(aka Parting is Sweet Sorrow) As mentioned in several earlier newsletters, Brightonwoods Orchard had a 20% smaller apple crop this year due to adverse weather conditions so, from now until the end of the market season, we will only have their apple cider. Aeppel Treow Winery will bring it to market every other week starting on the 12th. Planning ahead is essential when you shop with the seasons and we have reserved several bushels of Brightonwoods apples for our market breakfast on the 26th. Rushing Waters Fisheries plans to attend for a second consecutive week; you will have an opportunity to meet their farm manager, Peter Fritsch. Pinn-Oak Ridge Farms (fresh lamb), Century Farmhouse (handcrafted artisan soap) Springdale Farm (produce) and Viola’s Honey are all returning this Saturday. For a complete list of full and partial season vendors, please consult the producers’ page of our MCWFM website.

Viola’s Honey

On the right side of the lobby facing the window, even on a cloudy day their petite display radiates good cheer. Viola’s Honey is harvested from local hives placed on farms in Hales Corners, Pewaukee, New Berlin and Waterford as well as the Wehr Nature Center. In addition to seasonal honey, Eric and Viola’s product line includes honeycombs and beeswax candles.

· Another informative Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Karen Herzog. This one features Eric and Wioletta Karaban of Viola’s Honey and includes honey recipes. Doesn’t the Sparkling Honey Fruit Spritzer sound refreshing?

· Temptation thy name is honey. I inadvertently discovered this recipe adaptation for pain d’épices on David Lebovitz’s food blog, Living the Sweet Life in Paris.

Farm Fresh Market Breakfast

Help us celebrate the advent of spring by attending a special morning meal prepared by some of our favorite local chefs. Save the date: Saturday, March 26 from 8:30 am to 11:00 am.

Staff Recommendations

are not just for bookstores. Rolling Meadows Sorghum Chewy Bars (Ally) A delicious, delightfully moist, and long-lasting energy bar filled with nuts, oats, sorghum and coconut. Golden Bear Monarchs Elk Bacon (Chris) Use it in place of ham in your favorite scalloped potato recipe, in a BLT or as a leaner protein topping on a salad. Chris favors stuffed dates filled with Hooks or Maytag blue cheese and then wrapped with elk bacon. River Valley Kitchen Heirloom Tomato Salsa (Josh) A salsa recipe developed for River Valley by Chicago’s Mexican cuisine maestro, Rick Bayless. Complex flavors, not just heat; very versatile as you can see from 30 Things To Do With Leftover Salsa at Serious Eats.

Taste of the Market Sampler Station

Scott Buer of Bolzano Artisan Meats plans to sample a Spinach and Goat Cheese Salad with Warm Pancetta Dressing (see below) beginning @ 10:30 am. The sample station will be located on the left side of the lobby (far end).

Website Developments/Facebook Page

Though she lives 2100 miles away, she grew up in Wisconsin and has volunteered countless hours of design work to various local food initiatives her mother has participated in over the past decade. I am more than grateful, Heather. Using a comprehensive list of Wisconsin food blogs compiled by Burp! Where Food Happens, Heather has added a Google custom word search that is available here as well as on Burp. Our weekly newsletters are now posted online every Thursday and there are new annotated links on our website. If you ‘like’ our Facebook page you will receive value added information about the market, food preparation, and carefully considered reference material.

Spinach and Goat Cheese Salad with Warm Pancetta Dressing

2 packs (8 oz. total) Bolzano Artisan Meats Thick Cut Pancetta, cut into sticks or lardons
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 pound fresh spinach
1/2 cup Evalon aged goat cheese

1. Sauté the Pancetta and the olive oil in a pan on medium, until Pancetta starts to brown and crisp.
2. Add the apple cider vinegar and mustard, heat all together in the pan for a minute or two, then turn off heat.
3. Toss spinach and the warm dressing, and then add the goat cheese and toss a little more.

Shopping List: Pancetta (Bolzano Artisan Meats), spinach (Springdale or JenEhr Farms), Evalon cheese (Saxon Homestead Creamery)

I have often had the urge to recommend some of my favorite culinary blogs, but fortunately I discovered a comprehensive annotated list from the London Times. Wow. Got some time to kill? Splendid writing and outstanding photography, all focused on food. 50 of the world's best food blogs - Times Online

Wisconsin Soup Company One of the unique pleasures of the winter market has been the opportunity to provide an affordable store front to a variety of startup local food businesses. Bravo to entrepreneur Steve Wenhardt (with an award winning smile) on his first anniversary, stepping up to a van and moving into his own Wauwatosa kitchen. Located on the left side of the Tommy Thompson lobby and facing the windows, look for a table that highlights the color orange. Speaking of food blogs, She’s on the Run featured the Milwaukee County Winter Farmers’ Market (MCWFM) last month with special kudos to and photos of the WSC.

Smitten Kitten

Count me among the readers who are ‘smitten’ with descriptive recipes like this one for acorn squash quesadillas. I plan to vary my favorite cheese quesadilla of the moment by adding squash. Try this MCWFM shopping list: whole wheat tortillas (Gitto’s Family Farm), butter (Farmhouse Bakery), Muenster cheese (Decatur Dairy), Saxony cheese (Saxon Homestead Creamery), and Heirloom Tomato Salsa (River Valley Ranch).

Comings and Goings

The majority of our food producers come every week and several, like Viola’s Honey, Mia Famiglia and Aeppel Treow Winery, come twice a month. Rather than reprint the same lengthy list in our newsletter every week, I will only mention vendors who are making special guest appearances. Look on our website’s producers’ page for a complete list of full and partial season vendors. On Saturday, February 26, our special attendees are Decatur Dairy (Brodhead) and Rushing Waters Trout Farm (Palmyra). At 5PM: Just received word that Pinn-Oak Farm (lamb) will not be at the market on Saturday.

When we planned a new Milwaukee farmers’ market for a somewhat uncommon time of year, we needed a core group of farmers and food producers who would take a significant leap of faith (and time) to help it succeed. One of our inaugural vendors, Scott Buer of Bolzano Artisan Meats, epitomizes the type of new food entrepreneurs we are honored to support. Take one look at his booth located on the right side of the center aisle and you see evidence of a professional background that includes quality control and graphic design. Engage in a conversation and you will discover more about a man who is dedicated to preserving the craft of dry-curing meat and working with Wisconsin farmers who raise heritage breeds of pigs. Let’s focus on one of Scott’s first products that he sold while waiting for his Speck Prosciutto to cure:

Pancetta, the diminutive of pancia meaning belly, is often misidentified as "Italian bacon." While pancetta is salt cured and spiced it is usually not smoked like typical breakfast bacon. Bacon and pancetta have a similar appearance and both cured meats originate from the belly of the pig, however pancetta is spiced more aggressively including pepper, cloves, red hot pepper, garlic, nutmeg, fennel, etc. Pancetta is also aged for about 3 months versus about 8 days for standard bacon. “Pancetta has quieter, but deeper pure pork flavors than bacon.” Pancetta can be served on its own (sliced very thin), but it's often used a flavoring base for sauces, beans, soups, vegetables and as a cooking fat (when rendered) for many pasta condiments. Note: Traditionally cured pancetta (three months or longer) is safe to eat raw. The fat turns satiny and melts on the tongue.

Bolzano Artisan Meats

Karen Herzog’s article in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Oct 13, 2009

“Quality over Quantity” interview with Bolzano owner Scott Buer in AV Milwaukee

“Meat in the Mailbox” - an eminent Chicago food writer blogs about pancetta and guanciale from Bolzano

On Milwaukee.com takes a photographic tour of Bolzano Artisan Meats, Dec 2, 2009

Sign up for a your own tour and taste of Bolzano from 4:00 to 5:30 pm this Saturday, January 29th

Comings and Goings

We have an increased number of full season vendors for season 2 of the MCWFM, primarily meat, poultry, baked goods, soup, fresh mushrooms; vegetable dips, pesto, and sauce; oatmeal, caramels, coffee, cheese, milk, eggs, ethnic prepared food, a 4 season vegetable farm, honey, maple syrup and sorghum. Vegetable and apple growers make up the bulk of partial season vendors; these SE Wisconsin farms and orchards should be able to extend their attendance next year. Aeppel Treow Winery comes every other week and then, varying by the week, we have a few available spaces to insert some unexpected elements, eg Rushing Waters Trout Farm. This week Century Farmhouse (handcrafted artisan soap) and Decatur Dairy (traditional cheese and curds) will return for a second time each. Saxon Homestead Creamery (aged raw milk cheese) returns from a two week hiatus.

Back Burner

The Farm Fresh Market Breakfast ‘save the date’ of January 29th, mentioned at the bottom of the MCWFM Week 7 newsletter has been postponed. According to various African proverbs, it takes a village to raise a child and, based on our experience from last March, it takes a hamlet of volunteers and funding reserves to put together a morning meal for several hundred people. We definitely plan a 2011 breakfast, so stay tuned.