Comings and Goings

Jill Thomson is bringing back a nice selection of cheese from Decatur Dairy, this is the week for Glen Rock Farms’ once a month journey to MCWFM with 100% grass fed lamb and Springdale Farm will have a plethora of spinach. Substituting for Ney’s Big Sky, SauveTerre Farm is making an inaugural guest appearance with 100% grass fed beef from their 80 acre certified organic family farm in West Bend. Once again, we extend our appreciation to another farm for their vendor recommendation; in this case, Kath Vogelmann of HighCross Farm who met Joe Mantoan of SauveTerre (‘Saved Earth’) at the Whitefish Bay Farmers’ Market last year.

Gift Certificate Drawings

Enter a drawing on Saturday morning for multiple MCWFM gift certificates that can be redeemed and used at our last market of the season, April 30 (outdoors). Remember there is a one week holiday pause in our schedule for friends and family on April 23 (no market).

Aleka’s Kitchen

Easter is the most important holiday of the year in Greece, and in 2011 the date (April 24) for celebrations by members of the Catholic, Protestant and Greek Orthodox denominations coincide. Aleka Tsioulos produces the most splendid food in her eponymous kitchen, using treasured recipes passed down from her mother, grandmother and great grandmother. In addition to the baked goods listed on her website, Aleka brings several different feta based spreads, a garlic walnut spread, lentil soup and individual Greek style pizzas (pita topped with feta, green peppers, tomatoes, olives, red onions and oregano). And where else will you see organic grapefruit peel preserved in honey/sugar with cinnamon and toasted almonds?

Easter Parade of delicacies

· Eggs (Jeff-Leen Farm, Lakeview Buffalo Farm, Farmhouse Bakery)
· Grass Fed Lamb (Glen Rock Farms)
· Easter Themed Cookies (Ovens of Gracie O’Malley) Photos on our Facebook page
· Caramels (Becky’s Blissful Bakery)
· Hot Cross Buns (Amaranth Bakery)
· Greek Easter Eggs and Bread (Aleka’s Kitchen)
· Set your table with Beeswax Candles (Viola’s Honey)

Spinach Quiche

(see attached PDF file) We had a delectable vegetarian quiche option for our market breakfast on March 26th and Chef Jack Kaestner shared this Oconomowoc Lake Club (OLC) classic recipe for our customers. I had to smile when I saw his streamlined restaurant-style instructions; all the ingredients are there, but the assumption is that you know the necessary culinary techniques (e.g. pie dough). Note the use of more than one variety of cheese for an enhanced flavor profile. MCWFM shopping suggestions: Saxony cheese from Saxon Homestead Creamery, Gouda from Decatur Dairy and spinach from Springdale Farm.

The Farmer Chef Connection

To see an expanded display of locally owned Milwaukee restaurants that source Wisconsin ingredients on their menus, come to the information table on Saturday. Your local food options when dining out continue to expand, from fine dining venues with white tablecloths to more casual concepts.

Saturday, March 26 from 8:30 am to 11:00 am
(or until food runs out)
Banquet Room 2 of the Tommy Thompson Youth Center
(main floor layout: PDF)

On behalf of all our food producers, we look forward to welcoming you to a culinary celebration of community on March 26. When I think of all the benefits of a farmers’ market, the one that I find most moving is the opportunity to come together as a community through our appreciaton of good food and the people who work so diligently to grow the vegetables and fruit, raise the chickens, gather the honey, milk the goats and make the cheese. “And it’s hard to imagine what is more vital or intimate than the food we consume, for it becomes our health, our pleasure, our nourishment, who we are, in fact. Today it is farmers who are providing the fragile connection that binds us in a meaningful way to our own humanity.” Deborah Madison, Local Flavors

The Sampler Menu prix fixe $10 adults, $5 children

Quiche Lorraine with pancetta and grass based cheese (vegetarian option of Spinach Quiche)
Potato Gratin with Yukon Gold potatoes and Gallia Beauty apples
Old Fashioned Applesauce with a medly of apple varieties and sweet sorghum
Grilled Lamb Sausage
Crispy Oatmeal Breakfast Bar with organic rolled oats, dried cranberries and toasted walnuts
Valentine Coffee and Apple Cider or Cranberry Juice (or milk upon request)

The Chefs who all share a longstanding passion for local food

Peter Sandroni (owner) of La Merenda (Walker’s Point)
Andy Tenaglia (owner) of Lagniappe Brasserie (New Berlin)
Pat Sturgis (co-owner) of Beans & Barley (East Side)
Michelle Evans (catering manager) of Northwestern Mutual
Jack Kaestner of the Oconomowoc Lake Club
Louis Danegelis (owner) of Lee John’s Catering (Waukesha)

Comings and Goings

Along with all our full season vendors, on Saturday we will have Springdale Farm (produce), Viola’s Honey, Mia Famiglia (fresh ravioli), Glen Rock Farms (grass-fed lamb) and Century Farmhouse (handmade herbal soap). Your patronage of Rushing Waters Fisheries (fresh and smoked trout, wild salmon) has enabled them to make plans to attend through the end of April. Confession. Towards the end of every week I always peruse the weather forecast for signs of adversity. This week I see projections for sunny skies and temperatures in the low 40’s ergo I choose to believe that spring is coming and winter is going.

Website Update

In addition to a Google street map, our map page now has links to written driving directions, weather forecast, traffic conditions, a map of State Fair Grounds, and Milwaukee County Transit routes.