Walnut Creek Hours:
May-November - Peak Season
8 - 1
December-April - Winter Season
9 - 1
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From Chef Lesley Stiles:
This is the recipe that Kelly
Burgoyne did
for us last Sunday. It was a hit!
Butternut Squash Risotto:
An exquisite Venetian dish, perfectly flavored for
a fall evening.
Recipe Serves 4
10 oz (300 g) Butternut Squash - cleaned and diced
1 lg. clove garlic- finely chopped
1 lg. yellow onion- finely chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Dry (white) Vermouth or dry White Wine
2 cups (14 oz / 450 g) Arborio Rice
4 cups (1 liter) canned Chicken Stock
Mascarpone (Italian cream cheese)
4 tablespoons Parmesan/Pecorino cheese - freshly grated
fine Sea Salt, freshly ground Pepper
1 tablespoon Italian Parsley - finely chopped
Begin by pouring all of the Broth into a sauce pan, bring this to a
boil.
Place Squash in another heavy-bottomed saucepan with the Galric, Onion,
Oil and half the Butter. Saute, stirring, over medium heat, for 8 minutes.
Add the Risotto and the Vermouth/Wine and continue cooking for 3-5
minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the boiling Stock gradually (1 cup at a time) while stirring
frequently. When the liquid is absorbed, add the next cup, and so on.
The Risotto should cook in about 25 minutes. When finished, add the rest
of the Butter, Parmesan / Pecorino cheese and Salt & Pepper.
Serve immediately, in a shallow-wide bowl, with a dollop of the
Mascarpone Cheese on top of each serving. Sprinkle with chopped Parsley.
Buon Appetito!
Note: To add a special touch- try frying Sage leaves in a little butter,
until they turn 'crispy'. Place a few on top of each bowl of Risotto.
Bravissimo!
Ginger Cake
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons powdered ginger
8 Tablespoons butter (1 stick)
½ cup turbinado sugar
2 eggs
1 ¼ cup molasses
1 cup boiling water
Preheat oven to 375°. Grease and flour
an 8 inch square baking pan.
Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together.
Add eggs and mix well.
Add molasses and mix well.
Add boiling water and combine with dry ingredients
and beat until smooth.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 45
minutes until pick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool on a rack. Serve
warm with the above suggestion or really good
vanilla or pumpkin ice cream.
Green Onions Sautéed
with Mushrooms and Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli)
3 stalks of green onion, sliced thin
1 bunch of Gai Lan, sliced thin
½ pound of cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Heat a large skillet and add olive
oil. Let heat for a few seconds and
add the green garlic. Sauté for
a minute or two and add the broccoli
and mushrooms. Let cook until the Gai
Lan is bright green and season with
salt and pepper.
Serves 4 generously.
Lesley Stiles is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and the Community
Relations person for Contra Costa Certified Farmers' Markets.
She can be reached at chef@cccfm.org, or
the market hotline at 925 431 8361.
For
more recipes
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 Orinda:
Music: Bryan Harrison Band
Manager: Janice Faust.
E-mail: omarket@cccfm.org
Harvest Festival and closing day for the season.
Cooking
demo with market chef Lesley Stiles from 10 - 12.
From Jan Faust, Manager:
Thank you Orinda shoppers for your loyal support. It's always
sad to say goodbye to our grower, vendor
and customer friends. Remember that you can see many of us and get your
fix of fresh, locally grown
fruit and veggies at the Walnut Creek Farmers' Market year round, every
Sunday, rain or shine. I will
be there and I hope to see you there, too. Please join us this Saturday
at the Orinda Farmers' market
for the final week of our season. We still have an amazing array of
produce and it's a great chance
to do a little Thanksgiving Dinner shopping. Lesley Stiles will be doing
a cooking demo. The band
is one of my favorites. It will be lots of fun so bring a friend and
come on down. Stop by the
manager's stall and say "hi".
More
info
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 Walnut Creek:
Music: Carlos Reyes
Manager: Keith Farley. E-mail: wmarket@cccfm.org
Cooking Demo: Thanksgiving cooking demo with market chef Lesley Stiles 10 am to noon
Market Hours:
May thru Nov.- 8am to 1pm.
On Dec. 3rd the winter hours change to 9am to 1pm thru
April.
From Keith Farley, Manager:
As Jessie mentioned I am back in the saddle again. After
three weeks off it was sure nice to get back and see
all your smiling faces on a Sunday morning. When
I left, it was warm and spring like and in three short
weeks the leaves had fallen and the rains came and it
was down right chilly on Sunday morning. I spent
two weeks in China and one week in Tibet (I know, but
don't get me started on that argument) and among the
sight seeing and food adventures I had time to observe
some of the farming and agricultural sights as well.
China for all its advances and economic strides still
has the majority of it's farmers plowing
their fields with a wooden plow and oxen/water buffalo.
Farm machines were few and far between and most of the
fields were being tended by old men and small children.
The fields looked nice and were well maintained. The
produce was good looking and fresh. Despite the
good looking fields and produce I did observe the use
of pesticides/herbicides in almost every field I saw.
Now China does not export much and the farms I saw were
relatively small not big commercial endeavors but I got
no sense of any controls in the use of poisons in the farming.
This brings me back to the seasonal eating and eating local
where you know what controls are in place and can trust
the source of your food. I know, I sound like a
broken record... Keep
it local and keep it fresh.
Did you happen to catch the cooking demo this past Sunday? Butternut
Squash Risotto, great stuff and the recipe is at
the market table.
The "Did You Know" segment will return
next week, thanks for asking.
From Jessie Neu, General Manager:
The rain has impacted the crops. Smith Farms is finished for the season with their tomatoes. However, Rose Lane will be in again with their heirloom tomatoes. Calvin Acres joins us this week with their fresh crop of pecans and walnuts. Visit Sconey Island and the crafters participating in the Bakery Alley this week.
The Frequent Shopper Cards are
off to a good start. Many of you were dialed in and requested
one right away. This program is available at the Walnut
Creek Market during the months of November thru April.
You'll be rewarded with 3 market bucks for being
a frequent shopper during the winter. Please one card
per family! Bring your friends and neighbors to the market
with you every week... we are open every Sunday rain
or shine! Remember to use the neighboring parking garages.
We validate parking!
The ice rink is opening this weekend and should be a
blast!
See you Sunday, bright and early!
More
info. |
Martinez
& PLEASANT HILL:
Markets closed for the season |
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FROM
OUR MARKETS by
Chef Leslie Stiles |
A little rain sure does a lot to rinse off the atmosphere and bring
out the lingering fall colors for us to revel in. We are closing
in on the end of fall and moving into some serious cooler weather.
The crops are definitely reflecting the weather. The hues of kale,
lettuce and spinach are amazingly bright and the flavors are sweet
and happy on the tongue. If someone tells you they miss the sexy
fruits of summer as an excuse to stop shopping at the farmers' market
in winter, let them know that they are very misguided in their thinking
and shooting themselves in the foot. The winter market is vibrant
and bustling while overflowing with an abundance of remarkably special
fruits and vegetables.
Satsuma mandarins are in the market with their
loose little orange coats, easily peeled to reveal a very sweet
package of incredibly fun to eat segments. Perfect for the lunch
box. Grapes are still hanging in there and are their own breed of
winter sugar sweet. Raspberries are holding strong and the shining
stars of winter fruits are the Fuyu persimmons and apples. Both
are sweet and crunchy and perfect for holiday parties paired with
wine, cheese or chocolate.
The current crop dried fruits are totally awesome in the market
now too. There is a huge difference between the dried fruit you
may purchase at a large grocery chain and the dried, fresh, locally
grown fruit you can find from, for example, Hamada's in the
farmers' market. Same goes for the nuts. If you have ever
tried Rose Lane almonds you know what I am talking about.
When you purchase the nuts from a large chain,
they are old, really old and they are fumigated
after they leave the shells. Yes, I said after they are shelled,
so you are eating fumigant sprayed directly on your nuts. Not ok
for me and fresh nuts from the farmers' market are not fumigated
at all. You can taste the difference as well as know that you are
not ingesting poison for somebody's gross profit that could care
less weather you live or die but care a lot about the bottom line
of their mono culture, billion dollar agribusiness operation.
Once you know the score it is difficult to choose to buy into that
nasty business.
By buying local you can support your health,
your family's health and the earth's health
by shopping the local, seasonal farmers' markets
in your area for your dried fruits and nuts
as well as local beef, eggs or any other products you
can find there.
What is available at the market shapes what
I will cook for the week for myself, family and clients.
Dried fruits go really well with wines too because they lack the
acidity of fresh fruits. They are also loaded with iron and fiber
for flavor as well as health benefits. When you are planning menus
for parties, get that dried fruit in there for some luscious pairing
with nuts and cheeses plain on a plate or stuffed into turkey breast
or pork loin. Dried fruits shine in flavor and texture as well as
sporting their soft, sexy looks screaming out to be devoured.
We had a bit of rain but not before we got most of the irrigation
in for the College Park Garden. We filled the boxes with soil and
compost and have planted strawberries, lettuces and winter veggies
such as broccoli, cauliflower and kohlrabi. Apple trees are next
in January when we hit bare root season. There will be another work
party at College Park this Saturday from 9 until around 1 for moving
mulch and compost. Bring gloves, a wheel barrow and shovel and ask
for Stephanie.
I got out on a trail today and it was not too
wet... Sure is lovely out there. I along with a big group
of people will be making our annual trek to the top of Mt. Diablo
on Thanksgiving morning. We start at Mitchell Canyon and head up.
If you are interested in details e-mail me! It is a nice hike before
the dinner!
The Orinda market closes for the season this weekend and I will
be doing a cooking demo around vegetables sides for Thanksgiving
dinner.
The Orinda Market is located on Avenida De
Orinda and the demo will be from 10 to around noon!
Lesley Stiles can be reached at chef@cccfm.org or
on the market hotline 925 431-8361 |
"Sing
for Your Produce" by
General Manager Jessie Neu |
 Back
the early years, in the 1980's, we would put out a "Sing for
your produce" call to seek volunteer musicians
to entertain at the 2 markets in PH & WC. We were
very grateful when someone showed up!
Today, we have so many requests from musicians
to play at the markets that we have a waiting list to book into
the 4 markets! This week the Bryan Harrison Band helps us close
another season at the Orinda Market. Pick up your fresh food for
Thanksgiving and say farewell to our loyal participants... then
come see us in Walnut Creek on Sundays.
This summer at the Walnut Creek Market, I
was speaking to market shopper, musician,
Carlos Reyes who thought it would be "Kinda Fun" to
play. He asked me if he could play at the
WC market... folks this is so unheard of...
it turned my head around! Carlos plays with
the likes of Roy Rogers... no, not the one
with Dale Evans... this Roy plays an amazing
12 string, slide, steel guitar.
So... this weekend don't miss this incredible
opportunity to see "A World Class Violinist & Harpist"
Carlos Reyes play for us at the Walnut Creek
Market!
Mr. Keith.... stay on your toes to keep the
crowd moving in the area... I don't want the
farmers mad at me! Folks, keep shopping while you listen.
This will be very special.
We give thanks to all the musicians who play for tips at our
markets.
Jessie Neu can be reached at gm@cccfm.org or on the market hotline 925 431-8361 |
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