Belmont Farmers' Market weekly update
July 17, 2008
www.belmontfarmersmarket.org

RECIPE
Look for this week's recipe at the end of this message. After the
recipes for savory items the past few weeks, we turn our attention to
the rows of green boxes filled with sweet blue jewels that you will
find at the market tomorrow and through August. It's hard to resist
dipping into the box right away, but if you get your blueberries home,
try baking our easy, delicious coffeecake.

WEATHER
Looks like another warm summer day at the Market. Temperatures are
expected to be in the mid to upper 80's with higher humidity.

PERFORMERS
Regretfully, the Lockett Family Trio must postpone their appearance.
This talented trio plans to perform August 28th.

VENDOR UPDATE
Joining the market for the first time this season--and returning from
the previous two seasons—is the Waverley Place Community Greenhouse
Project. At the Waverley Place tent you will find 14" Combo Pots,
Mandavilla vines (yellow and pink), 6" potted Herbs, 10" annual color
pots, 4" and 10" potted Basil, 6" mixed New Guinea Impatiens, 6-packs
(begonias and marigold), 10" Hanging Baskets, 12" Hanging Baskets,
Gerbera Daisy's, and 1 gallon mixed perennials. It's not too late to
add some summer color to your life! Waverley Place will be at the
market every other week, alternating with Merrimack Valley Apiaries.

NorthStar Farm also features a wide variety of perennials in different
sizes.

Find edible plants at The Herb Lyceum, along with refreshing herb tea
and fresh, light spring rolls.

Nicewicz Family Farm will be starting at the market next week for the
remainder of the season.


NEW REGULAR VENDORS THIS SEASON
* B & R Bread bakes handcrafted artisan breads
* Flats Mentor Farm grows Asian vegetables and herbs
* Glutenus Minimus creates gourmet gluten-free cookies in different
varieties
* Hutchins Farm, featuring a wide variety of organically grown produce
* Petsi Pies, pies the way Mom made them (or should have!) & sweets
* Stuffie's Pastries sells cupcakes and a signature almond bar
* Trooper's Treats offers all natural ingredients dog treats in
different flavors

ONLINE VENDOR INFORMATION
See http://www.belmontfarmersmarket.org for more details. Watch the
vendor video interviews on the Community pages, courtesy of BFM
volunteers. Fiore di Nonno's Joe Smith tells us how his Aunt started
making fresh mozzarella and Shootflying Hill Sauce's owner Cory Clarke
describes her delicious dessert sauce creations, and more in the weeks
ahead.


AT THE MARKET THIS WEEK

BELMONT MUNICPAL LIGHT DEPARTMENT A frequent BFM visitor, BMLD has
provided shoppers low energy light bulbs and information about
becoming "greener" at home. These light bulbs do contain mercury, but
they do consume a lot less electricity. Don't just throw them in the
trash -- beginning this week, BMLD will collect burned-out bulbs. Most
likely, you will find BMLD at BFM every other week for the rest of the
season.


FOOD PANTRY Each third Thursday (the 17th in July), BFM collects
donations for the Belmont Food Pantry. During the summer months,
before the fall "harvest" time, the Pantry's reserves get low. Please
consider donating a few non-perishable foods by bringing them to the
blue information tent at the Market. Supplies of jam and fruit juices
(large sizes rather than individual boxes) are low on the Pantry's
shelves right now.

GUEST CHEF: Belmont chef Tom Cutrone of Savino's Grill in Cushing
Square will be at the market at 2:30. Tom is a graduate of the
Culinary Institute of America, and has been a chef for over 25 years.
Prior to opening Savino's over a year ago, he worked in restaurants
such as Le Bocage, Tuscan Grill and L'Espalier. Tom will share the
secrets or making and samples of Chilled Watermelon and Mint Soup, a
delightful summer-time treat. Savino's is celebrating summer with
Sunset Specials this month—a three course meal and wine for two for
$80 Mon-Wed, 5 to 7—along with other seasonal food offerings. Find out
more about Tom and other details at www.savinosgrill.com .


WHAT ARE YOU LIKELY TO FIND AT THE MARKET THIS WEEK?
Arugula
Baked goods -- breads, cakes, cookies, cupcakes, scones, pies, pastries
Basil
Beans
Beef
Beets
Blueberries
Bok Choi
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Greens
Herbal soaps & lotion
Herbal teas,
Honey
Jams, jellies; relishes
Lamb
Lettuce
Mozzarella
Onions
Peas
Peppers
Pork
Potatoes
Radishes
Scallions
Spinach
Raspberries
Summer squash
Tomatoes
Zucchini squash





RECIPE for Blueberry Coffeecake

With a little advance planning, this cake can be made by hand. In
warm weather, it doesn't take long for a stick of butter to become
very soft and easy to cream! Easier clean-up, too, unless there are
two eager beater lickers waiting nearby. Too warm to bake, you say.
Try this as a family activity in the evening when it's cooler. During
the next few nights, you may want to step outside and look for July's
full moon (the 18th) while the cake is baking.* Or get up early, bake
and enjoy a special breakfast treat. As summer advances, peeled,
sliced peaches or nectarines can be substituted, and in the fall,
apples or pears are also suitable.

Oven temperature should be at 350 degrees for baking. Pan size is 13"
x 9", although recipe can be halved easily for an 8" or 9" square or
round layer pan. Large bowl, wooden spoon (or electric mixer), 2 or 4
cup measuring cup, sifter or sieve, measuring spoons, rubber spatula.



Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar (set aside about 3 T. for topping)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or almond if using ginger and almonds in topping )
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
˝ tsp baking soda
˝ tsp. salt (optional)
1 cup sour cream
1-2 cups blueberries (remove stems, wash and dry by setting berries on
a dish towel)
little bit of milk

For topping: cinnamon or ginger powder; (and chopped pecans or
walnuts, or diced blanched almonds)



Directions

After placing the butter in the bowl, use the wrapper to grease pan
lightly. Cream butter, adding sugar gradually and then the eggs,
beating well after each one. Beat in extract, and set aside. Measure
and mix dry ingredients together, and sift by thirds into the bowl,
alternating with half the sour cream, ending with flour, all the while
mixing well. A stiff dough results. Spread about half into the pan
and sprinkle the fruit over this, covering the dough generously. To
make the remaining batter easier to spread, add a couple tablespoons
of milk, stirring to uniform consistency. Spread or drop in globs
atop the fruit. Sprinkle with topping (traditional topping is a
sugar-cinnamon mix with an optional generous handful of chopped pecan
or walnuts sprinkled on top; sugar-ginger with almonds on top is a
nice topping for blueberries or pears. Just make sure the sugar and
spice powder are mixed well—no lumps, sift if necessary!). Bake in a
preheated oven for 40-45 minutes (or about ten minutes less for the
smaller pans), or until a toothpick inserted in the center has no wet
batter—blueberry juice is fine! Top should be a nice golden brown.
Cool and serve by moonlight, day break or any time!


Other suggestions. Pan may be covered with foil if top is browning
too quickly. Heavy cream that has started to turn and thicken may be
substituted for sour cream. Using a 9" spring form pan (recipe
halved) allows cake to be easily removed for a lovely display. The
higher pan side requires getting top batter layer carefully to the
side of pan, and slightly longer baking time than for a layer pan. It
can be hard to resist topping a warm cake with locally made ice cream
or frozen yogurt. Go for it!



*Children (and adults!) might enjoy knowing the July full moon's
seasonal reference names: the hay moon because farmers are cutting
their grass fields for winter feed; the buck moon because buck deer
are pushing new fuzzy, velvety antlers from their foreheads; or the
thunder moon because loud clapping storms frequently sound out this
time of year.


PS: Those of us who are substituting for the regular newsletter editor
have come to appreciate how much work it is. Let us know if you find
it useful or interesting.