This Week’s Market Email – 7/30/10

Dear Market Goers,

Thanks for all of your inquiries and good wishes for Pamela Schmidt, aka “The Cheese Lady”. She is home recovering from brain surgery, which went very well, and has a killer scar on the back of her head that would make Dr. Frankenstein jealous!  She told me that she felt fearful before surgery but became calmer as surgery approached because she actually felt the power of people’s prayers and good wishes for her.  And I believe it.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last two years, is that we are only limited by the narrowness of our own vision and the hours in our day!  When we become closed and fearful, we limit the possibilities in our lives.  When we are open to giving and receiving in our lives, and we embrace the good as well as the bad; both as integral parts of an authentic life, then we are able to do justice to our lives.  It’s not an easy thing to do, harder for some than for others, and I remind myself quite frequently that this is a more peaceful way to live.

Special thanks to our beautiful celtic harp player, Ellen James, and to the wild and wonderful “Mixtress Maud” who picked a dazzling array of tunes to play on her dj system at the market.  If you ever need a dj or karaoke for a party, she is the gal to get!

This week we are lucky enough to have Ellen back and those cutie college guys Sean and Will, playing their covers and original tunes on their guitars.  Don’t forget to tip our musicians because they don’t get paid!

Kilmer Orchards will be at the market this week with their fantastic fruits.  I had a customer mention that she felt that the peaches weren’t ripe on Wednesday and I want to give a peach buying tip s as the peaches I purchased were perfect!.  The peaches they bring to the market are of different ripeness.  I buy them twice a week and they ripen quickly!  So when I select peaches I select some really ripe, some not as ripe and slightly hard.  I eat the really ripe ones the day I buy them because they are so good and juicy; they will be overripe by the next day. The ones that were a little harder are now perfectly ripe, and so on…  So choose your peaches
 according to when you will be eating them.

F&V Farms will have a limited amount of shiitakes this week and we are so lucky they are bring them to our market!

North Gate Vineyard will be at the market this week with Loudoun County’s best wines.  Check their Facebook page for updates on their tasting room.

1st AVE Bakery will have Blackberry, Blueberry,  Lemon Chess, Peach, Pecan, and Peanut Supreme Pies for your eating pleasure!  For customers looking for smaller portions, they will also be offering some of their pie varieties in quarter pie containers.  I think I’m going for Blackberry pie this week; but then again, I’ve been craving a good Pecan pie since winter. Time will tell.

Liberty Hill Farm will be back this week with their pastured-raised whole chickens, boneless chicken breasts, quarters, wings, liver, hearts, gizzards and feet!  And check out their whole grain loaves!  Really earthy bread….great for toast and for sandwiches. 

Steve Freeman, of  Dr. Mixer’s Italian Sodas (they make you happy), will be at market tomorrow. He makes those refreshing artisan Italian Sodas, from fresh fruit, Berkley Springs water and Steve’s own homemade fruit and herbal syrups.  He says to tell you that each soda is a 24 ounce psychic reading distilled into a cup! 

Erica, of the Magnolia Girls, will have a new treat for you this week…Blueberry Pound Cake packed full of fresh blueberries as well as Banana Pound Cake that is topped with Pecans, Strawberry Pound Cake, Orange Pound Cake, and Key Lime Pound Cake that are also packed full of flavor. They are also the kid’s favorite! Let’s face it, you don’t have to be a kid to adore pound cake! We’ll have their Pumpkin Bread and Banana Coconut Pecan Bread that are perfect for a quick breakfast. Craving Scones? Be sure to try their new Chocolate Scones in addition to their popular Raspberry and Cranberry scones.

And now a word from the Lothar, the Master German Artisan Butcher:

Dear Valued Customers and Friends of Good Taste:

Good evening everyone! Usually Lothar does the newsletters since he knows what he has produced for the market but tonight I’m sending you greetings and spreading the good cheers from sausage land
 (so friends lend me your ears and imagine Lothar’s hearty thick German accent, ja  ja).

We have all our signature line of products as usual plus excellent cuts of sirloin, Ribeye and marinated porkchops.

Andouille, WeissBrats, Nuernberger, Thai, Korean, BeoroBrats (South African Style), Hot Mediterranean, Sweet VA breakfast.  Bavarian Country brats, lamb brats, cevapcici, TexMex, Frankfurt Knackers and many more.  How about Bacons?  Yes, Lothar will fill one treasure chest with assortment of Bacons: Centercut, Non-nitrate, English, and Canadian.

Fresh selection of Grill Delights: Schewencksteak, Chuckeye, Bavarian Ribs, marinated lamb medallion steaks plus Surprise (Jack-Henry will tell).

Lothar will be doing sandwiches (BLTs and Steak) hot off the Grill wearing that lederhosen (he claims it protects, guess what? His family jewels against heat and flame), so come hungry and join us in singing Kum Ba Yah   

Remember, Think Global Eat Local and Confucious says “Treasure what you eat, do what you say and say what you mean”.

Sincerely,

Lothar, June and Jack-Henry  

Luis and Joel of Gonzales Produce will have lots of produce from their farm on the Northern Neck where it is 6 degrees warmer, on average, than Purcellville and where they have greenhouses which give them a head start on our growing season.  

Betty’s Foods will have their fantastic, home-made chips, black bean dips,  and gazpacho.

The gorgeous Meredith Kope and friends from Singing Frog Farms have overflowing fields of flowers and will bring a dazzling array of cut flowers and vegetables.

Woodgrove Lavender Farm will be at the beach this week!  Look for them next w Rob Young of Community Gardens will be back at the market with his fantastic greens, arugula, sugar snap pea shoots, and his glorious dressing. 

Ken of Liz Handcrafted Soaps will be at the market with lots of soap.  Here’s a message from the Soapmeister Judy:

Soapmakers all have their own secrets when it comes to making the perfect bar of soap.  The legal definition of soap can be found in the Code of Federal Regulation, Title 21 Part 701.20 as follows: (a) The bulk of the nonvolatile matter in the product consists of an alkali salt of fatty acids and the detergent properties of the article are due to the alkali-fatty acid compounds; and (b) The product is labeled, sold, and represented only as soap. Now, it is no secret that soap is used to clean. It is legal for soapmakers to make that claim on their labels. It is not legal, however, to make the claim that shea butter is easily absorbed by your dry skin and is reportedly used as a sun block. Or that avocado seed oil readily penetrates the skin and is used both as an emollient and to retard moisture loss. Or that acadamia
nut oil is a good penetrating oil that leaves a velvety feel to the skin. Liz Handcrafted Soaps have no such claims on their labels. We cannot even claim on our labels that they smell great (which they do!). We cannot claim on our labels that they last an incredibly long time (well, they do that, too!).  We can only claim that you will (probably) get clean if you use it. Shucks, you could probably get clean without soap at all. So why bother? Well, stop by at the market and see and sniff for yourself!

Manna Food For Life will be back this week with a variety of breads and regular and gluten-free baked goods.  

The Payne Family will be back this week with lots of  blackberries.

Over the Grass Farm will be at the market with their veggies, salad mixes, grass-fed lamb, beef, eggs and honey.  I just bought a cow-share and am thrilled to be drinking their raw milk.  Takes me back to my childhood.

The incredible Mike Schreiber will not be there this week as he will be at the Loudoun County Fair.  But he’ll be back next week.  Good luck at the Fair Mike!

Have you noticed our new cupcake lady, Joey Coburn, of Cornerstone Bakery?  She has beautiful, tasty cupcakes!  Try one this week if you haven’t already…

Hardworking Hondo was early last week.  HALLELUJAH!  Hope he makes it early again.  I love his coffee.

Chef Eloy’s Kickin’ Salsa is a local fresh salsa manufacturer that has been bringing the best fresh salsa to farmers markets since 2000. Our 40 year old trade secret family recipe definitely has gained in popularity over the years. Stop by and see Sandra at the market and sample Mild, Medium, Mango, Xtra Hot, Corn and Black Bean and Banana salsas.  Lothar will be using Chef Eloy’s Mild Salsa with one of his chorizos.

The young and handsome John Cockerill of Fort Bacon will be there with his incredible tasting pork and farm fresh eggs, grown on his family’s farm that they have owned since the 1700’s.

And don’t forget, we are on www.loudounfarms.org and we post pictures of happy customers and vendors each week!  Check the market table for all kinds of info, including Flavor Magazine.. a great magazine about local foods in the Washington Capital Area Foodshed. 

So come out on Saturday and purchase some great food, have a chat with your vendors and neighbors, sip some fresh coffee, and/or drink a refreshing smoothie (I do both) and have a bite to eat. We will be there from 9 to 1 at the Town Hall Parking lot at 130 E. Main Street in beautiful, downtown Purcellville. Look for the cannon…it’s point’n right at us!

Happy Eating and yes, I’M STILL LOATHING THOSE POWERLINES!

Juanita Tool
703.967.0431

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