From Chef Lesley Stiles:
Not-So-Rich
Strawberry Shortcake
1 quart strawberries
1/2 cup honey
1 recipe shortbread (below)
2 cups plain yogurt
Wash, hull and slice the strawberries.
Mix honey into the yogurt.
Bake the shortbread following the
recipe below.
To assemble, place the bottom shortcake
on a serving platter.
Spoon half the strawberries over
it.
Dollop with yogurt, reserve about
two tablespoons for decorating the
top layer and then put on the top
layer.
Spoon the rest of
the strawberries into the shortcake.
Top with remaining yogurt. Best if
served immediately.
Makes 6 dessert servings.
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Shortcake
Short Dough
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1/2 cup skim milk
2 teaspoon grated orange peel
In food processor bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking
powder and salt. Drop in butter and pulse until mixture
resembles coarse meal. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl blend milk, orange peel and one whole
egg.
Pour egg mixture into flour mixture; gently mix to
form a soft ball of dough. On a floured surface, divide
dough in half. Roll into 9 inch circles.
Prick each circle with a fork. Brush generously with
the remaining egg white, beaten. Sprinkle tops with additional
sugar.
Bake at 425° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden
brown. Assemble shortcake using hot or cold shortbread.
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From the General Manager, Jessie
Neu:
Welcome: Our new contributors to the
Lettuce Leaf!
Welcome: Miramonte Farms and
J & J Farms
Hawaiian Regional Coffees will be
out of the Market for the next 2 weeks (April 29th & May
6th) due to illness.
On May 6
Walnut Creek Market summer hours begin:
8am to 1pm
On May 6
Crafts and artists will shift to Pleasant
Hill and Martinez during the peak season.
Taking part and participating ...
Two events that we participated in last weekend
in Martinez at the John
Muir Birthday and the
Lafayette Earth Day Celebrations were very
successful opportunities to reconnect with
old friends and make new friends who share
similar ideas about changing the direction of our
future and protecting our resources.... particularly
water and food.
It was an awakening for many who had not considered
the reasons why to support small farms and shop
at their local farmers' markets.
Several people were converted. This
was especially evident when they were
made aware of the fact that California is
the most self regulated state in the nation. There
are extensive rules and requirements with
respect to pesticide regulation and application.
The small family farmers are working hard to
grow clean and without synthetic chemicals.
Recent news stories about food - for human
consumption, is shedding light on the
importance of knowing where our food sources
are coming from.
Do we really know? .... We are much better
off to establish them at the very least from
the State of California.
Food terrorism is a scary thought.
Once people recognize and register this understanding,
they begin to realize that buying food from
other countries is not a good idea.
Eat in season
Buy Local
Buy California grown.
*Pay attention to the 2007 Farm Bill
California has received less
than 6 percent of the Federal Funding for specialty crops which
are fruits and vegetables.
Taking one for the Team......
I really love the Dunk Tank idea! Can you
imagine the list of nominees? It would be
endless! You should see the smiles on peoples
faces when the topic is suggested..... it seems
everyone knows a person who they would love
to throw a couple of balls at..... What?... it's
all in good fun! Right?
It would be a great, perpetuating opportunity
to extend to all the communities...
We could have thermometers gaging who got
the most votes to sit in the tank and another
gage for who sold the most throws. I suggest
Martinez since it is the county seat.... plus
it would be "good O'l fashion" fun! What
a fundraising event! Heck.... it could
grow to be weekly!
Mr. Keith.... you first... the cream floats
to the top! Folks can you see the splash!
Jessie Neu can be reached at gm@cccfm.org |
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In this Issue: |
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Next issue of The Lettuce Leaf Newsletter will be on May 11.
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 Martinez:
Market will open for the season Sunday May 6th.
Music 5/6: Acoustic S & M
Manager: Joey McNaughton.
E-mail: mmarket@cccfm.org
From Joey McNaughton, Manager:
Hello
Farmers' Market community! I'd like to introduce myself as the new Martinez
Site Manager, Joey McNaughton. I'm grateful to be part of this ever-expanding
local family. We only have one more week until the grand opening on May
6th, here in Martinez, so mark your calendar and tell everyone you know.
We'll be kicking off the season with a post "Cinco de Mayo Celebration" so
take a walk down to Main Street and support the delicious local produce,
local music and good ol' fashioned local festivities - and bring your
kids too! It's healthy fun for the whole family (but please keep your
pets at home, Health Department orders)!
Everyone has been really helpful in getting me on my way with CCCFM and
we're all putting in the final touches to get the season started. I'm
excited to meet the challenge and it's inspiring to be part of such a
responsible, grass-roots organization. A thanks goes to Leanne Peterson,
Executive Director of Main Street for her enthusiasm and collaboration
with the Market. When you come down this Sunday (as you will be every
Sunday, right?) be sure to stop by the information booth if you have
any questions, comments or suggestions, even if it's just to say "hello" -
I've got a lot of names and faces to learn.
As for myself, I've lived in Martinez all my life, graduated from
Alhambra and went to art school for a couple years doing photography.
At that point I realized the best thing I could do for myself was to
grow my own food and started a garden in the backyard. The garden has
steadily increased to 700 square feet and continues growing. I've been
focusing on John Jeavon's "GROW BIOINTENSIVE" method of mini-farming
and growing more compost crops every year. If you're new to the idea
or interested in finding out more on self-sustainable agriculture check
out these websites: www.growbiointensive.org, www.bountifulgardens.org.
See you next Sunday!
For
more info |
 Orinda:
Market will open for the season Saturday May 12th.
Music 5/12: Growiser
Manager: Janice Faust. E-mail: omarket@cccfm.org
From Jan Faust, Manager:
Greetings Orinda Shoppers,
Opening day is almost upon us and I am really looking forward
to seeing old friends and new. Speaking of new... we
have been hard at work behind the scenes to bring you
a "new and improved" Orinda Farmers' Market.
For starters, we are moving to a great
new location on Orinda Way, right in front of Rite Aid.
This is a very exciting move and we think the new location
is just about perfect for us. All of your favorite vendors
and growers will be back, and we have also added several
brand new vendors that will be great additions to our
Market. Join us May 12th as we celebrate not only
the opening of our 10th season in Orinda, but CCCFM's
25th season operating Farmers' Markets in Contra
Costa County. We have lots of special events planned
so bring a friend and come on down. I'll
be looking for you.
For
more info |
 Pleasant
Hill:
Market will open for the season Saturday May 5th.
Music 5/5 : Bryan Harrison
Manager, Karen Stiles. E-mail: pmarket@cccfm.org
From Karen Stiles, Manager:
Welcome back! We are opening this season for the 25th time!!
We are the oldest Farmers' Market in the East Bay! We
have all worked hard to keep the market running and
would like for you to come celebrate with us on May 5th,
our 25th Anniversary. We will be inviting new vendors
and welcoming back the dedicated ones who
have been with us for the duration. Twee- Twee our
favorite clown will be on site to entertain us and the kids,
there will be a scavenger hunt to test your market knowledge...
Trelany Ln. will be closed from Gregory Ln. to the Bed Bath Beyond
driveway. This will accommodate the expanded market for this
day only. We have asked several community groups to
participate on opening day and look forward to
all the information they will share with us. The cherry
and apricot crop look promising this year. We had
a good cold snap, and no late rain so by May we should see
a good cherry crop and come June some terrific apricots,
nectarines and peaches. The strawberries are ripe, ready
and sweet! We look forward to our 25th opening and seeing
familiar faces and new faces too! Come on down and help us
elebrate and enjoy fresh, local produce.
For more info |
 Walnut Creek:
Music 4/29: Diego Jamo
Music 5/6: Idyll Frets
Manager: Keith Farley. E-mail: wmarket@cccfm.org
From Keith Farley, Manager:
There is a lot of buzz about the upcoming relocation
and I really appreciate all the questions and interest
about it from everyone. As I have mentioned in
earlier articles, this has been a painstaking process
that has gone on over 2 years. I started to scout
new locations when the city announced the proposed library
project several years ago and I and all the CCCFM
staff looked high and low for a suitable location that
would not only give the community access to the market
but allow us room to grow and better serve the community.
Here
are a few of the considerations we had to look at while
determining the new location, 1) public safety, 2) access
for the public (handicap, parking level surfaces etc.),
3) emergency considerations (fire, police etc.) 3) suitability
to our needs, 4) impact on the local businesses and the
community and 5) future growth of the area chosen (development
plans). There were many more areas of concern that
had to be addressed as well. We set off like Lewis and
Clark to explore the possibilities of Walnut Creek; we
looked at Heather Farms, Shadelands, central downtown
streets, private parking lots, schools and so on. The
only location that met all of our requirement and the
city's was the North Locust location. The
city was doing a study to determine the best location
parallel to ours and we both arrived at the same location
at the same time for all the same reasons. There
has been concern from the local business in the area
immediately adjacent to the new location with regards
to the amount of traffic and parking issues. I have assured
them that we are the best neighbors they will ever have
and probably ever will. The shoppers that attend
the farmers' markets are the best consumers they
could ever hope for to walk past their establishments. We
are constantly striving to educate the uninitiated in
the benefits of community based farmers' markets and
how they add value to the community. I am told
that the sales team at the Mercer Condominiums is using
the fact that the farmers' market will be next
door to the complex. Smart people. I will
be writing on this in the weeks and months ahead and
keep you apprised of all the new details. As always,
if you have any questions... ASK.
What's new at the market? Well, I would fully
expect to see the first cherries of the season to appear
this week and early varieties of apricots to follow in
the next few weeks. The weather plays a
lot into the timing but generally there is only a few
weeks variance in arrival times. Your best bet
is to ask your favorite farmer how the crops are coming
and get the timing straight from them, they know best.
I am not sure how the current water/drought situation
will affect everything and since EBMUD has asked for
water conservation in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
This does not bode well for an easy summer. We'll
see.
The seasonal markets are set to open next week! This
is a bitter sweet thing for me. Every year when
the other markets open, I loose some of you to them.
Hurray, you are supporting your local market as you should
but I miss you stopping by on Sunday and chatting with me
so here is the solution, shop both days! Simple.
Since this is the 25th year of the Contra Costa Certified
Farmers' Markets, there will be celebrations at
all of the markets so make plans to hit all the markets,
Pleasant Hill May 5th , Orinda May 12th and Martinez
May 6th on opening day to partake in the fun. Orinda
has a new location on Orinda Way with better access and
parking; see the Orinda market section for all those
details.
The Walnut Creek 25th celebration will take place on
the 15th of July and while the events are still being
planned, I know that there will be plenty of events for
the kids and the rest of the family.
The issue of the dunk tank has seems to not be going
away so I will say this, If someone will donate the use
of a tank I will take one for the team. So if you
know someone or an organization with a dunk tank and
would let it be put to good use for a day, make it happen
and I will take a dive. I do have a question for
you though, why should I be the only one in the tank?
Isn't there another somebody that you might want to see get
wet? Maybe a city council person, a local
business owner, restaurateur, or even a state senator
or other official? I can think of a few.
See you the market,
For
more info.
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FROM
OUR MARKETS by
Chef Leslie Stiles |
It seems like the importance of buying locally grown
food is not only a great idea but a safe one.
Knowing, as we now do, that the USDA and the
FDA have virtually no way to enforce regulations
on imported foods and additives with even less power to do any type
of inspections on imports, it makes a lot of sense to get your foods
from someone you can talk face to face with. While it was pet food
laced with contaminants looking the other way was easy, but now
hundreds of different prepared food products are showing forms of
contamination from unregulated additives. Not so easy to ignore.
Perhaps it ain't the stomach flu after all. Good rule of thumb,
if there are more than three or four ingredients in the list on
the packaging, don't buy it.
 Lucky
for us all the seasonal farmers' markets are
opening to make it abundantly easier to access
local food. Lately we have been seeing more variety at the markets
as far as non produce food goes. Hunter
Holding is
in with his local beef, raised in Briones and
not given any supplemental food, hormones or
antibiotic and never setting foot in a feed
lot. Bakesale
Betty, Great Harvest, Traci's Granola, Bridgie's
Buckets, All Star Tamales and more all make their own food
from scratch attempting to utilize market produce
as much as possible. With almonds, honey, dried
fruit and other nuts it makes it a lot more
convenient to pick up whole foods to start
the prepare and supply chain for your meals.
Breaking the grab and go cycle of eating is as difficult as breaking
any bad habit and also as essential to over
all health and well being to do. With the resources
of the farmers' market we have the key to living our lives without
the added stress of wondering which contaminants we are eating today
and instead can revel in the lusciousness of that fresh picked,
methyl bromide free strawberry and pesticide free asparagus along
with fresh made bread and organic beef.
Strawberries are busting onto the scene bigger and sweeter than
ever due to the late freeze. Pete Medina attributes more time for
the plants to develop underground and emerge with a stronger system
to the taste and bounty.
Stone fruits are expected to react the same
way this year with a huge, incredibly flavorful crop starting soon
with local cherries!
Pleasant Hill opens on May 5th with a huge
25th Anniversary celebration.
Martinez follows the next day May 6th and Orinda
May 12th!
See you on the trail or at the market or maybe
BOTH
Lesley Stiles can be reached at chef@cccfm.org or
on the market hotline 925 431-8361 |
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