Belmont Farmers' Market Weekly Email newsletter for August 7th, 2008
*Don't miss the August special recipe at the end of this message! Plus
a chance to see your own recipe featured in the newsletter.

Website: Check www.belmontfarmersmarket.org site for updates and
links to vendors, our calendar of events, and new photos. Available
NOW is our Late Summer edition of our print publication Roots and Sprouts.

Weather: Tomorrow will at least be cool, high of 75 predicted. There
is a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Chance of
rain 50 percent. Maybe it will hold off as it did last week!

Performance: Julia M. and Mirella B., two young violonists will be
performing at 5pm.

Market Managers: We'd like to extend our appreciation for all the
market managers, and to invite any of you who may be interested to ask
at the tent or write back to this message for further information
about how you too can volunteer!

Vendor news:

*Sassy River Sauces will be back for their August monthly
participation. Because a number of their savory sauces are in jars,
shoppers can stock up until September!

*Angelato will be returning weekly for the remainder of the season,
weather permitting. You can look forward to a cool and refreshing
treat to top off your market shopping!

* Coming this week! (one week ealier than previously announced) is
Belmont's own Amy Wagenfeld of The Thymely Gardener
www.thethymelygardener.com. She is Owner of The Thymely Gardener
(www.thethymelygardener.com), a unique organization devoted to
providing innovative strategies and solutions to make gardens and
gardening practices accessible to all adults and children; for a
lifetime. She is also a soap, lotion, and tea maker.

Upcoming Events:
At the Market:
Musical Performances
Aug. 7th- Violinists Julia L. and Mirella B.
Aug. 14th- Powers Music School Classical Guitar Trio led by Jay Rosenberg
Aug. 21st- Karen Allendoerfer and her daughter Helena at 4:30 pm
Aug. 28th- The Lockett Family Trio
Sept. 4th- Saxophonist Leslie W.

In the community:
Green Living 101 workshop on how to green your home and life

When: Thursday, 8/14/2008, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Where: Green Roundtable's NEXUS Green Building Resource Center, 38
Chauncy St., 7th Floor, Downtown Boston

Cost: $10 suggested donation

Description:
This workshop will provide you with the fundamental concepts around
green living, provide you with tools to make a positive environmental
impact in your daily life and become better connected with your
community to continue making a difference. In this workshop you will
learn about the impact your lifestyle has in terms of your home and
home energy use, the food you eat and how you get around.

For More Information: RSVP to Aaron Desatnik at
aaron@... with "Green Living 101" in the subject line
of the email. Please also include your name, phone number (in case of
emergency), and the reason you want to take the class in the body of
the email.

August T-Month Drawing:
August is the first month of the year to contain the letter T. The T
in August stands for T-shirt and Tote Bag at the Farmers' Market. If
you come to the market wearing a Belmont Farmers' Market T-shirt or
carrying our famous Tomato logo-ed Tote bag, you are eligible to win
our August Drawing.

As with the July drawing you can get your raffle ticket at the BFM
blue information tent near the Cross Street exit, and drop your
contact information ticket (one per visit) into the tomato on the
table. You need not be present for the drawing at the end of the day
on August 31, but if you are the lucky winner, you must redeem your
certificate during the 2008 market season.

Belmont Municipal Light Department:
BMLD has provided shoppers low energy light bulbs and information
about becoming "greener" at home. These light bulbs contain mercury,
so don't just throw them in the trash. You will find BMLD at BFM every
other week for the rest of the season. BMLD will be present and
accepting recycling this week, July 31st. Also, take a moment to speak
with the BMLD representative about Energy Star appliance rebates
available, and the opportunity to have a home energy audit. Heating
costs are predicted to be very high in New England, so it's worth your
time now to have your home tested and learn about what actions you can
take to insulate your home.

Look for this bountiful harvest in August:

Apples, beets, bell peppers, blueberries, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers,
eggplant, garlic, grapes, green beans, herbs, hot peppers, melons,
okra, onions,
peaches, plums, potatoes, raspberries, shelling beans, summer squash,
tomatillos,
tomatoes, zucchini.

Recipe section:

This week we feature three recipes for one beloved summer spread -
Pesto. Like marinara sauce, many chefs have their own strong opinions
on how pesto should be created and on what ingredients constitute
"real" pesto. As the debate continues - we offer three options to
taste test, and perhaps use as a launching point for your own "secret
recipe".

*How to Make Pesto like an Italian Grandmother from www.101cookbooks.com
The technique here is: chop a bit, add some ingredients, chop some
more. I think part of the reason she does it this way (instead of
chopping everything all at once) is because some things get chopped
into oblivion, while some not as much - it encourages specturm of cut
sizes throughout the pesto contributing to the overall texture. All
told, the chopping took me a leisurely twenty to thirty minutes, I
wasn't in any particular rush.

You'll notice this recipe doesn't have any added salt (just the
saltiness from the cheese), make sure your pasta water is well salted
if you are going to use this pesto on pasta or the overall flavor
profile will fall flat. Also, be sure to adjust for seasoning before
serving. With food this simple, you need to get the seasoning right.

1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic
one small handful of raw pine nuts
roughly 3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and FRESHLY GRATED
A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Special equipment: large mezzaluna for chopping

Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves.
Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the
rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop.
At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add
about half the pine nuts, chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop.
Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and
chop. In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the
ingredients into a basil "cake" - see the photo up above. Transfer the
pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake). Cover
with a bit of olive oil, it doesn't take much, just a few tablespoons.

You can set this aside or place it in the refrigerator until you are
ready to use it. Just before serving give the pesto a quick stir to
incorporate some of the oil into the basil. She occasionally thins the
pesto with a splash of pasta water for more coverage, but for our
gnocchi this wasn't necessary.

Makes about 1 cup.

*Classic Pesto from Bon Appétit | August 2004

Some say using a blender rather than a food processor results in a
smoother puree. When combining pesto with pasta, Ligurians mix a small
ladle of the cooking water into the pesto just before adding the
noodles; this dilutes the concentrated sauce and helps it adhere to
the pasta.

Makes about 1 cup.
ingredients
4 cups fresh basil leaves (from about 3 large bunches)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino Sardo or Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
preparation
Combine first 4 ingredients in blender. Blend until paste forms,
stopping often to push down basil. Add both cheeses and salt; blend
until smooth. Transfer to small bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Top
with 1/2 inch olive oil and chill.)

*Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe from elise.com

* 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
* 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
* 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
* 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste