This Week’s Market Email – 8/27/10

Dear Market Goers, 

 Every market day at PCM feels pretty special but last week was even sweeter than usual!  To begin with, the weather was beautiful; thankfully, not as brutally hot as the weeks before.  Then the Mayor stopped by to drop off 75 shopping bags for our customers – courtesy of the Town of Purcellville (we ran out in the first hour); handsome, young, Loudoun Valley High School Football Players were at the market selling local discount cards to raise money for their team; a couple of beautiful high school girls were polling customers about what they would like to see in a mural they are thinking of painting; LVHS Basketball Coach Dawson dropped by the market again with his wife (I think they are addicted to Lothar’s Gourmet Sausages, you know, like the rest of us); there was Ellen James with her peaceful, beautiful Celtic harp and vocals; Connor Duffy playing anything before the year 1979 on the banjo and the guitar; neighbors, friends, and folks from Purcellville and other towns; and lots of Leesburgers, Restonites, Sterlingers, and Ashburnians.  I’m always amazed when I discover market regulars that come from so far away….ANYWAY, it was a great feeling to be part of our great community and to think that there are others who live pretty far away who love coming out to our community too.  I’m thinking there is such a thing as heaven on earth….. hey, we’re living there!  And I haven’t even mentioned the incredible food and products we offer our customers!  More on that later…

And I know that you’ve been hearing about this for some time now, and I PROMISE this is the last week I’m going to BEG you to vote if you haven’t yet, as the voting ends on August 31st. 

We are in 4th place in the U.S. of A for markets with 16-30 vendors, with 760 votes!!!  So ONE MORE TIME, vote for “The Best Little Market in Loudoun”, otherwise known as Purcellville Community Market,
not to get mixed up with our top secret name,….“Catoctin County Market”!  And if you vote, don’t forget to enter your name in the hat to win one of our great farmers market cookbooks.  The hat will be sitting right in the middle of the market’s recipe/community table.  Here’s the voting instructions once again…

Go to www.farmland.org and click on the red section in the middle that says:

 America’s Favorite Farmers Markets™ Contest: Cast Your Vote Today!

Farmers markets play a key role in our communities by providing a way

for consumers to invest in their local economy while enjoying food fresh

 from nearby farms!  Vote now for your local farmers markets to become

 one of America’s Favorite Farmers Markets!™

Once you enter your location, two markets will appear.  Vote for the second one on the list.  The one that says Purcellville Community Market!  We really appreciate your support!

 Now I’m going to get on my soap box.  No…this isn’t about those hideously ugly power lines that are now sprawling along our previously bucolic thoroughfare to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley.  That’s later.  This is about plastic shopping bags.

I was at the Baltimore Aquarium yesterday and learned that those plastic shopping bags are the biggest trash pollluter in our oceans.  And animals that live on jellyfish, like giant sea turtles, often mistake those trash bags for jellyfish and eat them.  Then I learned that there has been an explosion in the number of jellyfish for different reasons; their natural predators are being killed off by ingesting trash, getting caught in fishermen’s nets, hunting….  This wreaks all kinds of havoc on the ocean’s ecosystem and let’s just put it this way:  If you have your own bags, please bring them to the market!!!  I’m going to try not to use any plastic bags next week and see if I can survive as I am the biggest offender.   I have plenty of cloth and sturdy, permanent, plastic shopping bags, but I’m always forgetting them.  Thanks again to the Town of Purcellville, and our Mayor, for handing out cloth bags to our shoppers.  I believe we will be handing out more shopping bags this week!!! 

So that’s going to be our newest crusade…and don’t forget to RECYCLE YOUR EGG CARTONS, BERRY CONTAINERS, and WINE BAGS.  There’s a basket in the middle of the market where you can put those items and we will give them back to vendors.  Also, Meredith needs GLASS JARS to put her flowers in so customers can take them home in water.

Hope you are digging our “Local Artist’s Tent”.  Dave Levinson, of Loudoun Landscape Photos and owner of Cranial Tap, will be at the market again this week with his beautiful Loudoun photos…joining him will be
Deborah Morrow and Cowgirlsmiles:  Equine Images taken from around Loudoun County: photography,  artwork, images transfered to stone and furniture.  Learn more about her at  http://www.cowgirlsmiles.com (540-338-9244), and www.cafepress.com/cowgirlsmiles.  Stop by and see their work.

 Our beautiful celtic harp player, Ellen James, will be back this week.  Thank you Ellen, for making the market so peaceful and right in the early hours with your harp playing and ethereal vocals.   

 I know I’ve been raving like a lunatic about how fantastic Kilmer Orchards’ peaches are.    So many people told me last week that peaches they bought at other stores and markets were disappointing, so we gave them
slices of these peaches and everyone agreed, they are incredible!!!  And just when I didn’t think fruit could get any better, I just ate my first Honey Crisp apple of the season yesterday!  WOW… And the Pluots (half plum, half apricot)…FUGETABOUTIT!  We sold out of the Pluots at the Wednesday market.  Grab one off the table and taste them.  First one is free!  The hard ones are the best…

 Gonzales Produce is going to be bringing A LOT OF CORN this week….so much that they told me if you buy a dozen, you’ll get three for free!!!  And of course, they will have their usual selection of great veggies…

 Oak Spring Dairy will have many flavors of their spectacular raw, whole milk cheeses for you to sample.  Pamela’s lovely daughter, Grey, will be tending the Cheese Tent this week.  

 North Gate Vineyard will be at the market this week with Loudoun County’s best wines…my favorite being the North Gate Chardonnay….a great summer wine.  Remember that old 70‘s song?  “Take off your silver
spurs and help me pass the time, and I will give to you: summer wine”.  I’m going to suggest to Mark and Vicki that they adopt that as their theme song!  They could rename their Chardonnay “Summer Wine” and put
some silver spurs on the label.  Am I getting carried away about this nectar of the gods?  Forgive me!  Also, check their Facebook page for updates on their tasting room.  I was driving past there after Wednesday market
and it looked like there was some grading going on.  Don’t forget there’s also an interesting interview with them on a blog called My Vine Spot.  Check it out at http://vinespot.blogspot.com/2010/08/q-vineyard-update-with-north-gate.html. 

 Message from 1st AVE Bakery:

This week we will not be at the Market. We are out of town. We plan to be back at the Market on September 4th. Don’t hesitate to call or send an email if you are interested in placing an order for a fresh baked pie for pickup during the week or at the Market on September 4th.

Liberty Hill Farms has pastured-raised whole chickens, boneless chicken breasts, quarters, wings, liver, hearts, gizzards and feet as well as home-baked, whole wheat loaves. Really earthy bread…. great for toast and for sandwiches. 

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.

I am really excited to her Sandra of Chef Eloy’s Kickin’ Salsa’s plans on creating delicious, Hispanic, top-quality, prepared foods.  She sent me this to put in the newsletter:

Chef Eloy will be at the market with Mild, Medium, Mango, Xtra Hot, Corn & Black Bean, and limited Banana salsa. We are working on some new and exciting recipes and we hope to unveil them in a few weeks! Stop by and pick up your favorite jar of salsa – always priced at one for $6.00 or two for $10.00.  Don’t forget to show your Chef Eloy’s Preferred Customer Card:  buy any 11 salsas and get the 12th free!  Don’t have one?  Be sure to ask for yours this Saturday.

See you at the market!

Here’s to Hardworking Hondo getting to the market on time!!!! 

Erica, of the Magnolia Girls, will be bringing her top sellers to market this week. Pecan Bars, Ginger Cookies, Pumpkin Bread, and her Specialty Pound Cakes as well as a variety of scones and cookies! She says her
Banana Coconut Pecan Bread and Blueberry Pound Cake are perfect for breakfast.  Did your child head off to college this year? Send them a care package. They would love a pack of homemade snickerdoodles,
coconut macaroons, or chocolate chip cookies.  Be sure to stop by and see Erica, try some free samples, and talk to her about special orders! 

Lothar’s Gourmet Sausages will be bringing the best quality sausages, bacon’s and meats for you!  And don’t forget to come to the market hungry, as he serves up killer Market BLT’s as well as a selection of his fantastic brats.  They are also opening a store front at their home in Hamilton on Sunday, so stop by his house in Hamilton from 2-4 on Sunday.

Betty of Betty’s Salsa is moving this week and won’t be at the market… Hopefully she will get settled in and be back next week.  Gonna miss those chips and enchiladas!

F&V Farms is on vacation in Alaska for the next couple of weeks.  Can’t wait until they get back.

Linna the Locavore

As your summer vegetables start winding down and you are either thinking ahead to fall veggies or to next spring, START PLANNING NOW.  As you tear up the remains of your plants, consider starting a new growing area by piling these remains up and letting them compost over the winter (make sure to not add diseased material). This concept is called Sheet Composting and is used in a concept called Lasagna Gardening.  Every year I mark out an area, and as I clean up beds I pile it in one area.  In the spring I add 6 inches of aged manure on top and plant directly.  For more details, read this article (http://123foodgardening.blogspot.com/2009/11/building-garden-soil.html).

Meredith Kope and Lily from Singing Frog Farms will be at the market lots of beautiful flowers in $7 and $3 bunches.  Come by for a taste test of their delicious heirloom tomatoes and mouthwatering sweet basil.  They will also have some okra, herbs and sweet heirloom peppers.

Woodgrove Lavender Farm will be at the market this week with lavender sachets, lavender gift baskets, pillows and neck and eye rolls.

Rob Young of Community Gardens will be back tomorrow with the best greens in the tri-state area!!!!  He will also have arugula, homemade dressing, Swiss Chard and pesto.  We will have my very own chard recipe at his table which uses Lothar’s bacon…best chard you’ll ever have!

Here’s a message from Soapmaker Judy of Liz Handcrafted Soaps: 

Two of your favorite soaps will be back in stock this week! Lemon Poppy Seed and Spicy Lime & Poppy Seed are wrapped and ready to go! Lemon Poppy Seed is scented with lemon and litsea cubeba essential oils. Litsea cubeba is a small tropical tree with small fruits shaped like peppers (from which the name “cubeba” derives). The oil from the fruit is steam-distilled and is used as a fragrance (especially in bar soap) and as flavoring. It is also used as a raw material by the chemical industry for making Vitamin A and fragrances with a violet-type scent. Litsea cubeba actually has a lemony scent and is often used to treat acne and dermatitis. If you haven’t tried our Lemon Poppy Seed yet, you may want to pick up a bar or two to take home with you! Stop by and see Ken at the Soap Tent!

Mike Schreiber will be there with his fresh fruit smoothies.  He had a record week last Saturday! You can also find him at the Purcellville Sports Pavillion, at Mike’s Juice Bar. 

The cupcake lady, Joey Coburn, owner of Cornerstone Bakery is bringing her fantastic tasting cupcakes and “Pupcakes” last week.   Don’t forget you can also find Cornerstone Cupcakes at Shoes, Cup, and Cork Club in downtown Leesburg, near Lightfoot.

Kendra’s Pet Care

I am a self owned business and I love animals. If you ever have to go out of town or just need someone to walk your dog I can take care of that. I will also take care of any other pets you have, like birds, cats, or gerbils. My prices range depending on what you need done. You can contact me at CheerSingDance@msn.com.

And don’t forget, we are on www.loudounfarms.org and we post pictures of  happy customers and vendors each week!  Last week’s pics are up and we definitely have the best looking customers….they grow ‘em well in the western part of the county.  Must be that clean country air and great local food!  Check the market table for all kinds of info, cookbooks, recipes, community events, local businesses, health information and Flavor Magazine.

So come out on Saturday and purchase some great food, have a chat with your faithful vendors and neighbors, sip some fresh coffee, and/or drink a refreshing smoothie 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 dang-it, THEM’S SOME MIGHT UGLY POWERLINES!

Juanita Tool
703.967.0431

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