage, which I know I can get at Stillmans Farm.  I also picked up some duck eggs while I was there too!  I love the richness of the yolk.  I like to make an egg sandwich and have the egg running down an english muffin.  I have also been eating a lot of sauerkraut lately.  Its delicious in a sandwich or on a hot dog, but I like to eat a couple bites in the morning because it is so helpful for the digestive system.  I picked up a jar from Hosta Hill.  I hope to see them at the summer markets as well.  Heron Pond had some great looking root vegetables and I was in need of some parsnips to make parsnip fries.  They also had some good looking mustard greens as well.  For a treat, I picked up a bag of cayenne mango cashews from Q's Nuts to snack on this week.  I also bought a new flavor, chocolate coconut almond for my husband.  Luckily, I got a sample of it at the market because the bag was gone before I could get a taste!  My last stop of the day, Union Square Donuts!  I was so excited to see the maple bacon donuts at the market, which ended up being my breakfast.

Other great vendors to check out include Long Wind Farm for some greenhouse tomatoes, Dan's Brick Oven for bread, Seta's Mediterranean Food, Narragansett Creamery, Soluna's Garden Farm, and many more.  This is a great market to get a little bit of everything.  Go check it out for the last day next Saturday, March 29 from 9:30-2 at the Arts at the Armory!



Last week I made this tasty spaghetti squash quiche!  It's super easy and great to make ahead and have for breakfast.  All the ingredients should be found at your local farmers market :)



1 medium spaghetti squash
6 eggs
1 tbsp good stuff from Soluna Garden Farm
3/4 lb breakfast sausage from Stillmans Farm

Cook the spaghetti squash.  Here is a link for instructions on how to cook a spaghetti squash.  While that is cooking, brown the sausage in a pan and set aside.  Whisk the eggs and seasoning together.  When the spaghetti squash is done cooking, put into a pie dish and pour egg mixture over the spaghetti squash.  Top with the sausage and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Enjoy not making breakfast this week!



Medford Winter Farmers Market

Finally February vacation came, so I spend one of my free days at the Medford Winter Farmers Market.  This market is located at the Hyatt near Medford Square on Thursdays from 3-7.  It's a small market, but has lots of character; decorated with lots of art.



Some familiar vendors that I saw were Stillman's, Soluna Garden Farm, and Foxboro Cheese Co.  I picked up some breakfast sausage from Stillman's and merlot salt from Soluna Garden Farm.  How could I resist salt infused in Merlot? I tried a little bit on my eggs in the morning and I used it in the fake shepeards pie that I made Sunday night.  By fake, I mean that I used ground turkey and added some red wine and spices and topped with veggies and mashed cauliflower.  I thought the merlot salt would be a nice addition to this dish.  A new vendor that I checked out was Doos PK.  I was sold on this dip that you can eat and drink.  There were three flavors, not too spicy, mild, and hot.  So far I have used it as an energy drink by adding ice, seltzer, and a squeeze of lime.  Other vendors you can find are Brookford Farm, Zoll Cellars, Joni's Cannolis, Oakdale Farm, and TRILLfoods.  

Something I accomplished while I had some time off was to experiment with the food dehydrator.  Since it's winter and there are not many veggies or fruit available to dehydrate, I decided it was time to make some beef jerky.  I am pretty happy with the result for my first time.  I bought a ginger teriyaki marinade at whole foods and added some garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne.  I thinly sliced 2 lbs of steak and marinaded for 48 hours. Then the steak slices were put in the dehydrator for 8 hours.  Then I added the dried piece to some mason jars and it has made a great snack.