Market Today! September 20, 2010
Savor the sunshine and the first days of Fall at the Farmers' Market today. We will have beautiful, local, fresh produce from our dedicated and hard working farmers. Now is the time to buy extra and prepare food for the winter. Check out last weeks post for a great link to simply directions on canning and freezing. Or for a simple step in this direction you could stock up on butternut squash, potatoes, and garlic. The butternut squash will keep through the winter!

Vendor updates
The Organic Garden Cafe and In Good Taste Bakery will not be able to join us today, but both will be back next week! We will have a new vendor from Topsfield today: Sarah Michael will be selling fresh salsa, made with local ingredients. Yum! Remember that you can pick up fresh, local goat cheese from the Food Project Stand. There are only three more farmers' market Mondays here in Beverly, so take the opportunity to check out a different vendor. Little Owl Arts, Ahimsa Massage, and Beverly Farms Soapwerks offer very nice, high quality, sustainably produced products that would be great for gifts. Grab a business card from these vendors if you are not the shop ahead type, you can always order something special from them.

We gave a warm reception to the Good Muffin company last week! It seems that we needed cupcakes at the market! This week they will also bring coffee. Perfect for this fall day!



Music
Michael Miksis' Acoustic World will provide the music today. It is a treat to hear these top (and local) musicians playing in the middle of the day and for free, so pick a sunny spot and fill your ears with their fun and beautiful music.

Be sure to stop by the Farmers' Market tent to check out this weeks' farmers' market special at Marino's Cafe. See you at the market! 3:30-6:45 pm at Veterans Park on Rantoul Street.

Next Market: Monday, September 13 at Veterans Park from 3:30-6:45 pm.

School has started and summer seems to be winding down, but keep your focus on fresh vegetables and fruits. We are still in peek times for harvesting here in New England! The farmers' market on Monday has a lot to offer. We will have great fruits and veggies from our favorite local farms: The Food Project, Eastern Farm of New England, Farmer Dave, and Len Tippert. For fruit, you can expect to see apples, peaches, pears, and maybe even some raspberries. Keep your eye out for some new fall veggies such as eggplant, leeks, celery, and butternut squash. There will be arugula, tomatoes, basil, potatoes, garlic, corn, and a lot more. You can also find local goat cheese at the Food Project stand.

FOOD PRESERVATION
Do you want local produce throughout the year? Try buying extra and canning or freezing. The more we support local farms and feed our families local food, the healthier and stronger we will be physically and as a community. The process and task of preserving now for the winter may seem overwhelming, (I'm not even sure what I am making for dinner tonight!) You can start simple; try buying 10 extra peaches this week and freezing them for treat this winter. You can also blanch and freeze vegetables like carrots and broccoli. Go to this website for straight forward directions on the process: National Center for Home Food Preservation.

COOKING DEMONSTRATION
We will have our first ever cooking demonstration at the market this week! Here is an invitation from the WIC office to the cooking demonstration:
The Women, Infants, and Children's (WIC) Program and the University of Massachusetts Extension Family Nutrition Program invite you to a Farmer's Market Food Demonstration on Monday, September 13th. Food will be cooked hourly beginning at 3:30 PM.

UMass Extension is preparing and serving samples of healthy recipes made with local fresh produce. We will offer a variety of healthy recipes and food safety information. An autumn stir fry and a squash and apple stew will be served. UMass Extension's series of cooking demonstrations at Farmer's Markets is supported by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, whose support supplements that of the extension's nutrition education program and the state WIC program.

WIC is a nutrition program that provides nutrition and health education, healthy food and other services free of charge to Massachusetts families who qualify. WIC's goal is to help keep pregnant and breastfeeding women and kids under age 5 healthy. WIC is for all kinds of families: married and single parents, working or not working. If you are a father, mother, grandparent, foster parent or other legal guardian of a child under 5, you can apply for WIC for your child. Please call us at 978-374-2191 to see if WIC works for your family.

MUSIC
This week Patino Vasquez will be joining the market. He performs locally at Victoria Station in Salem with his band "Los Sugar Kings". Check out the website, sign up on the mailing list, these guys are great!

LOCAL DINING
There are two restaurants in downtown Beverly that are now purchasing food directly from the farms at the Beverly Farmers' Market: The Organic Garden Cafe and Marino's Cafe! Their food is great and the only thing that could make it even better is locally produced food! Great job guys! Swing by the farmers' market tent to see what this week's farmers' market special is at Marino's!


PAMPERING AND THE ESSENTIALS
Please take the opportunity to treat yourself to a massage at the farmers' market. Abi from Ahimsa Massage is great, and last I knew, Stop n Shop and Market Basket do not offer these luxuries! So, relax in the sunshine and the music at the farmers market. Check out the local soaps from Beverly Farms Soapwerks as well, they have something for everyone and will special order. Also joining us on Monday will be Clay Dreaming Pottery Studio, Little Owl Arts, and Manchester by the Book.

Pick up some treats to complement your veggies at the Organic Garden Cafe and In Good Taste Bakery. Also, welcome a new vendor: Good Muffin Cakes. They will have sweet and savory muffins made with local ingredients! Don't forget about your "best friend" either, stop by the Dog Treat Bar for some gourmet, organic dog treats.

Hope to see you there on Monday, September 13 at Veterans Park from 3:30-6:45 pm!

Happy Labor Day Everyone! There is no Farmers' Market today. Enjoy the perfect day. We will be back on September 13th with fresh veggies, fruits, and other great goodies! See you next week!