Farmers Market Annex Newsletter

July 18th 2014

Dear (Contact First Name),

Wedding Venue

Do you know that you can have your wedding down at the Farmers Market Annex?
In addition to having a great selection of DIY flowers for your big day, you can have your special day right here at the market! What better setting than this little piece of heaven right in the heart of Minneapolis, with the beautiful Minneapolis skyline as the backdrop to your ceremony. We have food service choices available through our event center or for a fancier palate you can bring in your own catering.
We are here to work with you and make your day one to remember!

Vendor Spotlight

Serenade Natural Products -

A family business located in Lakeville, they believe that natural is better. Their luxurious bath & beauty products and soy candles & wax tarts are handmade in small batches with the highest quality ingredients. They use the finest natural oils & butters, pure essential oils & herbs, natural waxes like beeswax & soy wax, and phthalate free fragrance oils. They offer many products that are 100% natural including handmade soap, lotion, lip balm, lip gloss, body butter and essential oil candles. Stop by this weekend and grab a variety of these special products to enhance your life!

Cool Jerk Beef Jerky - In 2010, Mali Kouanchao and Mike Davis began noticing an increasing number of their friends asking where they could find more of that delicious beef jerky that Mali's Aunt Thaipet would bring over for birthday parties and family get-togethers. This sweet and crisp jerky was Thaipet's original creation, based on traditional jerky recipes from her home country of Laos. Mali and Mike decided to fill the damand by learning to make the jerky themselves and sell it locally.

Mali soon mastered the Original flavor and began developing three other flavors with unique Southeast Asian flair: Lemongrass, Sweet & Spicy, and Native Lao Hot. A definite MUST-TRY as you come down to stock up your pantry for the week!

New Blog Post!

From July 17th: Simple & Easy Recipe Using Fresh Local Food - Garlic Bruschetta

Bruschetta is one of those elegant yet simple pleasures in life! Take a visit to the Farmers Market this weekend to buy some fresh local food to make this delicious summer-y recipe. All the ingredients for this bruschetta dip, except the bread, can be purchased from our vendors when in season.

From July 10th: Why Not Make the Switch to Minnesota's Local, Organic Foods This Weekend?

At the Farmers Market Annex, you can meet MN farmers face-to-face and find out exactly how they grow their wares. While not certified "organic" (which is a paperwork process many of our Hmong growers do not understand), many offer you chemical free, partially organic, all natural, non-GMO, hormone-free, free-range or grass-fed foods instead. Read to see WHY it matters!

Market Flowers

Market Flowers DIY Program

At Market Flowers you have the unique opportunity to purchase bulk flowers at near wholesale prices, reserve a table to work on your creations on site, and then keep them in our cooler until you're ready to pick them up. It's FUN to create your own arrangements for weddings or any other event, and you can save a lot of money in the process!

Space is limited for this popular program so call to reserve your table once you've made your decision to use us for your flowers. We are open through the last weekend in October and have an excellent selection of fresh cut flowers all season.

Check our website for all the information about our DIY program.

Market Flowers is open Thursday and Friday 9am - 3pm,

Saturday and Sunday 7am - 1pm

Here's a link to the list of bulk flowers you can count on getting from us each week:

Market Flowers Pre-Book Flowers List

But remember, that's not ALL we carry!

You need to come see for yourself what special items we find for each week.

Know a bride or someone else needing flowers for an event?

Visit the Market Flowers Website for great information on our DIY program!

Fresh Summer Recipes

One Pot Farmers Market Pasta

"An easy peasy recipe that utilizes all of your great farmers market finds."

Thanks to T he View from the Great Island for the picture.

Ingredients:

12 oz spaghetti	1 - 1-1/2 tsp salt & lots of fresh cracked pepper
1 medium red onion, peeled, halved, and sliced	1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 small Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise and sliced	2 handfuls baby greens, I used baby kale and wild arugula
several stalks asparagus, cut in 2 inch pieces	2 Tbsp olive oil
a handful of broccoli florets, cut in half	1 cup dry white wine
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved	3 1/2 cups water
1 colorful bell pepper, chopped	1 Tbsp white wine or sherry vinegar
2 cloves garlic peeled and minced	1 cup shredded hard Italian cheese

Directions:

1. Put everything except the cheese, into a large pot. Add the wine and water (measure exactly since you will not drain the pasta) to the pot and bring up to a boil. If your pasta doesn't fit completely into the pot, nudge it down into the water as it softens. Cover the pot while it comes to a boil then uncover and boil for about 7-9 minutes, until the pasta is just al dente. Babysit the pan a little bit to ensure that the pasta doesn't stick. Don't over cook the pasta, there will still be some water left in the pan.

2. Toss the pasta with the cheese, and serve with the extra tomatoes and lots of fresh basil.

Note:

You can use lots of different veggies for this dish, whatever looks good. Mushrooms would work well, also carrots, zucchini, cauliflower. Tomatoes are a must, though.

Vietnamese-Style Carrot and Daikon Pickles

Taste the brine before you finish the final pickles. If you like your pickles more sweet, add a few teaspoons of sugar. Personalizing these pickles to your taste will make them extra special.

Thanks to White on Rice Couple for the photo & recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. carrots- julienned or cut into thin match-like strips	3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 lb. daikon radish, cut same as carrots	2 tablespoons salt
4 cups water, slightly warm enough to dissolve the salt and sugar	6 tablespoons distilled or rice vinegar

Directions:

In large pitcher or large bowl, mix water, vinegar, sugar and salt till everything is dissolved and combined well.
Place carrots and daikon in a clean, sterile jar and fill vinegar till jar is full.
Cover jars and set in the refrigerator to pickle for about 3 days. I like my pickles to sit for at least 3 days so that the carrots and daikon become more flavorful and sour. Pickles can last for about 3 weeks in the fridge.

It's FUN! It's Local! It's what we're all about.

Like us on Facebook
and stay tuned for the details of our upcoming events.

Annex Special Event

SoCal Style will be hosting their summer pet rescue event down here at the Farmers Market Annex on Sunday August 3rd from 9am - 1pm. Come down and meet some great pets that are available for adoption & interact with some wonderful folks that put their passion into helping pets big and small. We will be in the back parking lot attached to the Annex (no pets allowed in the main market area).

You will be a able to help out these rescues by buying one of their stylish shirts and sporting their message, becoming a foster (and hero), shopping their fun and funky pet centered crafts or just sharing their adoptable pets with someone in your life, that needs some company in their life.

FMA and Urban Garden Event Center

Pre-Game Events at the Farmers Market Annex

Got your baseball tickets yet? Wondering if there is anywhere you can go to have an old-fashioned, fun, tailgating party? Glad you asked! Visit our Pre-Game Event Website for more information.

We also host graduation parties, weddings and receptions, birthday parties, company picnics, family reunions, charity benefits, and more in our beautiful Urban Garden. Call Audrey 612-573-0148 for details.

Call us. Email us. Stop by and see us in person. We are here to serve YOU so let us know how we can better do that.

See you soon!

Sincerely,

Audrey Grzeskowiak
Farmers Market Annex, CFO
612-573-0148

www.FarmersMarketAnnex.com