Farmers' Markets week of July 9th

[BostonZest]

I don't get to the Market until tomorrow but I just saw a market question so I figured I'd start our usual thread for the week and anyone who wants to add a comment from a visit to their market today can hop on here.

I'm hoping for more ground lamb from Stillman's this week and another yummy chicken. I'm going to try my hand at homemade Lamejun-- the Middle Eastern dish that is like a lamb pizza on a pita bread.

[litchick]

Went to Union today and picked up carrots and swiss chard from Mass Audubon, pea tendrils and scallions (really lovely) from Hmong Farms, a pretty cousa squash from the big stand right next to the parking lot (can't remember the name), and spicy lamb sausange and pork spareribs from Stillman -- missed the chickens yet again (drat!).

I love the very neighborhoody feel of the Union market. I usually hit Copley, which doesn't feel the same -- just lots of folks like me taking a jaunt out from the office to pick stuff up. I loved the table full of dirt and worms today at Union for the kids to paw through. Very cool.

[mipiace]

Hi litchick- where is the union sq. market??? I only recently discovered the joys of Market Basket and the surrounding area, so I'm a bit unclear as to how Union Sq. is set up.

[litchick]

Hi mipiace. It's in the little courtyard type space in front of The Independent, Toast, etc. Right in the heart of Union Sq. They run Saturdays, 9a-1p.

Here's useful info:
http://www.massfarmersmarkets.org/t-union.aspx
and
http://www.unionsquaremain.org/commit...

[yumyum]

I was there too -- happy to see the Hmong gardeners but they aren't as good as Yang's IMO. Still got some nice baby romaine and some bok choy from them. Baby carrots and cilantro from the woman with all the beets (don't know the name of her farm). A very nice bunch of basil that became a very nice jar of pesto last night, and a ciabatta on which to schmear it. I wanted ground lamb but they are out for a couple of weeks, she thought. I was tempted by the sausages but decided to wait until I can get their lamb. Lamb burgers with mint and tzatsiki are in my future.

I like the vibe of the market too ... lots of kids, dogs, young yuppy families, but also some older locals and immigrant familes. I wish it was easier to move around there (it's congested and feels crowded to me) or that they had the variety that Davis or Brookine do but I'm hanging tough and supporting it because it's my local.

[BostonZest]

Friday market at Copley report!

I bought more of the granola from Cook's Orchard. They now have a bargain bag at $10.00. in addition to the smaller $6 bags. My husband is addicted to this stuff.

Seina farm is growing some exotic items. They had lots of mushrooms (Oyster,Chanterelle and shitake) - some peppers (Padron, sweet red and green Italia, Hungarian Hot waxed Peppers) Fairytale eggplant, Black Tuscan kale, cousa squash, and zucchini blossoms.

They also had the first uncured heads of garlic of the season! (YES! I bought some so we shall have garlic coming out our pores) and also new potatoes.

Keown Orchard had the first apples-- a tart one called Lodi and the first plums.

The vendor who signed up to sell eggs is not coming this year so we'll have to find eggs at another area market. Do they have them at Brookline? I can make that one next week.

[Allstonian]

Yes, there's a woman who sells cheese (cheddars), eggs from Johnson's Poultry, and ground beef at Brookline. If this is important to you, you should know that she acknowledges that the hens are caged.

[galleygirl]

Those eggs just don't taste any different from supermarket eggs, to me....

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Yeah, we pretty much just wait and grab a dozen from Chip-In Farms at Russo's, unless we happen to be out of eggs on a Thursday.

[Baiye]

Mushrooms? I was just wondering yesterday if any of the markets had mushrooms.

I took a quick jaunt to Harvard Square and got sweet, juicy cherries. A couple stands had gorgeous, gigantic tomatoes that didn't smell like much. From the greenhouses. They did have cherry tomatoes from the field, though.

[BostonZest]

take a look at my post above. Siena Farms had three kinds at Copley and I think they also do the Dewey Square market in Boston. They bring them in from a cooperative farm that specializes in mushrooms.

Here is a mushroom result on the federation site.

http://tinyurl.com/2nwo27

[Baiye]

Thanks. I'll be checking out Copley next Friday.

[Trumpetguy]

Whatdoya do w/ uncured garlic??? :)

[BostonZest]

Bruschetta! And, we are having a Loire wine and food day tomorrow with friends and I'll use some in the stock for the mussels.

[Aromatherapy]

Anything you do with cured. Flavor intensifies as it dries.

[Trumpetguy]

Thanks you guys! I saw it--now I'll try it! :) I would have thought the opposite about its intensity :)

[obie119]

Re: farmers markets, if you're not already on the statewide mailing list (e-mail [e-mail] to sign up - it's like once or twice a month and has great recipes and other cool updates. Their fundraising dinner is coming up too - it's August 15th and is cooked by Did Emmons (Veggie Planet). It is a really fun dinner!

[skokefoe]

Anybody know if the Malden market is coming back this summer? I walked by the location below and it was empty. This seems like it should be mid-July to me...

Malden
Heritage Apartments, 195 Pleasant St. Parking Lot
Thursdays 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
mid-July - Oct

[BostonZest]

When I'm writing about farmers' markets, I get my information from the The Federation of Massachusetts Farmers’ Markets office. They are usually able to give me details right away or give me a contact person to call. Here's a link to their contact page.

http://www.massfarmersmarkets.org/t-c...

[Dr.Jimbob]

Davis Square today was a bit more interesting. There are some more produce vendors, including the Hmong produce guy for varieties of bok choy and mint. Kimball Farms is now stocking cherries, blueberries and raspberries but alas their divine strawberries are gone. They are also stocking cukes and onions in a variety of flavors.

The Taza store is now stocking a dark chocolate bar that is 80% chocolate solids. Yummers. No word yet on a chocolate bar. And there's more of the organic mozzarella next door, which tastes more like guilty-pleasure butter than cheese.

[Aromatherapy]

Strawberries still at Arlington, about half an hour ago (none at Davis). Currants & gooseberries gone, they had some black raspberries (Arlington).

[pemma]

A farmers' market just started in Medford Square this year. It's held on Thursday's between 2 and 7 on River St. (small street that connects Salem St. and Riverside Ave. I was there the Thursday before last. It was pretty small because it just started, but there was a produce stand and bakery goods from HiRise Bakery, Danish Pastry House and some other stands, including one from LaBella Pasta.

[BostonZest]

Copley was really a place of abundance today.

Stillman's had sweet corn from a neighboring farm. I had an are for lunch and it was tasty-- not August corn but better than anything I've has since last summer.

Song Vang Yang farm is back with Asian greens (only on Tuesdays.) I bought some baby bok choy, mint and scallions. He also had amaranth, Chinese broccoli, shungiku, pea tendrils, gonzo pea.

I was able to get both strawberries and blueberries and there were also cherries, currants, apricots and raspberries.

Stillman's is low on meat. He's amazed at how much meat they're selling. He thought he would have more after the 17th.

Both Atlas and Stillman's had heritage tomatoes. Sarah at Atlas said they were from the greenhouse. I'll let you know how they taste. We'll have them with our supper tonight.

[jules127]

Okay, am I losing my mind? I go to the farmers' market at Copley all the time and only found meat there a few times last year when I picked up some bacon and other goodies. Where is Stillmans? Near the corner with all the potted herbs?

[litchick]

jules127, they're on the St. James Street side of things, maybe about two or three stands down the row from Dartmouth St. I know where they are, and yet I walk by them every time, wondering "oh, is Stillman's not here today?" I don't know what my problem is, but in my defense, their sign is small. They look like an all-veg stand, but they keep the meat in coolers behind the table -- you have to ask what they've got on hand that day. Probably if you didn't know Stillmans offered meat, you'd never figure it out from visiting their stand because there's only a small laminated sheet with various cuts listed upon it. But persevere! Their kielbasa, spicy lamb sausage, and country-style ribs are excellent!

Ps - I'm jealous of whomever it was who got the chickens, I better start trying to get to the markets earlier.

[jules127]

Thanks Litchick!! I went yesterday after work and was able to find them and pick up some pork chops. I will be making regular stops to them now that I know where they are!

[Aromatherapy]

Stillman's had a recent interview on NPR that sparked national attention. Good for them but they are short.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...

[lissy]

I got some of the heirloom tomatoes from Stillman's yesterday and had a very delicious tomato sandwich for breakfast this morning. Yum!

[pamalamb]

What are the meat prices like?

And please don't make lamejun on pita bread, that's a travesty!

[BostonZest]

I'll have to track down a recipe for the base. Thanks for the tip.

[Kbee]

I picked up some pork sausages from Stillmans today at Copley. $8.99/lb, I think. Aidan had lamb sausages, but no chickens today. They have bacon too, gotta try that next...

[cambridgejen]

I went to the Central Square market yesterday. They don't have any meat vendors there but the produce was excellent. I found amazing, perfect heads of broccoli for $1.40/pound, and lovely spring onions and cauliflower. One of the stands still had strawberries, and another had an early batch of apricots.

[9lives]

Stillman's did not have any lamb yesterday at the Govt Ctr. Mkt..said hopefully later in the week.

pork chops on the grill were great last night.

[Allstonian]

Where did you get the chicken? I've only seen mention of that at the Lexington market, I think.

[Aromatherapy]

Stillman's at Union had some chickens, and they're at lots of markets now.

[Allstonian]

I knew that Stillman's has pork and lamb - I didn't know they had chickens too! That's great to know.