Belmont Farmers' Market Weekly Email newsletter for August 28th, 2008
*At the end of this message you will find a back to school with local
foods recipe!

Website: Check www.belmontfarmersmarket.org site for updates and links
to vendors, our calendar of events, information about our volunteer
opportunities, new photos, and also info on our gift certificate options!

Weather: Tomorrow will be a nearly perfect farmers' market weather
day! High of 88 degrees, and partly cloudy. See
www.wunderground.com/US/MA/Belmont for further updates. Please
remember to bring sunscreen if needed, and water for you and your
children if you bring them. Alternatively, you can look forward to
purchasing a delicious beverage from one of our vendors!

Note that the Belmont Farmers' Market is open RAIN OR SHINE. It will
close in case of severe thunderstorms, but otherwise, bring an
umbrella, and help support the farmers who make their way to us in all
weather.

Speaking of umbrellas, there are several lost and found
items--glasses, a shopping bag, umbrella--that may be picked up at the
BFMC blue information tent. Anne and Paul will be the market managers
this week.

Market Gift Certificates: Belmont Farmers' Market gift certificates
make excellent presents for new neighbors, birthday presents, "welcome
home", teachers' gifts, or welcome back to school gifts etc. Find them
at the information booth. Also available – tote bags and shirts with
our famous Belmont Farmers' Market logo in many sizes for many people.
All proceeds go to support this vibrant community market. $10 for one
shirt, $18 for 2, and $24 for 3. The shirts are available in four
sizes: small, medium, large, and extra large.

Volunteer:
Though the summer is almost over, the Belmont Farmers' Market is still
just past its mid-point.
We are VERY SHORT on volunteers for September, and we need your help.
Even if you have not volunteered before, now is a great time to get
involved, even if it's only for one day.
If your schedule is more regular during the school year than the heat
of the summer, then now is the time to help with our market days.

Still available is the position of a Farmers' Market Writer - someone
to help with some of our public relations efforts for the market.

Internship: Thinking ahead to next season, there is a potential
opportunity for an internship to help coordinate the many threads of
people, products, and information that go into a successful market. If
you, or someone you know, are interested in learning more about this
opportunity, please write back to this message or to
Belmontfarmersmarket@....

Events at the Market:

This week we welcome back Angelato's selling their cool and refreshing
gelato.

Upcoming Apple Dessert Competition!

Our third annual apple dessert competition is coming up on October
2nd, 2008. Find an entry form on our website:
http://belmontfarmersmarket.org/community/dessert-contest-2008.htm
We are still finalizing the judges this year, but we are looking
forward to judging by several prestigious members of the community
including:

*Douglas Petersen of Marblehead, Commissioner of the Department of
Agricultural Resources (DAR). The mission of DAR is to support,
promote and enhance the long-term viability of Massachusetts
agriculture with the aim of helping this state's agricultural
businesses become as economically and environmentally sound as possible.

*Tony Schinella, Editor of the Belmont Citizen Herald.

SALUTE TO OUR PET COMPANIONS DAY was a lovely event! We will try to
post the fun pet photos to the public soon.

Belmont Municipal Light Department:
BMLD will be at their table this week at the market. 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.

Recipe section:

The Newton Farm website has a newly formed recipe collection form as a
wiki, see http://newtonfarm.pbwiki.com, and consider contributing! You
will find a few of the recipes mentioned in this newsletter, and many
other valuable resources for using your farmers' market produce.

Peaches and nectarines are in high season right now. Here's a peach
pie recipe partly intended to get you in the mood for the upcoming
apple dessert contest:
Fresh Peach Pie Recipe
Double pie crust (9 inch size)
5 cups of fresh ripe peaches (sliced)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup sugar
¼ cup regular flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 TBS butter
Directions:
1.You can make your own pie crust or get a frozen double crust of
refrigerator crusts. If you're not making your own, the pie crusts in
the refrigerator section taste more like homemade than the freezer types.
2.If using prepared crusts, let them thaw out or warm up.
3.Mix the lemon juice with the fresh peaches. Stir a little bit to get
the lemon juice mixed in.
4.In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mix
well.
5.Stir the sugar/flour mix in with the peaches.
6.Pour the peach mixture in a pie crust.
7.Dot the butter evenly around on top of the peach mix in the crust.
8.Top with the second crust.
9.Use a knife to make slits in the top pie crust.
10.Flute the edges of the crust. In other words, mash the edges
together and then use your fingers to make little ridges like you see
on pie crusts in the store.
11.Bake in a preheated 425 degree F oven for around 40 minutes. Check
often near the end of the baking time as ovens can vary. The middle of
the pie should be a pretty buttery brown, and you'll see bubbles in
the knife slits.
12.You'll probably need to put strips of tin foil or a pie edge
protector around the outside edge of the pie the last 15 minutes or
so. Fluted edges tend to get darker than the center on homemade pies.
Fresh peach pie is fabulous served warm. Some folks like to scoop on a
spoon of vanilla ice cream.
Peach pie is also fine served cold. The pie does need to be stored in
the refrigerator, since it's a fruit pie.