Vendor Profile:  Jose Compean                 

The Compean family has been working the same farm in Huntington, Indiana, for 35 years. For the last five years they have leased the farm and as of April, Jose's father owns it. With 55 acres in apples and 200 new peach trees on the property, as well as many varieties of vegetables and fruit, they make every effort to supply their customers with the highest quality Indiana-grown produce. 

Jose's peaches at the Wednesday Market

With his sister and parents, Jose lived in Texas but worked on the farm in northern Indiana 6-7 months out of the year. He remembers being dropped off by the school bus at the fields to help with the farm work. Now he talks about making improvements on the farm and the transition to making it a permanent home, as well as the family business. 

Although he admits he might be doing something else with his life if the farm did not now belong to his father, you can tell Jose knows about farming and really warms to the topic when you ask him about the produce. He is especially proud of the peaches they bring to Market from a local orchard and hopes to be producing his own in the future!  "We sell out of them every week," he said with obvious enthusiasm. He and his family also had some of the first strawberries this year due to their greenhouse starts and plan to have even more spring produce to offer this coming year. They currently have five greenhouses and plan to build two more this winter. 

The Compeans use beneficial insects, organic-based sprays, chemical-free greenhouses, and bees for pollination. They have had their soil and water analyzed so they can use the best possible farming practices for the best end result for their customers.  They grow and sell cherry tomatoes, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, cherries, apricots, plums and many other local fruits and vegetables and rainbow and heirloom varieties at various markets in Chicago and Indianapolis. They are at the BRFM on Wednesday evenings. 

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Bell Pepper Nutrition

Peppers from Jose Compean at the Wednesday Market

Bell peppers are a great source of Vitamin C. If you thought citrus fruits packed a powerful punch when it comes to being a good source of Vitamin C, peppers have them beat. Green peppers have twice the amount of Vitamin C by weight than citrus fruits, and this powerful punch of Vitamin C is an antioxidant that may be effective in preventing certain cancers. Red bell peppers have three times as much Vitamin C as the green varieties and are a good source of beta-carotene.
  
(nutrition information from foodreference.com)  

 

Focus On:  Peaches

by Sonja and Alex Overhiser, A Couple Cooks
 

There's nothing like a sweet, juicy peach in the summer! Growing up in my family, we looked forward to my mom's peach pie (her secret family recipe) as the quintessential summer dessert. Peaches are certainly outstanding in desserts, but they're so versatile, you can use them in savory recipes as well. At A Couple Cooks, we've been experimenting with using peaches "outside the pie." Here are two of our ideas using fresh peaches from the Market:

 Fresh Peach Salsa  

photo by A Couple Cooks

What You Need

 4 ripe peaches

1/2 large red onion (or more to taste)

1/2 jalapeno pepper (or more to taste)

1 lime

handful fresh cilantro

kosher salt

What to Do

1.  Peel and core the peaches. Cut them into small chunks. Finely dice the red onion. Remove the stem, seeds, and ribs of the jalapeno pepper and finely dice half of it. Chop the cilantro.

2.  Mix all the ingredients together and add the juice of 1 lime. Add a bit of kosher salt to taste. Let sit for a few minutes to let the flavors meld. This is great with chips or on grilled chicken or fish. For a delicious vegetarian entree, try the salsa on a Black Bean and Quinoa Bowl as shown above.  (Click here to see the recipe.) 

Fresh Peach and Heirloom Tomato Salad

photo by A Couple Cooks

What You Need

Fresh Peaches

Heirloom Tomatoes

Chiffonade of fresh mint

Aged balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt

What to Do

1.  Wash the tomatoes and peaches and cut each into slices. (You can remove the peach skin if you want, but we prefer leaving the skin on -- it's less work!).

2.  Arrange the tomato and peach slices on a plate. Sprinkle with mint and kosher salt and drizzle with some balsamic vinegar.

Alex and Sonja Overhiser are A Couple Cooks, two passionate home cooks who cook and blog from their galley kitchen in Broad Ripple. They believe that healthy living starts with healthy eating. You can find more of their recipes and adventures at www.acouplecooks.com.  

Peach Granita  

Fresh-Peach-Infused Vinegar 

Vanilla-Roasted Peaches with Raspberries 

Stone-Fruit Compote  

Grilled Peaches with Sweetened Sour Cream 

Note: In last week's "Focus On: Eggplant," one of the recipes was incorrectly linked. Here is the correct link for Eggplant Bolognese. We apologize for the error. 

Musical Guests:     Wednesday Market - Patchwork         

                                   Saturday Market - Caleb Hawkins    

Caleb Hawkins

Don't forget to stop by the entertainment booth at either market and catch our musical guest of the day. 

Patchwork brings a casual, comfortable musical experience that the entire family is sure to enjoy. For more information, visit their website here.

Caleb Hawkins of Deep River Roots Band has a lifelong appreciation of music, ranging from classic swing to folk with a dash of blues. Visit his website, here. 

As always, the entertainment is provided at no cost to the BRFM. If you like what you hear, please consider purchasing a CD and/or leaving a tip.     

About the Market

With more than 50 vendors, you'll find just about everything you need at the Broad Ripple Farmers Market (BRFM).  We are open rain or shine, every Saturday from May through November, 8 a.m. to 12 noon at Broad Ripple Magnet High School, 1115 Broad Ripple Avenue and every Wednesday from June through September, 5 until 8 p.m. in Broad Ripple Park, 1550 Broad Ripple Avenue.   

Market Master:  Barbara Wilder 

Newsletter Coordinator: Jinny Sauer Bastianelli