Have Yourself a Made in Michigan Christmas!

Published on by sweetWaterAdmin Category: Uncategorized
Made in West Michigan naturally dyed wool
Made in West Michigan naturally dyed wool

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?

Winter Market Season Opens with Customer Appreciation Day!

Published on by sweetWaterAdmin Category: Events
Mercy General Partners Hackley Health at the Lakes
Mercy General Partners Hackley Health at the Lakes
Sweetwater Winter Market inside Lobby
Sweetwater Winter Market inside Lobby
Sweetwater Winter Market View from 2nd floor
Sweetwater Winter Market View from 2nd floor

Saturday, November 22nd 9:00am to 1:00pm

Sweetwater Local Foods Market will open its Winter Market Season with a Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday, November 22nd from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Shoppers can sample free cookies and organic coffee and sign up for gift drawings at each vendor booth. Field Reichardt, owner of Organic Olive Oil Company of Spring Lake, will be on hand to offer tastings of his newest oils.

Sweetwater will offer market-goers a great option for shopping for locally produced holiday gifts. Each Saturday a unique assortment of gift items will be available from local artists and craftspeople including: holiday jewelry gift sets, felted scarves & purses, Christmas wreaths and garlands, handcrafted soaps, lotions and body care products, and much more. Of course there will also be all of the wonderful locally grown meats, eggs, cheeses, baked goods and fresh winter veggies customers have come to expect from Sweetwater Local Foods Market farmers & vendors.

The Sweetwater Winter Market will be open every Saturday from 9:00am to 1:00pm through December 20th. The market will be closed on December 27th and will reopen January 3th and every other Saturday thereafter until May, when the market resumes its every Saturday market.

The Market operates in the lobby of the Mercy General Partners Hackley Health at the Lakes building on Harvey Street south of the Muskegon Lakes Mall near the Pontaluna Road/US31 interchange.

For more information contact:

Market Manager Diana Jancek

231 893-0323

Website at www.sweetwaterlocalfoodsmarket.org

You say Tomato, and I say Yes!, Finally, TOMATO!

Published on by sweetWaterAdmin Category: From the Market to the Table

No matter how you spell it, the one question every veggie grower in the country was asking this summer was “What’s up with the tomatoes?” Slow to start, and even slower to ripen, they got to most markets at least two weeks to a month behind last year. But, they are coming on strong now, and so below find two great recipes for using them, as well as one for all that zucchini.

Fresh Tomato Sauce with Fennel

Makes enough sauce for 1 lb of pasta

4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium bulb fennel, trimmed of stalks, halved, cored and cut into 1/4 inch dice (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 med. cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1/8 tsp hot pepper flakes
2 strips orange peel (each 3×1 inch)
3 tbsp fresh orange juice
3 lbs ripe tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 3 3/4 cups)

3 tbsp chopped fresh basil, and salt, pepper to taste.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in 10 inch skillet. Add fennel and cook until softened and browned around edges about 4-6 min.
Add garlic, fennel seed, pepper flakes, orange peel.Cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in tomatoes and cook until tomato pieces lose their shape to form chunky sauce, about 10 minutes.

Remove and discard orange peel. Stir in orange juice, basil, salt, pepper and sugar to taste. toss sauce and remaining 2 tbsp oil with pasta and serve.

Tomato Mint Bruschetta with Goat Cheese
Be sure to toast the bread until it’s nice and crispy so that it won’t become too soft when topped with the juicy tomato mixture.

1 large tomato, diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
24 (1/4-inch) slices Earthly Kneads Tuscan bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 oz Dancing Goat Creamery goat cheese
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint
24 whole fresh mint leaves

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine tomato, onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper in medium bowl.

2. Lightly brush one side of bread slices with oil; place, oil-side up, on baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until tops are dry and crispy.

3. Spread crispy side of each bread slice with 1 teaspoon goat cheese; top with 1 tablespoon of the tomato mixture. Return to baking sheet; bake 5 minutes or until warm. Sprinkle with mint; garnish with mint leaves.

24 servings

PER SERVING: 65 calories, 3 g total fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 2.5 g protein, 7.5 g carbohydrate, 5 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, .5 g fiber

Zucchini Cornmeal Spoonbread
Be sure to thoroughly drain the shredded zucchini so the spoonbread is creamy, not watery. Serve it with grilled meats or fish.

3 cups shredded zucchini (about 3 medium
zucchini)
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion.
1/2 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 1 1/2-quart gratin or baking dish with cooking spray. Place zucchini in large strainer set over bowl; let stand 10 minutes. Press or squeeze zucchini to remove excess liquid.

2. Whisk eggs in large bowl until blended. Stir in sour cream, cheese, onion, butter and salt until combined. Stir in zucchini and cornmeal until blended. Pour into gratin dish.

3. Bake 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

8 servings

PER SERVING: 355 calories, 24.5 g total fat (14.5 g saturated fat), 10 g protein, 24.5 g carbohydrate, 145 mg cholesterol, 275 mg sodium, 3 g fiber

Yes Virginia, there is a good eggplant recipe!

Published on by sweetWaterAdmin Category: From the Market to the Table

The great thing about the abundance that always comes in September is that the weather cools off enough so that you can actually stand the heat in the kitchen again! Roasting veggies has become my new passion, thanks to Bill & Patrice Bobier and the great meal we had up at Earthscape Farm a while back. Here is a recipe for Eggplant Tomato Gratin, featuring roasted eggplant, from Martha Rose Shulman.

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

This is a delicious, low-fat version of eggplant Parmesan. Instead of breaded, fried eggplant, though, the eggplant in this dish is roasted and sliced, layered with a rich tomato sauce and freshly grated Parmesan, and baked in a hot oven until bubbly.

For the tomato sauce:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 small or 1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste)

2 pounds fresh tomatoes, quartered if you have a food mill or else peeled, seeded and chopped; or 1 1/2 (28-ounce) cans chopped tomatoes, with juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon sugar

2 sprigs fresh basil

For the gratin:

2 pounds eggplant, roasted (see below)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil leaves

2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1. Roast the eggplant.

2. Meanwhile, to make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy, preferably nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Stir until tender, about five to eight minutes, then add the garlic. Stir until fragrant, about a minute, and add the tomatoes, salt (1/2 to 1 teaspoon), pepper, sugar and basil sprigs. Turn the heat up to medium-high. When the tomatoes are bubbling, stir well and then turn the heat back to medium. Stir often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and are beginning to stick to the pan, about 25 minutes. Remove the basil sprigs.

3. If you did not peel the tomatoes, put the sauce through the fine blade of a food mill. If the tomatoes were peeled, pulse the sauce in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until coarsely pureed. Taste and adjust seasoning.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set aside 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and mix with the bread crumbs. Oil the inside of a two-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over the bottom of the dish. Slice the roasted eggplant about 1/4 inch thick, and set an even layer of slices over the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon a layer of sauce over the eggplant, and sprinkle with basil and Parmesan. Repeat the layers one or two more times, depending on the shape of your dish and the size of your eggplant slices, ending with a layer of sauce topped with the Parmesan and bread crumb mixture you set aside. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and browned on the top and edges. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

Yield: Serves six

Advance preparation: The tomato sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The casserole can be assembled a day ahead, covered and refrigerated, then baked when you wish to serve it. Don’t add the last layer of bread crumbs and Parmesan, with the drizzle of olive oil, until right before you bake it.

To Roast the Eggplant:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the stem and calyx off the eggplant, and cut the body lengthwise in half. Score large eggplants down the middle with the tip of a knife, being careful not to cut through the skin. Japanese eggplants and other small eggplants need not be scored.

Cover a baking sheet with foil, and brush the foil with extra virgin olive oil. Place the eggplant on the foil, cut side down. Place in the oven and roast large, fat eggplants for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size; small, narrow Japanese eggplants (and other varieties) should be roasted for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven when skin has begun to shrivel, the edges and cut surface are browned, and the eggplant has softened but not collapsed. Remove from the oven, and use a spatula to detach from the foil if the eggplant is sticking. (If a thin surface of browned eggplant stays behind, don’t worry.) Place the eggplant halves cut side down on a rack set over a baking sheet, or in a colander. Allow to cool and drain for 15 to 30 minutes.

Recipes & Rants

Published on by sweetWaterAdmin Category: From the Market to the Table

First, the Good Food News. Below find two great recipes for the Labor Day Weekend from Gail Smythe of Earthly Kneads. Most of the ingredients for these recipes can be found right at Sweetwater Market this Saturday!

Then in the Bad Food News category, a few words to the wise about the FDA’s latest craziness. Please to go to register your dismay (and disgust) with the FDA for allowing lettuce and spinach to be zapped with radiation before coming to your favorite supermarket. Let the buyer beware – and have a great end of the summer holiday!

Gails Labor of Love for Labor Day Recipes

Shiitake Mushroom “Burgers”, Makes 4

6 to 8 ounces fresh Shiitake Mushrooms, stemmed, small dice

3 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup oat bran, wheat bran, or bread crumbs

4 to 8 ounces of your favorite cheese – the amount depends on the strength of your cheese. For something like blue or parmesan, use 4 ounces. For a mild cheese, use 8 ounces.

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, chives, basil, or other fresh herb, optional

Salt & pepper, to taste (you may not need much salt depending on the saltiness of your cheese)

2-3 tablespoons Olive oil

Directions: Combine everything except the olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Form into 4 “burger” patties. Sprinkle patties with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the patties in the oil for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through. For a real outdoor treat, toss the cooked patties onto a hot grill for just a minute per side to get those great grill marks and some grilled flavor. Serve with a good red wine or some stout beer!

———————————————————–

Gail’s Grilled Potato & Vegetable Salad

This is a very flexible recipe.  You can substitute all sorts of vegetables for the ones I listed below.  Carrots, snow peas, snap peas, broccoli, tomatoes, artichokes, and sweet potatoes would all be welcome additions or substitutions.

Dressing:

3 Tablespoons Vinegar, Use something lighter, like Apple Cider, White Wine, White Balsamic Vinegar, or try the Leek Vinegar we sell by Food For Thought

1/2 Tablespoon Honey or Dijon Mustard

1 teaspoon salt, more or less to taste

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, I like tarragon, but basil, chives, marjoram, or parsley or any combination of them would would well, too

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound potato, I like to use large red-skinned potatoes, but any variety should work

1 medium zucchini or summer squash

3-4 bell peppers, mix of green & red

1 large or 2 small onions

1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed

1/2 pound eggplant

fresh chives or green onions for garnish, optional

To make the dressing, whisk together all the dressing ingredients except for the olive oil.  Whisk until the salt is dissolved.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil.  Be sure to slowly drizzle in the oil, otherwise the dressing will separate.  Set aside and cook the vegetables.

Heat the grill on high.  While it’s heating, wash and dry the vegetables.  Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant thinly, lengthwise, 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Slice the onions into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices, crosswise.  Don’t slice the onions too thinly or they will fall apart while grilling and disappear through the grate.  (OPTIONAL:  Sprinkle the eggplant slices generously with salt and put aside.  This step draws out liquid from the eggplant that can make it mushy and bitter.  Let the slices sit for about 30 minutes.  Rinse well & pat dry before using.)  Seed the peppers and cut them into 3-4 large pieces each.

Blanch the beans in boiling water for 1 minute, drain, and plunge into icy water to stop the cooking.  Drain well & set aside.

Brush the potato, zucchini, peppers, onions, and eggplant lightly with olive oil.  Grill for a few minutes on each side until tender.  The peppers will cook quickest, followed by the zucchini and eggplant, and then by the potato and onion (may take 3-5 minutes on each side).  Remove from the grill and set aside until cool enough to handle.  Cut everything into bite size pieces, throw it all into a bowl along with the blanched beans, and toss it with the vinegrette.  Top with chopped chives or green onions and serve immediately.

ROTHBURY the name will never be the same….

Published on by sweetWaterAdmin Category: Events
Sweetwater Vendors at ROTHBURY Festival
Sweetwater Vendors at ROTHBURY Festival

Well, we did it! A Four day Farmers Market at a festival with 40,000 people!
The freak storm the day before the festival took two of our pop-up tents and twisted them like Tinker Toys and damaged 3 more. We got soaked at the beginning and end of the festival, and didn’t sell nearly enough of our wonderful food because we ended up in a quiet cul-de-sac but still, most of us said we would go back next year.

On day two I started to write down names of states as people walked up: Oregon, Maine, Ohio, New Jersey, Tennessee, Colorado….that whole day there was only 1 couple from Michigan, and they had just gotten back from East Africa! They were coming home to be married and then returning after the festival. Working with kids in a refugee camp.

The festival itself was truly amazing. The way the visual arts were woven into and around the music, one could walk from a huge red-curtained venue ringed with food vendor booths, mega pop stars (John Mayer, and is that….her?) and thousands of cheering fans, to an eerily quiet woods with wonderful hammocks to swing in, bathed in soft swirling lights, and then back to a rave dome packed with frenetic dancers and a never-ending thrumbeat. It just went on and on.

The people who did find us, who made the U-Turn away from the main path out of the campground back to us, appreciated finding such great fresh organically grown food. There were many many great conversations around food, just like at our regular market. Only difference was sometimes you would be talking to a person dressed in a turquoise sequined rabbit suit, or a fairy with wings.

These are a few of my favorite things….

Published on by sweetWaterAdmin Category: Events
Brief rainstorm at market early summer 08
Brief rainstorm at market early summer 08

The market yesterday was lovely. Cloudy skies and a weirdly wild but brief storm the night before had us worried that we would have to cram everyone inside, but positive thinking sent the clouds away and we had a good market. Our fundraiser the week before for the Groundswell Community Farm netted $220 for Katie and Anna – we hope that helps them get back to us soon! Thanks to everyone who contributed, and the Groundswell Gals thank you too!

This morning I was thinking what a blessing it is to be associated with such hard working splendid people like the farmers and vendors of Sweetwater. This came to me as I cut two thin slices of Das Brot, Earthly Kneads fabulous Spelt Bread, and toasted it. To this I added a schmear of Dancing Goat Creamery’s plain Goat Cheese, and topped it off with a dollop of Food for Thought’s Wild Blueberry Merlot jam. We had strawberries from Fruitful Acres so I added a handful to a smoothie made with my own homemade Keifer made with raw milk from our milk share with Liberty Family Farm. Breakfast, and what a great one!

Anyone have other Sweetwater food stories to share? Do tell!

Groundswell Farm Fundraiser & Drum Circle at this Saturday’s Market

Published on by sweetWaterAdmin Category: Uncategorized
Barb Pitcher & Common Unity Drumming up a Fundraiser!
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

Bon Appetit!

Welcome to Good Food News!

Published on by sweetWaterAdmin Category: Uncategorized

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!

For good food,

Diana Jancek

Market Manager

Sweetwater Local Foods Market

PRESS RELEASE

ROTHBURY Music Festival

July 3-6th – to Feature

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.