• Capriole Farmstead Goat Cheeses back this Saturday!
• Last week of the season for My Dad's Sweet Corn and Bloomer's Greenhouse
• New vendor, Fields of Agape - sustainable grains
• Yeager Farm's Apple Gourds and Dipper Gourds  
• Fields Farm Fresh Homemade Zucchini Bread and Cinnamon-Sugar Bread    
• Sweet Potatoes from Homestead Growers, Mulberry Creek Farms, Earthly Delights and Hidden Pond Farm

Vendor Profile:  Mulberry Creek Farms             

Mulberry Creek Farms has only recently come back to the Saturday Market after an almost season-long hiatus, so this seemed like a good time to talk with Leon Kuhns about his family's farm.

 

The Nappanee, Indiana, land is owned by Leon's father, who bought it thirty years ago and returned to agriculture after growing up on a farm and then working in construction for the first phase of his adult life. Leon has grown up on his dad's farm and has no desire to do anything else. The business is a small family operation with only four people, including Leon's six-year-old son, who loves to help.

The farm is just 40 acres, 9 of which are in produce and the rest devoted to cattle, hogs, chickens, eggs, and maple syrup production. In the spring, the Kuhn family is busy tapping its trees and boiling down the sap for syrup. Because of this, they usually are unable to start the Market with us at the beginning of the season, but this year they were delayed even more than usual by a difficult growing season (due to the weather) and by the arrival of a new baby.

 

A certified organic grower, the Kuhns' farm cultivates just about every type of vegetable you can grow. At last Saturday's Market, I saw wonderful big rutabagas (one of my favorites), sweet potatoes, watermelons, pumpkins, squash, new potatoes, radishes, turnips, beets, and much more.

 

Not only do sweet potatoes taste like dessert, research also shows that their health benefits are many.

1. Rich source of plant proteins with very few calories and low in sugar 

2. Packed with antioxidants to fight inflammatory problems like asthma, arthritis and gout  

3. Helps to control blood sugar, stabilize and lower insulin resistance

4. Significant amount of dietary fiber, especially when eaten with the skin on 

  5. May help to prevent colon cancer
  6. High in Vitamin A, which helps to produce new cells and keep skin smooth
  7. High folate content, important for healthy fetal cell and tissue development
  8. Strengthens the body's immune system and develops resistance to infection

  9. High in potassium to prevent heart attack and stroke

10. Helps retain fluid, electrolyte balance, normal heart function and blood pressure
11. Prevents muscular cramps and reduces possibility of injury

Focus On: Maple/Hickory Syrup and Honey

One of the pleasures of the fall table is cooking with the hearty produce available at  this time of year and making use of traditional flavorings. Syrup and honey are both wonderful for glazing meat, poultry, fish and vegetables and make perfect additions to salad dressings. And of course they are sublime for making delicious desserts! Here I have started with a variety of simple basics that you can adapt for all kinds of recipes!

Hickory Syrup Barbecue Sauce

3/4 cup hickory syrup

1 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind, optional

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped or crushed

1/2 teaspoon coriander, optional

 

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Yields about 4 cups. Incredible on ribs, chicken or chops!

 Honey Vinaigrette

 

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

4 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or more to taste

 

Combine lemon juice, vinegar, and honey in a small bowl. Whisk in olive oil, salt, and pepper. I love this on a salad that includes radishes and red onions. The sweetness of the honey offsets the earthy flavor of the radishes and the bite of the red onions.   

 

Maple or Hickory Syrup Glazed Bacon

8 slices bacon and 2 tablespoons syrup (hickory or maple)

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a parchment or foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, arrange bacon in a single layer. Bake until fat is rendered and bacon is beginning to brown, 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with syrup. Bake until browned and sticky, 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack on a baking sheet and let drain. Serve warm. Fabulous with pancakes or waffles topped with the same syrup! For a really different BLT, use this bacon and mix a little syrup into your mayo!  

  

Maple Sour Cream Icing  

 

1 cup sour cream  

1 cup maple syrup (or substitute hickory syrup) 

 

Mix sour cream and maple syrup in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cook until mixture coats a spoon. Could this be any easier! Drizzle it on scones, sweet rolls or coffee cake!

 

The following recipes make use of the excellent local produce available at the Market. Put turnips, parsnips, apples, pears, corn, green beans and ginger on your shopping list, along with maple syrup, hickory syrup, and honey, and savor the tastes of fall!  

   

Baked Maple Popcorn 

Glazed Turnips and Parsnips with Maple Syrup 

Sauteed Maple Syrup Apples  

 Ginger, Honey & Apple Martinis

Herbed Cheese with Pears, Pinenuts and Honey

Corn Cakes with Honey 

Honey Balsamic Green Beans 

Musical Guest: Patchwork

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

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