Dear Market Goers,

I love Liz Handcrafted Soaps.  They are not only beautiful to look at, they are simple, pure, and good to your skin.  When I read Judy’s newsletter input, I smiled, because she told the story of her latest creation, a new soap called Egyptian Charm.  It’s red, black and white:  the colors of the Egyptian Flag.  She created this soap in “honor of the Egyptian’s victory over tyranny”.  Isn’t that awesome?  It reminded me of the freedoms that I enjoy yet take for granted.  And as we have seen, there are many people in this world willing to sacrifice their lives in order to live the way we live every day, and take for granted.  I’m going to buy some in honor of the Egyptians and every time I use thatbeautiful, black, red and white bar, I’m going think about what I take for granted.   Thanks for the reminder, Judy!

That reminds me of something else that has been bothering me. The Board of Supervisors is considering a redistricting plan (required because of the 2010 census numbers) which would eliminate one of the two voices on the Board that represent Western Loudoun.  Read this article in the Loudoun Times-Mirror.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel good about this.  Western Loudoun is one of the reasons that Loudoun County is such a unique place to live. Since I live in Western Loudoun and also work for the County, I realize how important it is that our voice not be diluted and that we strive to protect the extraordinary diversity of Loudoun County.  I also know that when people stand up, ask questions, make their opinions known to their representatives in a respectful way, they are listened to.  So if you want to protect Western Loudoun, e-mail the Board of Supervisors (BOS@loudoun.gov) or better yet, speak at public input and let your thoughts be known.

Back to your skin!  I must say that Herban Avenues has been a delightful addition to our market.  I absolutely love their hand made teas.  Almost every evening, I make a tea with chunks of fresh ginger,f resh lemon or lime, and local honey.  After this tea simmers and the ginger releases its goodness, I add either their Vitamin C tea or their Rooibas tea to the pot.  I love it, and even my teenage boys drink it!  To learn more about the benefits of ginger, check out this website (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=72)  or (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginger) and for more about Rooibos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos)

Another product of theirs I love is their Skin Spread.  I have their Clean Mint, with flower waters, nut oils, comfrey, calendula, aloe and essential oils.  That’s it.  None of the unpronounceable junk that is put in the brand name commercial products. I just grabbed a jar of store-bought, sweet-smelling shea butter from my bathroom and here are some of the ingredients in the long, long ingredients list:  xanthum gum, phenoxyethanol, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, diazolidnyl urea, disodium EDTA, polysorbate 80, cetearyl alcohol, PEG-100 Stearate… need I go on?  I can’t believe it myself! I just threw it in the trash!!!  Your skin is your largest organ and everything you put on it goes right into your body….hence: nicotine patches, estrogen patches, morphine patches….you get the point.  And in this weather, my skin needs healthy help, so I rub it into my hands every night before I go to bed and in the morning apply it to other areas of my body.

Thanks to Morgan, Egan and Finch, and also our fantastic Celtic harp player, Ellen James, for playing at the market last week.  When you donate a dollar or two in addition to the product that our fantastic vendors donate as well as what PCM donates, it really makes them appreciated….. and of course, our musicians are available for “gigs” too!.

This week Jake and the Burtones are playing their awesome tunes for the people of Purcellville!  Can’t wait for market to start!

Here’s who’s at the market this week….

Laura, from Herban Avenues, has this message for PCM customers:

This week we are featuring HERB SPLASH – pure herb aroma spritzers

Lavender dispels stress and helps you sleep!

Rosemary/Eucalyptus dispels germs and wakes you up! (So that’s one for the car and one for the bedroom)

We also made a new rub on parfum which is unisex (for him or her).  It’s one of a kind since I didn’t write the recipe down…..it will never be created again.  It contains:  Patchouli, clove, vanilla, bayleaf and balsam wood.

Joey, of Cornerstone Bakery, has a message:

This week we will have six flavors of cupcakes which include: Double Chocolate (dark chocolate cake with white chocolate buttercream), Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese, Sticky Toffee Pudding (dense dark toffee soaked cake with sweet whipped cream topping),  Vanilla Vanilla decorated for St. Patricks Day, Espresso and  Pancakes & Bacon (buttermilk cake with maple buttercream and bacon on top).  You can always pre-order cupcakes, donuts or dog treats by e-mailing me at joey@cornerstonebakedgoods.com.  I also have free local delivery during the week so if you ever have an office function or want to treat your co-workers with cupcakes or donuts just let me know.

I will have donuts at the market this week.  They are baked cake donuts and the flavors include plain chocolate, plain vanilla, cinnamon sugar, chocolate covered vanilla, chocolate glazed and chocolate chocolate.  They are delicious, filling and addictive (in a good way!).

We will have our all-natural sugar free Doggie Delicious Cookies and Pupcakes at the market this week.  I am experimenting this week with different dog cookie shapes (bone, fire hydrant, etc.) and if I am happy with how they come out I will have them at the market this week.  Our pets give us so much love they deserve a treat.

As always, she take custom orders for your party needs.  Just e-mail her at joey@cornerstonebakedgoods.com and let her know what you need. You can pick up your order at the next market or she can deliver them to you during the week.

Betty, of Betty’s Salsa, will have her to-die-for corn chips, bean dip, salsa and enchiladas.  You gotta get there early to get somadem enchiladas!

Erica, of The Magnolia Girls, will be back with her delicious breads and cookies.  Can’t wait to get some of the best ginger cookies around!

Rob, of Community Gardens, will be back this week with the goods…the best greens and arugula around!

Hondo Coffee and Pickled Goods.  - He’s coming with his local and non-local pickled goods…tasty pickles, sauerkraut, pickled beets…..and coffee.

Here’s a message from the Matich’s of Liberty Hill Farm:This week Liberty Hill Farm will be providing free range eggs and a limited supply of pastured raised chicken.  Kate Hopkins will be representing us at the market this Saturday.

Free range eggs are very healthy for you as they create the “perfect food”, providing a perfect balance of Omega 3 and 6.  Confined chickens have unbalanced 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 free range eggs is “Nourishing Traditions”.

Unlike the conventional store bought chicken, our pasture-raised chickens are raised on fresh grass and non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) feed.    Fresh grass is extremely good for the chickens and contribute to a good taste and nutrition to the consumer.   Crops such as corn and soy are being genetically modified by companies such as Monsanto to resist Roundup.  Roundup is used to kill any known living plant.  Not so with Roundup Ready Monsanto products.    Now you have to ask the question, what has been done to Roundup Ready corn and soy that can withstand Roundup?  It is certainly not good.   This is not the way God created things.  GMOs have been proven to be detrimental to your health.    A good book to read concerning this issue is “Seeds of Deception”.

Visit our website at www.LibertyHillFarmVA.com to get more information about our products or to place orders for market pickup.

The Matich Family

Ken, Andrea, Samuel, Treasure

Liberty Hill Farm www.LibertyHillFarmVA.com

Message from the Soapmeister Judy:

This week at the market, Liz Handcrafted Soaps will have a new scent, Egyptian Charm, a radical bar in white, red and black. I was shooting for the colors of the Egyptian flag, as my way–former social studies teacher–of honoring the Egyptians’ victory over tyranny, but the result was a bit different than I had envisioned. Coloring soap can be very tricky sometimes! Anyway, the white represents peace and honesty, the red represents hardiness, bravery, strength & valor, and the black represents determination. Some of my bars have more “determination” than others! Egyptian Charm is a musk-scented bar with all of those luxurious oils intact. We are also up to speed on most of our regular scents, including White Ginger and our no-scent Plain. Don’t forget to try out Snowdrops, a soft scent of early flowers that peep through the snow. Shout out to Steve–your shave soap in your own mug is ready! See you at the market!

Mark Fedor, Best winemaker in Loudoun County!

North Gate Vineyard - Check out their facebook page to see the progress on the construction of their new, LEED Certified tasting room.  They will be at the market with their selection of great Virginia wines.  They are opening their new tasting room on Saturday, March 19th, 11-6…be there or be without good wine!

Lothar has a message for you!

Dear Valued Customers and Friends of Good Taste,

We will have extra few special meat cuts on Saturday.  Have you ever tried Beef Rouladen?  It is a delicious German dish made with excellent thin cuts of beef stuffed with onions, pickles and bacon. You can also variate the stuffing with portabello mushrooms.  If you google “Beef Rouladen Recipe” you can see many variations of it.  This is one of wonders of an internet….so many fantastic recipes by click of a finger tip!  As many of my friends say, good Rouladen is such a comfort food and is also great for entertaining. Why not give it a try?

As you’d expect, Lothar has been producing all kinds of fresh sausages this week so please stop by and check them out.  We will bring your favorite bacons, an assortment of the best meat cuts (not frozen) in beef, pork & lamb, roasts and marinated steaks.

For those of you watching salt intake, we have 5 packages of Sausages without any salt, but with full taste and flavor. The secret is in blending the right kind of herbs and spices that you don’t even notice missing salt.

We will be happy to see you at the market!  Lothar,  June and Jack-Henry

The Stifler Family of What’s for Dinner Now will be bringing their delicous, all-natural, pasture-raised, grain-finished beef (www.whatsfordinnernow.com). Here’s a message from Joyce:

The third generation of Stifler farmers – Josh and Heather – will be taking care of the natural beef sales for Whats For Dinner Now this Saturday, March 12th.  They’ve agreed to help out this week so that Mom & Dad can skip off to Florida for the week to visit the grandparents.  Stop by and make your selection from our variety of steaks, roasts, burgers, ribs, sausage and more.  Our angus beef is farm raised and is never fed growth hormones or antibiotics.  Natural beef is not only a healthy choice, but its oh so flavorful.  Buy plenty to last for two weeks because we’re going to take a break and won’t be at the market on March 19th.  But, we’ll be back in business for the March 26th market.  Thank you for your business!

Mitch & Joyce Stifler

Whats For Dinner Now, LLC

Natural Farm-Raised Beef

Chris Carey, of HarvestMarket, will have the following incredible prepared foods made with fresh, local ingredients whenever possible.

Before Refrigerators

Everyone has one, maybe two, or three. They come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, even colors nowadays. Some are modern sleek with glass doors and TVs in them. Some are more humble, a simple white color with no thrills just plotting along everyday. Some are retro, bringing back the style of their ancestors. We refer to them as “the fridge,”"cooler,”"icebox,”(Dad’s favorite)”walk in,”"reach-in.” But before this wonderful invention, how did we go about preserving food for long term storage?

“Most methods are of great antiquity,” writes Filipe Fernandez Armesto of preservation in his food history Near A Thousand Tables. Over two thousand years ago, the Andean civilizations perfected the method of freeze-drying potatoes in an elaborate ritual of overnight freezing, trampling to release moisture, then drying in the wind. Frozen food in the Arctic regions of the world is obvious. Other methods, among many, are salting, fermenting, confit, and smoking.

The Egyptians were probably the first to salt food on a large scale. Not only did they use it for their own food supply, but for trade and it helped them build their economy. The Egyptians reviled the pig, so they left that to the Celts who spread it throughout Europe around the Age of Iron.(Irish saving civilization, again!) The Vikings used it preserve the bountiful cod of northern waters. During the Middle Ages, gravlax was made by fishermen, who salted the salmon and lightly fermented it by burying it in the sand above the high-tide line. The word gravlax comes from the Scandinavian word grav, which literally means “grave” or “hole in the ground,”  and lax (or laks), which means “salmon”, thus gravlax means “buried salmon”. A NY bagel with gravlax, cream cheese, sliced red onion, capers. A great way to start the day!

Confit literally translates into “preserved.” Confit means to poach in fat and stored within that fat until ready to heat and serve. Today, chefs use the term loosely to mean anything poached in fat. Thus, you can confit salmon, potatoes(really good with duck fat), even vegetables. Carrots poached in olive oil with garlic and herbs is exquisite! Meat, especially duck or goose, prepared this way and stored in the same pot in a root cellar can last for months. French farmers when it came time to harvest the foie gras would have more meat than they could sell. Because the birds produce so much excess fat, the farmers used the excess to confit the legs. Thus, preserving them for future eating. And what good eating it is!! Duck leg confit served with crispy skin and sauteed greens or better yet in cassoulet!

Who needs refrigeration!

Taste Local Flavor and let the Market Inspire You!

Menu for the Week:

Duck leg confit (meat)

Gravlax (meat)

Assorted country pates (meat)

Winter green and local goat cheese ravioli (vegetarian)

Sauteed winter greens with smoked bacon (meat, gluten-free)

French walnut tart (vegetarian)

Italian escarole, ham and vegetable soup (meat, gluten-free)

Carrot and apple soup (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free)

Gold beet and Stilton blue cheese salad (vegetarian, gluten-free)

Check out his weekly cooking story on his new food blog, www.harvestmarketdc.blogspot.com.  He’s also on Facebook:   HarvestMarketDC, and Twitter:   HarvestMarketDC/Twitter.

Micaela of Millstone Bakers says she will be bringing baguettes, ciabatta, focaccia, pane siciliano, whole wheat boule, seeded loaf, challah and scones.  They will be absent from the market on March 26th.

Samantha, of Holy Cow Delivery, will be selling her cousin’s (South Mountain Creamery) whole, cream top, 2%, skim, and chocolate milk, fantastic yogurt and yogurt drinks, to die-for cream cheeses, regular butter and honey butter. Here’s a message from Samantha:

Holy Cow!!!  We have lambchops, lamb stew meat, and lamb burger.  In addition to our fantastic lamb, we have some awesome dairy products.  Our chocolate milk makes the best hot cocoa!!!  You gotta try it

TOATS, a wheat, egg, and dairy-free cookie made right here in Loudoun County!  They have 0 trans fats and even the box is organic.  Stop by and chat with Marisol about her journey creating this unique product and ask for a taste these delicious, healthy snacks (www.toatsorganic.com).

Everona Dairy, will not be here for two weeks!!!  “WHY, OH WHY?”, you ask.  They are too popular…they ran out of cheese and they need to let their cheese ripen.  Just like our other cheese vendor, Oak Springs Dairy, they make fabulous cheese that everyone wants to eat.

If you’re jonesin’ for one of  The Smoothie Guy’s (Mike Schreiber) fresh fruit smoothies, don’t forget he’s at the Purcellville Sports Pavilion in his Smoothie Hut.  I’m not kidding, it looks like an Island hut.  Just walk in, even if you’re not a member, and order one of those fantastic smoothies…he’ll be back at the Best Little Market in Loudoun when the weather gets warmer..

Linna the Locavore

Spring is coming, spring is coming!  I will be at the market this week sharing my seed catalogs, answering your gardening questions, and getting you excited for planting time!  I am a certified Square Foot Garden teacher and will have my demonstration table at the market.  Wondering what the Square Foot Garden method is? Check out this week’s article on The basics of Square Foot Gardening.  I will have a few bean teepees with me if you are looking for some vertical supports.  See you Saturday!

‘Linna the Locavore’

Motivational Garden Speaker & Teacher

www.foodscaper.com

www.linnasgarden.blogspot.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Loudoun_locavores

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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 almost every week! Check the market table for all kinds of info, cookbooks, recipes, community events, local businesses, and health information.

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