The Gateway to Local Food: Farmers Markets

June 2011 Copley Square Farmers Market

The first seeds of the season (beets, carrots, dark leafy greens, radishes, ext.) are turning into seedlings already! How fast time flies when you are having fun..... March is long gone and May is close at hand. I wish my schedule allowed for time to take care of a garden of my own this season but luckily I will be working in the garden for my job with Waltham Fields Community Farm.

In honor of spring, my next few posts are going to focus on the different places you can obtain fresh and local food easily.  We are lucky to have an abundance of sources to make fresh food accessible. So many in fact, that it might be overwhelming for those who are just getting started on this life path.  Today I will talk about Farmers Markets: your gateway to the fresh and local world.

Support of farmers markets is a rapidly growing movement around the country.  They have always been popular in other parts of the world, such as Europe, but we are generally focused on large grocery chains in the United States. The farmers market movement here began with one or two farmers who wanted to cut out the middle man and sell their products directly to the consumer in order to keep the entire profit of their sales.  Since the 1970s this idea has steadily evolved into a weekly gathering of farmers and local artisans which, although still focused on benefiting the farmer, is more about community and promoting health. Now a days, farmers markets are almost exactly like a grocery store offering a wide variety of specialty baked goods, jams/jellies, honey, chocolate, dairy products, eggs, meats, and even alcohol along with produce. I am sure many of you are thinking: "yeah, but the prices are so much higher!" But ask yourself why.

Honestly, when it comes down to it, the prices are no higher than Shaws, Star Market, or Whole Foods.  Plus most of the groceries you find for cheap are subsidized by the government meaning they contain lots of corn syrup and non essential added ingredients which can be harmful to you. If not the ingredients, then they travel long distances which means they have a higher carbon footprint (I will focus on carbon footprints in another post), are older and therefore less nutritious. You know exactly what you are buying at the farmers market.

Most farmers markets have a set of rules which need to be followed by all vendors about safety and quality.  For example, Mass Farmers Markets  requires all of their member markets and vendors to sell products which are 100% farm grown.  Meaning all of the products sold by a participating farmer comes from their own land which is approved by MFM (check out Mass Farmers Markets entire policy). Also, when you buy at a farmers market, you are supporting your community by keeping your money in the local economy. In so doing, you are benefiting yourself and your neighbors.  You can not get that from shopping at a chain grocery store which sends your money all over the country, maybe even the world.

Shopping at a farmers market is an experience.  Many offer educational programs, tables which highlight other local businesses, and performances/art exhibits by local community members. I recommend that you make a visit to your local farmers market part of your weekly routine; it has become something I look forward to each week.  Make sure you give yourself enough time to enjoy strolling through the market, picking out the best products and chatting with each vendor.  It is easy to grab a picnic lunch and eat it on a nearby park bench while listening to the live music and breathing in the fresh air.  

Bring your own bags and plenty of cash (only a few of the vendors actually have credit card machines)!

For more information visit the Mass Farmers Market, Mass Department of Agriculture (MDAR), or The Farmers Market Coalition websites.     

  

     

It has been too long since my last post and I apologize for the absence.  My life has been full of traveling, new creative endeavors, and job opportunities since the beginning of March.  I will leave you with a series of pictures from my trip to visit Seattle in March.  I greatly enjoyed the kindness of the people, beauty of the city, and all around appreciation for the environment that this place has to offer. Typical for a trip with my sister, we enjoyed lots of good food and a ski trip (snow shoes for me!) to Mount Rainier.  The major difference I saw between New England and Seattle was an awareness of weather like I have never experienced. 

taco truck!!! Like I have never eaten

fish, carnitas, and veggie

Rally against Monsanto

gotta have local brewed beer!

We drank a lot of specialty coffees

Mt. Rainier adventure 

looks like a snow globe right? 

relaxing after our great outdoor adventures

  

Let's Talk about Food Series at the Museum Of Science

The Lowell Institute is sponsoring a free movie and discussion series at the Museum of Science until Sunday April 29th! Additional funding is provided by the Barbara and Malcom L. Sherman Fund for Adult Programs and the David and Marion Ellis Endowment Fund.

This series is ideal for those interested in joining the sustainable movement but still do not know how to get started. I attended the film American Meat last weekend which included a informative panel of experts on sustainable meat. The film was beautifully made; in a way that placed no blame but presented the cold hard facts. I highly recommend it.

At the event were numerous pamphlets provided by Whole Foods. Some of the more important bits of information you can find below as links:

Local places where you can purchase sustainable meats:
Whole Foods Market
John Crow Farm CSA
Stillman's Meat CSA

Local Restaurants serving sustainable meats:
Boloco
Flour Bakery
Henrietta's Table
Lumiere
Russell House Tavern
Rendezvous
Sel De La Terre
Taranta Restaurant
The Fireplace

Helpful directories to find sustainable meats and learn more:
Eat Wild
Mass Farmers Markets (find by looking up the farm and search the farmers markets where they sell)
The Eat Well Guide
Civil Eats Blog
The Meatrix

Food Safety advice:
A refrigerator allows slow and safe thawing but, if u need to thaw in a jiffy, you can place meat in a plastic bag and submerge in cold tap water.

Internal temperature of ground beef should be 160 degrees ferinheit when cooked and poultry breasts 145 degrees ferinheit.

Never leave out for over 2 hours

For leftovers, divide food into shallow containers and put directly into the refrigerator or freezer and use within 4 days.

Raw hamburger should be cooked within 1-2 days and cooked meat dishes should be consumed within 3-4 days.

Whole Foods Animal Welfare ratings:
1- no cages, no crates, no crowding
2- + enriched environment
3- + enhanced outdoor access
4-+ pasture centered
5- + animal centered, no physical alterations
5+- animal centered, entire life on same farm

Similar documentaries:
Dirt: The Movie
Food, Inc.
Fresh
Forks Over Knives
Food Fight
Food Matters

Hope this post was helpful! Visit the Museum Of Science website for more info on the Let's Talk About Food series.

Pi Day Celebrations

Can anyone really recite more than a few decimal points into the number Pi? I sure can't; however, I can make a pretty kick ass pie!

Pi day, March 14th, was originally created in celebration of mathematics but has simultaneously become a huge pie baking day. Petsi's Pies in Cambridge offers a free pie to anyone who can recite a certain number of decimal points into the number. I have never participated 1) because I am horrible at math (even as a musician) and 2) because I prefer to bake my own pies!

This year Tommy told me that he rarely eats pies and the only way he would eat a slice was al a mode or with loads of wiped cream.... Well I took that as a challenge.

On a short brake from packing for my birthday trip to visit my sister in Seattle, I went to Whole Foods to buy ingredients. Since I already had an organic gram cracker crumb crust in my pantry, making a home made butter crust was not necessary. I decided on apple cinnamon crumble filling. My Macintosh apples came from a local farm in Massachusetts, the butter was organic, and flour from King Arthur.

This was a brand new creation for me and a big hit with Tommy and his roommates. One bite and Tommy was hooked! He even went back for seconds. I hope you have the same success with this recipe, it is delicious! Tommy said "this is just like a crumble except in pie form!"

Cinnamon crumble apple pie:
One Graham cracker pie crust
Filling:
4-5 Macentosh apples peeled
1 Bosc pear peeled (optional)
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp ginger
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Crumble:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
Pinch salt (optional)

1) preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit.
2) peel all of your apples and pears, core, and slice into thin pieces.

3) in a medium bowl, toss the fruit with sugar, cinnamon, ginger, flour, and lemon juice.
4) pour into your crust. The filing should tower high over your pan (this will cook down, u want to over fill the crust).
5) using the same bowl as filling or a new medium bowl, mix together the crumble. I like to cut up the butter and use my hands to squeeze the mixture together until everything is well incorporated.

6) press crumble around the filling sealing off the top of the crust. You should have a nice shell around the mound of filling.
7) place pie on a cookie sheet and bake for one and a half hours turning every half hour. Start checking every 10-15 minutes after one hour.
8) let cool on rack while you wip up some wipping cream. I use a small amount of maple syrup to sweeten.

Enjoy! Seattle post coming soon!

Mid-Week Meatloaf

When it comes to the taste spectrum, Tommy and I are very different.  I prefer the sweeter tastes while Tommy is a savory kind of guy (I blame it on our cultural up bringing).  Anyways, my ice cream response to comfort his lower back injury (comforting for me, not for him) on Wednesday night, was a little lack luster.  This is when he mentioned that he had been craving meat loaf all week!

I couldn't resist, memories of growing up in my mother's kitchen came flowing back.  My dad being a meat and potatoes kind of guy, we ate meatloaf and mashed potatoes on a fairly regular basis.  Mom's recipe is super simple: ketchup, bread crumbs, ground serloin, egg, salt and pepper to taste.  She would always adorn the top with green peppers, something of which I was never a big fan.

I headed straight for Whole foods for the ingredients.  With my current diet restrictions on meat (only sustainably raised and slaughtered), I needed a store where I could be at least 50% sure that the meat and other ingredients were up to my standards.  Within the last few months Whole Foods has started labeling it's meat based on the way it was raised, leaving their shoppers with no excuses. I buy meat which is labeled humanely raised.  This means the cow was fed an all vegetarian diet, no anti-biotics, completely grass fed, and had no restrictions on it's life.  I would much rather buy straight from the farmer, but when that isn't possible, Whole Foods is my next in line.  For the other ingredients, I bought organic.  This label, although it says nothing about growing practices and packaging, means that the product has to meet a certain set of very strict and regulated guidelines.

I am happy to report that we had a delicious dinner and I a very happy patient!

Mom's updated meatloaf
1# ground beef
1# ground pork
1/2 large onion
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cage free egg
Ketchup to taste (around 1/2 cup)
Salt and pepper to taste
Thyme and oregano to taste

Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Dump all of your ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and knead with your hands until just combined (kneading to much will make the meat tough). Pour your mixture into a loaf pan and spread evenly.  Bake the loaf for 30 minutes, it is done when the center is cooked through and no longer pink. Let cool for 10 minutes and pour out the extra fat.  Serve with mashed potatoes and a heaping pile of broccoli.

  

Soul Mates: Music and Food

Jeff Jam Sing Song Show Christmas 2011

Besides food, music is my other passion.  Although this blog is mainly about food related subjects, I would also like to incorporate posts about my musical life.

Similar to food, music can be Fresh, Local, Sustainable, and Delicious.  I've found there are many ties between the two.  Have you ever noticed that musically oriented people also love cooking and eat fine cuisine? Or that many of your favorite memories involve a nice dinner and concert. Both require creativity, passion, and commitment.

I grew up in a very musically inclined family who also shared a love for good cuisine. My parents made an effort every night to give my sister and I a home cooked meal even though they both had their own careers.

Some of my earliest memories are of my mother  singing me to sleep or my dad showing me how to blow his trumpet and strum his guitar. A family gathering with the Schaeffers always meant home cooked Jewish food and the Daggers, whole family sing-a-longs, jam sessions, and cooking. It is no surprise I fell in love with music and food at such a young age.

Summer 2007

Since I can remember, it has been an internal struggle to decide over which I am most passionate.  During high school, while I was heavily involved in various ensembles and weekly flute lessons, I also began my career in the food business.  Music has always been the medium I study while food has made for a good professional career.  

Goucher Senior Recital 2008

Food and music compliment each other, like soul mates, and I could never be happy with one missing from my life.

   

   

Restaurant Row: Danish Pastry House

Raison Bran Muffin

Friday has always been the weekday that I look forward to the most, even when I was working as a baker and ALWAYS  worked on Friday.  I used to curse the early morning radio hosts for saying TGIF and my friends for relaxing, finished with their long weeks.  In most cases... my week was just beginning.  I am happy to say those days are over.

Since ending my baking career, I have made a considerable effort to take this day and weekends off from work.  This simple act has improved my life.  Simply put, Friday is my treat to myself and this is why I spend every Friday morning at Danish Pastry House.

I originally discovered this spectacular bakery two years ago when I volunteered for a Hosteling International fundraiser where I met Kathleen Flahive, co-owner.  Kathleen is a huge supporter of the local food community in Boston.  I have seen her donate pastries to fundraisers for Mass Farmers Markets, Hosteling International, and Danish Pastry House is a vendor at many farmers markets in the Boston area.

Morning Glory Muffin

Besides supporting local food, Danish Pastry House serves the best pastries and baked goods in the area (believe me, I don't compliment bakeries very often).  This is the only bakery where you can buy authentic Scandinavian bread in Boston.  They also offer a wide variety of special occasion cakes that never fail to take my breath away with their beauty and deliciousness.  Of course, I don't buy these things every Friday.  Danish Pastry House also offers a variety of freshly baked muffins, scones, small pastries, and lunch items.  Their sandwiches are served on home made bread and, for weekend brunch, crepes are made to order.  

The atmosphere is just right for a small cafe.  My ideal morning is sitting down with my book, a cup of coffee, and a Morning Glory Muffin.  I have also tried their Bran and Pumpkin Muffins, all of which are perfectly moist and sweet.  

Danish Pastry House wins over my stomach any day of the week.... especially Fridays!