September 4, 2013

Time for Wine...At the Ballston Mega Market!

NEW to the Ballston BID's Mega Market tomorrow and the first Thursday in October is a Wine Garden where we will be offering complimentary wine tasting and glasses/bottles for purchase.  Come out to enjoy the beautiful weather and flavorful wines outside at Welburn Square tomorrow from 3-7pm. 

While enjoying your wine and shopping for some fresh food & unique art you will be able to enjoy live music from Jumpin' Jupiter, who will again be joined by Rodney Henry, "the Pieman" runner-up of the Food Network's hit show Next Food Network Star!

This month we welcome Will Artley, Executive Chef at Pizzeria Orso as our celebrity chef who will be preparing free samples of Herbed Goat Cheese and Citrus "Fondue". Most recently Artley was the Executive Chef at Evening Star Caf�, a popular Alexandria neighborhood restaurant where his menus reflected his passion for refined American comfort food. While at Evening Star, Artley was nominated by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington for their "Rising Culinary Star of the Year" award.

Artists booths include: Soffy Artisan Jewelry, Sendy Gift Shop, Kalise Art, Laurie Elyse Design, Jules Jewels Jewelry, Pet Tag Creations, & Soria's Closet. As well as vendor booths from AFAC & new Ballston Tenant, INOVA Health.

We hope everyone has satisfied their peach fix in for the summer because they won't be around much longer! Come and get them while they are still around and try that peach pie recipe you've always wanted to make. Last week was also the final week for blackberries, but we should have raspberries for a few weeks if the weather cooperates. You may have also seen another exciting berry at Mickley's Farm and Orchard last week; strawberries are back!

Greens are on their way to market! Most greens, like lettuce, kale, chard and arugula are cool-season crops. Which, as their name implies, means they grow best when the weather is cooler. Cool season crops often have two seasons, in the early spring after the last frost and in the early fall. You should expect to see collards and kale at the market this week!  

Lattice-topped Peach Pie (Adapted by Juliet Glass, FRESHFARM Markets)

Two disks flaky pie crust
 2-3/4 lb. ripe but firm peaches (about 8 medium)
 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
 2/3 cup turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar), plus more to dusting on crust
 Pinch table salt
 4 tsp. cornstarch
 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cubed
 1 beaten egg

Peel the peaches. Halve each peach, remove the pit, and slice each half into quarters. Put the peaches in a large bowl and gently combine lemon juice, sugar and salt. Let peaches sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours. Transfer peaches to a colander suspended over a medium sauce pan to collect the juices; you should have almost 1 cup of liquid (if the peaches sat for several hours, you'll have 1 to 1-1/2 cups liquid). Pour the juices into a small, nonstick saucepan set over medium heat. Boil down the liquid until it's syrupy, about 10 minutes, reducing in half. Set aside to cool for 1 or 2 minutes. Transfer peaches to a bowl with the cornstarch, the reduced peach juices, tossing gently.

Meanwhile, roll out your pie crust, and if doing a lattice top, cut one rolled out curst into strips (1/2 inch thick works for me). Place other crust into a 9 inch metal (not glass or ceramic) pie tin. Cover prepared crusts and keep in fridge, when not working with it. Put the peaches in a repaired tart shell, dot with cubed butter, and put either a second crust on top, or weave a lattice top. Crimp the edges, brush the top (but not the crimped edge) with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with sugar. Place in a freezer for 30 minutes. This will let the butter freeze up and make a flakier crust. It will also help prevent the crimping of melting off. As soon as you put the pie in the freezer, pre-heat your oven to 375 and put a cookie sheet on the lowest rack. Once the oven has been preheating for 30 minutes and the pie is done resting in the freezer, put in the oven and bake 50 minutes to an hour, until the top is bubbling and the crust is golden.
  
  
  
Where

A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for a new park in Ballston! The park, at the corner of Glebe Road and N. Randolph Street, quietly opened to the public in July. Located adjacent to the Ballston public parking garage, the park features a pair of bocce courts, numerous benches and landscaped green space. A ribbon cutting is planned for Thursday, September 19th. There will be more details to come. Keep an eye out and come out and join the Ballston BID welcome this new green space to our neighborhood!

 

         More Information


Minds
Meet the young team (from left to right: Zack Liscio, Patrick Costello, Edward Ridgely, Mark Pierotti & Michael Seid) of Changecause, one of the startups who was chosen as a semifinalists for our Ballston LaunchPad Challenge. Changecause recreates cause marketing as a win-win-win service. Changecause aligns brands with causes that their customers care about and tells the story of everyone's impact. They match an individual's nonprofit, charitable donations with corporate sponsors, and then use social media to broadcast that connection and reach the friends of the initial donor. The result is effective, targeted branding on the part of the corporation (win), more money for the cause (win) and recognition for the donor (win), who can further promote the cause and is matched to corporate sponsors that share a common interest in his cause. The transaction between both parties creates a greater impact than if the donor had made a direct contribution to the cause.

 

Check out Changecause's most recent press coverage!

 



Meet
What startup doesn't need a stellar marketing plan? Join us next Tuesday, September 10th at the Ballston Launchpad for a Brain Fuel session on Marketing and Branding. The session will be led by Sam Frentzel-Beyme, Partner & serial entrepreneur at Diligent Rocket, an innovation consultancy and branding firm. The session will teach startups and entrepreneurs brand strategy for how to present their product or service in today's market. This is the session to attend to learn how to make your company stand out from all the rest! The session will begin at 6:30pm at the Ballston Launchpad (the former Chevy's Space in the Ballston Common Mall at 4238 Wilson Blvd Suite 1132) on Tuesday, September 10th. The event is FREE and open to the public and registration includes food, beer, and wine. 
          Register Now!


 
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