Edward Vielmetti is inviting you to A2B3 lunch on Thursday at Eastern Accents in Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

Molly's October coconut squash soup

Recipe adapted from directions and shopping hints from Molly at Farmer's Market.

Molly's October squash soup

Ingredients:

onion

garlic

ginger

winter squash, peeled and diced (I used butternut and delicata)

Saute onion, garlic, and ginger in olive or coconut oil.  Add the squash, cook until everything smells nice and the squash is a little bit browned.   Deglaze the pan with a little wine (I used rice wine), then add

diced tomatoes (canned or fresh, I used canned because tomatoes were $4/box)

coconut milk (I used about 1/2 can)

hot stock (I used vegetable stock, you could use chicken stock)

Bring to a boil then simmer covered for a long time until everything is well cooked and soft.  Next time I'll blend the soup so that it's a puree, but we ate it tonight without doing that, and it was still delicious - much, much better than last year's bland pumpkin soup attempt.  I'm sure it was the coconut!

2009 ann arbor farmers market peaches are in - apricots too

A quick post on my way from the Ann Arbor Farmers Market to work at AnnArbor.com.  It's art fair today, so there will be a zillion people on Liberty Street; the food coop is pretty quiet.

The notable new item at farmer's market today was peaches.  Two vendors, Erie Orchards and Kapnick Orchards, both had peaches for sale - Kapnick had the Flaming Fury variety, and Erie had Garnet Beauty.   Here's what the net has to say about both of these:

"Flamin' Fury" is a line of patented fruit varieties (23 different sorts of peaches) which includes cultivars ranging from PF 1 which matures very early to PF Big George which matures very late.  This list of varieties shows the whole range - most are clingstone or semiclingstone, especially the earlier ones.

Garnet Beauty is a bud mutation of the Red Haven peaches and was discovered in Garnet Bruner's orchard in Ontario.  It's listed as a semiclingstone.

There were apricots at market too - yum.

A bud mutation of Red Haven, this cultivar was selected in the Garnet Bruner Orchard, of Ontario, Canada

saturday Ann Arbor farmer's market report, u-pick fruit coming up, and what's in bloom

I was at market on Saturday (yesterday) and kept an eye out for fruit and for new things at market.  Here's some details.

Sour cherries were gone; sweet cherries were $5-$6 per quart.
Both Erie Orchards and Sodt's Berry Farm had blueberries for $40 for a 10# lug.
Basil, $1.00 to $1.25 a small bag, or $10/# (organic).
Grandma from Grandma's Kitchen brought 70 dozen eggs and was sold out at noon.

The U-Pick local report from Mark Charles:

Dexter Blueberry Farm's web site says they'll open on July 20. 

Makielski's raspberry farm says "2 weeks"  (about July 25.)

and the field report from the Buhr Park wet meadow from Andy Brush

Today at wet meadow II, I saw the following in bloom:

• Bee Balm
• Black Eyed Susan
• Yellow Coneflower
• Prairie Dack (just getting going)
• Butterfly Milkweed
• Hoary Vervain
• Daisy Fleabane
• Common Milkweed

the farmer's market report, day 7

day 7 of a continuing series documenting my new job at annarbor.com

There's a wonderful weekly program on KCRW in Santa Monica called Good Food.  Host Evan Kleiman does a roundup of reporting from the restaurants and farmers markets around Los Angeles, with interviews with restaurant owners, talks with farmers at markets about the produce they are bringing to market this week, and feature stories about restaurant excursions into the many cuisines that make up LA.  It's a very fun show, and especially when it's the middle of an Ann Arbor winter there's something sunny and cheery about hearing that something is in season somewhere.

I went to the Wednesday market at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market today.  It's about six blocks from the office, and for a number of years I've been a regular there, either at the Wednesday or the Saturday market.  I came with pencil and pad of paper in hand and no shopping basket and walked around looking at what was there, and what caught my eye was berries - lots of berries - really, the high season of the berry season.  So to provide a proper catalog, here's what's in season at market this week:

• Strawberries.  Nearing the end of the season.
• Blueberries.  Just starting the season.
• Gooseberries, red and green.  One vendor, Wasem's.
• Currants, red and black, also both at Wasem's.
• Blackberries.
• Mulberries.  I was surprised to see them, because I think of them as street tree food, but they were there.
• Red Raspberries, both conventional and organic.
• Cherries, sweet, sour, and Queen Anne.  I've taken a taste to the sour cherries - more flavor and less sweet.

I might have missed black raspberries; they are ripe in bushes around town, including at Wheeler Park and Wurster Park.  The juneberry / serviceberry season is either over or just about over depending on the tree you go to.   Molly Notarianni, the market manager, says she saw wild gooseberries along a path around Pickerel Lake, near the stone fireplaces.

Ann Arbor Farmers Market report for June 27, 2009

mostly pulled from twitter, but also from some field reporting from your fearless market reporter.

The Farmer's Marketer (Kim Bayer) notes

"Committee forming to determine if year round indoor farmers market viable in downtown Ann Arbor." Open House 7.8.09. 3:30-7pm. Eaton Bldg.

I don't have a URL to point to for this one for more details but you could ask Kim.

Jeff McCabe is on a misson to create "as many hoop houses in our area as these efforts can muster"; he has resources to support two of them to be built this fall, contact him for the application due July 10.

At the market this week: cherries (tart and sweet), gooseberries from Wasem's (we got there too late, they were sold out), pea shoots from Gardenworks (again we got there too late), squash blossoms, some very wonderful radishes, little potatoes, several kinds of kale, peas in the shell, peas where you eat the shell, peas out of the shell, strawberries, eggs, horseradish, coffee from Roos Roast.  It was a very busy summer market day with every stall full or nearly so. 

What to do with all of this bounty?  Erica (erksnerks) says
    pitting tart cherries right this minute got 3 quarts pie for dinner!
mmm, pie.

Ann Arbor Westside Farmers Market on hold due to zoning restrictions

If you can figure out the City of Ann Arbor zoning, you're better than me.

The Westside Farmers Market, which has been holding court in the parking lot of Zingerman's Roadhouse, has put off its 2009 season until zoning issues get resolved. 

Ann Arbor's Westside Farmers' Market is currently "on hold" due to zoning restrictions from the city of Ann Arbor.

The Ann Arbor News story by Judy McGovern reads

The property's C3 zoning is the most relaxed of the three commercial categories, but it doesn't allow the kind of "special use" permits that can be issued to properties in the more restrictive C1 and C2 categories.

That appears to be an oversight in the regulations, and city officials are working to change the code, said City Council Member Carsten Hohnke, whose 5th Ward includes the property.

I read through city code; it appears that C3 zoning (5:10.23) for the properly in question is preferential to properties where automotive access is the characteristic function:

(1)   Intent.  The design and regulations of this district are set up to provide for certain types of commercial activities which have characteristics in common. In this district, the customer usually comes directly to the particular establishment by automobile, making a separate stop for each errand. Comparison shopping activity is less than in the central business district. Since there is little essential interdependence of activities, establishments can be dispersed over considerable areas with each establishment having its own automobile parking. Good automobile accessibility is essential to these districts. The uses permitted, because of their lack of intense pedestrian activity and their required contact with auto access, would be incompatible in the central business district. 

The get-out-of-jail-free card is this language on special use permits, as described in the C-1 Local Business District language (5.10.15):

(h)   The City Council may, by resolution, designate certain dates and locations as special events temporary outdoor sales areas. Said resolution shall include conditions and standards of conduct to be in force for outdoor sales and displays on private property. A property owner who wishes to conduct outdoor sales and displays on his or her private property, as provided for in the council resolution, shall first apply for and receive a Zoning Compliance Permit by the date designated in the resolution. The conditions and standards contained in the resolution shall be conditions of the Zoning Compliance Permit issued to a property owner. Failure to comply with the conditions set in the resolution shall be a violation of this ordinance section and shall be grounds to revoke all permits granted to the property owner for the duration of the special event identified in the resolution.

The question, is appears, is whether the C-1 "special events" language applies to C-3 zoning, or whether there is no permit possible for someone in the automotive, big box, strip mall and huge parking lot district to ever do a temporary outdoor sales area.  

Given that Zingerman's had a previous permit for this use I suspect there's some other story not yet being told.  Your guess is as good as mine what prompted this whole snafu.  Zingerman's has had disputes with the city about their 322 E Kingsley property's zoning , which have come to council recently.

saturday: menu plan, Used Cars, 1880s ann arbor panorama

The menu plan for tonight for the late supper for the resident scholar: spring salad w/asparagus, oyster mushrooms from Alpena, eggs from Grandma's Kitchen, spinach from Brines Farm, savory tofu from the coop, and a curry dressing. The boys will probably get something a lot simpler.

I wish I had rhubarb to have made stewed rhubarb but I got there to market too late.  A stewed rhubarb is a compote, which is not to say a compost.  Don't eat the leaves, they have oxalic acid which is toxic.

Thanks to @teacherpatti for the Farmers Market heads-up, to @suchpretty for the pretty things to look at at market, and to @roosroast and crew resplendent in ties selling coffee with a movie recommendation (here's a scene from Used Cars)

You ought to buy it right now.
This Buick is you.

One thing that came up along the way was a mention of the Arborwiki stickers; here's the art that I have

The current market location is just to the north of the old location, which was the grounds of the county courthouse visible upper right in this 1880s panorama view.

where and when to find pea greens or pea tips?

Every year I look forward to finding pea greens, so that I can stir fry them up.  And every year at the farmer's market I don't find them.  I hope this year can be different, but I have some questions.

If I wanted to grow pea greens on my own, what variety of peas would I use?
Are pea vines usually sprayed, and would you want to look out for no-spray vendors?
When is the best time to pick?
Do you lose all of the pod harvest or can you have both?
If I harvested a bushel of vines from a U-Pick operation would they look at me funny?

Our traditional pea-picking weekend here is Father's Day, when we go to Rawsonville for peas and strawberries and we make sure to take sunblock and water (note to future self).

What's at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market, March 21, 2009

Molly is publishing market lists; here's last week's.  I don't yet have a vendor list that goes with it.

March 21, 2009! 

• Apples
• Baked goods
• Beef
• Beet greens
• Beets
• Bison
• Biscotti
• Cider
• Cupcakes
• Delicious chocolate cookies
• Cultivated mushrooms
• Coffee (including hand-pulled espresso!)
• Dulce du leche
• Eggs
• Honey
• Jams & jellies
• Kale
• Lamb
• Maple Syrup
• Onions
• Popcorn
• Potatoes
• Delicate salad greens
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Tamales
• Winter squash

+ a delightful selection of crafts, plants, and flowers!

Radish salad with soy and sesame dressing

This is the simplest possible thing to make with a bunch of radishes fresh from farmers market ($1.25 this week).

one bunch radishes
vinegar
soy sauce
sesame oil

Wash and trim the radishes.  Slice thin, put in a bowl.  Add vinegar (I used white vinegar, but rice vinegar would do well), soy sauce, and a little sesame oil; you're after enough to moisten, not to cover.  Let sit a few minutes before eating.  Put the leftovers, if there are any, in the fridge; eat them while writing at night.

The original recipe had sesame seeds, but I didn't bother this time.

It should work with all kinds of radishes, and next time I have a daikon I'll use this same recipe.

Slice the radishes thin; this didn't work as well one time when I made them chunks.  I've seen recipes where you do matchstick style slices.

If you insist on measuring the ingredients for this, you should tell me the proportions you use; I've done it enough times that I just pour in whatever seems reasonable.