Greetings from Puerto Rico

read this on the website...it's much easier!click the link above the top of the e-mail
La Placita Marketplace...click on this to see a short video of the marketplace in La Placita.. 
 Note:  I apologize for the formatting in advance….it’s impossible!!!
Fresh Fruits and Veggie Stall

Fresh Fruit and Veggie Stall

Dear Market Goers,   

I’m happy to report that the weekly e-mail is coming to you this week from beautiful, sunny Puerto Rico.  This morning, I walked through neighborhoods, good and not so good, to get to La Placita, where there is a large, covered building that houses a market with mostly tropical fresh fruits and vegetables.   I’m sitting at an outdoor table, under tropical trees, eating a very ripe papaya, an empanada de pollo and sipping café con leche while a light breeze filters its way through the trees and sidewalks.  This morning’s rain lends a clean, fresh, feel to the shady patio.  Various colored pigeons approach my table waiting for me to make a fatal error with the crust of my empanada.  A smaller, more streamlined bird, black and shiny as obsidian, hops about hopefully at a distance.  The pigeons are twice his size.  

The people around are for the most part pleasant…although two fellows walking by earlier argued loudly about the price of bananas…why in the world is it necessary to use the ”F” word while discussing bananas?..I did happen to notice that their accents were from somewhere around New York.    

  • Breakfast of Champions

    It sure is nice to get away from it all. I highly recommend it.  Of course, as soon as I left, I heard it warmed up to 60 degrees!  That must be a breath of fresh air, although I hope it doesn’t affect our local fruit growers.   

And what a fantastic Valentine’s Day market…everyone was in a stellar mood.  Ellen James was upstairs creating a beautiful vibe and Moon Music was as fantastic as they always are.  Their harmonies are so beautiful and they were the perfect band for V-Day.  I love those gals and guy!  And I finally got some greens from Rob.  Some of our vendors had their best winter day yet.   

The beautiful Kate Hopkins will be running the market this week.  Stop and say hi to her while you’re shopping.  A talented young lad named Seamus will be playing his violin, along with his Da, who plays the bagpipes.  They might also have a few friends join them in making some Celtic and Irish music.  Here’s who is at the market this week.    

North Gate Vineyard will be at the market this week with their award-winning wines… Did you know they won 4 medals for their wines at the Virginia Governor’s Red Wine competition a couple of weeks ago?  We certainly get the best vendors at our market! Check out their facebook page for the most recent developments with their tasting room…    

Micaela of Millstone Bakers will be at the market this week with baguettes, ciabatta, focaccia, challah, and whole wheat boule,and seeded country loaf.  She is experimenting with an olive and sea salt round too, so be sure and ask for a taste!    

Here’s what Erica, of The Magnolia Girls has to say this week…    

Last week our Pecan Bars sold FAST! We will be bringing them back this week. We will also have a wide variety of cookies, including our famous Chocolate Chip Macaroons and Ginger. If you haven’t tried our Banana Coconut Pecan bread you don’t know what you are missing. Children love our Pumpkin Bread! Be sure to stop by and try a sample! I pack a slice in my daughter’s lunch for a nice treat.  In the mood for scones? We will have our Raspberry and Apple Cinnamon Scones. These are just a few of the delicious treats will have to offer this week.     

Liberty Hill has this message for our customers:    

There is a health crisis in our nation.  Why?  That childhood slogan of “You are what you eat” is so true.  The Bible says that we reap what we sow.  If we sow good nutrition, we improve our health.  If we sow bad nutrition, we deteriorate our health. There are other factors that contribute to good and bad health, but food is primary.  We at Liberty Hill Farm bring to you the best food we can based on our understanding of good nutrition.  We sell pasture raised chicken, free range eggs and freshly-ground, whole wheat breads.       

Our pasture- raised chickens are raised on fresh grass and non-GMO (Genetically Modifed Organisms) feed.  Pastured-raised chickens are very different from “confined chickens” of big industry.   Fresh grass is extremely good for chickens and contribute to good taste and nutrition to the consumer.   GMOs are where scientists monkey with the genetics of one thing and mix it with another.  For example, the gene of a salmon spliced into a tomato helps give it resiliency to frost.  This is not the way God created things.  GMOs are detrimental to your health–you need to avoid them.  A good book to read concerning this issue is “Seeds of Deception”.      

Our free range eggs are very healthy for you as they create the “perfect food”, providing a perfect balance of Omega 3 and 6s. Confined chickens mess up this perfect balance of Omegas and actually produce eggs that are not as healthy for you.   No wonder a few years ago, the News was reporting that consuming eggs raised your cholesterol and were not good for you.  What wasn’t looked into was the way the eggs were being produced.   A good book to read that describes the benefits of these types of eggs is “Nourishing Traditions”.
  
Our organic, whole wheat products include:  freshly ground, whole wheat bread, pizza crusts, apple cinnamon bread, cinnamon raisin bread and delicious chocolate chip cookies.   We also provide apple cinnamon bread, cinnamon rolls and granola. Two things that make our products better for your health is that they are made from organic ingredients and we freshly grind the wheat ourselves. Organic means that pesticides can’t be used on or in the ground where the wheat is grown.  The benefit to you is that you don’t ingest chemicals that go into your organs.  Freshly grinding our wheat before we bake preserves the best nutrition for you.   Wheat flour found in packages in stores have been robbed of 25 to 30 percent of the vitamin, minerals and fiber that is critical to our bodily functions.  For example, Vitamin E is a very important vitamin that is missing in the store bought packages.   Being Vitamin E deficient has shown symptoms of muscular weakness, stiffness, pain and spasms.   Vitamin E contributes to sturdy cells that then contribute to resistance to disease and infection.   Freshly ground wheat has an abundance of Vitamin E.  
Our desire for you and your family is abundance of life and health.  We provide these products to assist you in accomplishing this goal.   You may visit our website at www.LibertyHillFarmVA.com to get more information about our products or to place orders for market pickup.   See you at the market!
 
The Matich Family
Ken, Andrea, Samuel, Treasure
Liberty Hill Farm   
Rob, of Community Gardens just informed me he is cutting greens right now.  He will be at the market this week with a limited amount…so shop early if you want to catch the worm!   
 
 Message from Joey, of Cornerstone Bakery:   
 
 
 
 
 
 

For cupcakes this week we will have Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel, Vanilla Vanilla, Espresso, German Chocolate Cake, Pancakes & Bacon, & Chocolate Covered Banana.  You can always pre-order cupcakes by e-mailing me at joey@cornerstonebakedgoods.com.  Remember that they freeze very well so you can always pick up cupcakes to use later in the week and they will still be fresh.  I will be introducing some new flavors next week so stock up on some of your favorite flavors this week.    

In addition to cupcakes I will have donuts at the market.  They are baked cake donuts and the flavors include plain chocolate, plain vanilla, cinnamon sugar, chocolate covered vanilla, chocolate glazed and chocolate chocolate.      

We will have our all-natural, sugar free, Doggie Delicious Cookies and Pupcakes at the market this week.  Our pets give us so much love they deserve a treat!    

Holy Cow will be back this week with their great dairy products and lamb.     

Liz Handcrafted Soaps is coming to the market every other week, so you’ll see Ken next week.    

From the Harvest Market Blog….The Winter Kitchen: Cabbage 

I know that this is an odd subject to talk about, but I was reminded the other day when a vendor at the market opened a new tub of sauerkraut how awfully (good) it smelled. My first thought was of the classic dish, choucroute. Braised pork belly, sausages, onions, garlic, ham hocks and a nice German beer to wash it down.   

Cabbage, whether you like it or not, is one of the stables of a winter kitchen. This vegetable, which boasts a long culinary history, displays its green or red maturity in autumn and winter. When the weather is ruthlessly cold outside, it makes for a comforting vegetable from the kitchen garden.    

The Celts of central and western Europe had much to do with the distribution and popularization of cabbage as a food plant. Although the evidence points to the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor as the place of origin of the species, Celtic knowledge of it was so ancient as to have influenced the Latin name, Brassica (from the Celtic word bresic, meaning “cabbage”). Another way the Irish saved civilization!! The Greeks and Romans ate cabbage to stave off the effects of too much alcohol. Cabbage was introduced to America in 1541-42 by Jacques Cartier, who planted it in Canada on his third voyage. Because of its popularity among Europeans, it was doubtless planted in what is now the United States by some of the earliest colonists, although there is no written record of it until 1669. In the 18th century it was being grown by American Indians as well as by the colonists.    

Cabbage is used the world round. Kimchi in Korea, sauerkraut in Northern Europe, coleslaw in America, just to name a few. Its uses and cooking methods are numerous. Eat it raw, pickled, braised, in soups, stews, or stuff it (Grammie Annie’s stuffed cabbage and Mom’s sauerkraut onion pierogis)!  

 Long live family Brassica!    

Menu for this week:
Creamed savoy cabbage with smoked salmon
Braised red cabbage with apples and honey
Hearts of escarole with blue cheese and walnuts
Grilled radicchio with aged red wine vinegar and pine nuts�
 Other options as well
Arugula salsa verde
Vegetable couscous     

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The Stifler Family of What’s for Dinner Now, will be bringing their will be bringing their delicious, all-natural, pasture-raised, grain-finished beef (www.whatsfordinnernow.com).    

Betty will be back with the best chips in the universe, as well as her fantastic salsas and enchiladas…which she runs out of every week.  I sure would like to get some of those, Betty!  Next week, when I get back.    

Herban Avenues will be at the market with their fine teas, cold remedies, skin care lotions, and their friend’s honey.    

 Arondo Holmes, otherwise known as Hondo, will be at the market with his pickled goods and coffee     

Lothar will be at the market with the best sausages around as well as his pork and beef cuts.    

 Linna the Locavore    

 Great to see everyone at the market last week – good to know that I am not the only one with cabin fever, come on spring!    

I will be back at the market soon, dates TBD!    

I am selling BAMBOO TEEPEES ($10.00), that can be used for tomato and bean supports.  I also sell 7 foot Vertical Bamboo Gardening Kits for use in other parts of your garden.  Contact me if you are interested in either of these kits.  I can make custom orders as well.  Bamboo is a great natural AND local resource for all types of garden structures!    

Check out my recent articles on Home Food Gardening.  Sign up for upcoming workshops here!    

Linna    

———————————–    

Be vocal.  Eat, think, and buy local!    

www.foodscaper.com!    

Follow me on Facebook: look for Foodscaper Friends    

Follow me on Twitter: Locavore_Linna    

Check out my upcoming workshops     

We hope you stop by in all kinds of weather now.  If you’re coming from the east, it’s just the first right past the town hall and then up the block on your left.  Look for the signs.  Don’t forget, there is parking in the town lot down the street and also behind It’s Bazaar.  Don’t park in the little parking lot between Nichol’s Hardware and It’s Bazaar.  We want to be good neighbors to our favorite hardware store!!!    

We really appreciate your support and hope that we have been a positive influence in your lives beyond providing great, healthy food for you and your families.  Check out our website at www.purcellvillecommunitymarket.com, our info on www.loudounfarms.org  and on facebook, where we post pictures of happy customers and vendors each week! Check the market table for all kinds of info, cookbooks, recipes, community events, local businesses, health information, and my favorite magazine, Flavor!    

Don’t forget to try to remember to bring your Purcellville Green and Buy Fresh, Buy Local shopping bags…    

So come out on Saturday, try all of our samples, purchase some GREAT, HEALTHY, LOCAL foods, have a chat with your faithful vendors, happy neighbors, and enlightened folks from other communities and sip some fresh coffee and have a bite to eat. We will be there from 10 am to 1 pm inside It’s Bazaar at 143 N. 21st Street in beautiful, old town Purcellville, VA.    

Enjoy!    

Juanita Tool    

703.967.0431  

    

   

 

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