Opening Day for the 2010 Season is June 12
Saturdays, 9:30 - 1:30, Town Common 
June 12, 2010
Dear :
 
Opening day is finally here! The market opens this Saturday on the town common at 9:30 am.  Come join us for a great day of entertainment, information, and fresh local food. See "This Week at the Market" below for a full schedule and list of available products.

To celebrate the opening day of the market, E. L. Silvia Farm has generously donated over a hundred tomato plants to give away free to farmers market customers. They are available at the market manager's tent, but only until they run out, so get there early!

In the coming weeks, we will be introducing a new system of pre-ordering for customers who would like to order in advance from participating farmers and other vendors. Customers will be able to place an order and pay online, then just stop at the market quickly and pick up everything all at once. We hope this system will make shopping at the market easier for people who have busy schedules on Saturday or for days when rain is predicted.

You can check the farmers market website for additional information about the market, including vendor profiles, frequently asked questions, and the schedule for artists, entertainers, and the rotating business, food, and community group tents. Visit the website for Sustainable Winchester, the sponsor of the farmers market, to get information about current projects, monthly meetings, and volunteer opportunities.
 
Remember that the market will take place rain or shine throughout the season. Try to bring your own shopping bags to the market, and please ride your bike or walk to the market if you can. If you drive, park your car in the Aberjona or Shore Road lot to leave parking spaces surrounding the common open for short-term parking near downtown businesses. The Aberjona lot, which runs along the commuter rail track across from the post office, is free on weekends, including the permit spaces in the end of the lot.
 
We look forward to seeing you on the common on Saturday.

Sincerely,
Winchester Farmers Market Organizing Committee
 
This Week at the Market

       Kohlrabi

Vegetables: aspagarus, beets, bok choi, broccoli, chard (bright lights, green, red), collard greens, greenhouse cucumbers, escarole, garlic scapes, kale (green, red), kholrabi, lettuce (Boston, green leaf, mesclun mix, red leaf, romaine), peas (english, sugar snap), radishes, spinach, squash (summer, zucchini), greenhouse tomatoes (cherry, grape, yellow, red), vegetable plants
 
Fruit: Mcintosh apples, apple cider, rhubarb, strawberries

Herbs: basil (green, purple, Thai), chives, cilantro, dill, mint, sage, stevia, thyme, basil plants, rosemary plants, dry herb and spice blends, herbal tea
 
Other products: grass-fed beef, bread, chocolate, cheese, eggs, fish, flower plants, herb plants, honey, jams and preserves, lobster, vegetable plants, Vermont maple syrup
 
Entertainment: It Don't Mean A Thing

Artist: John McConnell, oil painting
 
Community Tent: Winchester Home and Garden Club, Dig Into Summer! A Perennial Plant Sale
 
Business Tent: Kate Rowlands, jewelry, www.sophistikate.net 

Food Tent: Vermont maple syrup (Tracy Kinsey), jams and preserves (Deborah Taylor)

The first demonstration in the Farm to Table series will take place at 11:00 in front of the entertainment area.


Farm to Table Series

Good health starts in the kitchen, and the quickest, tastiest meals come direct from mother nature. Winchester's Fit Foodie and RN Denise Costello of The Energized Body will share her Farm to Table series at this year's farmers market. Denise is passionate about making you feel comfortable in your kitchen, so come learn how to turn farm fresh foods into delicious simple meals and snacks.

Denise created the Farm to Table Series for the Winchester Farmers market as a way of showing you how fast and flavorful cooking with fresh produce can be. She also wanted to find a way to showcase all of the market vendors by including their products as part of the demonstrations.

The first Farm to Table presentation will take place at the market this Saturday at 11:00 on the topic of Build a Better (healthier and fresher) BBQ featuring the grass-fed beef of  Lawton Family Farm. Come watch the presentation and sample Denise's delicious Dark Chocolate Power Bark while you're there!
 
Along with her presentation, Denise will offer recipes for salmon burgers on Asian slaw, grilled portabella mushrooms topped with grilled peppers, onions, and basil shallot guacamole, and Mediterranean quinoa salad, and for the kids, frozen all-natural Zija berry pops.

Featured Item of the Week: Spring Vegetables

The first few farmers markets of the season are always special just because they are the first ones, a welcomed reminder of the summer bounty to come, but the first markets of the season are also special because of the spring vegetables that are available only early in the season. These delicious vegetable will be available for only a few weeks, so be sure not to miss them!

Asparagus is low in calories and high in nutrition, containing over half the daily recommended allowance of folic acid. Asparagus can be boiled, steamed, roasted, or stir fried. To get the most tender part of each piece, bend the asparagus spear towards the bottom until it snaps and discard the tougher lower end.

Creamy Asparagus Soup
Asparagus and Mushroom Tart
Asparagus Lasagna
Beer-Battered Asparagus

Garlic scapes are the flower stems and unopened buds of garlic plants. Farmers remove them to be sure that the plants' energy goes into producing the garlic bulbs growing underground, and the scapes also happen to be a delicious vegetable in their own right.

Garlic Scape Pesto
Pickled Dilly Garlic Scapes
Beet Green and Garlic Scape Bruschetta
White Bean and Garlic Scape Dip


Sugar snap peas Peasare eaten with the shell on. All you have to do to prepare them is to pull off the stringy piece along the edge of the pod. They taste great steamed, stir fired, or even raw. Raw sugar snap peas are incredibly sweet and tasty, and they make a great kids' snack, eaten just like carrot sticks.

Lemon-Scented Sugar Snap Peas
Sugar Snap Pea and Barley Salad
Sugar Snap Pea Soup with Parmesan Cream
Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas and Spring Herbs
Farmers Market Lawn Signs
       
  
A special opportunity is available to support the farmers market during the 2010 season by displaying a lawn sign in your yard to help promote the market. We are looking for several people who live in Winchester or surrounding towns who would be willing to display a lawn sign on their property from Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon each week during the market season. If you would be willing to have a sign in your yard but do not want to have to remember to put it out every week, we will arrange to have a volunteer put out the sign on Friday afternoon and remove it on Saturday afternoon. All you have to do is make a few inches of lawn space available!
 
If you are interested in supporting the market by displaying a lawn sign, stop my the market manager's tent at the market to pick up a sign. 
 
Thank you to everyone who has already agreed to display a lawn sign!

Follow the Farmers Market on Facebook and Twitter
 
The farmers market has a new Facebook page where you can get updates about the market, post comments, and share your photos of the market.

Find us on Facebook

You can also follow the market on Twitter to get the latest updates from the market on Saturday mornings.

Follow us on Twitter

 Volunteer at the Market

We need volunteers this week (and every week) to help with the farmers market, especially for setup before the market between 8:30 and 9:30 and takedown after the market between 1:30 and 2:30. If you are able to help, please sign up at our online signup sheet to let us know when you are coming.
 
Thank you to everyone who has already volunteered to help. Your assistance is especially important in keeping the market running smoothly, and we appreciate everything you do!

We also have some short-term volunteer positions to fill for the next Environmental Fair in October. Be a part of this fun, informative, and community-building event! The Environmental Fair will be held on a Saturday in October at the town common (date is being determined). Planning starts in July, with some of the legwork already underway. 

We need Publicist/Marketing, Fundraiser Liaison, Volunteer Coordinator, IT/Website Specialist, and a Recycling Coordinator. Please email Fred Yen at fredyen@winchesterfarmersmarket.org for more information.