I grabbed the wrong info for Earthscape Farm – they are NOT having a beef sale this week! Their corrected info for the June 4th market is below. Apologies to all.
Earthscape Farm of Hesperia BEEF ~ Try our beef. Our steers were on lush rotational pastures from May to November. They get all our quality hay they can eat, plus a little home-grown and ground- on-the-farm grain in winter. They are hung to age and processed by Ebel’s Meats in Falmouth, a family-run USDA operation. Email us pre-orders by Friday 7pm.
Quarters of BEEF for sale. This is the most economical way to purchase beef. Talk to me or email for more information. If you have a special way you want your beef cut, order it by June 10th and it will be cut to your specifications. www.earthscapefarm@gmail.com
New Product!Organic Olive Oil from Palestine! 500 ML Bottles. Organic, Extra Virgin and Cold Pressed EGGS! Our chickens are loving all the greens and sunshine! VEGGIES this week ~ Fresh from the outside gardens ~ Spinach! Scallions! Salad Greens! Pak Choi! Radishes! Kale. Herbs: Parsley, Dill, Chives, Oregano, Rosemary and Cilantro. Also parsley plants. May have a few more things – have to check in the morning. HIGHER GROUNDS COFFEE in 1# bags ~ Various types, beans or ground, dark or light roast, full caf, half caf or decaf. CSA – We still have shares available. Email for more information. Delivery to Bluffton Marina area on Monday evenings or Sweetwater on Saturdays. Pick up on the Farm Monday or Thursday evenings. Are you interested in interning on our farm? We have housing, some meals and a weekly stipend available. Call or email for more information.
Thanks so much to all of the brave souls (vendors & customers) who came out last Saturday in spite of the terrible weather!
Beautiful Christmas tree in Hackley Health atrium
One of the things we have come to love the most about the grand space we occupy in the winter is the beautiful and grand Christmas trees placed in three locations in the lobby & atrium. The two story prairie-style building almost seems to have been designed with Christmas in mind.
Of course, shuffling all the vendors around to make room for them is always a challenge, but the spirit they lend to our Holiday Market is well worth it.
Accomodating the great Christmas trees....
This Saturday December 13th, looks like a better weather forecast. We have new vendors coming and others returning, so come on out and join us!
Abundant Harvest Bakery of Hart Dennise & Elisa are baking up a storm (hmm, maybe I should tell them to stop…) and they will be bringing a great assortment of Christmas Goodies like Gingerbread Scones
Apple Galettes, Quiche, Holiday Pies & Gluten free Apple Cakes. Come sample a Christmas treat!
New Vendor!
Martinus Maple Syrup of West Olive
Martinus Sugar Shack
Making maple syrup or “sugaring off” brings winter to a close and allows spring to begin early at our sugarbush in West Olive off Lakeshore Drive. During the mud season of March, when there is often little to do out-of-doors, our sugar shack and sugarbush is bustling with activity: tapping, setting up equipment, collecting sap, getting firewood, boiling, collecting sap, boiling, tending fire, boiling, and finishing off. Syruping activities are often pleasantly interrupted by visiting small groups; rest home residents, church groups, fourth graders, garden club, cub scouts. . . We learned the art of sugaring off via apprenticeship from an elderly neighbor, and it was soon in our blood. Our home-operation started in the early 1990s, and moved indoors into our sugar shack in 2001. Yearly, we tap about 80 trees, and with150 taps, produce on average, 25 gallons.
Bill and Shirley Martinus
17300 Beach Ridge Way
West Olive, MI 49460 Steve n’ Sons Grassfields Farm of Coopersville
Back this week! Fait Gras (European cheddar) & Chili Pepper Gouda! Great Gift Idea! Pound blocks of many varieties.
Certified Organic raw milk cheeses in the Dutch process tradition. Try Gouda, Gouda with Dill, Leyden, Gouda Spice (garlic & onion), Edam, Lamont Cheddar Earthscape/Full Circle Farm of Hesperia Bobier Farm-Raised Beef ~ Ground Beef, steaks, roasts (Standing Rib Roasts for Christmas!), stew meat, short ribs, soup bones, heart, tongue and beef liver. Our newest beef is 100% grass-fed; stock your freezers for winter! Veggies: Red Onions, Celeriac, and Red and Savoy Cabbages ~ from storage in our root cellar.
Earthscape Holiday Table
Great Gift Idea!Organic Olive Oil! These oils are imported from all over the world. Grown, pressed and bottled on small organic farms. Incredible quality! Checkout http://organicoliveoilcompany.com
Now in stock:
Lakelands 250 ml decanter $25
Mansur 250 ml $12; 500 ml $18.
Catalan 250 ml $16; 500 ml $24
Moutere Grove 250 ml $20; 500 ml$35 Creswick Farms of Ravenna Handcrafted Sausages and Specialty Meats Back by customer demand: Red Hots Little Links! Smoked sausage with a kick! Fresh-Aire Pastured Pork.
Hickory Smoked Nitrite-Free Bacon, Boneless Pork Chops, Pork Breakfast sausage in links & bulk. Pork Sausages include: Garlic Kielbasa and German Thuringer. Also Chicago Style Beef and Pork Hotdogs. Chicken Sausages include: Apple/Chicken Sausage Links and Chicken with Spinach & Feta Cheese. Pastured Chicken
New! Smoked Chicken. Also: Whole Broilers, Ground Chicken. Grass-fed Beef
New items! Rib-Eye Steak and Shitake Mushroom Beef Burgers. Also: Filet Mignon, T-Bone Steak, Chuck Roast, Round Roast and Beef Shank (great cut for the crock pot!), Ground Beef in 1 lb pkg and ¼ lb BeefBurgers 4/pkg
For a complete list of products, please see the website: www.CreswickFarms.com .
Earthly Kneads Bakery of Muskegon
Bakery Hours: Tuesday through Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Saturday from 9:00am to 2:00pm. Closed Sunday & Monday. Visit webwsite: http://www.earthlykneads.com/ Store location: 810 Terrace St., Muskegon, MI 49440. Ph: 231 728-6383
For market Saturday, Patrick will bring a selection of breads, cookies & granolas. Ag and Health Alive of Marne From Nantucket Bread Company of Grand Rapids:Chilled Whole Wheat Pizza Dough! Sold in single size bags, just roll out on a pizza tin, let rise a bit and then add your favorite toppings! Also: Whole Wheat Raisin Bread, Whole Wheat Bread, Seven-Grain Sourdough bread, Cranberry Walnut bread and Health Muffins. Made of whole grain organic flours. Customer favorite back this week! Jerusalem Artichokes
Other Veggies & Fruits. Turnips & Daikon Radish.Our own Winter squash, green and red cabbage andEmpire, Ida Reds, and Golden Delicious certified organic apples from Evergreen Lane Farm of Fennville. New this week! Duck Eggs. Fed certified organic feed. Lamb! Time or order halves & whole lambs for your winter freezer. This week at the market: We have individual cuts of lamb in chops, roasts, ground lamb, stew meat and shanks. Great gift idea!Give your favorite gardener a gift certificate from Ag & Health garden supplies! Who on your Christmas list wouldn’t appreciate a gift for their garden, or a great gardening or cook book? We are an authorized Fertrell Dealer and have a huge list of available organic garden supplies. Happy Hill Farm of Hart Turkey Sausage and Ground Turkey . Breakfast, Italian, Brat & Chorizo. Breakfast & Italian in links/andor bulk. Turkeys were fed certified organic feed. HolidayDucks! Young and tender. The drakes weigh about 6 lbs.; the hens are just over 3 lbs. Pastured turkey: Fed certified organic grain. We will have frozen packaged thighs, drumsticks, breast roast, sliced breast, and tenderloin.
Pastured chicken: Two options: Frozen chicken fed certified organic grains or chicken fed our own 2nd year transition corn. We have all cuts—whole, cut up, bone-in and boneless skinless breast, drumsticks, thighs, leg quarters and wings, soup stock, feet, liver, hearts and gizzards. All of our meats are raised on pasture with daily moves, and are processed on farm: no stressful transporting. Stewing Hens. Hens retired from laying eggs make the best chicken soup in the world! Simmer these gals for several hours and you have genuine old-fashioned chicken! Or roast on high in the crockpot with no water for 8-12 hours for scrumptious roasted chicken! Rabbit. Whole, frozen. Raised by David Filbrun on the farm. Pastured Eggs. Large Eggs from chickens who live on grass. Olson Farm of Shelby Sale! Taste of Spring Maple Syrup. All Christmas Themed and Maple Leaf Etched Gift Bottles will be on sale! Making maple syrup from the over 300 trees on the farm has been an Olson tradition for three generations now. Potatoes. Stock up now for that Thanksgiving feast!Red Norland, Pontiac and Reddale Red potatoes, the Butte White Baking Potato; and Swedish, Russian & Banana fingerling potatoes. Onions. Red Zeppelin and white keeping onions.
HandCrafteds
Locally made products good for the body and spirit! Great Christmas gift ideas!
Bountiful Increase of Whitehall
Anita is back, for possibly just this week, with a fresh batch of soaps, lotions and massage oils-buy this week while supplies last! She reports: I have a fresh batch of lotion made-wonderfully scented with lemon and lavender I also have beautiful red and green swirl soap, which combines the all-time favorite spearmint soap with the holiday tradition peppermint soap. The result is a very double minty bar! I also have a fresh batch of lemongrass soap and for those who have been waiting, I have shampoo bars. Boo boo sticks and relief sticks will be available this week, along with lotion bars. For the women we have bronze mica lip shimmers, which is our lip balm with a touch of bronze color added. Also this week we have massage oils, including: workaholic oil, migraine oil, childrens cold oil, baby oil and more. We have Goodie Bar soap, with the lovely scent of cinnamon, Rosemary Soap, a zesty herb-sprinkled bar. We have our traditional goatmilk soap with the lovely scent of lavender and lemon. our Kitchen Bar removes odors from your hands, such as onion, garlic and fish. And our Grease-Cutter Soap removes grease and oils from your hands with the aid of pumice and orange oil. Laundry and dish soap will be available this week. We have a beautiful soap dish for sale hand made by the very talented Peter Johnson, this round soap dish compliments our round bar soap wonderfully-only one in stock. MANY of these items are limited in supply and/or only available for Christmas, if you are interested in these items they may not be available after this week. Small gift bags are available. Under the Pines of Fruitport Great for group gifts and stocking stuffers!
Back by popular demand handcrafted soaps in the following aromas: Patchouli and Sweet Orange, Lavender & Tea Tree, Lemongrass & Coconut, Lacy Lavender.All of our soaps have 10% shea butter added to help fight that winter “dry” skin. Gift idea! All of the above soaps have matching body butters for holiday gift giving. Use our wonderful intensive moisturizing body butters on feet, knees, elbows, cuticles and hands.
Try our new handcrafted (made from scratch) soap: Triple Tree. This soap is made with corn mint, spearmint, peppermint and tea tree essential oils. Leaves your skin with that fresh tingly feeling.”
Stop by and see our other assortment of hand crafted bath and body goodies too, for you and the special people on your list.Sale! Washing Soda (laundry soap) special – buy one get one for half price. Bee and Botanicals of SpringLake
Crafting under her own name, Julia has great little gifts as well; lavender dryer bags, floral and woodsy sachets, hand crafted gift tags and cards. New Vendor!
Kathy Lucas Craftworks of Grand Haven
Kathy has been sewing and quilting for over 30 years in her home, making items for family and friends. She is a native of New Jersey, where she was president of the Brownstone Quilt Guild from 1997 to 1999.
Kathy will bring Knitted & Fabric Hats, adults & kids sizes, Cloth Handbags, Quilted Patchwork Lavender Sachets, Felted Coasters and some of her photo-cards. New Vendor!
LaMaire Handblown Glass Art of Grand Haven
http://www.lamairestudios.com/
Linda LaMaire will be bringing the glasswork of her son Jonathan LaMaire. He has been a glassblower for 10 years, now working out of his studio in Grand Haven. She will bring: handblown glass pendants, bracelets, perfume bottles, marbles, oil lamps and diffuser bottles (including diffuser reeds and essential oils) Jonathan’s glass art is sold in several different galleries and museums throughout the country.
BeechCoast Studio Pottery of West Olive
Susan Hoekema pottery
Susan Hoekema is back with stoneware bowls and mugs and colorful maiolica tiles and serving dishes, influenced by the lakeshore around her studio and her sojourns in Africa.
Aquarian Vibe Art Co of SpringLake Special Sale! This week only: $3 off 1 bowl $35 and up, $9 off 2, and $15 off 3 or more.
Sheryl will also be bringing new kilnwork including bowls, sushi plates, draped glass, and flattened bottles. Do your Christmas shopping early to get the best pieces before someone else does. Also: Glass sample sets. Choose your own colors for custom-ordered artwork that can be made in time for Christmas. Custom orders must be requested 2 weeks before needed and require a deposit of half down.
Artists Sheryl Marshall & Ann Nessa Dec 6th Market
Fiber Creations of Whitehall
As artist/owner Ann Nessa says: “Fiber is good for ya!” She takes recycled wools, handwoven, knit and felt fibers and turns them into beautiful and useful items like purses, scarves, wall hangings and shopping bags. In addition, Ann has now turned her creative eye to pottery and will bring a few a selection of Sushi Bowls and Fired Clay Jewelry Pins.
As Michigan’s only all local farmers market featuring foods produced according to organic standards, our main focus has always been on gaining customer acceptance of “healthy, humane & homegrown” foods. Beginning last year we decided to add locally made arts & crafts to the market during the Christmas season.
This year, with the economy in a funk and less dollars to spend on gifts, it’s even more important to “act locally”. Going on every Saturday from now until Christmas, our Sweetwater Holiday Market will enchant you with tons of ideas for wonderful, affordable, locally made gifts. Whether it’s beautiful blown glass oil lamps, or Swarovsky crystal jewelry, or all organic Body Care products, the HandCrafters featured at Sweetwater need your support! Why not keep the Christmas spending and spirit in our local economy this year?
Barb Pitcher & Common Unity Drumming up a Fundraiser!
Our intrepid and inspired baker Gail Smythe of Earthly Kneads wrote this in her weekly email and I’m borrowing it to re-post here:
There’s a fund raiser for the gals at Groundswell Farm this weekend.Please come by the Sweetwater Market and show your support.Barb and Amy are going to be there with their awesome drum circle and all coffee cup sales and a portion of vendor fees will be donated.I know it’s not exactly a vegetable, but we’re donating 80 loaves of bread for their CSA members next week.If you have something you’d like to contribute, please let me know and I’ll see if we can get it in their delivery.
We joined the Bobier’s CSA this year and it’s been like Christmas opening our box every week to see what vegetables are inside.We had a full Sweetwater Market dinner the other night, and I wanted to share it with you.See the bottom of this email for recipes and ideas.Everything turned out so tasty that I ate most of the leftovers before Patrick could get his hands on them!Everything made enough food to feed 6-8 people.
OUR ASIAN INSPIRED SWEETWATER MARKET DINNER
We had some asparagus from Fruitful Acres, garlic scapes and shiitake mushrooms from Dave (our Mushroom guy), baby pak choi, green onions, red & white radishes, kohlrabi, and sirlion steak from Earthscape/Full Circle Farm, and eggs from Creswick Farms.This is what we did with all of it:
CRISPY SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS
Once they were cooked, we sliced the caps and tossed them with some grilled tofu and grilled sirlion steak.For a vegetarian version, omit the steak!To grill the tofu, cube it, toss it in the leftover marinade from the shiitake mushrooms, skewer it, and cook over high heat, turning every few minutes until there are nice grill marks on each side.Yum!
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh Shiitake mushrooms caps
1/2 cup water
3 garlic scapes, minced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
Whisk together all the ingredients except the mushrooms.Toss the mushrooms in the marinade and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, turning the caps frequently.Grill on high or broil for 3 minutes per side or until the edges are brown and crispy.
SIMPLE ASIAN SLAW
2 medium/small Kohlrabi, cut in thin julienne (or coarsely shredded)
Small handful of radishes, thinly sliced
2-3 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
Toss all the vegetables in a bowl with a small splash of tamari sauce (or soy sauce), a splash of seasoned rice wine vinegar, and a dash of toasted sesame oil.Adjust seasonings to taste.Let sit while you prepare everything else.Top with some toasted sesame seeds if desired when serving.
BOK CHOY AND ASPARAGUS FRITTATA
Found this recipe online.We substituted the garlic with a few garlic scapes, but kept the rest of the recipe the same.I cooked it in a cast-iron skillet. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/asparagus-and-bok-choy-frittata
In our market’s 3 + years of existence one of the things we treasure the most is the many exhilarating conversations we have every market day. The vendors and customers of Sweetwater are a wonderfully diverse group and we all like to talk – about food, politics, you name it! The problem is that so many conversations go unfinished because most importantly we are a marketplace and need to conduct business. So, this blog is an attempt to have those longer conversations about our local food system and all the things that go with it.
So let’s start this first conversation off with some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the Sweetwater Local Foods Market has been asked by the ROTHBURY Festivalpromoters to bring the whole market to the Festival, and we have agreed! The bad news is that we can’t be in two places at once, and have decided to close our regular market on Saturday, July 5th.
The opportunities, both in terms of advancing the cause of organic agriculture and the chance for our vendors to have an extra financial windfall in the summer were just too great to pass up. We’ve posted the Press Release for the event below. We hope many of you might be attending the festival; if so be sure to look us up!
In the meantime, please let me know what you would like to talk about here – this blog is for you too!
Local Farmers Market to Promote Green Thinking Among Music Fans.
Billed as a New American Celebration, the ROTHBURY Music Festival, to be held at Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, MI over the 4th of July weekend, will offer attendees the opportunity to taste the “healthy, humane, homegrown” food of the farmers of the Sweetwater Local Foods Market. The Sweetwater Local Foods Market in Muskegon is Michigan’s first farmers market to exclusively sell local fruits and vegetables raised using organic farming practices and meat, eggs, and cheese from humanely raised animals.
“We were thrilled to learn back in March that festival promoters were seeking an ‘organic farmers market’ for their festival,” said Sweetwater Market Manager Diana Jancek. “After our initial call they immediately offered us the opportunity to bring our market and its farmers into the festival. Their invitation highlights the fact that organic farming is becoming more accepted and the food our farmers grow is becoming more appreciated and in demand.”
Sweetwater farmers will offer festival goers a range of fresh vegetables, meat and cheese packaged as snacks, baked goods, and other locally grown items in a farmers market that will operate from 11am to 6pm each day of the festival.
“Many of our vendors have prepared unique items especially for the Festival,” said Jancek. “I think people will experience both great food and great music this weekend – all the while supporting a green, sustainable food system.”
The ROTHBURY Festival is the first in Michigan to consciously promote an ecologically intelligent approach to large music events. All eating utensils, bags, and other wrapping will be made from compostable materials like corn-based plastic. The festival is also sponsoring an Eco-ThinkTank of presentations, each day, on how to solve some of the important ecological challenges before us.
