What Did YOU Cook?

We're asking our Market friends to share ideas about how they use the produce and other wonderful things that they find at the Market. We hope this new feature gets your creative juices flowing, too!

First up, Tammie Nelson's dinner party (with a big assist from daughter Kimberly!)

I had a dinner party tonight and everything except for the salmon was from the Cheverly Community Market.

Raw veggies, so good that (a) they did not need a dip; and (b) the kids all loved them. Thinly sliced kohlrabi, baby carrots, sliced green peppers, scored/seeded/sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced red beets, shell peas.

Fried green tomatoes: thinly sliced green tomatoes, dredged in egg and bread crumbs, two dashes of Crystal's hot sauce each, seasoned with salt and pepper, fried in a very thin layer of very hot oil. Flip them with a fork not a spatula. Serve hot.

Chilled curried zucchini buttermilk soup: from Jane Brody's Good Food Book (couldn't find on the web and too tired to type it in; main ingredients are spring onions and zuchinni)

Sweet and sour cabbage: I followed this recipe except that I served it at room temperature and used soy bacos instead of bacon. It went really well with the salmon.

Fresh bread from the Market

Grilled salmon, marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic. coated with sesame seeds, grilled in tin foil. (This was the only non-Market purchase!)

Sounds like a fantastic dinner, Tammie and Kimberly! Thanks for sharing with us. I understand that Tammie enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day, too, an excellent way to get the most out of your shopping/cooking dollars and time.

Have a great meal or recipe idea that you'd like to share? Tell us how you get the most out of your Market purchases!

Another Way to Help Cheverly Community Market Win!

This season, there are some great ways for you to help Cheverly Community Market spread the word that we're here...and maybe even win a prize or two!

We've already asked you to show your support by voting in the American Farmland Trust's America's Favorite Farmer's Markets contest. Now we're asking you to take a minute to vote for us in the LocalHarvest Love Your Farmer's Market Contest:

Care2 will donate $15,000 to farmer's markets through this contest, with prize money ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Each week a market wins $250 at random, and there's a random drawing (tote bag) for voters, too.

Please click on the button above and share your love of Cheverly Community Market. We do appreciate your support!

Vote for Cheverly Community Market!

Do you love our Market? We need your help!

The American Farmland Trust is sponsoring a contest highlighting the best farmer's markets in the United States...we'd like you to vote for us!

One large, medium, and small farmers market will win the title of America’s Favorite Farmers Market in 2009, and the winning markets will each receive a free No Farms No Food ® tote bag giveaway for their customers. By partnering with farmers markets, American Farmland Trust is encouraging consumers to consider the importance of farmland and to support local farmers. Let's put it another way: there is no local food without local farmland.

Please take a minute to vote for Cheverly Community Market as your favorite small farmer's market. We appreciate your support!

Local Food Needs Local Farms.

"Bounty" doesn't begin to describe today's treasures!

Going through all the photos from this morning's Market, I am amazed by the quality and quantity of produce and products available to us today. In a word: amazing. It really is possible to get enough fresh, local food to carry your family through a week (or two!) at this Market, and the season has only just begun. We hope that you stocked up today!

Of course, we want to thank the many volunteers and vendors who make our Market happen. Growing a local non-profit requires literally thousands of hours of labor, and we're fortunate to have a group of people who feel that local is important, and that supporting small, local farmers, ranchers and other sellers is vital to the health of our community. THANK YOU!

We also want to thank our terrific house band, The Hot Noodles. Our Market would be bland without your musical talents -- we're thrilled to call you our very own! (Remember, the full band is playing at Cheverly Swim & Racquet Club's Adult Night tonight starting at 8:00. It's still not too late to get tickets!)

Photos from this morning are posted on our flickr page. Have photos, stories or recipes you'd like to share? Contact us.

Thanks again for making Cheverly Community Market such a special place!

See you soon at the Market.

Great Market: Here's a recap...

Thanks to everyone who came out on this lovely Saturday. We've had three Markets with amazing weather, and we enjoy catching up with all our friends -- both vendors and customers.

Today, we even had cheese! Welcome to our new cheese vendor, Eve's Cheese. It's delicious -- I'm enjoying some BBQ Colby on a Firehook baguette with a few slices of fresh tomato and some home-grown lettuce right now. And I'll be having a peach (or two) from Swann Farms for desert. Breakfast tomorrow? Martha's mango-lemon preserves on toasted bread from Firehook, and a giant bowl of berries from Reberts and Shlagel Farms.

We want to know how you use your Market treasures. What are you cooking tonight? Let us know!

Late News on the Vendor Front...

News reached us today that Rich Pelz and Circle C Oyster Ranch won't be able to join us at the Market tomorrow morning. Sometimes the plans of our small, local vendors are subject to late changes, but they make every effort to bring amazing products to us and we're grateful to them for all their hard work.

So no blue crabs or oysters tomorrow, but we'll be able to enjoy them again very soon. There are still lots of delicious treasures in store for Saturday's Market, and we're eager to share them with you!

See you tomorrow at the Market!

Who's coming to Market tomorrow?

We know that you like to know what vendors you can expect at Cheverly Community Market. It helps to plan ahead -- even if just to get an idea of how many bags to bring (the answer should always be alot!)

Tomorrow brings a bounty of produce perfect for enjoying now and later (preserve some now and stock up for next winter!) We're expecting squash, zucchini, peas, green beans, beets, cabbage, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, large tomatoes, corn, carrots, kale, collards, broccoli, cucumbers, peaches, cantaloupes, cucumbers, sweet cherries, white cherries, sour cherries, raspberries, nectarines, sugar peas, and red potatoes on the produce front (of course, this all depends on growing conditions). Bring berry baskets and extra bags if you have them!

In addition to all that lovely produce, you'll be able to get wine, cheese, breads, pastries, chips, tortillas, coffee, cider, jams & preserves, crabs, oysters, beef, pork, lamb, eggs, ice cream & gelato, cupcakes, muffins and cake. Cheverly Community Market brings everything you need to enjoy the very best local foods.

This Saturday's Vendors:

Cheverly Breadbasket (featuring Firehook & Moctec)

Cheverly United Methodist Church

Clan Stewart

Simple Pleasures Ice Cream

Basignani Winery

Shlagel Farms

Swann Farms

Benny's Fruit Stand (Reberts)

Eve's Cheese

Martha's Jam

Circle C Oyster Ranch

Cookies to Cocktails

And, of course, our very own house band, The Hot Noodles, will be on hand to make your morning wonderful. As always, we'll be whrrling the Market and taking lots of photos to share.

See You on Saturday at the Market!