Webb City Farmers Market

Call for Proposals for Meals at the Market

2012-01-23T12:39:00.002-06:00

The market is looking for meal vendors for its Friday and Tuesday lunches. To get the details, click here

Both meals are served from 11 am to 1 pm each weeks. Vendors may submit proposals for either day or both, but must be for the full season. The food must be prepared in a kitchen certified by the health department and be handled at the market according to health department regulations.

Questions? Call or email Eileen - 417 483-8139 - eileennichols@sbcglobal.net

Market this Friday

2012-01-17T10:08:00.004-06:00

The Winter Market will be open Friday ( January 20) from 11 to 2 at the Clubhouse, 115 North Madison.

Expected at the Winter Market on Friday:
• Our meat ranchers – beef, chicken, lamb, and pork.
• All the market’s bakers (American and European pastries, breads, pies, cakes, cookies and more)
• Eggs, raw honey, jam and jelly, pecan and raw food bar vendors
• Local produce expected includes broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes.

Soup du Jour will serve two soups (Three Cheese with Roasted Red Pepper Soup and Beef with Basil Noodles & Broccoli Soup) for eating on site or takeout. Small Cottage Roasters will sell roasted coffee beans as well as cups of freshly brewed coffee. The selection will be dark roast - Burundi Ngozi (which is pronounced “n GO zee”) and light roast - Honduras Octopeque (pronounced “aw-kaw-te-PE-ke”). That's our coffee vendor, Josh Moore, in the photo.

Christmas Holiday Market this Friday

2011-12-21T09:18:00.001-06:00

Our first Christmas Holiday market is this Friday (12/23) from 11 to 1 at the Clubhouse. Vendors we're expecting:

Broken Wire - sweet potatoes (& maybe a little other produce) & eggs
Shoal Creek - tomatoes, peppers, decorative gourds (that's their tomatoes in the photo - being snapped up by loyal customer Marilyn Clark)
Amos Apiaries - raw honey & honey products, woolen products

Black Forest Bakery - American & European baked goods
Arma Bakery - bread
Hazel's Bakery - pies, cakes, & other goodies

Soup du Jour - Glazed Sweet Potato with Ham soup & Italian Chicken Vegetable soup - eat-in with crackers & cobbler - $5 or take home a quart for $8.95

Howard Thompson - handcrafted cutting boards and pottery
Edith Bayless - handcrafted kitchen linens

Need to place an order? - check out the winter market sidebar or call Eileen at 483-8139.

Who's Coming to the Winter Market Friday?

2011-12-01T10:55:00.007-06:00

The Winter Market will be open this Friday from 11 to 2 at the Clubhouse, 115 North Madison. Vendors we are expecting:

Produce

Broken Wire + eggs (in photo above)
Fairhaven Gardens + pecans, jams, jellies, peanut & pecan brittle, & eggs
Shoal Creek Garden and Green House + gourd birdhouses

Bakers

Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill

Meats

Sunny Lane
Madewell

Soup de Jour - for eat-in or take-away: Sloppy Joe Soup & Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Small Cottage Roasters - freshly roasted coffee beans and freshly brewed coffee by the cup
Raw Food Bars

Free Growers Workshop

2011-11-30T16:28:00.006-06:00

You're invited to a workshop on Wednesday, December 7, from 2 to 4 pm at the New-Mac Electric Co-op, 12105 E. Highway 86, Neosho, MO 64850. (Use the west door)

Topics -

Patrick Byers, U of Mo Extension horticulturist, will talk about irrigation

Dr. Jaime Piñero, Missouri's integrated pest management specialist, will speak on - you guessed it! - pest management

Shon Bishop, our new 2501 Assistant Program Educator, Horticulture Specialist Cooperative Extension, will be on hand.

We will also be talking about farming challenges of the 2011 season and topics that growers want training on this winter and spring. Hmong translation will be provided.

For more information, contact Eileen at 417 483-1839.

Winter Market - Friday, November 18

2011-11-16T16:02:00.009-06:00

We expect the following vendors at the market this Friday. It runs from 11 to 2 at the Clubhouse, 115 North Madison.

Produce

Broken Wire - broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, acorn squash
Shoal Creek Garden and Green House - bell peppers, green beans, turnips
Fair Haven - beets, turnips, green beans, pecans, jams, jellies, eggs

Meats

Sunny Lane - beef, chicken, lamb
Madewell - pork

Baked goods

Hazel's Bakery (that's some of their pies in the photo)
Arma Home Bakery
Black Forest
Redings Mill Bread Company

Other

Small Cottage Coffee - freshly roasted coffee beans from Columbia & Ethiopia, also fresh brewed - enjoy a cup at the market
Soup du Jour - Chicken Enchilada Soup and Greek Potato Soup for eat in or take out
Raw food bars

Crafters
Birdhouses & crosses
Aprons, tea towels & more

Tomorrow - Saturday at the Market

2011-10-28T14:16:00.001-05:00

Breakfast benefits the charities of the Andy Brown Memorial Scholarship - served from 9 to 11.

Erik Brown plays from 9:30 to 11:30.

Produce:
Broken Wire
The Lee Family
Mai Lor
Nature Valley Farm
Shoal Creek Gardens

Bakers
Redings Mill
Hazel's Bakery

Raw Food Bars

Crafters -
Edith's kitchen linens
The Other Log Furniture

See you at the market!!

At the Market tomorrow (Friday)

2011-10-27T16:21:00.003-05:00

Lunch – Chicken Noodle Soup or Turkey with Wild Rice Soup, plus crackers and cobbler - $5

Music by Bailed Green and Wired Tight

Produce:
Broken Wire + roasted peppers
Fairhaven Gardens + jams & jellies + eggs
Nhao Hang
The Lee Family
Mai Ker Lor
Lucy Moua
Pates Orchard + jams & jellies (they're bringing lots of tomatoes & green beans!)Maria Vang
Nhai Xiong
Nature Valley
Shoal Creek Gardens
Zoua Yang

Meats
Sunny Lane - lamb, beef & chicken

Bakeries
Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill Breads

Soups - Soup du Jour

Webb City Sentinel column - 10-28-11

2011-10-27T15:48:00.003-05:00

It’s hard for me to believe that this is the last weekend of the regular market season and that this is the last column for the year. We’ll still keep you posted about Winter Market happenings in the Sentinel’s Neighborhood section.

Perhaps the reason the season’s end has crept up on me is the fact that I was gone two months of the high season, enjoying my new granddaughter (how could that not be a pleasure? Just see the photo of Madeleine with me and my mother taken last month!). That’s also the reason I can’t go through my usual thank yous this year. So many people stepped in to help while I was gone that I’d surely miss someone. But you know who you are – how can our volunteers forget with their market experience seared into their memory by one of the hottest summers on records?

And a hot summer it was. June was over 6 degrees hotter than usual with an average high of 91 degrees. Then came July with an average high of 100, 11 degrees higher than normal. August cooled off with an average high of 96, some 5 degrees higher than normal. Amazingly our farmers and customers soldiered through the heat, presenting a remarkably full market when other markets, especially to the west, were withering and closing.

Of course, our total sales for the year will be impacted by the weather. Losing most of our corn crop dramatically reduced sales for a couple of our farms and almost every farm was touched by reduced tomato sales. (Tomatoes just won’t set their fruit in that much heat no matter how much water you pour on them, and I can tell you from our farm visits that our farmers were running their pumps constantly.) Still when the numbers are in, it looks like our total market sales will only be down about 6% from last year. We had less produce to sell, but market sales were boosted by the return of Hazel’s Bakery and the addition of LOMAH cheese.

What looks to be the most significant factor in sales in 2011 was not the heat and drought, but another weather event that we hope never ever comes again – the May 22 tornado.

Sales in June were down 25% over the previous June. That’s not a surprise with so many of our Joplin customers homeless or in severe distress and no doubt many others caring for friends and relatives and helping with the recovery efforts. So at the market, we tightened our belts and sent excess produce over to Joplin. Our farmers continued that effort through much of the summer and geared back up last week to help Suzanne’s health food store feed the vegetarians involved in the Extreme Build effort. The opportunity to help was a silver lining that we were glad to grasp in such hard times.

Lest you think the season is over because of all this review, let me tell you about this weekend. Today, lunch is a choice of chicken noodle soup or turkey with wild rice soup, plus crackers and cobbler for $5. Bailed Green and Wired Tight play.

Tomorrow we’ll serve our last Saturday benefit breakfast of biscuits and gravy, sausage, eggs to order and juice or coffee. All the profits go to the Andy Brown Memorial Scholarship. His scholarship goes each year to a graduating senior in the Webb City school district who is in need of financial assistance to continue his or her schooling at a college, university or trade school. The scholarship is administered by the R-7 Foundation. Andy graduated from Webb City High and MSSC. He died in a motorcycle collision on September 26, 1998, at the age of 22. Andy was one of my kids at Central United Methodist and I really miss him. I’d consider it a personal favor if you’d support his scholarship by joining us for breakfast tomorrow.

Andy’s scholarship provides an apt end to this season which has been a time of joy, striving, generosity and success, tinged with great sadness. I hope you can join with us in celebrating this year despite the sadness. We look forward to a happy season of Winter Markets, supplying your needs for the table and for holiday giving.
The Winter Market begins next Friday at the Clubhouse, 115 North Madison. We’ll be open from 11 to 2, rain or shine.

Tomorrow - Saturday at the Market

2011-10-21T17:44:00.003-05:00

Breakfast benefits the charities of the Carl Junction Order of the Eastern Star - served from 9 to 11.

Bill Adkins plays from 9:30 to 11:30.

Produce:
Broken Wire
The Lee Family
Nhao Vue Hang
Mai Lor
Lucy Moua
Nature Valley Farm
Shoal Creek Gardens
Zoua Hang Yang

Honey
Amos Apiaries - will not be at the market next week but will be here tomorrow (Saturday)

Bakers
Redings Mill
Hazel's Bakery

Raw Food Bars

Crafters -
The Shermans with birdhouses and crosses made from materials salvaged from the tornado fields - see photo for a sample.
Made of Clay pottery
two vendors with aprons, tea towels and other kitchen items
The Other Log Furniture

See you at the market!!

What's at the Market Tomorrow (Friday)

2011-10-20T14:24:00.002-05:00

Eileen will demonstrate a great boc choy recipe at 11:30 and noon.

Lunch – Choice of Irish Corn Beef Dinner soup or White Cheddar Chicken Leek soup, plus crackers and cobbler - $5

Music by the Gospel Strings

Produce:
Broken Wire + roasted peppers
Fairhaven Gardens + jams & jellies + eggs
Nhao Hang
The Lee Family
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
Lucy Moua
Pates Orchard + jams & jellies (they're bringing 40 quarts of tomatoes!)
Maria Vang
Nhai Xiong
Nature Valley
Shoal Creek Gardens
Zoua Yang

Honey
Amos Apiaries

Meats
Sunny Lane - lamb, beef & chicken

Bakeries
Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill Breads

Mums
Duvall Farm
Pumpkin Tent

Webb City Sentinel column - 10-21-11

2011-10-19T10:16:00.004-05:00

This time of year we are still doing a lot of marketing, but we’re also evaluating the year and planning for next year. So, first and foremost – we are OPEN on Fridays and Saturdays through October. And we have lots of produce. Of course, the melons and sweet corn are a fond memory but the green beans overfloweth, as do the peppers, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, radishes, greens and lots of other goodies.

In November we go to the winter market – first and third Fridays from 11 to 2 at a new location – the Clubhouse at 115 North Madison. On pretty days, we’ll be on the parking lot, but on not-so-pretty days we’ll retreat to the warmth and dryness of the Clubhouse. When we approached the Historical Society board about hosting the market, they responded enthusiastically. Julie Riley’s response was typical: “The Club House is ideal for the ‘Winter Market’ and it will provide an excellent service to the community and area towns. It is a yea vote!”

This is where planning earlier in the year pays off with a warm location that will allow us to sell and you to buy in comfort. And also thanks to that planning we expect to have fresh produce in addition to our baked goods, cheeses and meats.

Since beginning Winter Market three years ago, we have longed for fresh produce. After all, what is a market without that? And this year we have three farmers who planted specifically for winter. John Pate and Tim Green planted tomatoes in their high tunnels – we’re already seeing the Pate’s tomatoes in the market. (That's Tim's wife Vi in the photo above - drawfed by the high tunnel tomatoes.) Tim expects to bring tomatoes soon and to harvest through December. He’s already bringing huge bell peppers and two varieties of burpless cucumbers from his tunnels to the market and will have green beans next month. Tom Lewis of Broken Wire has tomatoes planted as well, plus some cool weather crops like broccoli. So when the frost decimates the field crops, we’ll still have fresh veggies for you at the market – thanks to our farmers’ planning and our pestering them into taking a chance and giving up some of their winter down time.

Until a hard freeze, of course, we’ll have a wide variety of fall produce including boc choy. You may not be familiar with this vegetable that is almost always available at the market. I started eating it regularly while visiting my daughter Cora in Australia this summer. She eats a lot of veggies (and fish – one of the bonuses of living in a coastal area). Boc choy is often on the menu. I find it makes a great side with sweet potatoes and salmon and works with almost any menu as a nice touch of green. Besides adding color to the plate and flavor to the palate, it’s packed with nutrients. In fact, “nutrient-dense” is how it’s often described in medical literature – it’s high in vitamins A, C, and K, as well as folate and calcium. And a cup of shredded boc choy contains nine calories! Count ‘em – nine calories!

And talk about easy to prepare. Slice off the end, rinse well, slice cross-ways into strips and prepare to your taste. I like to keep it simple and just steam it till tender. I put the stems in first and then add the leaves. When wilted to my taste I transfer it to the plate and season. If you want to go the extra mile, try the recipe below. Phil created this recipe for Cora while she was home last month and she declared it the best way she’d ever had it. Coming from someone who eats boc choy at least twice a week, that’s saying something.

Boc Choy

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 slices ginger root, about 1/8 inch each, minced
5 bunches baby boc choy, sliced across into strips 1 1/2 inches
La Choy Stir Fry sauce

Sauté garlic and ginger root in peanut or vegetable oil. Add boc choy. Sauté until the boc choy is reduced by one-half (about 5 minutes). Add sauce and sauté until cooked to your taste (one or two more minutes). This recipe serves 2 to 3 people depending on their enthusiasm. (Cora could eat the whole recipe by herself.)

Lunch today is your choice of Irish corn beef dinner soup or white cheddar chicken leek soup, plus crackers and cobbler for $5. Webb City’s own Gospel Strings performs.
Tomorrow breakfast benefits the Webb City High School Band Boosters. Bill Adkins will play golden oldies.

I mentioned at the beginning of the column that we’ve begun our evaluation process so let me share the results of our survey that we conducted with our Tuesday and Saturday customers back in August.

That market day about a third of our customers planned to spend $5 to $10 and another third planned on spending $11 to $20. Most of the remaining planned to spend more than $20. Those numbers are probably a bit low because we all know from personal experience that we almost always spend more than we plan – which is why the market is happy to turn your checks and credit/debit cards into market tokens.

Most customers traveled nine miles or less to come to the market, though several folks came more than 20 miles on the days we surveyed.

Almost half the customers surveyed come to the market every week. Over 10% surveyed were at the market for the very first time – yes, there are lots of folks who haven’t visited the market yet, which brings me to the last statistic. The vast majority of customers said they first learned about the market through word of mouth which means that most new customers come because of recommendations from old customers – that would be you! So spread the word, the market is open now and through the winter.

It was a tough growing season this summer but we’re looking forward to our best fall and winter markets yet. But it can only be the best if we have lots of customers, so see you (and your friends) soon at the market.

Tomorrow - Saturday at the Market

2011-10-14T15:07:00.003-05:00

The market is open tomorrow from 9 to noon.

Breakfast benefits Walk Now for Autism Speakes - served from 9 to 11.

Cathy Barton & Dave Para play from 9:30 to 11:30.

Produce:
Broken Wire
The Lee Family
Nhao Vue Hang
Der Lor
Mai Lor
Lucy Moua
Nature Valley Farm
Shoal Creek Gardens
Zoua Hang Yang

Mums - Pumpkin tent

Crafters -
two vendors with aprons, tea towels and other kitchen items
The Other Log Furniture
Walk Now for Autism Speaks will have handcrafted items for sale

See you at the market!!

At the Market tomorrow (Friday)

2011-10-13T15:57:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow (Friday) The Granny Chicks play. Lunch is a choice of bacon and white corn chowder or buffalo chicken soup, plus crackers and cobbler for $5. Pates and Fairhaven will be sampling their jams and jellies.

Mums - 2 vendors

Produce:
Broken Wire + roasted peppers
Fairhaven Gardens + jams & jellies + eggs
Nhao Hang
The Lee Family
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
Lucy Moua
Pates Orchard + jams & jellies (they'll have tomatoes!!!)
Maria Vang
Nhai Xiong
Nature Valley
Shoal Creek Gardens
Zoua Yang

Cheese
LOMAH Dairy

Roasted Coffee Beans
Small Cottage Coffee

Meats
Sunny Lane

Bakeries
Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill Breads

Raw Food Bars

Webb City Sentinel column - 10-14-11

2011-10-13T15:15:00.002-05:00

We have some jim-dandy entertainment this weekend at the market, plus today is Jam and Jelly Day at the market (more about that later).
The Granny Chicks play today. They are always fun and with their accordions are especially appropriate for October. Who knows? With a little prodding they might even play the Chicken Dance.

In case you need instructions (and, yes, if they play it for you, you have to dance):

Begin in a circle with everybody facing one another (this is hard to do in the University of Wisconsin football stadium where the chicken dance is a regular part of the event)

When the music starts, shape each hand like the beak of a chicken and open and close them for four counts.

Tuck your thumb under each arm and flap like a chicken for four counts.

Place your hands on your backside with fingers imitating the tail of a chicken and wiggle yourself down during the next four beats.

Stand back up and clap four times.

The whole thing is repeated four times and then there is an interlude during which you can swing your partner or the whole circle can turn or, in some places, everyone pretends to be an airplane flying around the room. In other words – improvise!

Tomorrow Cathy Barton and Dave Parra play at the market. Cathy and Dave live in central Missouri in Booneville and don’t often make it to our part of the state. But when they do, we always try to bring them to the market because they are such a perfect fit. Like our crops, their roots are deep in Missouri soil. They specialize in Missouri’s traditional music and have developed many programs exploring Missouri’s history. Tomorrow at the market you may hear a French paddling song or a steamboat song or any number of Ozarkian songs. You will certainly hear Cathy’s frailing banjo style (Roy Acuff called Cathy his favorite banjo player.) and Dave might even play a leaf!

In the afternoon, they’ll be at the Webb City Public Library opening the exhibit “Divided Loyalties: Missouri in the Civil War”. At 2 pm Cathy and Dave will do a musical program of Civil War on the Western Frontier.

Pates Orchard and Fairhaven Gardens will be sampling their jams and jellies today. Both are on the west side of the pavilion, Fairhaven all the way south and Pates just north of the center. Jams and jellies are a lovely way to preserve the taste of our local bounty for the winter and also make wonderful local gifts for the holidays.
Just like the weather, the produce at the market is beautiful. And the flowers are too. You’ll find lots of bouquets of flowers both days. Something new and perfect for the season will be chrysanthemum bouquets at Duvall Valley Farms. The small bouquets are $2 and the large are $4. They also have huge mum plants.

Lunch today is a choice of bacon and white corn chowder or buffalo chicken soup, plus crackers and cobbler for $5. Tomorrow breakfast benefits Walk Now for Autism Speaks. The volunteers will also have a table of crafts for sale to benefit Autism.
I recently enjoyed a cucumber salad in a tea room in Stillwater, Minnesota. It was refreshing and tasty.

Cucumber Yogurt Salad

2 cups thin cucumber slices (cut in half or quarters lengthwise if not using small English cucumbers)
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
Paprika for garnishing.

If the yogurt is soupy, drain in paper towel-lined sieve over a bowl for one hour. Discard the liquid.

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.

You can also add diced green onions or dill or mint to this salad. This is particularly pretty served on a leaf of lettuce.

Tomorrow - Saturday at the Market

2011-10-07T15:16:00.002-05:00

The market is open tomorrow from 9 to noon.

Free Streetcar rides from 9 to 11 just west of the market.

Breakfast benefits Crime Stoppers - served from 9 to 11.

The Loose Notes play from 9:30 to 11:30.

Mai's Chinese & Thai Food serves lunch and takeaway from 9 to noon. Their menu is on the blog.

Art Market - 9 to noon

Fall portraits by Bob Foos - $6 for 1 5x7 and 8 wallets

Produce:
Broken Wire
The Lee Family
Mai Lor
Lucy Mauo
Nature Valley Farm
Shoal Creek Gardens

Baked goods:
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill

Honey:
Amos Apiaries (will not be at the market next week)

Mums - 2 vendors

Artists - 3

Crafters -
two vendors with aprons, tea towels and other kitchen items
The Other Log Furniture

Raw food bars - Endless Bounty

See you at the market!!

Who we're expecting at Friday's market

2011-10-06T18:22:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow (Friday) The Sours play traditional music. Soup du Jour serves our lunch – a choice of Chicken Pot Pie Soup or Braised Spinach with Swiss Cheese Soup, plus crackers and cobbler for $5.

Mums - 2 vendors

Produce:
Broken Wire + roasted peppers
Fairhaven Gardens + jams & jellies + eggs
Nhao Hang
The Lee Family
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
Lucy Moua
A Mouchoupao
Pates Orchard + jams & jellies
Maria Vang
Nhai Xiong
Nature Valley
Shoal Creek Gardens
Zoua Yang

Cheese
LOMAH Dairy

Honey
Amos Apiaries

Roasted Coffee Beans
Small Cottage Coffee

Meats
Sunny Lane
Flintrock + eggs

Bakeries
Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill Breads

Raw Food Bars

Don't forget, on Saturday the streetcar will give free rides from 9 to 11 & Bob Foos will take fall portraits - package of one 5x7 and eight wallets for $6.

Webb City Sentinel column - 10-7-11

2011-10-05T20:26:00.006-05:00

Now that the market is open only on Fridays and Saturdays, and my visiting family has left (boo hoo), I was able to catch up on the Kerr Center’s fall issue of Field Notes. The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture is in Poteau, Oklahoma, and their lead story sounds familiar. “Blizzards and record cold, tornadoes, gale force winds, flooding rains, drought and record heat…” What a year. But they also had some good news, as do we. It turns out that sweet potatoes thrive in the heat, which is lucky because demand is up for sweet potatoes.

Until 2007 annual per capita consumption of sweet potatoes hadn’t changed in 40 years, holding steady at four pounds per person. It even trailed consumption of celery! In 1943 we averaged almost 22 pounds per person.

But the sweet potato has been rediscovered. It began showing up on the top ten lists of “super foods” that we should make a part of our regular diet. It’s high in vitamins A and C, potassium, antioxidants and fiber. Though sweet, it’s low on the glycemic index, making it a good choice for diabetics (unless like me you cook it with loads of sugar).

Broken Wire, who come on both Friday and Saturday, and Fair Haven, who usually only come on Friday, have sweet potatoes – and butternut squash. And they say demand will overcome their supply soon. They thought they had planted enough to last through November. Not so, but they’re planning to double their plantings next year. Pates Orchard often comes on Fridays with sweet potatoes.

I’d recommend buying both sweet potatoes and butternut. A few weeks ago I included a very easy butternut squash recipe in this column. I made that dish, as well as a sweet potato recipe. What a good combination. The sweet potato was a big hit, it’s almost like dessert and the squash toned the meal down with a milder flavor. Add some steamed boc choy and a meat dish and you have a nutritious, tasty market meal.

And what a versatile vegetable, the sweet potato is. Foodnetwork.com lists 100 recipes from soups to pies to casseroles to fries and chips to salads to ice cream! I’ve included a sample recipe below.

You may find two different vegetables labeled as sweet potatoes at the market - the kind we’re used to, as well as an Asian variety. The latter is generally smaller around and not orange. It’s also much starchier and not nearly as sweet as the North American version. It’s actually much more like a regular potato.

We have lots going on at the market this weekend. Today, the Sours play traditional music. Soup du Jour serves our lunch – a choice of Chicken Pot Pie Soup or Braised Spinach with Swiss Cheese Soup, plus crackers and cobbler for $5.

Tomorrow, the Loose Notes play. Crime Stoppers will be serving breakfast – biscuits and gravy, sausage and orange juice or coffee for $3.50. Add a dollar for two market fresh eggs cooked to order.

Mai’s Chinese and Thai Food will serve lunch and takeaway from 9 to noon.

The streetcar makes its last market runs for the season Saturday from 9 to 11. The rides are free. And we’ll have the last Art Market of the season.

Bob Foos will take portraits at the market Saturday so bring the kids out for a memorable photo. A package of one 5x7 and eight wallet-sized photos will cost $6.

So come on out and stock up on honey, jams and jellies, meats and lots of fresh produce. We are practically buried in green beans right now and the greens are wonderful. There are radishes, green onions, eggplant, peppers and loads of other local crops coming in. Get it while you can – it’s harvest season.

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

4 tablespoons of butter, plus 1 tablespoon for greasing
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter.

Cut each of the sweet potatoes into 88 evenly shaped wedges (or if you end up with differently sized potatoes which is likely at the market, you can simply slice into about 1/2-inch “coins” across). Lay them out in the prepared baking dish in an even layer.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Mix in syrup and cook until smooth. Pour the glaze over the sweet potatoes and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for about 45 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork but still hold their shape.

If you have any left-overs, which is unlikely unless you make a ton, you can serve them again in a different form. Simply mashed the potatoes until fairly smooth, put in a baking dish to reheat and top with mini-marshmallows about 10 minutes prior to serving. Don’t overdo the marshmallows. They’ll puff up to twice or triple their original size.

Yum, yum - Chinese & Thai food at the Saturday market

2011-10-05T10:40:00.005-05:00

On Saturdays you'll find lunch and takeaway at the market in the center of the pavilion from 9 to noon:

Mai’s Chinese and Thai Food

SMALL PORTION -

Combo 1:
Fried Rice, 2 mini Egg Rolls and drink

With ONE small entrée………………...$4.00
• General Chicken
• Sweet Sour Chicken
• Lomein Veg
• Chicken Curry Potato
• Chicken Broccoli
• Vegetable and Chicken

With TWO small entrées………………..$4.00
• General Chicken
• Sweet Sour Chicken
• Lomein Veg
• Chicken Curry Potato
• Chicken Broccoli
• Vegetable and Chicken

LARGE PORTION -

Combo 2:
Fried Rice, 2 mini Egg Rolls and drink

With ONE large entré…………………...$5.00
• General Chicken
• Sweet Sour Chicken
• Lomein Veg
• Chicken Curry Potato
• Chicken Broccoli
• Vegetable and Chicken

With THREE large entrées……………..$6.00
• General Chicken
• Sweet Sour Chicken
• Lomein Veg
• Chicken Curry Potato
• Chicken Broccoli
• Vegetable and Chicken

With a little of ALL entrées……………..$7.00
• General Chicken
• Sweet Sour Chicken
• Lomein Veg
• Chicken Curry Potato
• Chicken Broccoli
• Vegetable and Chicken

A La Carte Small Large

Rice $2.00 $4.00
General Chicken $3.00 $5.00
Sweet Sour Chicken $3.00 $5.00
Lomein Vegetable $3.00 $5.00
Chicken Green Bean $3.00 $5.00
Vegetable & Chicken $3.00 $5.00
Chicken Broccoli $3.00 $5.00

Appetizers

Chicken Egg Roll (1 piece) …………………....$1.00
Mini Chicken Egg Rolls (4 pieces)……………$2.00
Appetizer Special Combo* …………………...$5.00
*3 Regular Egg Rolls & 7 Mini Egg Rolls

Drinks

Peach Tea……………………………………. $1.00
Thai ice coffee………………………………… $1.00
Raspberry Tea………………………………… $1.00

Have a Beautiful Day!

At the Market tomorrow (Saturday)

2011-09-30T17:46:00.003-05:00

Vendors we're expecting:

Produce:
Broken Wire
Mai Ker Lor
A Mouchoupao
Nature Valley Farm
Nhao Vang
Nhai Xiong

Bakeries:
Redings Mill Bread

Eggs - Apple Road Farm

Mums - Lance & Josh

Meals -
Breakfast benefits The Civil Air Patrol
The Lor Family serves Asian luncheon buffet

Other:
Amos Apiaries - honey
Raw Food Bars
Daniel Sherman - birdhouses & crosses made from salvaged tornado debris
The Other Log Furniture
Rebecca Bristow - recycled art glass

Music - Red Bridge

Webb City Sentinel column - 9-30-11

2011-09-29T21:52:00.000-05:00

We welcome back a vendor today – Du Jour by Jimmi, otherwise known as soups by Jim and Becky Rogers. The Rogers were well-known last winter for their hearty and creative soups and they’ll be back today with Beef with Roasted Barley and Macaroni & Cheese soups – told you they were creative. They’ll also have fresh salsa. In fact, everything they do is fresh.

Jim looked into getting a canning license, but the state requires that each recipe be individually licensed which means it also must be tested in a laboratory for a nutritional label and since Jim makes over 60 recipes that just wasn’t feasible so he’s sticking with fresh. But that’s OK, because we like fresh at the market.

On Saturday, Linda Williams of Mount Vernon returns with her handcrafted aprons and tea towels. Linda came last spring and dropped out thinking that she would return when her garden began producing. It never happened, the weather did her garden in as it did most backyard gardens this year. So she’s back to celebrate the fall and the upcoming gift-giving season with her crafts.

Speaking of crafts, we’ll have lots of woodcrafts on Saturday. Dan Sherman will be here with his birdhouses and crosses made with wood and hardware salvaged from the tornado debris. We’ll also have a new woodworker with yard furniture and benches.
And we’ll have lots of produce on both days. We think of fall as harvest time and it certainly is here at the Webb City market. Our farmers’ tables are loaded with fall greens, peppers, green onions, eggplant, squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, radishes, gorgeous cut flowers.

Lunch today is all-you-can-eat chili, plus the fixin’s, cake and drink for $6. This is Jim and Trish’s last day this season as the Friday meal provider. In October, on Fridays, we’ll have soup lunches from Du Jour by Jimmi. The music today is by the Plainsfolk.

Tomorrow our music is Red Bridge, a wonderful bluegrass and gospel group based in Ozark, Missouri. The breakfast is being served by the Civil Air Patrol. We love working with the Patrol. It’s a group of young people planning on careers in the Air Force and aviation and they sure know how to follow instructions.
Mai’s Asian Kitchen will serve lunch tomorrow – a selection of freshly made Asian dishes.

We go to our fall schedule this week. We’ll be open on Fridays and Saturdays through October. In November we switch to the Winter Market which is the first and third Friday of each month from 11 to 2. And we’re going inside this winter! We’ll be at the Clubhouse, 115 North Madison. On pretty days, we’ll set up on the parking lot, but on cold or rainy days, we’ll retreat to the comfort of indoors. Our vendors are very excited about the option of warm Winter Markets and we hope you are too.

Friday at the Market

2011-09-29T21:46:00.004-05:00

Vendors we're expecting:

Mums:
Duval Valley Farm

Produce:
Broken Wire + roasted peppers
Fairhaven Gardens + jams & jellies + eggs
Nhao Hang
The Lee Family
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
A Mouchoupao
Maria Vang
Nhai Xiong
Nature Valley
Zoua Yang

Meats:
Sunny Lane - beef, chicken, lamb
Flintrock - bison, elk + eggs

Bakers:
Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill

Other
Small Cottage Coffee
Raw Food Bars
Du Jour by Jimmi - fresh soup & salsa

Lunch is all-you-can-eat chili, plus the fixin's, cake and drink for $6. The Plainsfolk play traditional music.

Tuesday at the Market

2011-09-26T13:03:00.011-05:00

This is our last Tuesday of the season. During October we'll be open on Fridays and Saturdays. The Friends of the Webb City Public Library serve lunch on Tuesday. Bill Adkins plays and sings. Come out and enjoy a beautiful fall day and support our Library!

Vendors we're expecting Tuesday:

Mums: Duval Valley Farm

Produce:

Broken Wire + roasted peppers + eggs
Fairhaven Gardens + jams & jellies + eggs
Nhao Hang
The Lee Family
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
A Mouchoupao
Maria Vang
Nhai Xiong
Nature Valley Farm
Zoua Yang

Baked Goods:
Yoder's
Arma Bakery
Black Forest

Raw Food Bars

Tomorrow (Friday) at the Market

2011-09-22T17:47:00.003-05:00

Vendors we're expecting:

Mums:
Duval Valley Farm + eggs

Produce:
Broken Wire + roasted peppers
Fairhaven Gardens + jams & jellies
Nhao Hang + eggs
The Lee Family
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
A Mouchoupao
Pates Orchard + jams & jellies
Maria Vang
Nhai Xiong
Nature Valley
Zoua Yang

Cheese
LOMAH Dairy

Honey
Amos Apiaries - they'll be leaving early, come by noon

Other
Small Cottage Coffee
Raw Food Bars

Lunch is lasagna, side salad, garlic bread, brownies and drink for $6. Jack & Lee Ann Sours play traditional music.

Webb City Sentinel column - 9-23-11

2011-09-22T11:46:00.002-05:00

Every season has its pleasures and fall is no exception. Fair Haven Gardens brought their first load of decorative gourds this week. We’re expecting mums today. The butternut squash and sweet potatoes have arrived, as well as many of the cool weather greens. And, of course, we still have most of the summer crops like eggplant, okra, peppers, cucumbers, green beans and summer squash. (Squash recipe in photo printed below)

We are between tomato crops. The summer heat did in the field tomatoes earlier this month and the high tunnel tomatoes will ripen in about two weeks. Yes, we’ll have tomatoes this fall. Tim Green of Shoal Gardens expects to have tomatoes through December out of his high tunnels, as well as cucumbers, green beans and bell peppers. Finally we’ll have a winter market with actual produce!

Winter market will be the first and third Friday of each month, November through April. During October we’ll be open Fridays and Saturdays and, of course, we’ll have our annual Holiday Market the day before Thanksgiving at the Clubhouse, 115 North Madison. That’s always a banner day, especially for our bakers. You can place your orders at the market now to be sure you get just the pies, cakes, pastries or breads that you want on your Thanksgiving table.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, the recent rains have turned my thoughts to thankfulness. My list is long – I’m thankful for the weather finally turning cool and rainy. I’m thankful that our farmers managed to grow produce in the terrible summer heat and that the market continued to have a remarkably good supply while many markets in Oklahoma closed midseason for lack of produce.

I’m thankful for the friends, family, volunteers and vendors who allowed me to abandon the market for most of the high season to take care of my little granddaughter. And I’m thankful that my little Australian family is visiting this month and that I’m able to experience again that incredibly sweet warm feeling of holding a sleeping grandbaby.

And that’s just the beginning of the list. I think being mindful of the good things in our lives is important. It would be so easy to overlook the good and just dwell on our frustrations and difficulties, but even in trying times there are things to be thankful for. So I encourage you to sit down and make a list. I think you may be surprised at how long it is. And I encourage you to post that list on the market’s facebook page or send it to the Sentinel – especially those thanks that deserve to be public – like the thank you I have for Chuck Surface, the city’s economic development director. Chuck showed up at the market Tuesday with someone who may have a funding source to pave the market’s parking and erect handicapped accessible bathrooms. It may be hard funding to find in today’s economic climate, but how well that speaks of Chuck and the city that he saw a need and is pursuing it. And, of course, we wish him every success!

Jack and Lee Ann Sours play traditional music today from 11 am to 1 pm. Lunch is lasagna, side salad, garlic bread, brownies and drink for $6.

Tomorrow breakfast benefits a cause near and dear to our market’s heart – the Don Lansaw Memorial Scholarship fund at MSSU. Don, our volunteer manager Donna Krudwig’s son-in-law, died during the May 22 tornado protecting his wife, Bethany, from the storm. Because Bethany is an MSSU employee, the university established a scholarship in Don’s memory. We’re supporting it tomorrow and we hope you will too. Breakfast will be served from 9 to 11. The Loose Notes will play from 9:30 to 11:30.

Next Tuesday is our last Tuesday market of the season. Bill Adkins will play and the Friends of the Webb City Library will serve lunch.

This recipe from Whole Foods is simple but packed with nutrition. According to Whole Foods, butternut squash delivers healthy carbohydrates, vitamins A and C, plus potassium. This squash dish can be eaten as a side, or used in soups, tacos, enchiladas, pasta or salad.

Baked Butternut Squash

1 medium butternut squash, peeled (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve the squash lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out and discard seeds.

Cut the squash into 1-cubes. Transfer to a large, rimmed baking sheet. Toss with oil, salt and pepper and spread out in a single layer. Roast, tossing occasionally, until just tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Yum – the taste of Fall is here.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Market

2011-09-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

Tuesday - Cooking for a Cause benefits the Alliance of Southwest Missouri. Gary Kyger and his band performs. Lunch and music from 11 to 1. Market from 11 to 2.

Vendors we are expecting:

Produce -
Broken Wire
Fairhaven Gardens
Zoua Hang Yang
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
A Mouchoupao
Maria Vang
Nhao Vang
Ma Yang

Baked Goods -
Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Yoder's

Saturday at the Market

2011-09-16T18:39:00.001-05:00

Vendors we're expecting:

Produce:
Broken Wire
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
Ge Moua
Lucy Moua
A Mouchoupao
Nature Valley Farm
Nhao Vang
Nhai Xiong
May Yang

Bakeries:
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill Bread

Meals -
Breakfast benefits the charities of the Cstl Junction Easterrn Star The Lor Family serves Asian luncheon buffet

Other:
Amos Apiaries - honey
Raw Food Bars
Daniel Sherman - birdhouses & crosses made from salvaged tornado debris

Music - Curreykorn

Who's coming to the Friday Market?

2011-09-15T16:51:00.006-05:00

Show Me the Ozarks will sell it's special tornado edition at the market Friday. The price is $12 and all proceeds go to the United Way Tornado Relief Fund.

Produce:
Broken Wire + roasted peppers
Fairhaven Gardens + mams & jellies
Nhao Hang + eggs
The Lee Family
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
A Mouchoupao
Pates Orchard + jams & jellies
Maria Vang
Nhai Xiong
Nature Valley
Zoua Yang

Cheese
LOMAH Dairy

Honey
Amos Apiaries

Roasted Coffee Beans
Small Cottage Coffee

Meats
Sunny Lane
Flintrock + eggs

Apple Road Farm - eggs

Bakeries
Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill Breads

Raw Food Bars

Plus lunch - bbq sandwich, oriental Cole slaw, chips, cookies & drink & music - Center Creek Bluegrass!

Webb City Sentinel column - 9/16/11

2011-09-15T11:52:00.005-05:00

Show Me the Ozarks will be at the market today (Friday)selling their special edition about the tornado. The cost is $12. All proceeds go the United Way Tornado Relief Fund.

With the arrival of cooler weather we’re looking forward to luscious fall crops. The sweet potatoes, butternut squash and apples arrived last week. Lettuce, spinach and broccoli are also making an appearance. And a walk through the market shows that the summer crops are reinvigorated with beautiful squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and egg plant in abundance.

Within a week we hope to see the first of the local mums and pumpkins. Fair warning on the pumpkins though. The extreme heat of the summer has reduced the crop, so buy them when you see them!

We’re putting in place our plans for fall. For our Saturday customers, the most important plan is that we will do our best to stay open on Saturdays through October. In the past, we have closed the Saturday market at the end of September. Last year we heard from our Saturday crowd in no uncertain terms – Stay Open! Our growers who have enough produce will come both Friday and Saturday. Other growers with only enough for one day will be split between the two so hopefully both days will have a good selection of produce.

We’re still building some aspects of the Saturday market. We were able to secure two ranchers for chicken, beef and lamb in August, but they ran out of meat last week. I don’t think they were expecting such an enthusiastic response and it takes a good long while to raise the animals for slaughter so it will be next spring before we expect to see those Saturday ranchers again. Pates Orchard will only be at the market on Fridays so unless we can find another orchard we won’t have apples on Saturdays. But otherwise we hope to have a good selection on both days.

On Saturday, October 8th, we’ll have our last Art Market of the season and the last runs of the streetcar in conjunction with the market.

We’ll also have fall photos on that day. Several years ago Bob Foos was kind enough to take photos at the market for us and I treasure the photo he took of my parents. There’s just something about the autumn sun, bales of straw and colorful mums that make a memorable scene. I’ll have final details in a few weeks but it looks like the package will be a 5x7 and 8 wallet sized photos for $6.

With the weather finally cool enough to enjoy an outdoor meal, we hope more of you will join us for the Tuesday benefit lunch. Next week the Alliance of Southwest Missouri serves lunch.

I plan to use one of the Alliance’s services next week. Twice a month they have a “safe kids car seat check’ and I want to be sure the car seat I installed for my granddaughter Madeleine is safe. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, three out of four parents do not properly use child restraints. I expect for us grandparents that statistic may be even worse. “Often installation is incorrect or the wrong time type of seat is being used for the child’s height, weight or age.” Given that traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for children and an improperly installed car seat offers little or no protection, this service provided by the Alliance should be at the top of our thank you list.

And that’s just a small part of what the Alliance does for our community. They also work in drug prevention, in child abuse prevention, in underage drinking prevention, and a myriad of other issues for children, teens and adults.

And like many other local agencies they are responding to the needs created by the May 22 tornado:

They provide transportation in the immediate area for those affected by the tornado for FEMA appointments, job interviews, pharmacy runs and other essential needs.
And they offer group play therapy for children affected by the tornado, which is considered particularly helpful in 3- to 11-years dealing with that traumatic experience.

In other words, this is an organization, like all our others, well worth supporting and learning more about – which you can do Tuesday from 11 to 1 at the market which you enjoy a hot dog, chili dog, chili frito pie or barbecue beef sandwich and listen to the music of Gary Kyger and his band.

Today, we’ll enjoy music from a local favorite – Center Creek Bluegrass. They’ll play from 11 to 1 during lunch which is barbecued beef sandwich, oriental Cole slaw, chips, cookies and drink for $6.

Tomorrow we have a rare musical treat – Curreykorn will play from 9:30 to 11:30. This group from Columbia would normally be way over our budget but luckily for us they agreed to stop by on their way home from performing at the Arbuckle Mountain Bluegrass Festival. David and Nancy Currey, and their five children, play a blend of traditional and contemporary bluegrass, plus gospel, roots country and old-time fiddle. They should be lots of fun.

The Carl Junction Order of the Eastern Star will serve breakfast from 9 to 11.

With markets closing for the season all over the state, we are fortunate that our growers persisted through the heat in planting and watering fall crops. We hope you will reap the rewards and reward the farmers as well by making the market a regular part of your fall. See you at the market!

Who's coming to the Tuesday Market

2011-09-12T12:12:00.003-05:00

Tuesday - Cooking for a Cause benefits the WCHS Band Boosters. Bill Adkins performs. Lunch and music from 11 to 1. Market from 11 to 2.

Vendors we are expecting:

Produce -
Broken Wire
Fairhaven Gardens
Zoua Hang Yang
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lor
A Mouchoupao
Pates Orchard - last day for peaches
Maria Vang
Nhao Vang
Ma Yang

Baked Goods -
Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Yoder's

Who's coming to the Saturday market?

2011-09-09T19:34:00.003-05:00

Vendors we're expecting:

Produce:
Broken Wire
Der Lor
Mai Ker Lort
Ge Moua
Lucy Moua
A Mouchoupao
Nhao Vang
Ma Yang
Nolan Yoder

Meat:
Green Elm - chicken & lamb
Harvest Hill - chicken & beef

Bakeries:
Hazel's Bakery
Redings Mill Bread

Meals -
Breakfast benefits CROP Hunger Walk
The Lor Family serves Asian luncheon buffet

Other:
Amos Apiaries - honey
Apple Road Farm - eggs
Raw Food Bars

Plus 5 artists for the Art Market
Free Streetcar rides from 9 to 11
Music - The Tri-State Kokopelli Flute Circle

Who's coming to the Friday Market?

2011-09-08T21:42:00.003-05:00

Vendors we're expecting on Friday

Produce:

Broken Wire
Fairhaven
Nhao Hang
Ge Lee
Der Lor
A Mouchoupau
Pates Orchard (they won't be at the market Saturday)
Maria Vang
Zoua Yang
Nhia Xiong

Meats:

Madewell Pork
Sunny Lane Farm

Bakers:

Arma Bakery
Black Forest
Hazel's Bakery
Reding Mills (they'll have chocolates, too!)

Amos Apiaries - honey
Fairhaven - herbs
LOMAH - cheeses
Small Cottage Coffee - freshly roasted coffee beans
Raw Food Bars
Lunch - meatloaf, green beans, au gratin potatoes, cake & drink

Webb City Sentinel column - 9/10/11

2011-09-07T19:56:00.001-05:00

Some time ago, I received training from Project for Public Spaces, a New York nonprofit, on placemaking. It keeps me mindful of what makes a place welcoming – like shade in the heat, shelter from the rain, benches for resting, quiet music, things to do. One of their recommendations was “The Power of Ten”. To draw people to a destination, have ten major activities for people to do, each of which should have ten components. In other words, to draw people to the market have produce, meat, flowers, baked goods, jams, jellies…, and have a meal, music, places to sit and watch, vendors to visit with. Several customers take advantage of the trail next to the market and walk or bike. To create a true destination, we should have nine other things folks could do while visiting Webb City.

Well, this weekend, we’re going to come pretty close to the Power of Ten in downtown Webb City. In addition to the market, at 1:00 Ninth Hour will perform at the Route 66 Theater. Profits from that event (it’s is $10 per person) support the R-7 Foundation which provides scholarships to our graduating seniors. At 4:00 and 7:00 the Route 66 Theater is showing Aliens and Cowboys. From 5:00 to 8:00, the Chamber is sponsoring their last Cruise Night of the year. Stop by Bruners at Main and Daugherty. They’re open till 4 on Saturdays and have all sorts of things you might not expect at a pharmacy – especially gifts and cards. And, of course, we have several restaurants downtown where you can enjoy dinner. There’s a new one right next to the Sentinel – Patties & Franks, open 11 to 7 Monday through Saturday with burgers, dogs, chili, and fries – just like the good old days except with more toppings!

At the market Saturday, we’ll have our monthly Art Market and Old No. 60, the restored streetcar, will make runs at the hour and half hour from 9 to 11. Rides are free.

We’re celebrating Market Roots this Saturday. We’ll have a table showing where, in the mists of time, our food originated. For example, peaches were first found in China, corn and squash in the Americas and watermelon in Africa. Each of our vendors and volunteers will have signs showing where they were born and from whence their ancestors came. Right off the top of my head, I can think of vendors who were born in Germany, England, Canada and Laos. Not surprisingly, given our nearness to Oklahoma, many of our vendors can claim Native American roots.

In keeping with the theme, the music will be by the Tri-State Kokopelli Flute Circle. And, after hearing them at the market last Friday, I can guarantee that you’ll want to be at the market sometime between 9:30 and 11:30 when they’re playing. They kept the benches filled with listeners last week.

Breakfast at the Market on Saturday will benefit CROP Hunger Walk. On Sunday, September 25, members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Central United Methodist Church will join other Catholics, United Methodists, Christians, Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians for this annual interfaith walk. It raises money for and awareness about hunger. One-half of the money raised this year will stay in our area, feeding folks through Crosslines, Lafayette House, the Salvation Army, and Children’s Haven. The rest will work around the world to feed refugees fleeing natural and manmade disaster and people living with chronic poverty.

Friday, we’ll have meatloaf, au gratin potatoes, green beans, cake and drink for $6. Gospel Strings will play. Now that the weather has moderated, Redings Mill Bakery is expanding into chocolates. Jamie plans to have chocolate-covered peanut butter balls and turtles, in addition to their artisan breads. I told Jamie that “butter ball” was certainly an apt description of what I’ll soon look like with those temptations. But wait!! Didn’t I hear that chocolate and peanut butter are good for you?
See you at the market!

Who's coming to Tuesday's Market

2011-09-05T21:41:00.005-05:00

We're expecting*:

The Agees - produce, herbs & flavored vinegars
Fairhaven - produce & eggs
Nhao Hang - produce
Ge Lee - produce
Der Lor - produce
Mai Ker Lor - produce
A Mouchoupao - produce
Black Forest - pasteries
Pate's - peaches/tomatoes
Arma Bakery - breads
Rocky Horse - produce/garlic
Maria Vang - produce
Nhia Xiong - produce
Ma Yang - produce
Zoua Yang - produce
Yoders - baked goods
Raw food bars
Lunch - benefits the Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center
* many of our growers also have cut flowers.

Webb City Sentinel column - 9/2/11

2011-09-01T13:50:00.005-05:00

One of the pleasures of visiting a British Commonwealth country, like Australia, is afternoon tea. There are few things I enjoy more than a leisurely tea with a friend (or in my case recently, a daughter and granddaughter) with its delicate sandwiches, small cakes, cups of tea filled with lemon slices and, best of all, scones slathered in strawberry jam and cream. All of which is made even better by a quiet walk along the Swan River to a Tea Room bathed in the brilliant sunshine of Perth, the sunniest city in Australia, with cool breezes and a temperature of about 70 degrees. For me, it just doesn’t get any better than that, although from the many times I caught the weekend train with folks returning from Australian football games, I know that it may not be everyone’s favorite activity but that’s a whole other column.

We can enjoy many aspects of afternoon tea right here in one of the few former British colonies that is not a member of the Commonwealth (we left the Empire about 150 years too early for that).

After scones, the treat most associated with afternoon tea is the cucumber sandwich. Like all tea sandwiches, it should be made with a high quality thinly sliced bread, typically a white bread. The bread is coated with a thin layer of butter or cream cheese, either of which could be flavored with a bit of chopped herbs like dill or chives. The cucumbers should be thinly sliced and you can also add a bit of watercress or sprouts if you like. Other favorite sandwiches use thin slices of salmon or ham and cheese. Ironic, isn’t it that “thin” is a key word when making tea sandwiches – since that is the only connection thin has to afternoon tea? A low calorie meal, it is not!

The crust is removed from the sandwich and it is then cut into “fingers”, four to a sandwich.

The scone recipe I always use is from the Joy of Cooking book.

Scones

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cut into these ingredients, until the butter is of the size of a small pea, using a pastry blender or 2 knives:
1/4 cup butter

Beat in a separate bowl:
2 eggs

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the egg mixture. Add to the remaining eggs and beat:
1/3 cream

Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the liquid into it. Combine with a few swift strokes. Handle the dough as little as possible. Place it on a lightly floured board. Pat until 3/4 inch thick (I make them over 1 inch because I like a high scone). Cut into rounds (I use a glass which I first dip in flour.). Brush with the reserved egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops are browned.

The standard finish to a scone is to cut it in half, spread strawberry jam, then top with a generous serving of heavily whipped cream.

A litle trivia about afternoon tea:

Afternoon tea is a leisurely meal of elegant delicacies served on a low table. Tea lore tells us that it first developed among aristocratic English women who felt “faint” between lunch and dinner.

High tea refers to the height of the table on which tea is served, in other words, it is served on a regular table like a kitchen table. “High” makes it sounds like an elegant meal, but it actually was an evening meal originally enjoyed by labors and miners when they returned home at about 6 pm. Rather than delicacies, it is hardier fare such as meat and potatoes or egg dishes.

Both afternoon and high teas, along with “elevensies” - a morning tea or coffee break, are still popular throughout the countries associated with the British Empire.

How to pronounce scone depends on where you are. Most of England pronounces it with a long “o” as in bone, while in Scotland pretty much everyone says it to rhyme with gone. Either way, it’s a treat!

Today at the market, lunch is baked chicken, stuffing with gravy, mixed vegetables with cheese, banana pudding and drink for $6. The Tri-State Kokopelli Flute Circle makes their market debut today from 11 to 1.

Tomorrow, the Carl Junction Order of the Eastern Star serves breakfast and the Green Earth Band plays. Daniel Sherman will be at the market with his birdhouses and crosses made from debris salvaged from the tornado fields. Twenty percent of his sales go to the Salvation Army.

I want to say a big thank you to Carolyn Foat who so capably filled in as the column writer while I was in Australia and all the wonderful volunteers, both vendors and community members, who pitched in during my absence. I look forward to seeing you this weekend – I have baby pictures to show you!!

Webb City Sentinel colum - 8 - 26 - 11

2011-08-24T04:30:00.004-05:00

Come on over, Jared

Remember when Jared made Subway famous by demonstrating healthier eating? Well, come visit the Webb City Farmers Market, Jared. Our market features nothing but healthy food!

For starters, the meat is all-natural. The meat vendors (Madwell Pork, Sunny Lane Farms, Flintrock Ranch and Green Elm Farm) feature grass-fed, free range, and/or hormone free meats. There are eggs available from chickens that are allowed to roam outside.

Even the baked goods from Hazel’s, Black Forest, Arma Bakery, Yoder Baked Goods or Jamie’s Redings Mill are especially healthy. They are made from pure ingredients – no preservatives, artificial colors, or other strange additives.

If you are like me, you love the phrase “all-you–can-eat.” Unless you deep-fat fry your vegetables, the Webb City Farmers Market is your source for low calorie, healthy “all-you-can-eat” vegetables. Market vegetables are superior because they are the freshest, often picked just hours before you take them home. Freshness means the vitamins and nutrients are at maximum levels. Another healthy habit is to use the wide variety of herbs to create excitement in your cooking and lower your need for salt. Garlic is plentiful right now and has proven health benefits.

Our locally grown fruit is a real bonus at the market. Eating 2-4 servings of fruit per day is recommended in a healthy diet. Delectable cantaloupe, watermelons and peaches are currently available.

As I end my last column filling in for Eileen Nichols, I want to personally thank the incredible volunteers that make the market possible. “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat”* deter the dedicated volunteers at the Webb City Farmer’s Market. Many of us don’t realize what a tremendous commitment people like Marilyn Thornberry, Donna Krudwig, Sharon Nations, Ron Walters, Duane Hunt, Cindy LaMere, and Ann Foos make to the market. They arrive 2 hours before sales begin and finish no sooner than an hour after the market closes. That is 6 hours a day, 3 days a week, typically in scorching hot summer weather!! Please stop by the market desk to tell them thank you!

A couple more recipes celebrating some of the current market treasures:

Slushy Peach Drink

Place in blender, 1 sliced large fresh peach, 2 c. pink grapefruit juice, 1 1/2 cups ice cubes. Blend until smooth. Add more ice or peaches to suit your taste. (Optional addition: a shot of Coconut Rum).

A Recipe from Mr. Food

“Summer Fruit Stack is always a popular recipe because it's easy to make it your own. Use whatever fruit you've got on hand, from berries to melon and anything in between.”

Ingredients

* 1 (10- to 12-ounce) angel food cake
* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
* 5 to 6 unpeeled peaches, melon, berries, nectarines (or a combination), sliced or chunked

Instructions

1. Tear the angel food cake into little pieces and place in a large bowl; set aside.
2. In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese, milk, and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in the whipped topping. Add the angel food cake pieces to the mixture; mix well.
3. In a large glass serving bowl, alternate layers of cake mixture and fruit.

Another Quick and Easy Recipe from Mr. Food:

A “garden-fresh Summer Vegetable Salsa is the perfect topper for grilled chicken or fish, or as a zesty homemade appetizer for corn chips.”

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 medium-sized green bell pepper, seeded and diced
* 1 medium-sized red bell pepper, seeded and diced
* 1 medium-sized yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
* 1 small zucchini, diced
* 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and black pepper; mix well and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients with dressing and toss until evenly coated. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to use. Makes 4 cups.

Friday, August 26 Events – Lunch features Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, peas, chocolate cake and a drink for $6. Enjoy the musical stylings of Bailed Green and Wired Tight.

Saturday, August 27 Events – Breakfast features market eggs to order, biscuits, gravy, sausage, coffee or orange juice all to benefit the charities supported by the Carl Junction Order of the Eastern Star. Music will be provided by Hawthorn.

Tuesday, August 30 Events - Lunch will benefit the RSVP (Retired Seniors Volunteer Program) and the CP Center. Lunch options include smoked sausage, hot dog, chili dog, chili Frito pie or BBQ beef sandwich. Music will be by William Adkins.

*Part of the unofficial creed of the US Postal Service

Webb City Sentinel column - 8/19/11

2011-08-16T21:48:00.002-05:00

You like potato and I like potahto;
You like tomato and I like tomahto…*

Whatever your pronunciation, the Webb City Market currently has a wonderful selection of tomatoes and potatoes. Big ones, little ones, “ugly ones” and more. Same goes for peppers, onions, eggplant, and cucumbers! And they all taste great!!

As you probably know, the tomato is one of the best-loved and most versatile ingredients. We use them in so many ways – freshly sliced or diced, sautéed, stewed, grilled and even baked. Tomatoes are extremely healthy and low in calories. You can literally eat all you want!!

Here’s a favorite vegetable dish that takes advantage of tomatoes along with many of the current market vegetables:

Ratatouille

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until browned, juicy and cooked through (10-12 minutes). Transfer to a medium saucepan with a slotted spoon.

Add another 2 tbsp oil to the skillet and sauté 1 diced onion, 1 small diced green pepper, 1 small diced red pepper, and 1 small diced yellow pepper until tender-crisp ( 3-5 minutes). Transfer to the saucepan.

In another 2 tbsp oil, sauté 3-5 minutes 2 small or 1 large diced zucchini and 2 small yellow summer squash, diced. Transfer to the saucepan and add 2 diced ripe tomatoes, and 4 diced cloves of garlic. Also add 1, 8 oz can of tomato sauce or puree and a little chopped basil or oregano.

Simmer 15 minutes over medium heat. Season with more salt and pepper. Flavor will be enhanced if cooked ahead and reheated. Try this dish, you will love it. It makes the perfect side dish for any of the locally raised, grass-fed meats sold at the market. This Friday take advantage of delicious bison and elk offered by Flintrock Ranch . On Saturday, Green Elm Farm may still have lamb (it has been selling like crazy).

“There’s no greater summertime pleasure than fresh peaches,” says TV Chef, Mr. Food. Amen!

Peaches are in their prime and Pate’s Orchard is selling them like crazy. You might also find fresh blackberries at the market. And melons are showing up in greater and greater quantities.

Here is a simple but unusual recipe for peaches, kindly provided by Pate’s Orchard.

Easy Peach Cobbler

Slice fresh peaches to cover the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking pan.

Cut crusts from 5 slices of white bread and cut into fingers.

Lace the bread fingers across the top of the peaches.

Mix 1 c. sugar, 1 stick of melted oleo and 2 Tbsp flour. Pour all over the bread fingers and peaches. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until topping is brown.

Market Events

On Friday August 19, lunch from 11-1 p.m. offers spaghetti w/ meat sauce, salad, garlic bread, chocolate fluff & drink for only $6. The urban forester, Jon Skinner with the Missouri Department of Conservation, will be at the market to answer your tree and shrub questions. Granny Chicks will be playing toe-tapping music.

Saturday, August 20, from 9-11 enjoy the benefit breakfast of biscuit, gravy, sausage, coffee or OJ with market eggs to order supporting Crime Stoppers. Dan, the Birdhouse Guy, will also be paying a special visit with his unique birdhouses made from tornado debris. Erick Brown will be our featured musician.

Tuesday, August 23, the Cooking for a Cause lunch benefits Healing the Family Counseling Service. Gary Kyger will provide musical entertainment.

*Song by George and Ira Gershwin, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," 1937.

Webb City Sentinel column - 8 - 12 - 11

2011-08-08T18:13:00.002-05:00

How to Eat in the Heat - By Carolyn Foat

While we beg Mother Nature to please turn down her oven, we surely want to keep our kitchens cool and conserve energy. Thanks to our dedicated vendors at the Market, we can easily serve wonderful food without “firing” up our ovens.

First of all, with the enticing baked goods from three dedicated bakeries: , Hazel’s, Black Forest, Arma Bakery, Yoder Baked Goods and Jamie’s Redings Mill, we certainly don’t need to be baking!

Salads made with the Market’s gorgeous peppers, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, and zucchini are sure to please, especially with the fabulous cheese from Lomah Dairy sprinkled on top . Cantaloupe, peaches, and of course, tomatoes are cool summer treats in plentiful supply.

Speaking of tomatoes, here are the winners of last week’s Tomato Contest:

Best quality – Fair Haven Farms submitted by Lester Mills

Weirdest –Steven Davis

The tomato judges were: Carolyn Corner, Dee and Gwen Hunt, Karen Latimer, and Nancy Carlson. Prizes were market tokens provided by Granny Schafer’s.

Another way to beat the heat is to skip the skillet and stove and enjoy a delicious meal at the market. This Friday, the menu includes oven fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, fresh fruit cup and a drink for only $6

Entertainment will be provided by Webb City’s own talented Gospel Strings.

Saturday, feast on a full breakfast to benefit the Civil Air Patrol. Enjoy market eggs made to order, and biscuits, gravy, sausage, coffee or OJ; all while being regaled by the acoustic folk stylings of the Green Earth Band. If you’re in the mood for lunch, stop by the Lor booth for a selection of Asian specialties.

Don’t forget that Saturday, August 13th features free streetcar rides from 9 to 11. And to top off your Saturday market visit, you can take in the talent of local visual artists and artisans at the Art Market.

Again, on Tuesday, August 14, another chance to keep your kitchen cool by eating at the market. Cooking for a Cause will provide a benefit lunch of smoked sausage, hot dog, chili dog, chili Frito pie or BBQ beef sandwich. Proceeds benefit the CP center. Rob Pommert will provide beautiful musical accompaniment.

Here are a couple of “cool” salads to complete your eating in the heat menu.

Mediterranean Potato Salad

2 pounds potatoes cooked and cubed (baby potatoes currently at the market taste the best)
1/4 c lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed or minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano or diced fresh oregano
14 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 c diced sun dried tomatoes (dry or oil packed)
1/3 c. stuffed green or Kalamata olives with their juice
1/3 c feta cheese
3 green onions thinly sliced
As soon as the potatoes are cooked and cubed, while still warm, pour over the lemon juice. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over potatoes.
Stir in the green onions and cheese. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Keeps very, very well.

Marinated Vegetable Salad

Marinade:
2/3 c vinegar
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c minced fresh parsley or cilantro
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp fresh dill or 2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Put mixture in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well.

Pour marinade over 4 cups of any combination of:
Halved cherry tomatoes or diced regular tomatoes
Sliced carrots
Sliced cucumber
Sliced zucchini
Diced green peppers
Diced green onions

Seal container and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Keeps very well.

Webb City Sentinel column - 8/5/11

2011-08-04T00:42:00.000-05:00

Last week I mentioned that eggplant seems to thrive in hot weather, so given the current temperatures, it seems like a good time for an eggplant recipe. This one is from a cookbook by Matt Moran, a well-known chef in Australia. The resulting dish is rich and satisfying and, for the vegetable-loving family I’m currently staying with, serves well as a main course.

Many of our growers have the eggplant and tomatoes called for in this recipe. Chris Sharpsteen of Rocky Horse Ranch who sells at the Tuesday market has shallots and a good selection of garlic. Fredrickson Farms has oregano plants for sale.

Eggplant Parmigiana

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
3 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato paste
Salt and pepper
1/2 bunch fresh oregano leaves, picked and chopped
2 medium Italian eggplants, cut into 1/3 inch thick slices
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat 1/3 cup of the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the shallots and garlic until soft. Pour in the white wine vinegar and simmer until the liquid has evaporated. Take 1/2 of the tomatoes, remove seeds and roughly chop the flesh, and add to the shallots. Stir in the tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, then add the chopped oregano and check for seasoning.

Sprinkle the eggplant slices with a little salt and leave for 10 minutes to remove the bitter juices. Pat the slices dry with a cloth or paper towels. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan, add the eggplant and fry on both sides until golden brown. Drain the eggplant on a paper towel to remov
e excess oil.
Cut the remaining tomatoes into slices about 1/4-inch thick.
Spoon some sauce over the base of individual gratin dishes or a large earthenware dish. Add layers of sliced eggplant, tomato and sauce until everything is used up, finishing with a layer of sauce. Top with the grated Parmesan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is golden brown. Serves 4.

While I’m away wonderful volunteers have once more stepped in. Carolyn Foat will take care of the Sentinel columns after today. You’ll see new volunteer managers at the market. We are still looking for volunteers to take donated produce to Joplin for the volunteers working in the tornado disaster area. Suzanne’s prepares them a vegetarian lunch and our generous farmers donate produce, but we do need to get it from here to there. We’d love to have an experienced griller for Tuesdays so we could put hamburgers back on the menu.

Jake Foos recently discovered what my children have known for years. Come home to visit? Be prepared to “volunteer”. Jake’s mother Ann is helping with the market in my absence so when Jake came home from Kansas City last weekend, guess who was dragooned into driving the market cart Friday? Yes, Jake Foos. And I hear he had a blast.

So if you would like to be part of a special community and volunteer at the market, just stop by the information table. I expect we could find something you’d enjoy doing.

Today Patrick Byers, horticulturist with the University of Missouri Extension, will be at the market answering gardening and growing questions. Ask him for me how to grow anything besides okra and egg plant in this weather! Lunch is a market favorite – all-you-can-eat ham and beans, plus cornbread, brownies and a drink for $6. Jack and Lee Ann Sours play traditional music.

Tomorrow breakfast is served by Lafayette House, our regional domestic violence shelter. This special place has touched many, many families for the good. Not only do they provide shelter and safety for women escaping violence, but they also provide alcohol and drug rehabilitation for women, many of whom would otherwise have to leave their children to go into treatment. And often without any support system, that would mean giving the children up to foster care. Unlike most treatment facilities, at Lafayette House they can live in a safe drug-free environment with their children while working towards a healthier, more productive life.
Drywood Bluegrass will play from 9:30 to 11:30 tomorrow.

Daniel Sherman, our birdhouse crafter, will be at the market tomorrow. He uses materials salvaged from the tornado disaster area to make his handsome birdhouses. Twenty percent of his sales go to the Salvation Army. Apparently lots of folks are doing their Christmas shopping early at his booth.

Next Tuesday Cooking for a Cause benefits the Joplin School Foundation Snackpack program. This program makes sure that low-income kids who receive their breakfast and lunch at school, have something to tide them over the weekends. Rob Pommert will play from 11 to 1.

Tomato Contests - Saturday, July 30

2011-07-27T20:29:00.002-05:00

Enter the tomato contests between 8:15 and 8:45.

Two tomatoes per entry in the Quality categories: Best Red, Best Other Color and Best Cherry/Grape - First place in each category - $25 in market tokens courtesy of Granny Shaffers.

One tomato per entry in the Fun categories: Biggest/heaviest, Smallest, & Weirdest - First place in each category - $10 in market tokens courtesy of Granny Shaffers.

Winners will be announced at about 10:30.

Customers vote on the Weirdest tomato. The other contests are judged by market volunteer.

Webb City Sentinel column - 7/29/11

2011-07-27T19:54:00.005-05:00

If this 100+ degree weather is our future, we’d better start enjoying egg plant and okra in a big way. Resa Amos and I made 10 farm visits last weekend. Most farms are keeping their plants alive through heavy irrigation, but water can only do so much in this heat – except when it comes to okra and egg plant. Everywhere I saw thriving stands of those plants. The sweet corn won’t make without rain, the tomatoes won’t set if nighttime temperatures are too high, but okra and egg plant seem unfazed by this weather, which is good news because you can make some mighty good food with those ingredients.

One farm we visited was our new Saturday lamb farm, Green Elm Farm. The farm is near McCune and it’s sure a lot greener in McCune than here. Farmer Daniel is building up his herd, having purchased ten pregnant ewes earlier this year. He kept the female lambs for breeding. The male lambs you’ll find at the market, in the form of chops, ribs, roasts, and ground lamb. (Sorry, boys.) Daniel said that if his first Saturday at the market is any indication, he’ll be out of lamb by the end of August. He was pretty thrilled by his reception. And I’m sure his reception was improved by our other lamb vendor, Nancy Rasmussen, who also raises chicken and beef and does not come to the Saturday market. Nancy, like many of our vendors, knows that when customers are happy we have a better marke.’ Nancy’s response when she learned we had found a farm to compete with her on Saturday - “wonderful! I’m out of lamb for a while. I’ll tell my customers to be sure and stop by Saturday. Get me his product list and I’ll share it with my customers.”

We’re expecting vendors with new products at the market today. LOMAH Dairy is adding two new cheeses (I think Colby and Mozzarella). Hazel’s Bakery is adding Friday to their schedule. Kay, who named the bakery in honor of her mother, returned to the market two weeks ago on Saturdays and when our regular Friday baker, Freda Mae’s, told us last Friday that she was pursuing another career, we were thrilled to have Kay step in without even a single Friday without pies and cakes. We sure don’t want to do without our pies and cakes.

On Saturday, in addition to our new lamb vendor and our many other regular vendors, we’ll have our annual tomato contests. Once again, Mike Wiggins of Granny Shaffers (who is a huge tomato fan) is sponsoring the prizes - $25 in market tokens for the best red, best other color and best cherry/grape tomato. The biggest/heaviest, smallest and weirdest tomatoes receive $10 in market tokens. Entry is free and open to any grower or gardener. Just bring your tomatoes to the market and enter them between 8:15 and 8:45 Saturday morning. Winners will be announced at about 10:30. Entry details are on our blog – webbcityfarmersmarket.blogspot.com. The Weirdest Tomato is selected by customer votes. The other contests are judged by market volunteers.

I am once again on the road – my little Madeleine likes sleeping in 20 minute naps and her mommy needs someone to do the night shift so she can get some rest. When I asked the market board if they could manage without me, they said to a person and immediately – Go! Each of my vendors has taken on a job to help set up and take down the market. I love my vendors. Not only were they happy to help, but almost all gave me a goodbye hug at the end of market on Tuesday.

Several good friends are pitching in, too – but they’ll be new at monitoring the peach line, so please be kind to them. Actually folks in the peach line – and other lines – are generally patient and kind. In fact, I find almost all the people associated with the market to be very generous. I received a call today from a lady in Carthage looking for canning tomatoes. I suggested some possible vendors but was pretty discouraging because the heat is reducing tomato production. Despite my less-than-helpful information, her last words to me were “you folks in Webb City have a fantastic market!” Those are always wonderful words to hear, but when you’re tired, hot, and frustrated by difficult growing conditions, those words really hit the spot.

Lunch today (Friday) is meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, green beans, cake and a drink for $6’ Center Creek Bluegrass plays.

Tomorrow (Saturday), the Carl Junction Order of the Eastern Star serves breakfast. They’ll use the profits for one of the many charities they support like the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. Greg Krutsinger makes his musical debut at the market tomorrow.

On Tuesday, Joplin Little Theatre serves lunch and Rob Pommert plays.

Hopefully, the weather will break soon. For me, it already has – it’s winter in Australia – 60 to 65 degrees, sunny with a light breeze. I’ll be thinking of you in August!

Webb City Sentinel column - 7-22-11

2011-07-21T16:05:00.002-05:00

It’s been over a year since we had a meat vendor serving Saturdays, but tomorrow we’re expecting Green Elm Farm of McCune, Kansas, with lamb. It’s their first day at our market – or any market. So we hope you’ll give them a hearty welcome. They raise pastured lambs that are processed at Golden City Meat. Like our Friday meat vendors, their cuts of lamb will be sold frozen.

Green Elm, which may not be their final choice of farm names, they’re still thinking about it, is owned by Daniel and Kayla Devereaux. Kayla hails from Southeast Kansas, but Daniel will be expanding our international flavor. He grew up near Oxford, England, and came to the United States about nine years ago to train as a ferrier in Lamar, Missouri. He married a local girl and the rest is history - from Oxford to the Webb City Farmers Market. When he was superintendent, Dr. Lankford was fond of saying about our school system “you can go anywhere from here.” Apparently you can also come from anywhere to here!

Another new, but very familiar, vendor at the market this week is Hector Troyer. Hector, whose farm is located near Fairview, is only selling field tomatoes this year and since the spring was cold and wet (ah, we miss the good old days…) the tomatoes have been late ripening. He arrived Tuesday with over 300 pounds and I’m expecting even larger loads from him today and tomorrow.

In fact, it is tomato season at the market. Many, if not most, of our produce growers have truckloads of them. And that means two things – time to can and time for the annual tomato contests.

We’ve got all sorts of help if you want to can, freeze or dry tomatoes. First, talk to your favorite grower. Often they will sell you a large quantity of tomatoes if they have surplus. You might also ask about buying seconds if you’re making salsa or sauce. Looks don’t affect the finished product and the cost would probably be lower.
Stop by the Canning Table just south of the pavilion center for discount coupons for jars and canning starter kits and for free stickers, sample mixes and recipe booklets. You can enter a drawing that we hold weekly for Saving the Seasons, a wonderful book on food preservation from the Mennonite Press. We also sell the book for $25 at the information table. You can bring your pressure gauge to the information table to be checked for accuracy.

We have all these good things because our market was one of 50 nationwide to receive a grant from the Ball jar company. In addition to all the free and discounted things on the canning table, the market can supply a door prize for anyone holding a canning party. Just stop by the information table for details.

Next Tuesday, Tammy Roberts, nutritionist with University of Missouri Extension will give salsa demonstrations at 11:30 and 12:30. She’s also a great source for information on food preservation, whether canning, freezing or drying.

Our annual tomato contests are next week on Saturday, July 30th. There’ll be prizes for the biggest/heaviest, the ugliest and the smallest tomatoes. Those are our fun categories. Our quality categories are rated first by taste, then by texture and finally by appearance. Quality categories are Best Red, Best Other Color and Best Cherry/Grape Tomato.

Entries are free and can be submitted between 8:15 and 8:45 on the morning of the 30th. We need two tomatoes for each entry in the Best Red and Best Other Color. Six tomatoes for each entry in Best Cherry/Grape. And one tomato for each entry in the fun categories.

First prize in each of the contests in the quality category is $25 in market tokens. First prize in the fun category contests is $10 in market tokens. Plus all the fame and glory of winning.

Today we welcome back the Plainsfolk who will play traditional music during lunch, 11 to 1. Lunch is ham or tuna salad sandwich, oriental Cole slaw, chips, cookies and drink for $6. A vegetarian luncheon salad is $4.

Tomorrow, breakfast is served from 9 to 11 and benefits Big Brothers, Big Sisters. The Green Earth Band makes their market debut from 9:30 to 11:30.
On Tuesday, lunch benefits Crime Stoppers and Rob Pommert plays.

Webb City Sentinel column - 7-15-11

2011-07-14T13:25:00.004-05:00

Almost every market has something special, new crops, special foods or special events. This weekend is no exception. Today, at 10:45 right before the market opens, the Missouri Department of Agriculture will present our grower Tim Green with the Missouri Market Champion of the Year award. The Champion of the year is selected for their contribution to a local farmers market and Tim certainly is deserving. He mentors our new growers, helps with our Kids Garden, serves on our board, supplies tomatoes for our benefit meals and helps in a host of other ways.

And the big news about tomorrow is that Hazel’s Bakery is coming out of retirement. Owners Kay and Bill McLaughlin retired from the market last year after supplying us with pies and cakes and other baked goods for 9 years. Kay needed to take care of some medical issues.

Last winter Kay took care of the medical problems, but sadly Bill died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving Kay with a terrible hole in her life. We at the market missed Hazel’s and we got the feeling Kay missed being at the market, so we encouraged her to consider returning. And she is!

Hazel’s will be at the market every Saturday. Tomorrow she’s planning to have pies (pecan, rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb, peach, cherry, blackberry, and apple), cakes (carrot, chocolate, coconut and red velvet), cup cakes (plain and fancy), cookies (cranberry oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chip, coconut whispers, snicker doodles, and chocolate no-bakes), quick breads, banana nut, pumpkin and zucchini), fudge, pecan divinity and scones.

Kay will be in her old spot by the information table.

Folks at the market Saturday saw that the children with the Kids Community Garden are back. I was gratified upon returning from a month’s absence to find the Kids Garden still growing, although plenty weedy. We had to suspend work in the garden while I was gone. The supervisor I had lined up to keep it going lost his house in the tornado and had his hands full, so other than occasional watering by market volunteers, the garden was on its own in June. I expected a disaster upon my return, but amazingly almost all the plants survived. The rows had been mulched in adequately so all I had to do was till between the rows to get the garden back in pretty good shape. A friend gave me a hard time about my tilling the weeds instead of having the children do it, but I’m not too keen on 12-year-olds operating dangerous machinery! And it would have been a mammoth project to pull all those weeds by hand.

The children have been back in the garden this month, weeding around the plants, laying in more mulch and learning about harvesting the flowers. Two children will sell at the Saturday market and another two at the Tuesday market. At the market, the children learn business skills – pricing, display, making change, and interacting with customers.

They also learn about overhead. Two children sell, but the sales are split three ways. Each child receives one-third and the market receives one-third to pay their sales tax and cover some of the costs of the garden. That way the children understand that in pricing their flowers, they need to consider the costs.

Today, the Loose Notes will play from 11 to 1. Lunch is chicken salad sandwich, potato salad, spinach salad, fresh fruit cup and drink for $6. A vegetarian luncheon salad is also available.

Tomorrow, the Granny Chicks play from 9:30 to 11:30. Breakfast is served from 9 to 11. Profits from the breakfast tomorrow support the PEO scholarship program.
Next Tuesday, Rob Pommert will perform and lunch will benefit the Webb City High School Band Boosters.

See you at the market!

Webb City Sentinel column - 7/8/11

2011-07-07T15:06:00.005-05:00

We have lots of good things happening this week at the market, but first I want to get on your calendar for next Friday, July 15. We are honoring one of our market champions who is such a champion that he has been chosen as one of two market champions for 2011 by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. At 10:45 on Friday, in the center of the pavilion, the state ag department, the state farmers market association and our market will honor Tim Green of Shoal Creek Gardens.

Tim is a long-time grower who loves to grow growers. In 2004, Tim went with me to an Extension workshop for small growers. We spoke on selling through farmers markets. A young boy, about 12, approached Tim and thus began a fruitful relationship. Under Tim’s tutelage, Josh began growing tomatoes and blackberries. By the time Josh graduated from high school, he was growing 1,000 tomato plants and had paid for his pickup.

In 2007, when Tim was president of our market board, I received a complaint from a vendor who thought one of our Hmong vendors was reselling produce and the accuser went on to say that none of the Hmong were growing their produce. I knew they were. I’d been on their farms many times for inspections but I wanted to nip this unfair generalization in the bud. So I asked Tim, as board president, to go with the accusing vendor and visit all the Hmong farms.

They did and they found loads of produce being grown and realized that the accusation was completely unfounded. Tim also realized that the Hmong growing techniques were limiting their success. The farmers were incredibly hardworking, but were using techniques unsuited to our locally-popular produce, to our soil and to our weather conditions.

The next week, at Tim’s request, he and I revisited the farms with a professional Hmong translator to discuss with the growers their interest in training. That's Tim, the translator and one of our farmers discussing strawberry cultivation on that visit.

Tim became their mentor and still serves in that capacity. He has visited their farms many times and led training workshops and field days for them and for other growers. It has taken several years, but we are beginning to see real improvements on the farms.

Tim is still on the job. Just this week, he talked to the growers, Hmong and otherwise, about his discovery that with the heavy irrigation underway at his farm, the water ph has dropped significantly. Without correction, that could adversely impact production.

Tim also serves as my mentor (he is back as the market board’s president) and has helped me organize many workshops, including a high tunnel series just completed. It was at his suggestion and under his leadership that the market adopted the requirement that all produce growers complete a food safety course.

Tim has worked with the Kids Community Garden, showing the children how to plant and securing materials for the garden. He and his wife Violet grow most of the plants for the garden as well as for our annual Let’s Plant a Garden day.

We consider Tim, and his family, to be market treasures and are delighted that the state will recognize him next Friday. Please plan to come.

Today we’ll have lots of sweet corn. We’re expecting at least three truckloads. We’re still a bit shy on tomatoes. The season seems to be running about 10 days late. The field tomatoes should come in full force next week. This weekend though you should probably come in the first hour of market to be sure of tomatoes.
By the way, our annual Tomato Day will be Saturday, July 30, so start babying those biggest, best and weirdest tomatoes in your garden.

Today, lunch is Italian stuffed big shells, side salad, garlic bread, cookies and drink for $6. Gospel Strings performs from 11 to 1.

Tomorrow breakfast benefits our local American Red Cross. Bill Adkins performs Golden Oldies (What? Music playing when I was a teenager is Golden Oldies? Shocking!).

There will be free streetcar rides on the hour and half hour from 9 to 11. It’s the second Saturday of the month, so that means we’ll have an Art Market at the market. And it will be the first day for the Kids Community Garden to vend at the market. We’ll have a young gardener right by the information table with bouquets of flowers for sale, flowers that were started for us by none other than the Greens of Shoal Creek Gardens.

Webb City Sentinel column - 7/1/11

2011-06-30T16:56:00.000-05:00

It’s Fourth of July weekend and that means the market will be extra busy. In fact, it’s usually our busiest weekend of the year because:

Folks are loading up for family eating. There’ll be barbecues and family meals galore for the next three days.

Most of the farms are producing large quantities of produce right now

And, our most popular produce – tomatoes, sweet corn and peaches – are coming in season. It’s the beginning of high season when the amount and variety of produce explodes at the market.

I’m still doing some catch up after having been gone for three weeks. I’ve been off in Australia welcoming my granddaughter, Madeleine Elise, to the world – and enjoying the mild winter weather of Perth. (You know it never gets very cold if five foot tall tree ferns are growing by the front door.) Coming back to a Missouri summer has been a bit of a shock.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the columns written by Carolyn Foate while I was away. I know that I did. Carolyn is a dedicated market customer and quite the cook, and, as it turns out, a very good writer as well.

We’ve had a number of farmers come in during my absence. Braker Farm, who originally came to us some years ago as a blueberry farm, has expanded in a big way to sweet corn, tomatoes, and peppers. Shanks Farms is back for the first time in many years with garden produce, including some gorgeous big onions. Marlee’s Creamery is back on Fridays after a brief absence due to family illness. Panhia Vang returned to the market after more than a year’s absence. Panhia was well-known in the past for her copious supply of beautiful green beans.

Agee’s will be at the market Friday with their flavored vinegars and herb blends.
Broken Wire Ranch will have the pepper roaster at the market today and tomorrow.
Sarah Becker, Extension horticulturist from Lincoln University will be at the market today to answer gardening questions. I know many of my growers will be glad to see her. Apparently the Japanese beetles have attacked in full force while I was gone.
Lunch today is just right for this hot weather: Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, macaroni salad, oriental Cole slaw, cake and drink for $6 with a vegetarian luncheon salad for $4. Jack and Lee Ann Sours play traditional music.

Tomorrow we open at 9 am with breakfast of biscuits and gravy, sausage, eggs to order and fresh local tomatoes. Central United Methodist Church is providing the volunteers and donating the profits to Crosslines.

The week of Fourth of July is the market’s week to support our regional food and clothing pantry so Cooking for a Cause on Tuesday will also benefit Crosslines. That day we have a combination of volunteers from Central UMC and from Pathways United Methodist in Alba.

Ron Brown (who has handled the faith page at the Joplin Globe for years) will be at the market Saturday morning selling the Globe. He’ll have Saturday’s edition for 75 cents and last Sunday’s for $1.75. Rich will also have copies of J magazine for sale. The magazine, which just came out, has an excellent review of the tornado and recovery. Part of the proceeds from Rich’s sales at the market will go towards the tornado recovery effort.

What could be better this weekend than homemade ice cream? Here’s a recipe from ehow.com especially for raw milk which it declares is perfect because the cream that rises to the top of the bottle can be skimmed and used in the ice cream.

3 cup raw milk
3 cups heavy cream
2 whole vanilla beans
4 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar

Combine the milk and cream in a 2-quart saucepan and mix well. With a paring knife, slice the vanilla beans in half lengthwise. Scrape out the inside of the beans and stir the insides and the pods into the cream mixture. Over medium heat bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning.

Combine the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a small bowl. With a mixer, beat several minutes until smooth and pale yellow in color.

Remove and discard the vanilla bean pods from the milk/cream mixture. Remove one cup of the hot mixture. While mixing at low speed, very slowly add the one cup of hot milk/cream to the egg mixture. Once completely combined, pour the egg mixture into the cream mixture in the sauce pan and mix thoroughly.

Cook the combined mixture at medium-low heat stirring constantly. To test for readiness, take a stainless steel spoon and dip it inside the bowl. When the mixture is thick enough to coat the spoon, it is done. Place the cooked mixture into another bowl and chill completely.

Complete the ice cream in the ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Then call me and I’ll be right over.

Cash & Checks only at the market till further notice

2011-06-23T19:29:00.005-05:00

Due to a malfunction of the machine which processes the credit/debit/EBT cards, the Market will only be able to do transactions with Cash until further notice. Tokens may be bought at the information table with checks. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Webb City Sentinel Column for 6/24/11

2011-06-22T10:40:00.001-05:00

Shop and Be Merry!

“Once you’ve been to the Webb City Market, every other market is a disappointment,” stated a gentleman at the market last Friday. So true—it’s a musical, edible, cross-cultural celebration, and the place to be! An adventure, an experience, a treat … right here in our own backyards!
The scope and quality of the Webb City Farmer’s Market is truly remarkable. Eat a delicious lunch or breakfast, sip on lemonade or a smoothie, listen to wonderful music, and shop for locally grown or produced products. The market offers an incredible array of vegetables, fruit, plants, bread, eggs, cheese, meat, pastries, coffee, honey and more.
Even the hours of our market are ideal! 11 a.m. -2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. 9 a.m. – noon on Saturdays. Where I previously lived, the market opened at 6:30 a.m. and if you didn’t get there right away, the produce would be sold out! Factoring in the 30 minutes drive, I had to get up by 5:30 a.m. to enjoy this Saturday-only market.

Then there are our market’s extremely low prices --many bundles of vegetables are only $1 and those bundles are very generous! When you think about the time spent planting, weeding, watering, picking, churning or baking, you realize that market prices are a real steal.
On Friday, June 24, while enjoying the bluegrass music of Bailed Green and Wired Tight, you can have a lunch of oven-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, brownies, a drink for $6 or a luncheon salad for $4.
On Saturday, June 25, while the Red Bridge Trio performs, the Temple Association will serve breakfast with proceeds going to the Webb City Cerebral Palsy Center.

Join us for Cooking for a Cause on Tuesday, June 28, and lunch will be provided by the Ronald McDonald house. Rob Pommert will again share his guitar virtuosity.

Peaches have arrived, and gorgeous tomatoes are plentiful!! Here are a couple of recipes that take advantage of the luscious fruit currently available at the market:

Peach Crumble
6 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced
¾ c packed light brown sugar
1 c coarsely crushed cinnamon graham crackers
3 tbsp softened butter
Preheat oven to 375 and coat an 8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
Combine peaches and brown sugar in the baking dish.
Combine graham crackers and butter in a bowl.
Sprinkle graham cracker topping over peaches and bake 30-35 minutes or until peaches are hot and bubbly. Serve warm with ice cream.

Berry Sour Cream Coffee Cake
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup fresh or frozen Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries or a combination
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a Bundt pan, cake pan, or 10-inch springform pan; sprinkle pan lightly with sugar.
In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter at medium speed until creamy. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sugar, mixing well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well, and then add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Increase the speed to medium and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
In another large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in several increments, mixing well after each addition. Gently stir in the pecans or walnuts and berries.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 40 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Saturday June 18

2011-06-17T17:28:00.000-05:00

The repairs to the Trolley tracks have now been completed and the Trolley WILL be running on Saturday. :)

Sentinel column by Carol Foat - 6/17/11

2011-06-14T22:27:00.002-05:00

"Half of all the foods you eat should be made up of real food. Food that comes out of the ground looking the way it looks when you eat it." This recent health advice is from TV’s Dr. Oz. Thanks to the Webb City Farmers’ Market, we have that suggestion covered and then some!! Our fabulous market is nothing but “real food” that is the absolute freshest – it’s only a few hours from coming out of the ground. There’s a big new word for farmers’ market shoppers – a locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced close to home. Being a locavore is a challenge in many parts of the country. It’s easy here, thanks to the Webb City Farmers’ Market.

Not only do we enjoy fresh vegetables very early in their season but we also have a selection that beats most markets. We are so fortunate that most every vegetable grows well in Missouri. Thanks to our talented market farmers , we have everything from tomatoes to kohlrabi, bok choy, cilantro, leeks, arugula, baby garlic, Swiss chard, and Asian mustard just to name a few. New items this week are cucumbers and green beans.

Locavores not only shop for vegetables but also eggs, cheese, meat, baked goods, fruit, honey and garden plants. Raspberries, blackberries, and blue berries are now starting to show up at the market.

Our market offers all-natural pork, beef, lamb, chicken and eggs from chickens that have access to grass. Amos Apiaries sells tasty honey and honey-based products. Pick up some cheddar curds, Neufchatel, Monterey Jack, Havarti or mild cheddar from Lomah Farmers. Marilee’s Dairy sells raw milk in pints, half gallons and gallons.

Fairhaven has eggs, jams and jellies while Black Forest House will tempt you with American and European pastries. The selection of artisan breads from Redings Mill and cakes, pies, and fruit breads from Freda Mae’s is fantastic. Pick up some freshly roasted coffee beans from Small Cottage Coffee and you will have completed your grocery shopping for the week!

It’s not too late to purchase lovely herb and vegetable plants for your own garden from Fredrikson’s Farms. While shopping, sip on a smoothie or lemonade from Stella Dolce.

On Friday, June 17, the Gospel Strings will perform. Treat yourself to lunch – meatloaf, au gratin potatoes, green beans, cheese cake, and a drink for only $6. Or have a Luncheon salad for $4.

On Saturday, June 18, Greyhound Pets of America will serve breakfast. Enjoy the music of Center Creek Bluegrass.

The Audubon Society will provide Cooking for a Cause on Tuesday, June 21. The talented Rob Pommert will perform contemporary classics, jazz and classical guitar.

Here are some of my favorite recipes with market ingredients in bold print:

Slow Cooker Tomato Minestrone Soup

3 heads of baby (green) garlic (also the light green part of the shoot) – chopped
6 green onions – chopped
6 c Swiss chard (include the stems) or fresh spinach (leaves only) – coarsely chopped
2 c. celery – chopped
2 tbsp parsley – chopped
1 c. uncooked pasta (any kind)
2 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano
4 c. tomato juice
1 qt. water
3 beef bouillon cubes
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 can beans (red or white)

Cook everything in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese when serving.

Versatile Stir Fry

2-3 Tbsp Oil
1/3 c chopped green onion
1 bulb - finely chopped baby (green) garlic (head and light green of shoot)
2 c. coarsely chopped bok choy
1 c. broccoli florets
2-3 c. coarsely chopped Napa Cabbage
1 c. Snow peas (Optional)
2 c. leftover (fully cooked) chicken, pork or beef

1 pkg. Ramen noodles, broken up.

Soak noodles in 1 ½ c hot water for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Start stir-frying with onions, garlic, broccoli, then bok choy, cabbage. Add snow peas. Add noodle seasoning packet, 1/8 c water and a splash of soy sauce. Add chunks of meat and Ramen noodles. Cook until meat and noodles are heated through. A super way to use (and stretch) leftover meat and a variety of fresh vegetables.

Remember market hours are 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. on Saturdays.

"Cooking for a Cause"

2011-06-06T19:24:00.001-05:00

Thank you to Stone's Throw Dinner Theatre for stepping in to do the Cooking for a Cause on Tuesday June 7, 2011 when there was a cancellation. Volunteers will be making the usual lunch and proceeds will help support the local live dinner theatre venue in Carthage.

Webb City Sentinel Column for June 10, 2011 by Carolyn Foat

2011-06-06T19:23:00.003-05:00

How about a taking a quick trip around the world on Friday, Saturday or next Tuesday? No airport hassles or cramped plane seat—just come on over to the Webb City Farmer’s Market! South American coffee beans, scrumptious German pastries, aged European-style cheese, tropical pond plants, breads baked in European-style wood-fired ovens and possibly the largest array of Asian vegetables outside of the West Coast. Add to that dozens of local regional specialties such as honey, raw milk, tomatoes, eggs, jams, pies, heirloom plants, fresh flowers and more…The most amazing part is that all of these international delights are made, grown or processed right here locally!

Enjoy lunch on Friday: lasagna, side salad, garlic bread, chocolate fluff and drink ($6) or a luncheon salad ($4) while enjoying the music of the Granny Chicks.

On Saturday, June 11, the Art Market is our special feature. WC Choir Boosters will serve breakfast. Music will be provided by the Red Bridge Trio from Ozark, MO.

Next Tuesday, June 14, Flag Day, NALA (the adult literacy group) will be providing Cooking for a Cause while Rob Pommert performs.

I’ll be at these markets gathering up a huge variety of vegetables that are so fresh, clean, and perfect they almost look artificial! Newest additions are green beans, summer squash, and celery. This week, I’ll be focusing on gathering the ingredients in the following recipes:

Carrot Soup with Mint
Sauté ½ medium onion, 3 c. sliced carrots, 1 bulb of green (baby) garlic in 2 tbsp of oil (preferably olive or canola) until the vegetables are slightly softened. Move vegetables to your crock pot. Stir in 2 tbsp. flour and slowly add 3 ¼ c. chicken or vegetable stock (bouillon cubes work fine). Mix in ½ c. orange juice. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour/ 2 hours on low, or until the vegetables are very soft. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the slow cooker, or transfer it in batches to a blender. Stir in 3 tbsp chopped fresh mint and salt and pepper to taste. Cook another hour on low. Sprinkle crumbled Lomah Dairy aged cheese on individual servings. Refrigerate leftovers without cheese topping. Delicious reheated.

Impossibly Easy Vegetable Pie
Sauté in a large skillet: 2 tbsp oil, 6 chopped green onions, ½ bulb of green (baby) garlic – finely chopped.
Add 6 c. coarsely chopped spinach leaves and as soon as the spinach wilts, remove from heat.
Mix 1 c. shredded Swiss cheese with the spinach mixture and put in the bottom of a 9” pie plate that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Mix together ½ c Bisquick, 1 c. milk, 2 eggs, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, and 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill.
Pour Bisquick mixture over the spinach in the pie plate. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Makes a wonderful appetizer, lunch, or breakfast dish. Leftovers taste even better when reheated.

Serve either of the above dishes with a fresh green salad with tomatoes and a big slice of Redings Mill Artisan bread. Top it off with some pie from Freda Mae’s Bakery and a cup of coffee made with beans from Small Cottage Roasters. You'll love it!!

Webb City Sentinel column - 6-3-11

2011-06-01T13:31:00.002-05:00

It was comforting on Tuesday when our customers flocked back to the market. I was happy for my vendors who had the first relatively normal day since the tornado, but I was also happy for my customers who were able to recover some normality in their lives.

It will be a long time before life is truly normal, but little by little homes are being repaired or replaced, businesses are relocating or rebuilding. It is the loss of life that leaves the deepest sorrow. As we at the market resume our activities and celebrate the seasons, we are acutely mindful that for many, celebration is impossible. In the midst of the market’s abundance, we know the pain and grief remain.

We will continue to collect donations at the Donation Station at the market through tomorrow. Then the funds will be sent to the appropriate organizations involved in recovery.

Our farmers continue to respond generously with both cash and product donations. Since the tornado, they have supplied produce, baked goods and eggs to the Salvation Army and Ignite Church which is running a shelter. Yesterday one of our customers came by with another opportunity. The Americorp team came in Sunday night and is based at MSSU. Not surprisingly for a group of young people with a heart for service, most of the team is vegetarian – might we have some produce for them? Our farmers were happy to oblige.

I say this every year, but it’s true, each week brings something new at the market. One of our farmers took a chance and planted very early squash and we had the first young squash at market on Tuesday - about a month earlier than normal. It was so early that I thought it best to make sure it met our producer-only requirement and asked board president Tim Green to make an inspection for me. He reported back to me just now that not only was everything in order, but that the farm and all its plantings looked very good, including the squash.

Of course, it’s always good news to know our farmers are following the market rules (especially since breaking the producer-only rule results in permanent banning from the market), but what makes his report especially satisfying is that the particular farmer Tim inspected has been part of our training program for the last five years. Five years ago Tim would have found a farm with many poor agricultural practices resulting in low production and poor quality. Not so now. The training has paid off in a well-run farm. How perfect that Tim, who has served as our main mentor for new farmers, was the one to make the inspection and find such good results.

We have two special activities at the market today. Tammy Roberts with University of Missouri Extension will do food preservation demonstrations at 11:30 and 12:30 showing how to make strawberry jam for freezing and how to use a canner.

Sarah Becker with Lincoln University Extension will have her garden/farm advice table to help our farmers and customers solve pest/disease or other plant problems. With so much rain this spring, plants may have blight or fungus issues or a myriad of other problems. Bring a photo or a sample in a sealed clear bag.

Lunch today is Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, peas, peanut butter cookies and drink for $6. A luncheon salad (so our vegetarians and those Americorp kids can join us for lunch) is $4. Jack and Lee Ann Sours play from 11 to 1.

Tomorrow we welcome back two favorite groups. Christians’ Haven will serve breakfast from 9 to 11. Profits will go to support their group homes in the Philippines for street children. The Southwest Missouri Suzuki Strings will perform from 9:30 to 11:30. We were especially pleased they could come as scheduled. Several of the children lost not only their violins, but their homes in the tornado. Director Christy Paxton has worked to replace those violins and felt it was important for the children to be together and to do what they love. We’ll be applauding loudly tomorrow, I’m sure.

Next Tuesday, Cooking for a Cause is run by the Webb City Police Department Explorers Club – and once again we see people going the extra mile. Sponsor and WCPD officer Jeremiah Woolverton has been working in Joplin since the tornado but he’ll still organize and run the effort at the market. This is another group we love working with. The young people in the club, who have aspirations of being police officers, make a great team. They are highly skilled when it comes to service, politeness and ability to follow directions. I’d recommend them to any employer, including the police.

Rob Pommert will perform from 11 to 1 on Tuesday.

Next Tuesday is also the second of a series of classes the market is sponsoring on food preservation. The classes cost $15 each and run from 6 to 8 pm at Central United Methodist Church in Webb City. Reservations are required by the Friday before the Tuesday class - call 417-358-2158. Next week the topic is jams and jellies with pickling, salsa, freezing and drying to follow. If we have enough interest, we'll add an afternoon class.

Webb City Sentinel column - 5/27/11

2011-05-26T12:01:00.017-05:00

We are trying to bring some normalcy to the community by continuing to hold the market at its regular times. The produce is bountiful though we are all suffering losses. I will share one that has deeply saddened us at the market.

Donna Krudwig is one of our volunteer managers. If you eat lunch at the market on Tuesdays, you likely have seen her supervising the lunch volunteers. Her daughter, Bethany, lived in the path of the tornado. Bethany and her husband, Don, only had time to grab some pillows to cover themselves before climbing into the bathtub. Don lay on top of Bethany, shielding her with his body. The pillows, of course, were torn away, along with most of the house.

The winds finally ceased, only to be followed by heavy hail. Bethany, dazed, crawled out of the tub to seek shelter, thinking that Don would be right behind her. She crawled into the neighbor’s fireplace, the only shelter remaining, and then realized that Don was still in the bathtub. He was gravely injured but she couldn’t lift him out of the tub, much less get him to the hospital with no means of transportation. So she ran to 20th street and flagged down a vehicle. She found a policeman at Rangeline but all he could do was call in the injury. She knew Don was too seriously hurt to wait, so she ran out into Rangeline and flagged down a truck. They fought their way through downed trees and power lines, getting within a block of what remained of their home. But she found Don had already died, one of their dogs lying protectively beside him.

Don died a hero, saving his young wife’s life by shielding her with his own body. Bethany is a living hero, overcoming stunning horror to seek help for her young husband.

We all feel so helpless. Today we went through the six garbage sacks of items salvaged from the house by Bethany’s friends – all soaking wet, mostly ruined - but her friends had to do something even if it was to gather a stuffed bear, a soaked high school annual, a ruined book of lyrics. Bethany’s few salvaged pieces of clothing have been lovingly washed at other homes and returned neatly folded to her.
Bethany is surrounded by friends and family but she has lost her husband and virtually everything she owned.

Don was a machinist so the last few years have been hard as business slowed to a snail’s pace. Money was already tight, too tight for life insurance so Bethany also faces starting over with the debt of funeral expenses. A fund has been set up to help her and we will have a donation jar at the market today for our market friends who would like to help. If you can’t make it to the market but would like to help Bethany, go to: facebook

We will also have donation jars for many of the agencies that are working toward recovery – United Way, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Children’s Haven and the Animal Adoption and Resource Center. There will be jars for Band Together, the effort organized by the Webb City High School band for the Joplin High School Band, for the Missouri Southern Foundation assisting affected students and faculty, for the Missouri Press Association helping affected newspaper employees and for the Missouri Hospital Association helping affected hospital employees.

We’re doing this because there is a great need among us to help. Our vendors donated such a mass of produce and baked goods Tuesday that the Salvation Army was hard pressed to find storage space for all of it. Fresh produce is not normally accepted in emergencies but we have found the Salvation Army knows how to handle it – and they were delighted to receive it though I’m pretty sure they don’t need any additional deliveries for a while so we will focus on collecting money.

Today’s lunch is spaghetti with meat sauce, side salad, garlic bread, cake and drink for $6. There will be a luncheon salad for $4. The Plainsfolk will perform.

On Saturday breakfast will be served from 9 to 11 and will benefit Healing the Family counseling center. This Joplin non-profit works to prevent child abuse. The Joplin Exchange Club provides the volunteers Saturday.

Music will be by Robert Bruce Scott, an operatic tenor from Indianapolis. He sings songs in over 20 languages and that span 2000 years. He plays a variety of instruments including Celtic harp and classical guitar. We were able to book Robert because he has concerts in Tulsa and St. Louis and loves farmers markets. He should feel right at home with us.

Tuesday’s Cooking for a Cause benefits the Kids Community Garden.

Webb City Sentinel column - 5-20-11

2011-05-19T15:42:00.001-05:00

The market is so fortunate to be in such a wonderful community. We’ve been wanting a hard surface in the handicapped parking to the north of the pavilion. The concrete floor under the pavilion is great, but getting to it from the parking can be a trial for folks in wheelchairs and walkers. The park board approved the idea if the market could secure the funding.

Parks director Tom Reeder and Streets Supervisor Rick Roth were at the market Friday measuring the space. They had a quote for me on Tuesday for four spaces and a sidewalk. Two minutes later I was talking to Bill Perry who OK’ed the funding on behalf of the Perry Foundation. Tom just called to say the asphalt is poured and the sidewalk goes in next week. It all rather takes my breath away. Wouldn’t it be great if all problems could be so quickly and painlessly solved?

You may have seen the Live Smart billboards in the area urging five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. I find that a real challenge during the winter, but it’s a snap now that the harvest season is here. For example yesterday, I had a slice of Sunny Lane’s smoked chicken for lunch. Normally, I’d just grab some chips to add crunch, but I had a bag of Der Lor’s edible pod peas in the fridge so I thought I’d give them a try. Delicious, crunchy and crisp, so good that I went back for seconds. There were two servings down. Then I finished up with a bowl of strawberries – yes, it’s strawberry season! Third serving for the day. For dinner I had new potatoes from Lucy Moua. They were so tender. I added some chicken salad and a big green salad and voila – five easy servings in one day. And no sacrifice in taste. In fact, the taste was wonderful.

We’ll have samples of edible pod peas at the market Friday and Saturday for you to try. They’re great as a snack, alone or with dip, in a tossed salad or in stir fry. And they’ll only be in season for a month or so, so enjoy them while you can.

The same is true of strawberries. In fact, it may be a short season because of our cool damp spring. Strawberries are a risky crop in our area. Late freezes can decimate the crop and a wet cool spring can damage the berries. That’s why local berries are so much more expensive than the store-bought kind. Our farmers often have to discard as much as 50% of the crop that isn’t good enough to bring to market. But there’s no flavor like a local strawberry. If they’re as packed with nutrition as they are with flavor, they’re still a great value.

Despite last weekend’s cold weather folks still turned out in droves to enjoy the Saturday breakfast, the Art Market and the streetcar. The latter two will be happening every second Saturday through September. Mark your calendar. Second Saturday at the market will be a great time for a family outing or to invite friends to join you at the market.

Not to say that today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) aren’t also great days for an outing to the market. Lunch today is barbecued beef sandwich, potato salad, oriental Cole slaw (which is really good – which was a surprise to me because I didn’t think I liked Cole slaw), brownie and drink for $6. There will also be a luncheon salad. I won’t say it’s for the light eaters because it’s huge. Center Creek Bluegrass plays from 11 to 1.

Currently the Urban Garden, Small Cottage Coffee Roasters, Broken Wire Farm and all our ranchers only come on Friday.

Stella Dolce with smoothies and lemonade will only be at the market on Saturday this week. Both days we’ll have loads of fresh produce and baked goods.

Crime Stoppers serve the Saturday breakfast – market eggs to order, biscuits and gravy, sausage, and fresh tomatoes.

Crime Stoppers is a national organization with local chapters that work to prevent and solve crimes. Our local chapter was formed last year and offers cash rewards of up to $1,000 to persons providing anonymous information that leads to the felony arrest of criminals and fugitives. Tips have already born fruit in our area.

Nationally, Crime Stopper tips have led to over 500,000 arrests clearing over 900,000 cases since it was formed in 1972.

The Loose Notes will play gospel, bluegrass and cowboy from 9:30 to 11:30 on Saturday.

On Tuesday Beta Sigma Phi runs Cooking for a Cause. The money raised will go to help the children identified by the R-7 school district as needing financial assistance. It might be a jacket, some socks, a decent pair of jeans or school supplies. Kudos to Beta Sigma Phi for supporting this cause and to the school for looking out for our kids.

Did I mention what a great community we live in?

See you at the market.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Webb City Farmers Market

2011-05-16T11:17:00.001-05:00

Tuesday is a great day to come to the Webb City Farmers Market for fresh produce. We expect 15 farms to be at the market with a wide-variety of fresh-picked spring produce, including two farms with high tunnel local tomatoes. The market is open Tuesday (May 17) from 11 to 2 under the pavilion in King Jack Park.

Cooking for a Cause will benefit Childrens’ Haven. The menu includes freshly grilled hotdogs, chili dogs, and smoked sausages, as well as frito chili pie and barbecue beef sandwiches.

Children’s Haven provides a safe temporary home to children ages birth through 17 years whose families are experiencing a crisis such as hospitalization, lack of food, shelter or utilities or other emergency that leaves the parents unable to care for their children. More information is available at www.childrenshaven-swmo.org.

Rob Pommert performs from 11 to 1.

In addition to fresh spring produce, market vendors will have baked goods, jams, jellies, vegetable and herb plants, and eggs for sale tomorrow.

The Webb City Farmers Market is a producer-only market, which means that customers buy produce directly from the grower, meat from the rancher, and bread from the baker. The market is open rain or shine under the pavilion at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park. Sales and setbacks begin at 11. For information, call 417 483-8139.

Webb City Sentinel column - 5-13-11

2011-05-12T10:23:00.000-05:00

There’s so much to share today I’m really going to have to discipline myself to fit it all in.

Today (Friday) we have Jon Skinner, urban forester with the Missouri Department of Conservation, with us. He will diagnose trees and shrubs that are failing to thrive or are showing signs of pests or disease. Just bring a specimen or photos of the problem. Jon will be back again in August so we’ll have two chances to use his expertise.

Many state agencies are trying to find ways to serve the public more efficiently. Gathering places like the market is one venue that connects the agency and the public well. In fact, Extension was by last week in preparation for a new outreach – providing recipes and how-to’s through a display at the market this summer. All this is a great fit for the market’s mission which includes improving the quality of life for our community.

Speaking of outreach, the market is one of 50 markets nationwide chosen for a grant from the manufacturers of Kerr and Ball jars. DiscoverYouCan will be in full swing next month, but for now, stop by the display table to sign up for discounts and get a recipe booklet and discount coupon. You’ll also find details about our canning classes coming up at the end of the month.

Be sure to stop by Marlee’s Creamery today to sign up for the drawing for a fitness package from Lab 3 Wellness and try a sample of their fresh raw milk.
Lunch today is oven-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, cookie and drink for $6. A vegetarian luncheon salad is also available. Webb City’s Gospel Strings plays from 11to 1.

Friday is always our biggest day of the week, both in customers and vendors. Vendors who will be here today but not tomorrow are: Urban Garden with cut flowers, Small Cottage Roasters with freshly roasted coffee beans, LOMAH Farms with cheese (if demand warrants they are also going to be at the market on Saturdays but have other commitments tomorrow), and Countryside View Greenhouse with bedding plants and flowering baskets. Our ranchers are currently only coming on Friday with Flintrock only coming on the first and third Friday. We are looking for additional all-natural ranchers for our other days of the week, so if you know of any, ask them to call us.

Tomorrow (Saturday) Old No. 60, Webb City’s antique streetcar, is making the rounds from 9 to 11. It’s free, it’s fun and it stops just west of the market about every 20minutes.

Tomorrow is also our monthly Art Market when local artists display and sell their work.

Hawthorn will play from 9:30 to 11:30. Formed for this year’s 140th observance of the Civil War, these local musicians will entertain with music of the era, as well as gospel and bluegrass.

Stone’s Throw Theater will serve breakfast from 9 to 11. Last week was our first Saturday breakfast of the year and it was a big hit with the addition of farm fresh eggs and slices of local tomatoes. Even Phil Richardson, who with Chuck Thornberry ramrods the breakfast, became a believer in eggs fresh from the farm after customers kept commenting on how good the eggs were. He didn’t think they’d be worth the extra cost – they are. Just as important as the taste to me, is the way the chickens are treated. No horror stories here. On the farms I see chickens with lots of room, access to fresh fields, and frankly some that are spoiled rotten. When we visited Apple Road Farm who sells colored eggs on Saturdays one plump chicken kept tapping on the owner’s shoes. “Oh, she wants to be picked up and held,” which the owner proceeded to do.

Next Tuesday Children’s Haven serves lunch and Rob Pommert makes his first appearance at the market. Rob will be our regular Tuesday entertainment through the summer with contemporary classics, jazz and classical guitar.

New produce just keeps arriving at the market. This week we have broccoli, Napa cabbage, edible pod peas, new potatoes, radishes, leeks, green garlic, onions, green onions, Swiss chard, lettuce, kohlrabi, asparagus, boc choy, turnips, turnip greens, Asian mustard greens, spinach, high tunnel tomatoes (grown in the ground under plastic so they’re ready REALLY early), and the first of the strawberries. Yes, it’s a great time for fresh, local produce.

We had a great response for our call for volunteers in June. We’re also looking for volunteers at the Kids Community Garden especially for someone who could monitor the drinks and snacks. Middle schoolers tend to overindulge when it comes to snacks and paper cups so we need someone to keep that in order. It’s a sit down job from 2:50 to 3:30 on either Monday or Wednesday. We’ve had such a good turnout that we’re splitting the gardeners into two groups. Of course, if you’d like to help supervise in the garden, that’d be great too. The sweet potatoes are planted. Tomatoes and cucumbers are going in next week!

Webb City Sentinel column - 5/6/11 - plus bonus recipe!

2011-05-04T19:00:00.007-05:00

Before I ramble off on all the activities this week, let me just tell you that we have some of the prettiest loose leaf lettuce at the market that you could hope to find. Lettuce is a cool weather crop, so don’t miss it. Come hot weather in a month or so it will be gone until fall.

We open our Saturday market tomorrow and have special activities both today and tomorrow. Today (Friday) our First Friday Grower Advice booth opens. Sarah Becker, horticulture specialist with Lincoln University extension, will be at the market every first Friday of the month to consult with growers and gardeners. Today, she’ll also have Patrick Byers, horticulturist with University of Missouri, at the market. Together they are pretty much our region’s top plant experts and I hope our growers and gardeners will take advantage of their advice. If you have a plant problem like fruit or leaf damage or failure to thrive, take a photo and bring it to the market for analysis. You can also bring part of the damaged plant as long as it’s completely sealed in a clear plastic bag (we don’t want to spread any plant diseases around the market). Sarah and Patrick will be in the center of the pavilion.

The center is also where you will find The Market Lady today (that's a photo of one of the recipes that she's demonstrating today). “The Market Lady” is what Robin Green always calls me when I call her family at Shoal Creek Gardens and I stole the name for a major project the market has undertaken this summer. We received USDA grant funding to do consumer education on television, in print and on the web. Our Market Lady is Lane McConnell who is a huge fan of local foods and edits Ozark Farm and Neighbor. I first ran into her when she handled the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s relations with the state’s farmers markets.

Lane, aka The Market Lady, will film segments at about 20 area markets which will air every weekday through the market season on KSN in Joplin and KY3 in Springfield. She will demonstrate fresh produce recipes, how to shop at the market, interviews with farmers and consumers. She’ll also produce recipes that any newspapers and other print media may use and, of course, she’s blogging, tweeting, facebooking and all that jazz. You can find more details at http://www.themarketlady.com/

Since the Webb City market created The Market Lady, we get the honor of her first appearance. Lane will demonstrate Baby’s Asparagus Medley at 11:30 today and Bok Choy Sidekick and Ozarks Breakfast Casserole at 1.

She’ll also be filming throughout the market, so if she approaches you I hope you’ll have good things to say about your market!

Fundraisers going on both today and tomorrow include The Vipers traveling baseball team selling chances on their quilt and Keller Williams selling tickets to Grilling for a Cause (sounds a bit familiar, doesn’t it?). Grilling for a Cause will benefit our own Cerebral Palsy of the Tri-County as part of the national Keller Williams “give where you live” day. The event will be on Thursday, May 12, at the Keller Williams office in Joplin and costs $5 for a hot dog, chips, cookie and drink. They’ll deliver orders of 10 or more.

Lunch today is meatloaf, au gratin potatoes, green beans, cheese cake and a drink for $6. Jack and Lee Ann Sours play traditional music from 11 to 1.

Saturday is Let’s Plant a Garden Day. Every child (through college) receives a free tomato plant and instructions from our most experienced tomato grower, Tim Green. Tim and his wife Violet grew all the tomato plants we’ll be giving away.

And, of course, Saturday also means breakfast, which tomorrow will benefit the Southwest Missouri Walk Now for Autism Speaks. It’s biscuits and gravy, sausages, and eggs to order. We’re making the breakfast even better this year by using farm fresh eggs from Fair Haven and a slice of local tomato for each plate (as long as the tomatoes last). Should be yummy.

Our music on Saturday is Drycreek Bluegrass. They play from 9:30 to 11:30. Breakfast starts at 9 and ends at 11. The market will be open from 9 to noon on Saturdays.

Tuesday we’ll have Bill Adkins playing from 11 to 1 and Cooking for a Cause benefits Christians’ Haven. You can get the full story on their web site http://www.christians-haven.org/, but in a nutshell it is a Christian ministry based here in Webb City that takes abandoned and orphaned children off the streets of the Philippines, heals and nurtures them in safe group homes with the goal of eventually sending them back out into their communities as agents of change. I hope you’ll take time to have lunch with us Tuesday to learn more about this Webb City organization.

Bonus recipe (the rest of The Market Lady recipes will be at the market):

Ozarks Breakfast Casserole

2 tsp. olive oil
6 oz. spinach leaves, washed and dried
9 eggs, beaten
2 small leeks, chopped
½ cup market milk
1 tsp. ground mustard powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese, drained or farm cheese curds
3 oz. soft local goat cheese, crumbled or substitute for Feta cheese

Measure 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese, put in a fine strainer to drain. Clean leeks and cut into fourths lengthwise and slice into thin pieces. Heat oil over medium and add leeks, sautéing for 4 minutes. Add spinach and sauté an additional 3 minutes. While cooking vegetables, add eggs in small bowl and beat, while adding seasonings and milk.

In the bottom of an 8" x 8" casserole dish that has been greased, spread spinach/leek mixture in the bottom of the dish, then layer on cottage cheese and goat cheese. Pour egg mixture over, then use a fork to gently stir so the veggies and cheese are evenly distributed in the eggs. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until eggs are set and lightly browned. The casserole will puff up slightly as it bakes, but will settle down when it cools for a few minutes. Cut into pieces and serve hot with a spoonful of sour cream.

Webb City Sentinel column - 4/29/11

2011-04-28T11:25:00.003-05:00

We’re loaded with spring produce at the market. I always find it remarkable that some of our farmers have such early crops when I haven’t even managed to get the market’s Kids Community Garden tilled, much less planted yet. (Don’t give up hope, kids, just as soon as the ground is dry enough, we’ll get started – maybe by July. No, really in the next couple of weeks.)

When we made farm visits two weeks ago, we saw fields full of young spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard, boc choy, radishes, and more. There were seedlings of the warm weather crops like eggplant, squash and zucchini sprouting. Many of our farmers raise their own tomato and pepper plants and already had them in the ground. That is always risky because of late frosts and spring deluges. Hopefully, they have survived but I noticed that the farmers had more plants in their greenhouses in case they had to replant.

We found that many of our farmers had considerably expanded their planting fields this year. Several have doubled their fields. Hopefully that will mean more produce at the market. (The Lees have increased their fields by 30% - above, cabbages were well underway at the Lee Farm a couple of weeks ago.) Last year was our first year ever that sales didn’t grow substantially. We think two factors cut our typical 30% – 60% growth – difficulty of parking and lack of produce. If the weather cooperates even a little, we should have the latter problem solved. We continue to work with the parks to solve the traffic and parking issues.

Another expansion we’ve seen this year is in the egg department. Joe Palmer of Fairhaven Gardens keeps a careful eye on what the market needs. Joe has been on our board for several years and really goes the extra mile to make ours a good market. He noticed that we didn’t have a good supply of eggs so went out and bought 200 chicks! When we visited this spring, we found three new chicken houses all crafted by Joe with special features like exterior doors to the nesting boxes so eggs could be collected and nests could be cleaned without disturbing the hens.

We found the hens enjoying the great outdoors – in good weather they always get a couple of hours to range the grassy areas outside their large penned chicken yard. On Joe’s covered front porch is a large pen with chicks hatched right on the farm and a brood hen. That way Joe’s wife Carrole can keep a close eye on them and spoil them rotten.

So for the first time since we opened, we have plenty of eggs at every market.

Today (Friday 4/29) we have two fundraisers. The Freedom Shamrocks football and cheer team will sell English ivy and vinca transplanted to pots from the yard of one of the team grandmothers. How’s that for local and loving? The money raised will help buy equipment and uniforms for the 13 to 18-year-olds involved in the team.

The Viper traveling baseball team will sell chances on a handmade quilt (surprise – it’s made by a team member’s grandmother – what would kids do without their grandparents?). The quilt has a Route 66 theme. Chances are $1 per ticket or 6 tickets for $5. The Vipers are 7, 8 and 9-year-olds.

Lunch today (Friday 4/29)is all-you-can-eat ham and beans, plus cornbread, cake and drink for $6. The Granny Chicks from Neosho play from 11 to 1.

On Tuesday, one of our local PEOs serves Cooking for a Cause. The funds they raise go to college scholarships. Bill Adkins will play from 11 to 1.

Next Friday (and Saturday on our first Saturday of the season) the Carthage Family Literacy Council will sell ferns to support their efforts in teaching adults to read and to speak English.

If you’ve got some extra time on your hands, we’re looking for a few good volunteers. With two of our wonderful volunteers on jury duty for the next two months and me being gone for most of June for the birth of my first grandchild, it would sure be nice to have some extra hands available. Call me at 483-8139 or stop by the market information table if you’re interested. And for those who know our family, the expectant mother is Cora, our oldest daughter. Very exciting!

Friday at the Market

2011-04-27T13:02:00.003-05:00

The Webb City Farmers Market is open Friday (April 29) from 11 to 2 under the pavilion in King Jack Park.

The Granny Chicks from Neosho will perform from 11 to 1. Lunch is all-you-can-eat ham and beans, plus corn bread, cake and drink for $6.

Farmers will have spring crops like green onions, radishes, spinach, swiss chard, lettuce, boc choy, Asian mustard greens, pea tops, and asparagus,. We’ll be loaded with baked goods, eggs, sprouts, all-natural pork, beef, lamb, chicken, bison and elk, herb plants, vegetable plants, flower boxes, plus fruit smoothies, milk, jams and jellies.

Two local organizations will have fundraisers at the market Friday: The Freedom Shamrocks football and cheer team will sell English ivy and vinca plants. The team is part of the Southwest Missouri Freelance League and serves 13 to 18-year-olds. The Vipers traveling baseball team will sell chances on a handmade quilt featuring a Route 66 theme. Both will be in the center of the pavilion.

The Webb City Farmers Market is a producer-only market, which means that customers buy produce directly from the grower, meat from the rancher, and bread from the baker. The market is open rain or shine under the pavilion at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park. Sales and setbacks begin at 11. For information, call 417 483-8139.

Webb City Sentinel column - 4/22/11

2011-04-21T15:17:00.000-05:00

The market is open today (Friday, April 22)! We have about 20 farmers and ranchers coming with spinach, lettuce, spring onions, asparagus, radishes, Swiss chard, watercress, all the early spring crops. Our sprouts vendor Roots of Life will have radish, broccoli and red clover sprouts – they are great with the greens.

There will be loads of plants. Urban Gardeners has almost 30 varieties of heirloom tomato plants. Fredrickson Farms has a wide selection of vegetable and herb plants.
Countryside View Greenhouse will bring a trailer-load of flowering baskets and planters, as well as bedding plants. They’re having their open house at the nursery next weekend and won’t be able to come to the market, so today’s the day to have a great selection of flowering plants.

Fairhaven will have their handcrafted planters and yard furniture, as well as about 60 dozen eggs. Broken Wire also has eggs and we have a new egg vendor, Apple Road Farm, with colored eggs.

Other local products at the market today – all-natural pork, beef, bison, chicken, lamb and elk. Freshly roasted coffee, baked goods galore, smoothies and freshly-squeezed lemonade, raw milk, local cheese, jams and jellies and honey, plus frozen blueberries from Double J Blueberry Farm and frozen blackberries from Shoal Creek Garden. Shoal Creek will also have blackberry plants for sale.

We open at 11 when the free hotdog lunch begins - hot dogs with all the fixin’s till we run out (and we’re ready for 400 so there should be plenty). We have free redbud seedlings, one to a customer, also till we run out (we have 300 of those). If we have any left at 1:00, you can have as many as you want.

The Clayton Singers from Stockton make their debut today and sing from 11 to 1. We’ll have a drawing for a copy of Simply in Season, a wonderful cookbook from the Mennonites that we’ll also have for sale. We have their Saving the Seasons book for sale too with tips and recipes for food preservation.

Next Tuesday, the Carl Junction chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star will run Cooking for a Cause. It benefits the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. They’ll be serving freshly grilled hot dogs, smoked sausages and barbecue beef sandwiches. We decided to replace the hamburgers with the BBQ beef because it’s just too hard to grill up 60 hamburgers consistently - and we think folks will really like the barbecue and I know our grill supervisor, volunteer Sharon Nations, will be pleased to not have to clean up after 60 hamburgers.

We’ll start our Saturday morning markets on May 7. It’s going to be a great season.

Hmmm - Fresh Salad

2011-04-16T18:31:00.004-05:00

Just wanted to share the lovely salad I had from the market today - red and green loose leaf lettuce and spring onions from the Xiong Farm, sprouts from Roots of Life Sprouts Co. and olive bread from Redings Mill. Yummy!

The Market is Open Friday (April 15)

2011-04-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

The Webb City Farmers Market is open Friday (April 15)) from 11 to 2 under the market pavilion &, though the weather may still feel like Winter Market, we’re seeing glimpses of the regular season. Xiong Farms will have spinach, lettuce, green onions, radishes, arugula and cilantro. Fredrickson Farms is bringing plants – tomato, sweet pepper, broccoli, cabbage, sweet marjoram, parsley, fennel, basil, thyme, sage, and dill. Jeremy Moss, our newest grower, will have freshly harvested bean sprouts.

Also at the market: LOMAH Farmers with cheddar curds and Neufchatel (freshly made Wednesday evening), plus. raw Monterey jack, a dry, sharp pasteurized jack, havarti and mild cheddar. Marlee’s Dairy will be at the market with raw milk in pints, half gallons and gallons, Fairhaven with eggs and jams and jellies, Black Forest House with American and European pastries, Redings Mill with artisan breads, Freda Mae’s with cakes, pies, and fruit breads, Small Cottage Coffee with freshly roasted coffee beans, and our ranchers with all-natural pork, beef, chicken, and lamb. Made of Clay will sell handcrafted pottery.

Jimmi’s will serve soup for lunch or take-away: Roasted brisket with bleu cheese soup, Gazpacho soup & New York Deli soup. Weather permitting, the Loose Notes will play.

The market will be open from 11 to 2 under the market pavilion at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park.

This is the last Winter Market of the season. We open for the regular season on Friday, April 22.

Selection and sales begin when the bell rings at opening. The market is located at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park under the market pavilion. It’s open rain or shine, but not ice or sleet. Customers wanting last minute information on Friday can call 483-8139 or check the market’s facebook page.

Sentinel column - 4/15/11

2011-04-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

The Farmers Market is all about celebrating the seasons, and we’re set to celebrate a new season of goodness at the market next Friday. We officially open our 2011 season on Good Friday, April 22. It should be quite a weekend with the market opening, Springtime on Broadway and the children’s egg hunt in the King Jack Park. The market will be open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 to 2 (note the new closing time) starting next Friday. On May 7, we add our Saturday market every week from 9 to noon.

Opening day will see our usual giveaway of red bud seedlings to the first 300 customers. The Clayton Singers of Stockton will sing from 11 to 1. And, of course, former mayor Glenn Dolence and now-former councilman Don Meredith will grill up hundreds of hotdogs for our guests. Everyone is welcome to a free hotdog lunch – until we run out which usually happens about 1 o’clock.

We’ll have the first of the spring produce (check facebook for last-minute details), lots of plants, our meats, eggs (including colored eggs – how great is that for Easter?), cheese, milk, jams, jellies, honey, roasted coffee beans, and baked goods. If last year is any indication, there will be a rush on the baked goods because of the holiday. You may want to stop by the market today to place an order to make sure you get what you want.

Today (Friday, 4/15) is the last Winter Market. Amazingly, despite the grim weather we had, the Winter Market thrived this year. We only cancelled one market (the snow was too deep to bring cars into the parking area). And, had I known that baker Bert and I would have to sweep snow out of the pavilion, we might have cancelled another time. Yes, we can be pretty crazy sometimes, but luckily we’ve got a lot of loyal customers who come out despite the weather – and when you have two carloads of fresh baked goods ready to sell, you sweep if you must.

If the weather permits, the Loose Notes will play today from 11 to 1. Jimmi’s is serving a choice of soups – roasted brisket with bleu cheese, gazpacho, and New York deli soups. It will be available for eating at the market or for taking home in quart jars.

Farm visits have started - learning continues

2011-04-07T22:35:00.012-05:00

This week, we visited three growers & a rancher: Countryside View Greenhouse - wow! they are loaded with plants!
Fairhaven - expanded our egg selection with 200 chickens, all with access to green pastures (& cool exterior doors for collecting eggs),
Pates Orchard - looking good (see the panel to the right), and Sunny Lane Farms - complete with new baby calves.

Tim Green, who is very experienced in growing in high tunnels, went along to advise Lester of Fair Haven who is undertaking his first year of growing tomatoes in a high tunnel.

Nehai Xiong, one of our experienced vegetable growers, is interested in putting in a peach orchard. John Pate of Pate's Orchard invited Nehai to come along on the inspection and John spent 2 hours showing Nehai the orchard and explaining his techniques.

One reason the Webb City Market is special? Our exceptional growers!

The Market is Open April 1st - no foolin'

2011-03-31T11:10:00.003-05:00

The Webb City Farmers Market is open Friday (tomorrow) from 11 to 2 under the market pavilion. Jimmi’s will serve soup for lunch or take-away: Roasted Pork with cabbage and apples soup and Pasta Fagioli. Jack and Lee Ann Sours will play traditional music.

At the market Friday – Amos Apiaries with raw honey and Fairhaven with LOADS of farm fresh eggs, plus LOMAH Farmers with cheeses; Marlee’s Dairy with raw milk, Black Forest House with American and European pastries, JJ's with frozen blueberries & blueberry syrup, Redings Mill with artisan breads, Freda Mae’s with cakes, pies, and fruit breads, Small Cottage Coffee with freshly roasted coffee beans, and our ranchers with all-natural pork, beef, chicken, lamb, elk and bison.

The market will be open from 11 to 2 under the market pavilion at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park.

The Winter Market is open from 11 to 2 on the first and third Friday of each month through April.

Selection and sales begin when the bell rings at opening. The market is located at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park under the market pavilion. It’s open rain or shine, but not ice or sleet. Customers wanting last minute information on Friday can call 483-8139 or check the market’s facebook page.

Canning Classes start May 31

2011-03-29T12:45:00.007-05:00

Sign-ups are open for a series of Food Preservation Classes to be held in Webb City on the topics of:

Home Canning

Making Fantastic Jams & Jellies

How to Pickle

Salsa from Your Garden

Drying & Freezing Produce

Classes are $15 each or $60 for the series and reservations are required. For details, click here.

Our Farmers Are Getting Ready!

2011-03-22T22:36:00.014-05:00

Tim and Vi Green have two high tunnels full of tomatoes & they look great!

Free High Tunnel Installation Workshop

2011-03-19T15:43:00.007-05:00

If you are considering putting in a high tunnel at your farm or garden, you'll want to attend all or part of the free workshop on Thursday and Friday, March 24 & 25, from 8:30 to 4:30 each day. It will be on the Xiong Farm in Exeter, west of Cassville. Registration is required so enough lunches can be on hand. For details,click go to the flyer

Vendor Applications Available

2011-03-07T20:51:00.004-06:00

The Webb City Farmers Market will have applications available for new and returning vendors this Saturday from 10 to 11 am at the Webb City Public Library, 101 South Liberty.

The market is a producer-only market. No resale is allowed. Vendors selling edible produce must complete a food safety: from field to market class prior to selling at the market. A food safety class will be held in Mountain Grove on Thursday, March 8, from 1 to 4 pm. To register for this free class, call 417-547-7533.

Applications, policies and rules may be downloaded here.

The winter market, held on the first and third Friday, will continue through April. The regular weekly Friday and Tuesday markets held from 11 am to 2 pm will begin on Friday, April 22. The weekly Saturday market held from 9 am to noon begins May 7. Food, garden and recycling-related crafts are allowed on Saturdays only. The market will host an Art Market on the second Saturday of each month. Download the Art Market application here.

All applications must be approved prior to selling at the market.

The market is located at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park under the market pavilion. It’s open rain or shine. For more information, call 417 483-8139.

Market just keeps getting better

2011-03-03T10:30:00.006-06:00

LOMAH Farms adds mild cheddar to their selection of cheeses on Friday, 3-4. Donna was making neu chattel and cheddar cheese curds last night, so they'll be super fresh. She'll also have havarti and Monterey Jack - and larger quantities and a second salesperson to keep up with the demand. (Above - Yes, we were excited about cheese at the last market!)

JJ Blueberry Farm will be back with frozen blueberries grown on their farm in Fairland, Oklahoma. Perfect for baking, these berries also make a healthy, delicious frozen snack.

Also at the market Friday – Marlee’s Dairy with raw milk, Amos Apiaries’ honey, Black Forest House with American and European pastries, Redings Mill with artisan breads, Freda Mae’s with cakes, pies, and fruit breads, Small Cottage Coffee with freshly roasted coffee beans, Broken Wire with eggs and our ranchers with all-natural pork, beef, chicken, lamb, elk and bison.

Jimmi’s will have corn chowder with ham and leeks soup and herb tomato soup with dumplings for eat in or take out. Weather permitting, Bill Adkins will perform from 11 to 1.

The market will be open from 11 to 2 under the market pavilion at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park.

The Winter Market is open from 11 to 2 on the first and third Friday of each month through April.

Selection and sales begin when the bell rings at opening. The market is located at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park under the market pavilion. It’s open rain or shine, but not ice or sleet. Customers wanting last minute information on Friday can call 483-8139 or check the market’s facebook page.

Today at the market

2011-02-18T09:16:00.001-06:00

The Webb City Winter Farmers Market welcomes LOMAH Farms to the market on Friday. LOMAH (Land of Milk and Honey) produces cheese from the milk of their Jersey cattle. The cattle are grass-fed on their 400 acre farm near Wyandotte, Oklahoma, and watered from an artesian spring. On Friday, they will have waxed wheels of Monterey Jack, Cheddar Cheese curds, Havarti, and Neu Chatel soft cheese.
The market will be open from 11 to 2 under the market pavilion at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park. Jack and Lee Ann Sours will play traditional music from 11 to 1.

The market ranchers will have pork, beef, chicken, lamb, buffalo, and elk. Fairhaven will have jams, jellies, and fresh pecan meats. Amos Apiaries will have quarts of local raw honey for sale. In celebration of the weather, Black Forest House will have spring flower basket cookies in addition to a large selection of their usual products. Freda Mae’s is adding whoopee pies and buttery rolls to her baked goods selection. Small Cottage Roasters will have freshly roasted coffee beans in light, medium and dark roasts.

Soup Du Jour by Jimmi’s will serve a bowl of Greek Potato soup or Chicken with Homemade Dill Noodles Soup with bread for $4. The soups will also be available for take home by the jar.

The Winter Market is open from 11 to 2 on the first and third Friday of each month through April.

Selection and sales begin when the bell rings at opening. The market is located at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park under the market pavilion. It’s open rain or shine, but not ice or sleet. Customers wanting last minute information on Friday can call 483-8139 or check the market’s facebook page.

To Sell At The Market

2011-02-04T13:56:00.005-06:00

We've gotten a few inquiries from folks wanting to sell at the market this year, so here's reminder that all growers of edible produce at the Webb City Market must complete a food safety training course before selling.

We've already held our food safety workshop for this year. There are a couple of other options - there's a workshop in Mountain Grove on Thursday afternoon, March 10. To register, call 417-547-7533.

Cornell University is opening an on-line course up for registration in the next couple of days. http://www.gaps.cornell.edu/eventscalendar.html

The Mountain Grove workshop is free, the Cornell University course is $50 and this may be the last course they offer at that rate. Their grant is running out and it may have to go up to $300.

Taking the training does not guarantee a spot at the market. The vendor still has to have an application approved.

We'll have information available at our new vendor meeting at 10 am, Saturday, March 12 at the Webb City Library, 101 South Liberty.

Smoked Chicken Salad

2011-01-18T13:51:00.002-06:00

I was with Carol Parker today on KSN and did a smoked chicken salad recipe that's really good. Sunny Lane Farms sells fully cooked smoked chicken that's perfects for this recipe.

Smoked Chicken Salad

1 smoked chicken
1 half lemon
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 tablespoons minced chives
8 oz mayonnaise
Garlic powder to taste
Salt & pepper to taste

Remove skin and debone chicken, keeping dark meat separate. Rough chop white meat. Pulverize dark meat in a blender.

Add lemon, parsley, and chives. Mix in mayonnaise little at a time until desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

I forgot to take the garlic salt to the studio, but I didn't think we needed it. I also added red seedless grapes cut in half which added a nice burst of sweetness. I would have included a photo of this because it's quite pretty, but the KSN folks snarfed it all up!

The market is open this Friday from 11 to 2 and Sunny Lane will be there.

Winter Market - call for crafters & artists

2010-11-10T23:46:00.005-06:00

The market is seeking high quality arts and crafts for the Winter Market through December. The seller must be the producer of the product and must submit photos of their work for the jury committee. Crafters/artists will be located in the southern part of the pavilion. Each space is approximately 6 feet deep by 9 feet wide. The cost is 5% of sales per market day. All vendors at the market must have a state sales tax number. For more information, email eileennichols@sbcglobal.net

We're aiming eventually to add a Kris Kindle market atmosphere to our Winter Market in November and December, though we never expect to match those of Germany (as in Munich below)

Just in case you didn't believe me....

2010-11-09T18:46:00.005-06:00

when I said the Lors loaded me up with greens on our last farm visit. This is what happens when a friend asks for "half of a head of mustard greens"!!! Notice Der in the back scouting out more to give me.

Thanks to Sara Becker of Lincoln University Extension who captured the moment.

Sentinel column - 11-5-10

2010-11-04T13:36:00.006-05:00

Today is our first day of Winter Market and with a high of 50 degrees forecast, it will certainly feel like it. It’s the perfect day for our first ever Soup Day. Why Soup Day? Well, for one thing, what’s better on a cold day? For another, we have a new soup vendor – Jimmi’s of Lockwood. And finally, Trish Reed, our regular Friday lunch vendor, is serving soup this year at every Winter Market. We’re really excited about that last news. Trish, and her husband Jim, are wonderful at comfort food, and if this winter is as cold as the last one, warm soup will be super comforting for those of us on site every first and third Friday from 11 to 2. We think our customers will like it too whether they eat it at the market or take it home hot. (That's Carrole Palmer at the market. Sad to say, the zucchini and berries are long gone, but Fairhaven will bring green beans, lettuce, Swiss chard and Carrole's jams and jellies today.)

Lunch today is chicken vegetable rice soup with a roll and crackers for $4. Trish will also have coffee and tea for $1.

Soup Day entails one of our favorite activities – sampling. Sunny Lane Farms will serve samples of Crockpot Tortilla Soup, the recipe for which is printed below. Flintrock Ranch is scheduled to serve samples of Buffalo Stew and Jimmi’s will have samples of Greek Potato Soup and Double Cheeseburger Soup.

This may be our last market for a good selection of produce. With cold weather upon us, many of the tender plants like peppers, tomatoes and eggplants will be a fond memory by our next market on November 19th. Fredrickson Farms will be back at the market today now that their busy season of pumpkin picking and tours at the farm are finished. Tami expects to bring pie pumpkins, decorative pumpkins, winter squash, and pots of oregano, thyme, sage, parsley, chives and peppermint, plus flowering kale for winter color in your beds.

We’ll also have lettuce, boc choy, green beans, Swiss chard and other cool weather crops, meats, jams, jellies, raw milk, and baked goods.

Our vendors are gearing up for the Holiday Market on November 24. An annual tradition for the market, it is held from 11 to 1 the day before Thanksgiving at the Clubhouse, 115 North Madison. Amos Apiaries will be there so you can stock up for the winter. Resa tries to make the Winter Market, but the weather has to be fairly warm or the honey will sugar. That lets today out. Since the Holiday Market is indoors, you can count on buying honey then.

Our bakers, soup makers and jam and jelly makers are taking orders for the Holiday Market. Pick up a flyer at the information table for the contact numbers for all the vendors selling at the market or just place your order with the vendor at the market today.

I resolved last year to give as many locally made products for Christmas as I could. Many I bought at the Holiday Market – honey, jams, jellies, peanut brittle. I found family and friends appreciated the personal touch and I appreciated keeping my gift giving dollars local a little longer.

Crockpot Tortilla Soup – the winter version – we’ll still have fresh peppers today so you can substitute those for the can of chile peppers and also make fresh enchilada sauce if you want.

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth or chicken stock
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil
shredded cheddar
sour cream

Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn, beans and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts, shred & return to soup.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup and top with dollop of sour cream and shredded cheddar.

Sentinel column - 10/29/10

2010-10-27T14:50:00.002-05:00

As I write this, I am in the library of the Dalton, Massachusetts, public library. Clearly a building from before 1900, it has wireless internet and has many of the beautiful features of our own library – tall ceilings, big windows encased in lovely woodwork. But they are not lucky enough to have the space the Webb City library has. No meeting rooms here and only about 1/3 of our book space. In fact, it’s not nearly as big as even our original library, much less the expanded version.

The Webb City Library is a lesson in dreaming. When Dorothy Glover organized the campaign to expand the library, I truly thought her dream was just that – a dream. Yet two years later it was a reality. Had it been up to me, I would have dismissed the possibility out of hand. Good thing it wasn’t up to me.

I’m not good at the Big Idea. The market in many ways grew by accident and by good timing. After our first year in 2000, Paul Jackson, who had been a regular customer, told me that he thought the market needed an on-site manager. (The first year I just ran out and opened the market and then ran back by to close it down.) And Paul said the most remarkable thing. “I’d be happy to be the on-site manager.” I love people who come up with good ideas and then make them happen. It was having a manager on-site that allowed us to expand significantly and begin our journey towards a truly organized market. Paul started diagramming the spaces so he could pull vendors in and give each the space needed. It was some eight years later that research came out saying that on-site managers and diagrams were essential for a market to expand to more than just a few vendors. Paul saw the need before any research was available.

I think the same kind of growth may follow another project developing in Webb City – the Polar Bear Express. Last year, the Polar Bear Express was a rather spontaneous project that developed with only two weeks’ notice. (The “Bear” was added to the Polar Express after discussions with the franchise holder for train events connected to the book “The Polar Express”. We could never afford to do an official Polar Express train – they’re very elaborate and expensive. The franchise holder actually suggested we add “Bear” to the title, but still use many of the aspects of the books. He was incredibly generous with his suggestions.)

If all goes well, the Express, aka the streetcar, will run the afternoon and evenings of the first two Saturdays in December. The parks department plans to put up a big tent for children to visit with Santa, do some crafts and have a cup of hot chocolate. The Polar Bear will be waving off the train and high-fiving the passengers. Volunteer readers will read the book during the ride while the passengers follow along in the book placed on each bench.

The little depot on the south side of the park will be decked up (and we’d love to have some live elves to wave as the train goes by). The parks department plans to decorate the Georgia Bridge with Christmas lights. Once the sun goes down, it should really feel like the North Pole is just off in the distance.

I love Christmas and I just wonder if this might be the beginning of making Webb City a Christmas town. I’d love to hear your Christmas ideas – especially if you can make them happen!

The Farmers Market is open today with all-you-can-eat chili, plus cracker & Fritos, chocolate or vanilla pudding & drink for $6. SwingGrass plays from 11 to 1.
We’ll have painting tables set up for pumpkin painters today. We supply the paints, brushes and shirts; you supply the painters and pumpkins.

Next Friday we start our Winter Market, which looks a whole lot like regular market except we don’t have music – it can get a little cold for fragile musical instruments. Winter Market is under the pavilion from 11 to 2 on the first and third Friday of the month.

Sentinel column - 10/22/10

2010-10-20T08:49:00.006-05:00

I was skeptical. A vaguely familiar vegetable appeared at the market this fall. When I asked for a name, the grower shrugged and said she thought it was chayote. That seemed so unlikely. Chayote is a Latin American vegetable. What on earth was it doing at the market stand of an Asian farmer? But that’s exactly what it was – and is. From Mesoamerica to the early European explorers to Asia and now back to America.

Chayote is an edible plant – all of it, but you will find the fruit at the market. It’s related to cucumbers, but the similarity pretty much ends there. When harvested young it can be sliced and eaten raw in salads or salsas without peeling. More mature chayotes are best peeled and cooked. Like zucchini, it’s very mild and best paired with stronger flavors and spices. Raw, it can be livened up by marinating in lemon or lime juice which results in a lovely fresh taste.

I recently combined a small chayote, diced, with bac choy, ham, fresh pineapple and Asian mustard for a tasty dish. Since I didn’t have a wok, I just used a hot skillet with a little peanut oil, stirring and then covering to wilt the greens down. Asian mustard is not as strong as the American variety, but if you don’t enjoy a tang of bitterness, buy it young and tender. My Hmong growers also recommend boiling chayote with pork and mustard greens and perhaps a few hot peppers. And, of course, you can never go wrong with some onion, garlic, or bacon!

You’ll recognize chayote at the market by its light green color and pear shape. It has large puckers or wrinkles and is firm to the touch. Our growers don’t usually bring them to market, but the chayote tubers, shoots and leaves are also edible. All parts of the plant are a good source of amino acids and vitamin C.

I was feeling adventurous during farm visits on Tuesday – a little too adventurous. Zoua Hang Yang showed me a pepper that she grows for her own use. It was a new variety to me and shaped literally like a bell. I took a tiny bite. Hmmm, tasty and not hot at all. Another tentative bite convinced me this was a lovely sweet pepper. Then, I took a big bite filled with the seeds. My mouth exploded with heat. Ten hours later there was still a hint of the burn in my mouth. I’ve been told that hot peppers are good for you and I will admit that after my mouth cooled down I felt great, but I think it was just jubilation that I was going to survive.

Then at Mai Ker Lor and Der Lor’s gardens I decided I would like to try the chayotes I’d seen growing in the Hmong gardens and also the Asian mustard greens. I asked for a small sample. (That's Der)

When I left the Lors the trunk of my car was completely full of produce – huge mustard greens, bac choy, Napa cabbage and other Asian greens, as well as the chayotes.
I should have known better on both counts. Never eat pepper seeds unless you know for sure it’s a sweet pepper and never ask for a gift from a Hmong grower unless you’re ready for an avalanche of gifts. They are big on gifts.

The first year that Mr. Lee sold at our market, we had a vendor lose a relative to death. I took the sympathy card around for all the vendors to sign and I was successful in explaining to Mr. Lee that there had been a death. He gave me $5. I explained that I just needed his signature, not money and gave him the money back. He signed the card, took both my hands and placed the $5 back in them, explaining to me very slowly and clearly why I needed to accept the money. His accent was heavy, I was listening closely, and then I realized that he was speaking very slowly and very carefully to me in – Hmong!

Mr. Lee speaks a goodly amount of English, but my Hmong is nonexistent. I took the $5. The vendor I went to next, who was born in Seneca, said “I saw Mr. Lee gave you $5. Here’s my $5.” And so Mr. Lee’s generosity spread throughout the market.

The market is loaded right now with both familiar produce and the unusual, but all grown right here in the area. Freshness will soon be a thing of the past, so I’d suggest indulging yourself.

We’ll have a new vendor at the market today – Jimmi’s from Lockwood. They specialize in soups which they prepare in their restaurant and can in jars. It sounds like just the thing for the cold nights we’ll soon have.

Lunch today is chicken and noodles, corn, a roll, cookies and a drink for $6. Bailed Green and Wired Tight play.

Lunch and music is from 11 to 1. The market closes at 2.

Next Friday is our annual pumpkin painting day. You supply the pumpkin which you can buy at the market or bring from home; we’ll supply the painting supplies and place to paint.

Webb City Sentinel column - 10-17-10

2010-10-14T17:09:00.011-05:00

His name’s not Peter, but Tom picked a peck of peppers for market yesterday – actually he picked two or three pecks of peppers. Tom Lewis of Broken Wire Ranch sent me word that his peppers are thriving and he’ll have lots of pretty peppers – big and colorful. He grows a wide variety of sweet and hot peppers and, if you like them roasted, he can roast them right at the market.

We’re also loaded with green beans, eggplant, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, green onions, cucumbers,... well, you get the picture. The fall season has a bounty of local produce to offer. (No, that's not Tom or a fresh local veg - it's our own Bob Foos - more about him below.)

We’ll have the pleasure of hearing SwingGrass at the market today. This trio – sometimes quartet – always draws an appreciative crowd with its lighthearted, playful music. They’ll play from 11 to 1 during lunch. Lunch is Spaghetti Red, side salad, garlic bread, brownies and drink for $6.

So, to summarize – there’s lots of fantastic local produce at the market today, wonderful music and a satisfying lunch. We have all sorts of special baked goods, jams, jellies, lamb, pork, chicken, beef, elk, buffalo, raw milk, plants, pumpkins, decorative gourds and gorgeous mums. And we have a terrific sense of community, which brings up the topic that I really want you to know about today.

On Monday, the Historical Society celebrates one hundred years of the Clubhouse serving the community.

The building was constructed in 1910 as the clubhouse for the employees of the Southwest Missouri Railroad Company. Employees took breaks, naps, read, played cards and pool during breaks in their long shifts on the streetcars. After the demise of the streetcar system, the building was given to the county for use as a health department. Many Webb Citians remember getting their vaccinations and flu shots there. In 1997, the health department moved to Carthage and the building reverted to the heirs of Harry and Geneva Easley who had made the original gift. The heirs, H. Michael Easley, Ginger Eckerman and Sara McKibben, in turn, gave the building to the Historical Society.

Structurally sound, but in need of a new roof and many cosmetic changes, the building breathed life into the Society which had been dormant for many years. Dedicated volunteers repaired and re-painted, funds were raised for a new roof and other major renovations.

The 100th Anniversary Celebration begins Monday at 5:30 pm, just west of the Clubhouse at 115 North Madison. The building’s newly completed landscaping will be dedicated as the William H. and Marion E. Perry Memorial Garden. The Perry Foundation underwrote the expense of the garden and Bill and Rebecca Perry did most of the design work. The Foundation was established by WH and Marion Perry and we are fortunate that their children continue to take a strong interest in Webb City’s welfare.

Immediately after the dedication, the celebration moves inside for the opening of the Bob Foos/Webb City Sentinel Photography Exhibit and for a reception in Bob’s honor. Bob will be inducted into the Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame on Thursday in Washington, Missouri. This is quite an honor for a photojournalist and confirms what many of us have said for years – Webb City is amazingly fortunate to have a newspaper the caliber of the Sentinel.

(Bob photographs the Egg Hunt at King Jack Park in April, 2010)

Since Bob is notoriously humble and probably won’t give himself more than a line of copy in his own newspaper, here’s the introduction to the exhibit:

Bob Foos has been taking pictures in Webb City for the Sentinel since 1979.

It was in 1972 that Bob first became acquainted with Webb City, when he came to this area for his first job in journalism, which was at Channel 16, then known as KTVJ-TV. Bob’s wife, Ann, started teaching first grade for Webb City in 1973. They had met at Emporia State University and graduated from Wichita State University. Bob was originally from Healy, in western Kansas, and Ann grew up on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

After a couple of years in TV, Bob decided to switch to newspaper and got his start as a full-time photographer at the Carthage Press. He achieved his goal of working for a larger daily in 1977 at the Joliet (Ill.) Heral News. What he learned, though, was that his heart was in community journalism. He went back to school and earned his journalism degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

While they were away, Bob and Ann wished that they could come back to Webb City. In 1979, Bill Myers agreed to sell the Webb City Sentinel and Wise Buyer to Bob and his original partners, Marti and Gerard Attoun. They revived the Sentinel, formerly a daily, which had dwindled to a paid circulation of less than 100. Merle Lortz, who had worked for the Sentinel practically since starting as a carrier in his childhood, became Bob’s partner in 1983.

Today the Sentinel’s paid circulation is nearly 2,000, and 9,000 Wise Buyers continue to be distributed.

Merle and Bob are both proud to have been named Distinguished Citizen by Webb City R-y Schools Foundation. Ann, a Cardinal Teacher, retired after more than 30 years of teaching first grade in Webb City.

Webb City Sentinel column - 10/8/10

2010-10-07T10:56:00.007-05:00

This is our first week of Friday-only markets. That means we'll have the abundance of three markets packed into one.

It’s a bit of a shock going from three markets a week to one a week and next year we’re planning to ease that transition a bit by staying open two markets a week in October – weather permitting.

Weather is the major challenge in making long-term plans for the market. In the market’s early years, we had a hard freeze in the very first week of October. Back then we had no meats or baked goods, that left the market pretty sparse and we shut down within a week.

Now we would remain open regardless of the temperature, but most of the farmers would still be out of business so I always hope for a mild fall. One year the fields were still in production in December. That would be wonderful for Shoal Creek Gardens and for Fairview Gardens. They both have big beautiful green tomatoes on the vine. If the freeze can just hold off long enough for them to ripen, we should have tomatoes at the market again. And wouldn’t that be a treat after such a long dry spell, tomato-wise?(photo - Nhao Hang prepares her table at last week's market.)

As we had feared, the excessively hot temperatures this summer stopped most tomato production in early August, even though several of our farmers had planted heat tolerant varieties. Loss of their tomato crop is a major financial blow for the growers and it also affects every other vendor because tomatoes are a primary reason for coming to the market. Without tomatoes, we lose about 25% of our customers.

With the increase in markets in the area, I’m often asked if there are enough customers for all the markets to prosper. I’m convinced there are plenty of customers, it’s produce that we can be short on. Last year we had a good supply of the big three – tomatoes, green beans and sweet corn. This year the weather and some changes in growers left us short of all three during parts of the growing season. We’re back in clover on the green beans, but the sweet corn is done for the season and the tomatoes are iffy.

The other newer markets like Joplin and Neosho have had the same problems, only multiplied because they do not have the strong vendor base that Webb City has. Give them time. We started out with only four vendors, two growers, a honey man and a baker (yes, I’m talking about you, Jeanne).

People will come out if you have quality local produce. That’s why our market does so much training. We don’t have space to add many more farmers, so we work to make the farmers we have more productive. You can bet we’ll be looking at ways to beat hot weather next year. Then we’ll probably have a cool wet summer like last year when the tomato plants just sat in the cold damp ground and refused to grow. One thing I learned from my farmers early – and adopted – is that you can always complain about the weather!

So enough whining, because the weather we’re enjoying now if fabulous and there’s plenty of good produce at the market today – eggplant, peppers, lettuce, greens, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, radishes, green beans, Swiss chard, boc choy, green onions, baby spinach, green tomatoes – that’s just what I remember. Add the meats, jams and jellies, milk, freshly ground coffee, baked goods, beautiful mums, pumpkins, lunch and music and there are surely plenty of reasons to come to the market today.

Lunch is barbecued chicken, scalloped potatoes, green beans, cake and drink for $6. A luncheon salad is also available. Webb City’s own Gospel Strings play.

Next Friday Webb City native Bill Gosch returns to the market with SwingGrass and lunch is spaghetti red, side salad, garlic bread, brownies & drink – and maybe those tomatoes will finally be ripe!

Webb City Sentinel Column - 10/1/10

2010-09-30T13:44:00.006-05:00

It’s Mum Day at the market today, chrysanthemums that is. We should have hundreds of mums in a wide variety of colors and sizes. It will probably be our only market with three large mum vendors: Troyer Farms, Heidi Stoller and Countryside View Greenhouse.

I guess we should call today Mums and More. Fairview Gardens has their decorative gourds and squash, as well as their broom corn which could be called ubercornstalks, tall and beautiful. JKL Pumpkins has a wonderful selection of decorative pumpkins, from big to little, green to orange, some straight out of fairytales like Cinderella.
John Pate tells me that he’s bringing some tomatoes today – they’ll go fast. He’ll have the last of this year’s peaches, plus apples. We have a good supply of green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, green onions, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers and greens, as well as radishes, winter squash, potatoes, beets, herbs, and ginger.

In October, we’re open on Fridays from 11 to 2. We’ll be revisiting our fall schedule as we plan for 2011. We’d like to stay open on Saturdays in October because most of our Saturday customers cannot come during the work week, but it is hard for our growers to harvest enough produce for two days in a row this late in the growing season. Giving up Friday for Saturday is a little scary because we have twice as many customers on Friday. So, Friday customers – would you be willing to go to a Tuesday/Saturday schedule in October next year?

The Kids Community Garden on Aylor Street is “finished” for the year. Last week we dug the sweet potatoes and that was probably the best garden fun of the year. It was like a treasure hunt!

We decided to leave the garden in place until frost because there are still loads of flowers blooming. The children invite you to stop by and pick a bouquet anytime. While there you’ll notice a couple of patches of newly-planted turnips. That’s part of our cover crop, also known as green manure. The turnips will be turned under later this fall to improve the soil. The first cover crop planting, buckwheat, was tilled in last week. Good soil is essential for a good garden. That’s an important lesson for any grower, whether middle school or middle-aged.

On the topic of lessons, the market is planning its winter training sessions. We have a Food Safety: from field to market workshop set for December 4 in Springfield. All growers selling edible produce at the Webb City market must have attended a food safety workshop within three years.

You might ask, why Springfield? We’ve held the workshop in Webb City, Mt Vernon and Joplin and trained over 200 farmers. Obviously most of those farmers don’t sell at our market, but we think food safety is so important that we want all area growers to be trained. After all, a food contamination issue at a Springfield market will adversely affect all the markets in southwest Missouri. So we move the training around the area to try to catch everyone.

We’re also involved in a grant writing workshop for farmers and ranchers in Mount Vernon on October 12 and a high tunnel workshop near Monett on October 26. So even though the growing season is slowing down, the behind the scenes work for the market and farmers is picking up.

As we savor these beautiful fall days, don’t forget to savor the fresh produce. There are still lots of wonderful crops thriving. In a few months, fresh produce will be hard to come by, so enjoy it now.

Lunch today is lasagna, side salad, garlic bread, cookies and drink for $6. There’s also a luncheon salad for $4. The Sours will play traditional music. Suzie & Sammy Scarecrow will be at the market to pose for photos with the kids and grownups.

Webb City Sentinel 9-24-10

2010-09-23T10:57:00.008-05:00

The down side of appearing on early morning shows is that it’s really EARLY (and those who know me, know that I don’t do early well). The up side is that it’s a great way to tell folks about the market and gives me an excuse to experiment with real cooking.

The fact is that my husband Phil is the real cook of the family. Nine times out of ten, he prepares the meals at our house. He likes a substantial meal while, during the growing season, I’m happy as a clam snacking on fresh produce. However, when it’s time for me to cook on TV I break out the recipes and I found some real winners this time.

I did four recipes on KOAM Tuesday, two live and two taped. The latter will show in October so I had to consider what produce might be at the market for the next six weeks. That means either the summer produce that kept setting in the heat of August or the fall crops.

Unfortunately, that lets out anything tomato. The market has really been hurt by the lack of tomatoes for the last month. The high night temperatures in August caused the flowers on the tomatoes to drop without setting fruit. And with little or no tomatoes, we lose a lot of customers. Nationwide, tomatoes are the top sellers and top draw to farmers markets. Without them, we’ve seen a dramatic drop in attendance.

But I’m here to tell you that there is still gold at the market. And the recipes I prepared this week prove it.

All four recipes are at the information table at the market and they are delicious: Roasted Pepper Roll-ups and Mozzarella Pepper Wraps are super easy and tasty appetizers, Thai Chicken Soup uses Maria Vang’s fresh ginger and the Lee’s lemon grass (it was so good that Phil and my dad had two bowls-full Tuesday night) and Roasted Pepper and Eggplant Soup. I didn’t make it home with that, the TV staff devoured it, and for good reason. It tastes very much like French onion soup, but with the nutritional punch of high fiber eggplant and high vitamin C peppers.

The market is loaded with gorgeous egg plant right now and Broken Wire makes roasted peppers easy. Tom has a good supply of sweet roasting peppers that can be roasted right at the market in a few minutes.

Some folks just wash the charred skin and seeds off with water. I like to maintain the smoky flavor, so I slice the pepper open and use the flat edge of a knife to scrape off the skin and seeds. They can be used immediately or stored. You can refrigerate them for up to two weeks, placing them in a small container and covering with olive oil. You can also freeze them for several months by layering them between sheets of wax paper in a plastic, tight-fitting container. The wax paper makes it easy to take out the amount you need.

And while we’re thinking about the winter ahead, stock up on ginger as well. Fresh ginger is easy to freeze as whole pieces, grated or sliced into coins about 1/8 thick.

You can also freeze lemon grass. Most of the baked goods at the market freeze beautifully as well. And while you’re stocking up, stop by Amos Apiaries stand. Tuesday will be Resa’s last day at the market until the Winter Market.

Lunch today is all-you-can-eat ham and beans, plus cornbread, cake and drink for $6. Amy Schroer, Mike Snow and Justin Cauble perform.

Tomorrow, breakfast benefits Healing the Family, a counseling service working to prevent child abuse in our area. Red Bridge Bluegrass (formerly the Missouri Mountain Gang) performs. Tomorrow is the last Saturday market of the season and next Tuesday, the last Tuesday market. In October we will be open on Fridays only, from 11 to 2. See you at the market!

Webb City Sentinel Column - 9/17/10

2010-09-16T13:49:00.002-05:00

Fall is coming to the market this weekend. Today Heidi Stoller will be back with her lovely mums. Fair Haven will have decorative gourds. Tomorrow we’ll have a big load of pumpkins from JKL Pumpkins in Diamond. They’ll have all shapes, sizes and colors. The three young men who comprise JKL have done a great job of growing, especially considering it’s their first year. That’s not too surprising since they were mentored by our very experienced and generous pumpkin vendors, Fredrickson Farms.

New fall produce we’re glad to see coming in includes loads of lovely fresh, tender green beans.

Pate’s Orchard expects to have a big load of peaches and apples both today and Saturday. John says the Parade variety he’s bringing is the biggest peach this year.
Today’s menu is oven-fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, sugar cookies and drink for $6. I’d say we’re talking down home comfort food. The Reeds, our Friday meal vendors, always have a luncheon salad available too for the light eaters and vegetarians.

The Plainsfolk perform from 11 to 1. Actually, they’ll probably play a little later because we have our annual field trip from Eugene Field today. The third-graders walk down to the market between noon and 2. They meet in small groups with the Mayor (their vocabulary word for the week is “community”), then meet with me to learn about local food and farming.

Each class does a scavenger hunt looking for different kinds of food, finding out where the vendors come from and why the customers shop at the market. They spend a little time with the musicians and finish up with a cookie from Black Forest.

Tomorrow we also have a special day. It’s our first-ever Get Fit Day. Our usual market vendors will be present, but we’ll have all sorts of health-oriented booths, too. Tom Reeder, director of the city Parks and Recreation Department will be there, as will the Dogwood Trailblazers, a local walking club. Two of our local health food stores will have booths. Nature’s Path will have samples and information on gluten-free diets. Natural Health Center will have aromatherapy information. Breatheasy will do blood pressure checks. The Clean Air Project will have information on their smoke-free proposal, St. John’s on body fat measurement, Freeman Women’s Health on mammograms and bone density and LiveSmart on fat and sugar content.

Vickie Fuller, the culinary arts instructor at the Southwest Career Center in Monett, will do a cooking demonstration. And in honor of our “Get Fit” theme, breakfast is adding a fresh local apple to our menu selection.

Webb City High School Project Graduation will serve breakfast from 9 to 11 and, in addition to the apple, choices include biscuits and gravy, sausage and eggs to order. Center Creek Bluegrass will play from 9:30 to 11:30.

We’re looking forward to another wonderful Saturday. Last Saturday, we felt so fortunate to be filled with the arts and artists. Special thanks to local artists John Biggs, John Fitzgibbon, Kyle McKenzie, Heather Grills and Jessie McCormick for sharing their talents. The Audubon Society, Lafayette House, Spiva Center for the Arts, and Skinner Pottery gave the children a chance to be artists themselves. The entertainment was great. As always, the young violinists really blew us away.

The event was possible because of many volunteers and the financial support of MSSU, Cardinal Scale and the Missouri Arts Council.

Arts in the Park is sponsored by the Friends of the Webb City Parks. If you’d like to be a member (it costs $5 and you get a $5-off coupon for Chatters), stop by the market information table.

Webb City Sentinel column 9-10-10

2010-09-09T16:20:00.004-05:00

Arts in the Park is tomorrow (Saturday) from 9 am to 2 pm. The market pavilion will be packed with the market and with the arts. We’ll have music, drama, and artists at work. John Fitzgibbon will demonstrate watercolor, John Biggs will sketch, two plein air artists, Jessie McCormick and Heather Grills, will paint scenes as they happen tomorrow. Resa Amos of Amos Apiaries will spin and weave while Christina Lorenzen of Made of Clay will throw pots.

Kyle McKenzie, a Webb City native who teaches art at MSSU, PSU and the global campus of the University of Arkansas, will be on hand until 11 with some of his work to visit with folks about art. Another Webb City native, Ryan McCoy, will sell his photographs. Market volunteer Rick Ford will have photos from the market for sale and April Davis, Carthage artist, will sell affordable reproductions of her market paintings. We’ll also have our jewelers and glass artists who sell on at the Second Saturday Art Market during the summer.

At 9:30 Southern Theatre from MSSU will perform highlights of their upcoming production, The Rogue’s Trial.

The musical lineup includes Rob Pommert on classical guitar and the Southwest Missouri Suzuki Strings. Singers with the Heartland Opera will showcase highlights from HOT Scandals, playing now in Joplin. Some cool jazz follows with A Sure Thing featuring Rebecca Lueber on vocals. We’ll finish up with the wonderful bluegrass group Brightwater Junction. They last played in Webb City during Mining Days several years ago.

(In the small world category, you may notice that Arts in the Park is held in the pavilion built by Mining Days and happens on the same weekend. I guess we just can’t keep from partying in September.)

There’ll be lots of free activities for kids – and adults are also welcome to try their hand at clay play, veggie art, beach in a bottle and making a monarch butterfly window cling. The activities have different start and end times but they should all be going from 10 to noon.

Arts in the Park is sponsored by the Friends of the Webb City Park, which operates as a subcommittee of the Park Board. For $5 in annual dues, members get a free drink at Arts in the Park and newsletters about park doings four times a year. Friends of the Park also organizes the Polar Bear Express, tentatively set for the first two Saturdays in December, and helps with the Spring Egg Hunt in King Jack Park. Folks can join the Friends or renew their membership at Arts in the Park.

Volunteers will staff breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Folks making a purchase at the food booth can enter the One Good Meal Deserves Another drawing for meals from the Webb City Domino’s Pizza and Culvers.

Arts in the Park is made possible by grants from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, by MSSU and by Cardinal Scale. No park board funds are used to stage the event and all funds raised go to the Park Board.

Tomorrow should be a terrific day, but today will have its charms, too – and peaches. The Pates won’t be at the market tomorrow. I guess it being their 50th anniversary is a pretty good excuse. Lunch Friday is ham steak, scalloped potatoes, peas, cake and drink for $6. Gospel Strings plays.

Next week the Exchange Club runs Cooking for a Cause and gives the profits to Healing the Family.

Next Friday the third graders from Eugene Field make their annual field trip to the market.

A week from tomorrow is the market’s first Live Fit Day. Local hospitals, health stores and organizations will be doing everything from blood pressure checks to body fat measurements, plus providing lots of information. The Parks and Recreation Department will be there to tell you about opportunities for active living in the parks and the Dogwood Trailblazers will have walking information. Vickie Fuller, culinary arts instructor at the Southwest Missouri Area Career Center, will demonstrate a healthy pasta dish using market chicken and vegetables.

September is the last month of the market’s regular season, but as you can tell, we’re not exactly winding down. There is still lots to buy and do at the market. See you soon!

Arts in the Park this Saturday

2010-09-07T18:39:00.004-05:00

Red & White Onions by April Davis (those are market onions!)

Webb City celebrates the arts this Saturday (September 11) with Arts in the Park under the market pavilion at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park from 9 am to 2 pm. Music, drama, and the visual arts take center stage.

Music:

9 – Rob Pommert – classical guitar
10:00 – Southwest Missouri Suzuki Strings – from classics to country
11:00 - Heartland Opera Theatre – Broadway & Opera
Noon – A Sure Thing - Jazz
1:00 - Brightwater Junction - Bluegrass

Drama:

9:30 – Southern Theatre highlights of The Rogues’ Trial

The Visual & Creative Arts:

9 – 2: Webb City mayor and nationally-known artist John Biggs sketches
9 – 1: Art Talk – visit with Kyle McKenzie, artist/art instructor teaches at Missouri Southern State University, Pittsburg State University, and University of Arkansas Global Campus.
10 – 1: John Fitzgibbon demonstrates watercolor
9 - 2: Spinning demonstrations by Resa Amos of Amos Apiaries

Children’s Actitivites:

9 – 2: Veggie Arts by Spiva Center for the Arts
9 – Noon: Beach in a Bottle by Lafayette House
9 – 1: Play clay by Skinner Pottery
10 – 1: Art is Natural by the Master Naturalists

The Webb City Farmers Market extends its Saturday hours until 2 (celebrating the art of fine eating with loads of fresh produce and locally made breads, jams, jelly and honey).

All the meals on Saturday benefit the Friends of the Webb City Parks organization. Breakfast, served from 9 to 11, is biscuits, gravy, sausage and a drink for $3.50. Two eggs, fried or scrambled, are $1. From 11 to 1, freshly grilled hamburgers, smoked sausages and hot dogs will be on sale, together with drinks. Folks making a purchase at the food booth can enter the One Good Meal Deserves Another drawing for meals courtesy of local restaurants.

Arts in the Park is sponsored by the Friends and by the Webb City Parks and Recreation Department. For annual dues of $5, members of the Friends received a free drink during the event and quarterly updates by email on park activities. (The Friends also organize the Polar Bear Express in December.)

Arts in the Park is generously supported by grants from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, Missouri Southern State University, and Cardinal Scale.

For more information, call 417 483-8139.

A toon from Arctic captures us perfectly!

2010-09-03T12:35:00.005-05:00

Because we have eggs from happy hens, lambs, cattle and bison roaming rich fields of grass, piggies enjoying the great outdoors - the fields on days like this, the woods in the heat of summer. & our growers are beautiful people. Life is good for all of us!

All we need is the cheese and we're harassing Marlee's Creamery (whose dairy cattle lead charmed lives) to start making us cheese.

Webb City Sentinel column 9-3-10

2010-09-02T13:20:00.005-05:00

Like a bride, we’re going to “wear”, musically speaking, something new and something old this weekend – there will even be some blue (as in bluegrass). The old, that is to say familiar, are Jack and Lee Ann Sours, long-time performers at the market. In fact, it is in large part due to Jack and Lee Ann, as well as the late and sorely missed Millie Hansen, that we have music at the market. Millie and the Sours were our first musicians. Millie played hammer dulcimer - that's her in the photo. The Sours play guitar, fiddle, a variety of other instruments, and sing on occasion too. With our tiny budget (about $200 a year!), we could only afford music for very special occasions in those early days.

Then we discovered the Missouri Arts Council and applied for a mini-grant. With their help, we began to have music every Friday. The vendors thought the music added so much to the market that they voted to expand (and fund) the music on Tuesdays as well. By the time we added the Saturday market music was a given. It is a vital part of the market.

Our music budget is now around $4,500. Usually less than half of that is underwritten by the Arts Council. Vendor fees pay for the rest. Considering that pays for about 70 performances, you can see it’s a real value for the market and the community.

The fact is that we don’t pay much, but we do try to pay our musicians something. Artists so often are expected to just give away their art as if it had no value. We know their art is valuable – it has brightened our days over and over, and frankly, it has brought us customers from far and wide. We saw a big jump in sales when we started having a meal and music at every market. We don’t think that’s a coincidence. We think the investment made by the Arts Council and the vendors in music has resulted in a better market, in a good venue for local musicians, and in increased market sales in the thousands of dollars.

Music is a real attraction and it gives our market a personality that can be found in very few other places. Good music, freely accessible in a place suitable for families can be hard to come by – but not in Webb City. It happens here three times a week.

So when you’re enjoying the music at the market, give a nod of thanks to each other because you make it possible – it’s your tax dollars that support the Missouri Arts Council and your purchases at the market that result in the vendor fees.

Have I rambled on long enough for you to have completely forgotten about the “new” music at the market? This year we have been fortunate in finding some new (and young) groups to play and one is making their market debut tomorrow. Erik Brown and Josh Mullen will each play a set accompanied by Tom Smith on trumpet. Should be lots of fun. Enjoy breakfast at the same time. The breakfast benefits CrimeStoppers, which organized locally this year. In cooperation with local law enforcement, they run an anonymous hot line for tips about crimes. Tips resulting in convictions can reap a reward of up to $10,000. I have no idea how they get the reward to an anonymous tipster, but they have a system and it works. One alleged criminal is already off the local streets.

Today lunch is meatloaf, au gratin potatoes, green beans, brownies and a drink for $6. A luncheon salad is $4. As I said earlier, the Sours are playing.

At the risk of sounding like I’m from Coonfoot (which is a great place to be from) – wasn’t that rain on Wednesday grand? With cooler wetter days, the fields and gardens are reviving. So look for more and better produce as we move into fall. We've started our fall hours, which means the market is open from 11 to 2 on Tuesdays and Fridays and from 9 to noon on Saturdays.

Don’t forget that next Saturday is Arts in the Park. It should be a boatload of fun.

Sentinel column - 8-27-10

2010-08-26T12:44:00.002-05:00

There’s a lot going on this weekend and it’s just the harbinger of the future because September has a bunch of special events as well. But let’s begin with the present.

Today’s lunch is ham or tuna salad sandwich, potato salad, spinach salad, cheesecake and drink for $6. I love Trish’s spinach salad. She fills all her salads with good things from the market. My co-manager Marilyn is a fan of the huge luncheon salad that Trish sells for $4. It’s been perfect for the hot weather this summer. Jack and Lee Ann Sours play traditional music today.

The biggest news today is that Hazel’s Bakery’s famous carrot cake is back. When Kay and Bill McLaughlin announced their retirement, Black Forest baker Bert Ott asked Kay for the recipe because so many customers were anticipating major carrot cake withdrawal. Kay brought Bert the recipe last Friday, so the cake makes its re-debut today at Black Forest Bakery.

The Urban Gardeners tell me they will have loads of Damson plums today. Don’t miss them, it’s a very short season. Our coffee bean roaster will be at the market today.
Tomorrow we celebrate our Market Roots. We’ll have a couple of tables loaded with produce labeled as to where it originated in the mists of time - peaches from China, watermelon from Africa, corn from Peru, squash from the US. All our vendors and volunteers will have signs indicating their own roots – where they were born and where their ancestors came from. In the case of our immigrant vendors, we’ll also have when and where they became US citizens. And not to leave you out, there will be a map for our customers to mark their ancestral roots.

Breakfast on Saturday benefits CROPwalk. It’s an annual walk that raises awareness about and funds to fight hunger. One-quarter of the money raised stays local to help our neighbors in need through Crosslines, Lafayette House and Salvation Army. The rest goes around the world to assist disaster refugees and those living in chronic poverty. Central United Methodist and Sacred Heart Catholic churches in Webb City are long-time walkers. In Joplin, United Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, Christians and Lutherans participate in CROPwalk, as well as students from two schools. There will be information on the walk at the breakfast. Individuals, churches, organizations, businesses and schools are welcome to walk in the CROPwalk on September 19th.

The Anderson Brothers will play on Saturday.

As to September events, Arts in the Park will be Saturday, September 11. We’ve got a great line up of music and drama. We still have room for a couple of painters or sculptors. The event is sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department and the Friends of the Webb City Parks – and I am looking for a few more friends to staff the information and food tables. If you can help, call me at 483-8139 or stop by the market.

On Saturday, September 18th, the market will host its first Live Fit day. We hope to have lots of health-related booths providing information on active and healthy living, including healthy eating.

We’re looking forward to fall, as I expect everyone is after the grueling heat this summer. As expected we have a shortage of tomatoes right now. There are plenty of cherry and grape tomatoes, but it may be several weeks before we have a good supply of large tomatoes again.

In the meantime, we have loads of okra, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, peaches, peppers and other produce. The first of the fall lettuce is coming in. There’s still plenty to feast on, especially when you add the bakers and meat ranchers. So come enjoy the bounty!

CROPwalk breakfast

2010-08-25T12:37:00.002-05:00

Saturday, CROPwalk will receive the profits from the benefit breakfast. It's served from 9 - 11 - biscuits, sausage, gravy, eggs to order.

CROPwalk is an interfaith international walk that raises awareness and funds for hunger issues. One-quarter of the money raised stays local and goes to Crosslines, Lafayette House and Salvation Army. The rest goes to areas of chronic poverty and to refugee work. Locally folks from the United Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Christian, and Baptist churches walk, plus several schools.

The walk will be Sunday, September 19, starting at 2:30 at 6th & Pearl in Joplin.

For more information, call Eileen at 483-8139.

Webb City Sentinel market column - 8/20/10

2010-08-18T23:09:00.007-05:00

I’m expecting a first today – peaches with no need for a peach line. If you’re a market regular, you know that folks often start lining up for peaches an hour before we open. In past years, there’s been a good reason for that. Pates Orchard often ran out of peaches before we ran out of customers wanting peaches. But this year John and Barb have been bringing extra large loads. In fact they took quite a few peaches home when they left Tuesday at 2. (They usually leave an hour early on weekdays because of the long drive ahead of them to Stockton.) And if we want them to continue bringing a big supply, we don’t want that happening too often!

Today they are bringing a double load and that should mean plenty of peaches for everyone. No need to come early, no need to stand in line. By 11:30 there should be no peach line at all with plenty of peaches still to be had. So today, take your time, shop the market, listen to the music and pick up your peaches at your leisure. What a refreshing change! (At right, crates of peaches just picked from the trees at Pates Orchard. Photographed last week on a farm inspection by market managers.)

While we’re on the topic of trees, as in peach trees, Jon Skinner will be at the market today from 11 to 2. Jon is the urban forester for the Missouri Department of Conservation. If you have a sickly tree or shrub, bring a sample of the problem and Jon will diagnose it and recommend a treatment. He can also make suggestions as to the best trees for you to plant.

We’ll have two vendors new to Friday today. Chris Sharpsteen with Rocky Horse Ranch will have garlic at the market, giving our Friday customers a choice of garlic at Rocky Horse and elephant garlic at Hillside Farms. The latter is actually a leek and is a milder – and much larger – version of the true garlic.

Joshua Moore of Cottage Small Coffee Roasters will make his Friday market debut. I’m not a coffee drinker, but my husband Phil who is says Joshua’s freshly roasted beans are excellent. And Phil should know. He grinds his coffee beans every night before putting them in his brewer, a practice he started when we were fortunate enough to visit Costa Rico where he acquired some very good coffee beans.

Our music today is provided by Webb City’s own Gospel Strings. Lunch is chicken perlu’, mixed veggies, roll, cookies and a drink for $6. As always, there will be a luncheon salad for the light eaters and vegetarians for $4.

On Saturday, breakfast will be served by Greyhound Pets of America. The ever-popular Ninth Hour will sing from 9:30 to 11:30.

Plans are underway for the Friends of the Park’s annual Arts in the Park. It will be Saturday, September 11, from 9 to 2 and will feature a full line of music from classical to bluegrass to opera to Broadway to jazz. There will be children’s activities, food, artists, and, of course, the farmers market.

If you’re not a member of the Friends, you can join at Arts in the Park or by sending $5 with your contact information to PO Box 1 in Webb City. You can also download the latest Friends information from the blog at wcparks.wordpress.com

As you know, I’m always trolling for volunteers – we’ll need folks to staff the information table and the meal table. If you’d like to help, give me a call at 483-8139. Any businesses that would like to donate a door prize or some other motivation for the event that we’ll use to lure folks into joining the Friends would be very welcome.

With so many good things happening in the parks, who wouldn’t want to be a Friend?
I recently tried a new version of bruschetta that I adapted from Sunday’s Parade magazine. I used the black cherry tomato that can be found at the Agee and the Xiong farms.

Bruschetta

About 2 pounds of heirloom tomato, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 cloves, true garlic, or 1 clove, elephant garlic, minced
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgion olive oil
1/2 cup packed basil leaves, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
Redings Mill asiago cheese bread

Combine first six ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to meld flavors or refrigerate if using later.

Quarter or halve slices of bread, rub top with garlic (I find the large cloves of elephant garlic perfect for this). Brush with olive oil and toast. Top with bruschetta. This recipe holds well in the refrigerator for several days – if you keep it hidden. Drain off excess liquid as necessary.

See you at the market!

Tree Clinic This Friday

2010-08-18T14:16:00.002-05:00

The weather – and the bugs - have been hard on landscaping this year. Folks who have a tree or shrub showing distress or disease can have the plant diagnosed at the Webb City Farmers Market Friday. Jon Skinner, urban forester with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, will be on hand from 11 to 2 to diagnose and make recommendations. Bring a sample – leaves or small branch showing the problem – to the market. If it shows signs of pest infestation, please bag it to prevent spread.

Market friends in the News

2010-08-16T14:49:00.003-05:00

Check out these recent Globe stories

on the McLaughlins (Hazel's Bakery): Kay & Bill

and on the Eichers who we've missed this year after they opened their own store near Carthage: Circle E Country Store

What's Happening Down on the Farm

2010-08-16T14:21:00.013-05:00

We've been making our midseason farm visits and thought you'd like to see some pics.

Mouchou Pao, near Diamond, has loads of flowers. Mouchou also grows vegetables but can't sell them at Webb City until she takes the food safety course. We'll offer that again in early spring. Mouchou is a Friday only vendor.

Broken Wire Ranch is our king of peppers. Located near Stockton, they have 500 foot long rows loaded with all kinds of peppers.

It's hard to tell from this photo because the plants are so lush, but the Lee Family is one of the market's great training success stories. Working with Extension and with market growers serving as mentors, the Lees have gone from growing tomatoes on the ground without staking four years ago - losing as much as 70% of the produce - to beautifully staked and woven tomato plants that still look good even in the terrific heat we've been fighting. Hurray for the Lees, the growers who worked with them and for Extension!

This field of corn was about 4 days away from harvest at Fairhaven Gardens when we visited. Joe has planted 8 fields that should keep them in corn through September.

Webb City Sentinel - 8/13/10

2010-08-12T22:31:00.001-05:00

We have some fun things at the market this week. Today Mary Ann Pennington with University of Missouri Extension will test pressure gauges for free from 11 to 2. If you have a gauge, be sure to bring it. An inaccurate gauge turns canning from good-for-you to dangerous for both the canner and the consumer.

Lynette Rector, our Saturday baker, is trying her hand at the Friday market today. Lynette ran Freda Mae’s Restaurant in Pierce City when she started baking for our Saturday market. She’s done so well that she’s closed the restaurant and is concentrating on her market sales. She plans to have fruit pies on Fridays, along with cakes, and fruit breads. On Saturdays, she’ll have cream pies and breakfast goodies.

Lunch today is Salisbury steak, scalloped potatoes, peas, banana pudding and drink for $6 or a garden salad for $4. The Granny Chicks play from 11 to 1.

Tomorrow, breakfast is served by volunteers from Webb City Lodge 512, Webb Chapter 204 Order of the Eastern Star, and Praying Hands Court 15 Amaranth. They are donating all the profits to the Tri-State CP Center. Our music will be provided by Southwest Missouri Suzuki Strings. These kids wowed us during Arts in the Park last year. They’ll play from 9:30 to 11:30.

We’ll also host a special fundraiser for the local chapter of the Make a Wish Foundation. They will be selling new stuffed animals donated by Precious Moments. It should be a great chance to stock up on Christmas presents and support a good cause. The Make a Wish Foundation works to grant wishes to children with terminal illnesses. It is heart-warming work. You can get more information on the market’s blog: webbcityfarmersmarket.blogspot.com

Update on the Kids Community Garden: Who knew that Japanese beetles in our garden could help create an industry in Kenya? Like almost all gardens and farms in the area, the Kids Garden was hit hard by Japanese beetles – and stinkbugs - this year. It is a rare tomato, pepper or egg plant that we harvest without signs of bugs feasting before us, leaving us nothing to sell and little to send home with the children. Luckily, we devoted about half of the garden this year to cutting flowers so the children have been able to sell bouquets at the market even when produce was not available.

We have a no-spray policy at the garden but we were faced with losing pretty much all the produce so I consulted our market grower Tim Green who normally is all-natural but in dire circumstances will use the most benign sprays available. He recommended Pyrethrin, an organic based biodegradable spray that kills bugs on contact. And this is where Kenya comes in.

Pyrethrin comes from the seed cases of the perennial plant Chrysanthemum chinerariefolium, which has been grown commercially since the late 1920’s in Kenya and the highlands of Eastern Africa. In Kenya, which produces about 70% of the world’s supply, Pyrethrin is in large part grown by small-scale farmers and is a major source of export income for Kenya. So that’s how Japanese beetles in Webb City, Missouri, create thousands of jobs in Kenya.

Just because a spray is organic and biodegradable doesn’t mean it is harmless. Used improperly it can cause headaches and allergic type reactions in the person applying it. It has a one-day post harvest period. In other words, within one day it biodegrades so there is no residue on the produce.

Bearing all that in mind, I sprayed the garden last Saturday evening just before dark, after the pollinators - butterflies, moths, and bees - had become inactive and left the garden. The garden was not harvested until Tuesday morning, plenty of time for the spray to biodegrade, ensuring that the garden is safe for the children to work and the produce safe to eat.

Now, we just have to figure out how to keep the bunnies from feasting on the sweet potato vines! And, sadly, how to keep people from stealing the kids’ produce.
I had urged the little gardeners to be patient. The melons weren’t ripe yet. Well, they were about 5 days from ready last Friday when someone stole them. Our neighbors across the street are wonderful about keeping an eye on the garden but apparently the melon thieves slipped by them. This was not one of the lessons we wanted the kids to learn, but we’ll use it to create problem-solving skills.

In the next couple of weeks, we’ll sit down with the kids and some seed catalogs and choose next year’s plantings. With the stolen melons fresh on their minds, I’m sure melons will not be on the list. It’s a shame because melons are so satisfying to grow. But the cutting garden has proven to be a steady source of market income for the children and we can improve on that. The root crops are undisturbed by marauding visitors. We’ll, no doubt, plant tomatoes again because that is something the children will likely grow as adults but we may cut down on tomato space in order to expand the cutting garden. We’ll talk about sequential planting as well as green manures (we’re putting in buckwheat as a green manure soon and will also plant turnips to turn under before fall to improve the soil). Planning ahead, now that’s a useful life skill.

See you at the market.

Special Saturday Fundraiser

2010-08-12T11:10:00.007-05:00

This Saturday, the local chapter of the Make a Wish Foundation will be selling new stuffed animals donated by Precious Moments. Make a Wish works to grant wishes for terminally ill children. You can get more information on it at: www.wish.org

Here's how it all started: The Make-A-Wish Foundation® traces its beginning to one boy’s wish. In 1980, 7-year-old Chris Greicius was being treated for leukemia. Every day, he dreamed of becoming a police officer.

U.S. Customs Officer Tommy Austin had befriended Chris and his mother, Linda Bergendahl-Pauling. He also promised Chris a ride in a police helicopter. When Chris’ health worsened, Austin contacted Ron Cox, an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer, and planned a day that would lift Chris’ spirits.

On April 29, 1980, Austin and a caring group of DPS personnel started Chris’ day with a tour of the city in a department helicopter, which also flew him to headquarters. Three cruisers and a motorcycle officer greeted him before his meeting with the DPS command staff. There, Chris was sworn in as the first honorary DPS patrolman in state history.

But his experience didn’t stop there. Cox contacted John’s Uniforms, which agreed to make a custom-tailored DPS uniform for Chris. The store owner and two seamstresses worked through the night to finish it. The officers presented the official uniform to Chris on May 1 and arranged a motorcycle proficiency test so he could earn wings to pin on his uniform. Needless to say, Chris passed the test with flying colors on his battery-operated motorcycle.

On May 2, Chris was back in the hospital. He asked to arrange the room so he could always see his uniform, his motorcycle helmet and his “Smokey Bear”-style campaign hat. DPS motor officer Frank Shankwitz presented Chris with his motorcycle wings. He accepted them with a smile that lit up the room.

The following day, Chris passed away, but not before seeing his dream come true and experiencing the hope, strength and joy that came from receiving his wish.

THIS WEEKEND AT THE MARKET

2010-08-10T22:42:00.000-05:00

There are special activities on both Friday and Saturday this weekend at the Webb City Farmers Market. The market is loaded with peppers, tomatoes, okra and lots of other local produce. There will also be honey, baked goods, jams, jellies, made to order smoothies and other goodies.

On Friday, Freda Mae’s of Pierce City brings her luscious cakes and fruit pies to the Friday market. Mary Ann Pennington, Nutrition Program Assistant with University of Missouri Extension, will test pressure gauges from 11 to 2. Folks can ensure that their gauge is accurate and safe for canning. Lunch is Salisbury steak, scalloped potatoes, peas, banana pudding and a drink for $6. For light eaters and vegetarians, there’s a luncheon salad for $4. The Granny Chicks play from 11 to 1.

On Saturday, Breakfast is served from 9 to 11 – biscuits and gravy, sausage and eggs to order. All profits benefit the Tri-State CP Center. Volunteer meal workers are provided by Webb City Lodge 512, Webb Chapter 204 Order of the Eastern Star, and Praying Hands Court 15 Amaranth. The Southwest Missouri Suzuki Strings will perform from 9:30 to 11:30. The local chapter of the Make a Wish Foundation will hold a fundraiser, selling new stuffed animals donated by Precious Moments.

The Webb City Farmers Market is a producer only market open from 11 to 3 on Tuesdays and Friday and from 9 to noon on Saturdays. Selection and sales begin when the bell rings at opening. The market is located at the Main Street entrance to King Jack Park under the market pavilion. It’s open rain or shine. For information, call 417 483-8139.

Webb City Sentinel column - 8/7/10

2010-08-04T21:35:00.005-05:00

We have a special occasion today (Friday) from 11 to 1 – the retirement reception for Bill and Kay McLaughlin of Hazel’s Bakery. Kay and Bill have sold at the market for a decade. At one time they were baking for both Tuesday and Friday and preparing and serving the Friday meal. During Kay’s first years she usually baked through the night prior to market, going some 33 hours without much rest. Over time, she and Bill became more efficient at baking a vanload of pies, cakes, cookies and breads and getting a little sleep too. For the last couple of years, they sold only on Fridays.

We are certainly going to miss their goodies. Kay was well known for her pies and cakes, and Bill for his fruit breads and cookies. They don’t plan to abandon the market entirely. Bill helps his son, Bill, Jr., sell corn on Fridays and Kay plans to continue as a market customer and hopes to volunteer some at the market.

As famous as Kay is for her baked goods, I am equally famous for grabbing volunteers. I think it was two whole days after Kay told me she wanted to volunteer that I put her to work. A Globe reporter called needing a source for a story on relish. I called Kay and told her that her first volunteer job was to be featured on the Globe food page. We’ll have the article at today’s reception, along with photos of Kay and Bill from past markets, cookies from Trish Reed who took over the Friday meals, and a card for customers to sign (or better yet – bring your own card).

Today (Friday) is special for a couple of other reasons. Marlee’s Creamery is back with their raw milk after an absence of several weeks. They will be at the market on Tuesdays and Fridays and hope to eventually get back to Saturdays, too.

Also the market will conduct a “dot survey” today. It’s quick, easy, and – dare I say it? – fun. There are only four questions, each with several answers to choose from. We had 210 customers participate in the survey on Saturday and their responses told us that a majority (65%) of our Saturday customers travel 10 miles or less to the market, a quarter of our Saturday customers come to the market at least once a week while 33% of them come two or three times a month (19% were at the market for the very first time), most of our Saturday customers learned about the market through word of mouth, and most customers planned to spend $10 or more at the market.

This information will provide a baseline for a grant project that the market submitted to the USDA’s specialty crop program. If we get the grant, and we think we will, the market will organize a publicity program for about 25 markets in south Missouri. It will provide a daily cooking show featuring one of the markets and a crop in season and will be aired on a Joplin television station and a Springfield television station. There will also be a major internet presence as part of the project.

Webb City is providing the baseline information for the Joplin viewing area. I was at Fair Grove Wednesday doing the survey at their market to provide the baseline for the Springfield area.

If we get the grant, we’ll conduct the surveys again next year at the two markets. A successful project will show increases in numbers of customers, in the amount spent by customers and in customers identifying television and the internet as their introduction to the markets. Grantors are big on hard data and this survey will give us a firm foundation on which to build our data, so I hope you will take three minutes today to participate.

Also, happening today – lunch is spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, chocolate cake and drink for $6. Bailed Green & Wired Tight play from 11 to 1.

Tomorrow (Saturday), breakfast is served from 9 to 11 by volunteers from Lafayette House, our regional domestic violence shelter. The Missouri Mountain Gang livens up the market from 9:30 to 11:30 with their joyous bluegrass. There will be free streetcar rides from 10 to noon.

On Tuesday, Cooking for a Cause is served by the Webb City High School Choir Boosters.

I want to end with a thank you. With the incredible heat we’ve been experiencing, I half expected our customers to stay home in air-conditioning. I have to admit, had I the choice, I might have stayed in. But we had over 700 customers at the market Tuesday, even though our thermometer read 104 degrees. NALA had a profitable day serving lunch and the growers sold a good amount of produce. That kind of customer loyalty makes all the difference to our vendors who work hard to grow and gather produce regardless of the weather. So three cheers for our wonderful customers. Thank you.

Are you a champion pie baker?

2010-08-02T11:41:00.004-05:00

Peaches, blackberries, apples, blueberries, strawberries and rhubarb, oh my! There’s never a bad time to bake a pie. And if you need an extra incentive, Missouri First Lady Georganne Nixon’s pie contest is just around the corner.

Amateur bakers across Missouri are digging up their favorite recipes to bake some memories at the First Lady’s Pie Contest, Aug. 19 at the Missouri State Fair. And you can bake some memories too!

The First Lady’s Pie Contest is open to all amateur bakers and will be held Thursday, Aug. 19 at the Home Economics Building on the Missouri State Fairgrounds. You can enter by submitting your recipe and official Missouri State Fair entry form no later than Aug. 12. Pies in two categories, soft pies (custard/cream) and fruit pies, will be awarded cash prizes of up to $150. The Best of Show will receive $150.

For details on baking & submission requirements and to obtain an official entry form, visit First Lady's Pie Contest

Weird & Wonderful

2010-07-29T17:38:00.006-05:00

Gardening can produce the wonderful - and sometimes the weird. Jim Hefley from south of Joplin discovered a gigantic cucumber hiding in his garden this week. He doesn't know the variety - a neighbor gave him the seeds - but it's sure the biggest cucumber that I've ever seen.

BTW, his tomato plants are big too - in a deliciously edible way.

Webb City Sentinel column - 7-30-10

2010-07-28T22:35:00.007-05:00

We welcome back old friends today (Friday). Long-time growers, Doris Sweeton and Sandy Qualls from Columbus, Kansas, will be at the market for the first time this year. They’ll have green beans and sweet corn – and they always have beautiful produce. You’ll find them on the west side near the south end. (That's John Pate admiring the green beans of Doris and Sandy a couple of seasons ago.)

Doris said she was amazed they had corn. That’s because Sandy, her brother, has had quite a time getting a corn crop in. Four years ago, Sandy planted a beautiful field of corn and decided to go all natural, using placing corn oil on the tassels, which is supposed to prevent worms. Well, we’ll never know about the worms because he didn’t harvest a single ear. Apparently, the oil tasted just like butter to the deer and they took a bite out of every ear.

The next year Sandy put up a very high fence around the entire field, but a very sad sight met our eyes when we made our spring inspection. We could see the rows that had been planted, a few sparse plants and lots and lots of bird tracks. The crows had eaten 90% of the planted seed.

So you can appreciated Doris’ surprise that Sandy finally has a successful crop. After all that work and waiting, I am looking forward to trying it.

Another familiar face today is Frank Runyon who specializes in watermelon and cantaloupes. We’ve been short on both so Frank’s truckload of melons will be very welcome. You’ll find Frank in the center of the pavilion on the west side.

We also have a new face today in the form of a local non-profit – MDA (the Muscular Dystrophy Association). They have a bake sale next to the information table.
You may say – but that the space that belongs to Hazel’s Bakery! And up until today, that was true, but we’re sad to say that Kay and Bill McLaughlin of Hazel’s Bakery have retired as of last week. We’re going to miss them for many reasons, not only for their pies, cakes, fruit breads and cookies, but also for their kindness, generosity and sound advice. Kay first started selling at the market some ten years ago, initially selling mainly plants and a few baked goods. It wasn’t long before customer demand turned her into a professional baker and she put in a certified kitchen becoming one of our most popular vendors.

Next Friday, August 6, we’ve asked Bill and Kay to return to the market between 11 and 1 to say goodbye. Please plan to stop by. I’m sure cards would be especially appreciated. Kay said she plans to put together all the pictures and news articles about her market experience in a scrapbook and cards from customers would be a great addition.

We know that we can’t fill the gap left by Hazel’s Bakery, but we plan to host bake sales on Fridays, possibly until next season. Any nonprofits that would like to participate (& have high quality safe products) can all me at 483-8139 to schedule. This winter, we’ll look for a new professional Friday baker, operating out of a kitchen inspected by the health department. As with all our bakers, we’ll hold “auditions” to find the one that is just right for our market customers.

So what’s happening today? Bill Adkins is playing. Lunch is all-you-can-eat chili with the fixin’s, a fresh fruit cup and drink for $6. The last time the Reeds served the fresh fruit cup several of us ate way more than our fair share, especially Katie Fredrickson, of Fredrickson Farms. Katie ate so many of the fruit cups that Trish Reeds is just bringing a tub of fruit for Katey today. Katey is a living breathing testimony for eating fresh. That child loves her veggies and fruits and can often be seen eating pretty much any kind of produce the market has to offer raw.

Tomorrow breakfast is served by the Friends of the Library until 11 and the Red Bridge Trio returns to the market for two hours of dynamite bluegrass.

Saturday is also our annual Tomato Day. We’ve added smallest ripe tomato back to our Fun category due to popular demand. So if you have a tiny ripe tomato, bring it to the market between 8:30 and 9 tomorrow – but make sure it’s really small. Last year’s winner was about the size of a little fingernail. (At right, the large and the small winners from our first contest many years ago.)

Other Fun categories are heaviest tomato and weirdest tomato. Props are allowed for the latter. Last year Fairhaven won with a tomato that looked like a face – enhanced with a little straw hat.

The Quality categories require two tomatoes for the Best Red and the Other Color contests and six tomatoes in the Best Small (cherry or grape) contest. Our judges this year are Mike Wiggins of Granny Shaffers, Chef Scott Teal of the Holiday Inn and Gwen Hunt, a longtime market customer with flawless taste (I get brownie points for that, right, Gwen? - even though it is absolutely true.)

For those of us who are tasters, not gardeners, there will be samples of a variety of tomatoes from our growers as well as samples of a new bruschetta recipe. Recipes of that and several other tomato dishes are at the market, but if you’d like a head start:

Balsamic Vinegar Bruschetta

1 garlic clove, chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup Roma tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
grated Parmesan cheese
Redings Mill artisan bread
olive oil
garlic

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Mix together and then refrigerate for about two hours.
Slice the bread into wedges, rub with garlic and brush with olive oil. Toast until slightly brown.

Top the slices with the tomato and balsamic mixture. Sprinkle a pinch of grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Tuesday, NALA (Neighborhood Adult Literacy Action) will serve Cooking for a Cause and receive all the profits. They are a wonderful organization that trains volunteers and organizes tutoring for adults learning to read and for immigrants learning English.

There’s always something new and tasty showing up at the market, so come check out what’s in season.