Belmont Farmers' Market - June 26th, 2008

Check out the new video of a market day on our website at
www.BelmontFarmersMarket.org.
There, you can also download a copy of the Summer edition of the
acclaimed Roots and Sprouts print newsletter.

It's a beautiful time for a farmers' market! We have several
announcements in this message so read on and learn more.

Weather: It will be monsoon like weather, so dress in something cool,
and bring an umbrella High of 82 in the late afternoon with a 60%
chance of rain. Please remember to bring drinking water!

New Vendor:
We are very please to welcome Hmong farmers from Flats' Mentor Farm to
the Market this week. Located on 70 acres of former river bottom in
Lancaster, MA since 1985, FMF has supported small farmers of diverse
ethnic backgrounds with the land, infrastructure, and marketing help
needed for successful farming. FMF promotes economically viable
agricultural production that also protects the environment.

The Hmong farmers will add to the diversity of offerings at our market
with a line of Asian vegetables to try for the first time, or perhaps
recognize from your own home country!

Eggs
Steve, from NorthStar Farm will be bringing a limited supply of
Organic Eggs from Case Mill Farm in Westport. The farm is owned and
managed by Suze & Russ Craig. Suze authored a book titled "Roosters &
Hens: For the Appreciative Eye". The eggs will be a "rainbow mix" in
color as well as breed, covering Mediterranean & Continental (white),
Aracaunas (blue/green), Barnvelders (brown), Australorps, and Sussex
(cream). Steve encourages market customers to bring their egg cartons
(paper only) in for transport.

Weather damage affects Hutchins farm:
We've all been subject to the recent dramatic thunderstorms, and in
some areas hailstorms. Unfortunately, many of the plants nearing
harvest were decimated at Hutchins' farm, one of our beloved vegetable
vendors who comes to us from Concord. We do hope that you will support
them when they are able to return to the market. It's important to
recognize that the small, local farms we work hard to support are
vulnerable to weather events especially as they have land in only one
location, unlike large commodity farms.

Gelato!
We are quite pleased as well to welcome Angelo Firenze of Angelto to
offer his gourmet varieties of Gelato to cool off at the market.

Chocolate
Vanilla
Hazelnut
Espresso
Wildberry Sorbetto
Lemon Sorbetto
If you'd like to learn more about Angelto's, see their website -
www.angelatofoods.com

Town event:
There will be an open meeting Thursday evening held by our State
Representative Will Brownsberger to discuss Food, Oil, and Carbon

When: Thursday, June 26, at 7:30PM
Where: Conference Room 4 in Belmont Town Hall
Who: The public is invited.

Specially invited guests will include several local professionals with
expertise in biofuel technology and policy. My purpose in holding the
meeting is to get the benefit of public input to help me develop my
views and legislative agenda on these emerging technologies.

Will Brownsberger
State Representative
Visit www.willbrownsberger.com for news.

Recipe: Strawberries are unique among fruits; they wear their seeds on
the outside, all 200+ per strawberry!They were known to exist in Italy
as far back as 234 BC. The Greeks, who had a taboo against eating
anything red, including strawberries, also knew them. Wild
strawberries abounded in ancient Rome and are mentioned in the
writings of Virgil, Ovid, and Pliny the Elder. History indicates the
first known cultivation of these berries began sometime in the Middle
Ages. However, strawberries grow nearly everywhere in the world and it
is known that the American Indians were cultivating them as early as
the 1600s and probably before. The Indians used them for making bread,
beverages, and in soup. It has been said that it was from a
Native-American concoction of strawberries, cornmeal and ground acorn
nuts that early settlers got the idea of making strawberry shortcake.

Speaking of which, a recipe for strawberry shortcake!

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Ingredients
Strawberries and whipping cream:
3 baskets of fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
Whipping cream
Vanilla
Method
Remove the stems from the strawberries. Slice into thin (1/4" to 1/8")
slices. Put into a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of sugar
(depending on how sweet the strawberries are to begin with) and mix
into the strawberries. Set aside at room temperature to macerate
(which means that the sugar will soften the strawberries and help
release their juices).
After the strawberries have been sitting for 20 minutes or so, take a
potato masher and mash them a little. Not too much, just enough to get
more juice out of them.
Whip the cream, adding a drop or two of vanilla and a teaspoon of sugar.
To serve, break up one biscuit per person into big pieces into a bowl.
Ladle strawberries over the biscuit. Add a dollop of whipped cream.

Biscuits from scratch
3 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Toss
with a fork to combine. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a
pastry cutter or a fork until the largest pieces of butter are the
size of peas. (Or pulse several times in a food processor.) Combine
the cream and vanilla in a liquid measure. Make a well in the center
of the flour and and pour the cream mixture into the well. Mix with a
fork until the dough is evenly moistened and just combined; it should
look shaggy and still feel a little dry. Gently knead by hand five or
six times to create a loose ball.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat it into
an 8-inch square, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a baking
sheet lined with parchment or silpat, cover with plastic and chill for
20 minutes in the refrigerator. Heat the oven to 425ºF. Remove the
dough from refrigerator. Cut the dough into 9 even squares and spread
them about 2 inches apart from each other on the baking sheet. Bake
until the biscuits are medium golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
Makes 9 biscuits. (Adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine, July 2003 on
the website elise.com)