From Chef Lesley Stiles:
This is a kitchen sink kind of stew. There are no rules. Use
whatever you find at the market and have on hand. If you are feeling frisky add
some crumbled feta on the top. If kinky is more apt a mood, top it all off w/
chopped Greek olives and drizzled lemon oil.
Autumn Vegetable Stew w/ Cous Cous
1 red onion, chopped or 1/2 bunch baby onions, sliced up the greens
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, split and chopped
2 zucchini, sliced
1 large Yukon gold potato, cubed
1/2 butternut squash, cubed
1 large eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 head of Gai lan, sliced (Chinese broccoli)
1/2 bunch rainbow Swiss chard, sliced
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh mixed herbs such as parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, mint
Salt and pepper
4 cups cooked cous cous
In a large, heavy bottomed pot heat olive oil and sautee onions and garlic until slightly browned. Add the eggplant, potato, butternut squash and carrots. Sautee for 10 minutes until caramelized. Add tomato sauce and stock. Let simmer 10 more minutes and add the pepper, zucchini, gai lan and chard. Let simmer for 5 minutes until greens are bright colored. Add herbs and season w/ salt and pepper. Serve over cous cous.
Serves 8.
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From the Director, Jessie
Neu:
MARKET ADVOCATES WANTED!
I recently came across an interesting "Old
-New Idea" that makes a lot of sense for...
CCCFM.
You can help us implement it at our
markets.
Here is how... Become a Farmer's
market promotion agent or "Buzz
Agent" if you will... promote small
farms and good, healthy eating.
This is easily done by... "Honest
word of mouth"... yes the oldest, tried
and true method of marketing... generating conversations
about what excites and draws you to our
farmers' markets.
This new catch phrase
is called "Buzz
Marketing"... strike up a conversation with
your friends... or send them our e-newsletter...
with your comment or... ask them to sign up for
the Lettuce Leaf.
How do we reward those who
help? Let us hear from you... Give
us your opinion - Good or Bad - and how we can
improve.
How
are we doing? Please remember these are
your markets too!
As Keith mentioned, our
new location on Locust Street will be the new home of the
Walnut Creek Farmers' Market... beginning in
January 2008. Our new diggs are a
little tucked away... but we're working closely
with the City of Walnut Creek to make sure the
relocation is a well publicized, smooth transition.
The target date to move South of Target
is Sunday, January 6th... Mark your Calendars!
We are also very excited to announce the
formation of a new partnership with John
Muir Health.
The moon and the stars have aligned for the
Walnut Creek Market... by being embraced
by our new neighbors at the Women's Health Center!
We are certain that this unique collaboration
is a natural connection to promote locally grown
foods by raising awareness in recognizing the
value of making the right choices for a good,
long, healthy life. We must reach those pregnant
mommies!
We thank the City of Walnut
Creek for their
help in facilitating the relocation. Funding
for promotion was also secured by CCCFM
through the Walnut Creek
Civic Pride Grant Program. We are very grateful
for being selected!
We will do our best to keep you updated on
the latest updates and information.
Help us to get the word out!
Have you noticed... lately there are more
walkers and bike riders? The
higher gas prices are helping us be more healthy
and reduce our carbon foot print.
LOCAL EVENTS:
Martinez:
Historical Society Home
Tour October 6, 10-4pm
Please visit their
website for
more information.
The National Park service brings
the historic sailing ship "The Alma" to
Martinez on Oct. 14.
Pleasant Hill:
Art, Jazz & Wine Fest. October 6,
10-6pm, Oct. 7, 10-5pm
Rodgers Ranch
National Herb Society - Oct. 13, 10am-3pm
Orinda:
Book Fair at the Orinda Library on
Oct. 6
Walnut Creek:
"Celebrate
the 60's in the Park"
Sunday, Oct. 14, Noon - 3 p.m.
Music, cooking demos, family fun
Civic Park, corner of Civic Drive and North
Broadway.
Brentwood:
Ark of the Taste Dinner - Slow Food -
Oct. 7, 5-9pm
Click
for online tickets.
Congratulations to the Walnut
Creek Healthy Restaurant Association in their efforts to
eliminate trans fats and promote fresh food!
2007 Farm Bill is in the US Senate. Contact
your Representatives. Take
action now.
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 October 19.
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Martinez:
Music 10/7: Paulette Rene
Music 10/14: Jose Reynolds
Manager: Joey McNaughton.
E-mail: mmarket@cccfm.org
From Joey McNaughton, Manager:
Well folks, I'm sad to say it's the beginning of the end - October concludes
the market season for Martinez. The last day will be the 28th. You may be
asking yourself, "This isn't peak-season, what's at the market besides
bitter greens?" Well, let me tell you - Rose Lane has heirloom
pumpkins,
Diaz, Mora, Paredez and J&J Farms have grapes,
nectarines, plums, peaches and pomegranates - oh my! (It's surprising how good
these fruits are despite the season).
 J&M
Organic Farms still has corn! Speaking
of J&M, have you
tried their mushrooms? I just made a soup with White Button and Oyster
mushrooms from their beautiful selection - delicious! My next adventure
is to fry some shiitake mushrooms in teriyaki sauce for a veggie sandwich -
look alive Chef Lesley Stiles! I'm reading a fascinating book on mushrooms called "Mycelium Running:
How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World" by Paul
Stamets, highly recommended for the sustainably inclined.
See you Sunday!
For
more info |
Orinda:
Music 10/6: Liedstrand Family Band
Music 10/13: Jim Caroompas
Manager: Janice Faust.
Cooking Demo: Lesley Stiles has a cooking demo on Saturday at 9 am.
E-mail: omarket@cccfm.org
From Jan Faust, Manager:
It is hard to believe that October is already here. The crisp,
cool mornings and sunny warm afternoons of Fall make for pleasant
days at the Farmers' Market. Customers have begun to ask when
our season will end. The last market of the season isn't until
November 17th, so there are still plenty of Saturdays to enjoy
at the Farmers' Market.
If you haven't been to the Market in a while stop by this Saturday and check out two of our newer vendors. Terra
Soaps has a beautiful selection of handmade soaps and natural body scrubs. Customers are excited about this unique product and are doing a little early holiday gift shopping. MJ
Kettle Corn joined us in September and has been happy with the positive customer response. I see lots of big bags of the freshly popped snack leave the Market every week. Everyone seems to like kettle corn and it makes a great snack for the game, movie night, or a play date.
This Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm is the Book Faire at the Orinda
Library. Since you will already have a parking space it will be easy
to visit both the Market and the Book Faire. Stop by the Manager's Booth and
say "hi".
For
more info |
Pleasant
Hill:
Music 10/6: Jose Reynolds
Music 10/14: Eddie Williams
Manager: Karen Stiles.
E-mail: pmarket@cccfm.org
From Karen Stiles, Manager:
So sad to loose Martin and his daughters to the walnut
harvest, this happens every year and is still a disappointment,
they are a charming family and the Barbagelata
Farms are lucky to have
them. See you next year Martin! Calderon
Organic Farms have a good selection of potatoes,
cabbage,onions, garlic, corn, melons and a lot more.
Also visit the ChongVang Farm and J&M
Organic Farms (Ibarra) for
a nice selection of vegetables. We still miss the Sou
Vang Family Farm and hope for a speedy recovery
for Mr. Vang. On a happier note, Rainbow
Farms sure
has a nice selection of apples and the freshest, tastiest
apple cider/juice in the greater Bay Area. Stop by
for a free sample. Rose Lane
Farms, Penny, has
beautiful squashes, little and big pumpkins,
and of course her heirloom tomatoes. J & J
Farms, Anna, still has a good selection
of fruit and fresh harvest nuts.
I had a couple, Wendy and Jim, from
our sister market in Nelson, New
Zealand stop by for
a visit Saturday. Wendy and Jim say thanks for the
help our Market association gave their Market to get
off the ground. The reason I have the pleasure of being
your market manager is thanks to the gentleman who had
this job before me, Geoff, who left to be with his family
in New Zealand, and he is the one that was instrumental
in getting their market off the ground. New Zealand is
just coming into Spring season and I hope they have a
season as good as the one we just had. I hope some of
you had time to put away some of the great harvest we
had this Summer. I know some of you will be missing
the Kettle Korn. You can find
them at the Clayton
Valley Pumpkin Farm all this month at the best
pumpkin farm in the greater Bay Area. Fresh Kettle Corn
is always available at the Orinda and Walnut
Creek markets. See you Saturday
at the best little farmers' market in the Bay Area.
For more info
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Walnut Creek:
Music 10/7: Acoustic S & M
Music 10/14: Bryan Harrison
Manager: Keith Farley.
E-mail: wmarket@cccfm.org
Cooking Demo: Lesley Stiles will be doing
a cooking demo in Civic Park on Sunday October 14th from
noon to 1:30 am.
From Keith Farley, Manager:
Okie Dokie, here we go! The final date and location has
been set for the market's relocation. The last market for
2007 and for the current location will be December 16 and
the market will be closed the 30th and reopen
in the new location on the morning of January
6, 2008.
Just to remind you - and you will hear this until you repeat it in your sleep
- the new location is on North Locust
from Giamona to Lacassie (near Target) and the hours will remain the same for the
time being. When we move we will be in the winter hours
so it will be 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Until then we will be
open every Sunday at 8:00 am. There is much work to do in
the meantime. A completely new way of doing things. I will
keep you updated in future newsletters.
 I sat down and had lunch with our beloved Bakesale Betty this
past week and she told me that she is going to give up her spot at the market.
Over a tear-stained chicken sandwich (my tears, not hers) she said that the future
was too uncertain and the bakery has taken on a life of its own, she is not
sure if they could return and she did not want the market to do without a pastry
bakery. We will start looking for a new bakery and there are no shortage of
candidates. It will be hard to replace Betty and her items baked with love, but
we will see what we can do.
For
more info.
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FROM
OUR MARKETS by
Chef Lesley Stiles |
As summer fruit and vegetables begin to wane, holes on
the tables are quickly filled with cooler weather
loving produce. Dark, leafy greens glisten with morning dew vividly tempting us
to try new loves. Lettuce has joined the fashion parade sporting
deep ruby leaves and chartreuse green dresses. Onions are sweeter
having withstood the summer heat, while cucumbers
and radishes are
shape fully restored and sweeter than ever. We have a huge selection
of winter crops in good old Nor Cal.
 Autumn apples are blasting us with their perfume
as we stroll down farmers' market isles awakening long forgotten
memories of sugar sweet varieties. Stan is pulling out all the stops
this year with some new heirloom choices to try. My backyard apples
pulled a Cinderella and are all set up in shiny jars looking and tasting
lovely.
Grapes are still weighing down tables as are
melons but it is all fading fast.
The tomatoes in the Troy Spencer and College
Park organic gardens are giving in to the southern pull but
our students have potted and started many winter
garden crops ready to take their place. We are actually already eating
a few snow peas from them. Participation has rapidly become popular
in both gardens. Between foods classes, biology, science, leadership
and special ed we are training a new crop of farmers and farmers' market
shoppers who are rapidly developing a very high standard for not only
what they eat, but where it comes from. Hopefully this will get handed
down to their own "students" in
a never ending, sustainably nutritious lifestyle
perpetuation. That was a mouthful.
As it cools down we naturally head towards soups
and stews. Simply sauteed vegetables with a little
of your fresh tomato sauce and herbs artfully
metamorphs into a luscious stew to drape over steaming cous cous drizzled
with lemon oil and sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs.
Broken record alert: GET OUT THERE! This is seriously
the best time of the year to walk in our parts here. The air is electric
w/ the energy of trees changing leaves and critters banking it up
for winter. Think velvet on your skin and clarity in your brain!
Lesley
Stiles can be reached at chef@cccfm.org or
on the market hotline 925 431-8361.
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WHAT'S BEEN, WHAT'S IN, WHAT'S OUT by
Barbara Kobsar |
 Apples, Apples, Apples. October is National
Apple Month for good reasons
- it's the best time to find a crunchy, juicy,
tasty apple at the farmers' markets.
I'm happy to report finding several varieties of apples at
the markets each week. All apples are suitable for eating out-of-hand - just
choose the one you like. Apples come large, small, sweet, tart,
tangy and spicy, but all should be crisp. Remember if you're
using the apples for baking pies, tarts or crisps some hold their
shape better than others when heated, so Granny
Smith, Pippin and Rome Beauty tend to be the best choices. Golden
Delicious work well
for applesauce since they do not discolor as quickly as others.
A bowl of shiny skinned apples makes a beautiful center piece on
the kitchen table, but apples really need to
be refrigerated. They're
ripe and ready when you see them at the farmers' markets and
begin to break down quickly if left at room
temperature. "Tree-ripened apples should be eaten within a
week of buying," says
apple-man Stan Devoto. Then it's time to come back to the
market and pick up some more he says. Devoto
grows several varieties of his heirloom apples
at his farm in Sebastopol - look
for Arkansas Black, Black Twig, Hoover and
Sierra Beauty in the line up.
A quick look around the market and I see several growers with bins
of fresh-picked apples. Crisp, juicy, large Fuji are a hit with
many shoppers, and Jonathans offer a pleasant tartness I appreciate.
The Mutsu and Pink Lady are steadily gaining ground as all
time favorites for eating out of hand. There's no better time
to get to know your apple varieties and savor the flavors!
New-season dried fruit is in! Hamada Farms offers a full spread
of dried fruits including their white and yellow peaches, pluots,
nectarines, apricots and tomatoes. They're great for a quick
snack or coarsely chopped and tossed on cereal or yogurt - and dried
fruits give me a taste of summer all year long.
Ana Ruvalcaba is ready to brighten up anyone's
day with her buckets of fresh cut flowers.
She offers bunches of roses in a rainbow of
colors, and it's
hard to resist the stems of sunflowers with
their cheery faces. Making mixed bouquets is one of Ana's
specialties - just ask, she says.
The last of the summer squash and melons are slipping away, but
there are plenty of winter squash on the way. Shirley Lea from Cabrillo
Farms already has a unique display of heirloom
pumpkins that I'll
be checking out this week.
Enjoy and see you at the market!
Barbara Kobsar can be reached at cotkitchen@aol.com or
call (925) 933-2552.
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