Recipe for July 26

Fresh Fig Up-Side Down Cake

Recipe by Emeril Lagasse

1-1/2 pounds fresh local figs, stemmed and quartered

1 cup granulated sugar

6 ounces butter, softened, in all

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large local eggs

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, toss figs with sugar. In a hot cast iron skillet, melt 3 ounces of butter. Saute the figs for 2 minutes. Remove from heat but keep figs in skillet.

For the batter: In a mixing bowl, cream the remaining 3 ounces of butter and brown sugar. Stir in the eggs 1 at a time. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Combine vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture and milk to the egg mixture. Mix well. Pour the cake batter evenly over the figs. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and pulls away slightly from the edges of the skillet.

Cool for about 30 minutes, then invert over a large platter.

Bam!

Got squash?

Ryan found this piece on National Public Radio about the joy of bountiful summer squash.

 There's a defense of squash and some delicious recipes like:

How to make squash ribbons

Warm squash salad with mint

Whole wheat zucchini pancakes & Fettuccine with squash ribbons

Another fantastic week for the Cleveland Farmers Market. Not only did we have new produce (grapes in the Delta!), new farmers (welcome, Nancy Nassar), and new customers but we had tasty samples of cantaloupe and watermelon for vendors, volunteers, and customers alike. It was the best and certainly freshest breakfast I've had in a long time. The picture is of repeat customer Barbara Levingston and farmer Mack Hoop.

Don't forget that you can support the Cleveland Farmers Market by buying our unique shirts and bags. The bags are $13. Shirts are $12 (kids), $13 (adult M, L, XL), $15 (XXL), and $16 (XXXL). All proceeds go directly to the market.

Here's the recap:

• Louis and Rie Somlai and Karen Bell were at the Friends Tent this week, handing out snackies, selling shirts and bags, tallying customers, and greeting customers. Thanks, y'all!
• Farmers present/represented: The Apple Farm, Patrice Chandler, Mr. Smitty, Mr. Toole, the Sellers Gang, the Basil Boy and his buddies, the Hoops, and new farmer Nancy Nassar from Merigold.
• Customers counted: 136 (Yee haw!)
• Approximate total farmer revenue: $710
• Products sold: Jellies, preserves, relishes, peaches, yellow squash, bell peppers, okra, butter beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, hot peppers, eggplant, honey, basil plants, pesto, plum glaze, eggs, banana peppers, pink eye purple hull peas (shelled and unshelled), zucchini, sweet pickles, pickled peaches, hot sauce, sweet potatoes, watermelons, canteloupes, and grapes.
  

Recipe for July 19

Chocolate Chip-Zucchini Bread
Recipe by Paula Deen

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated local zucchini
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon orange zest

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and baking soda.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in poil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans and cool. Chill before slicing.

July's Looking Good

We're back! The slump of June 28 and July 5 is over. The market was bustling again as farmers brought their A-game produce to the Cleveland Farmers Market.

Here's the recap:

• Alan Barton and Karen Fosheim (woo-hoo, Go Delta State!) were the Friends
• There was coffee and a cucumber-feta salsa for folks to nibble on. Some people *ahem Ryan* went back for seconds and thirds. The recipe is posted already.
• Farmers present/represented: Jesse Strassburg, the Apple Farm, Mr. Toole, Mr. Smitty, the Sellers Gang, Blue Lake Honey Farm, and the Hoops.
• Customers counted: 106
• Approximate total revenue: $600
• Products sold: Honey, speckled butter beans, yellow squash, okra, bell peppers, tomatoes, jams, jellies, preserves, apples, peaches, eggplant, shelled purple hull peas, hot sauce, banana peppers, pesto, beets, basil plants, picked peaches, sweet pickles, green beans, and cucumbers.

Y'all, don't believe the rumors that the Cleveland Farmers Market has "got nothing." Take a look at the products sold list. There's a wide variety of produce available each week.

And, we got our first WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers. We are proud to be a part of a national program that provides families with affordable, fresh produce while helping farmers reach out to new consumers.

After the market, we had a brief meeting -- it was getting HOT. At the meeting, we discussed the need for vendors to be set up by 7:45 a.m. and that we have entered the consequence phase. The market's guidelines were given again to each vendor in print and reiterated verbally at the meeting so everybody was clear on the expectations. On a lighter note, we discussed the new t-shirts and tote bags that will be available for sale at the Saturday, July 19th market. Both the bags and shirts cost $13 each with a combo deal of $25 if you buy both. Check out the designs on the left. The shirts come in green and natural. The money from the sales will go directly to the Friends Tent and Cleveland Farmers Market for supplies and infrastructure like our awesome new entrance sign.

See you Saturday!

More Good Press

Check out the front page article

from The Delta Democrat Times.

Even Greenville is talking about the Cleveland Farmers Market!

Recipe for July 12

Cucumber-Feta Salsa
Recipe found in Cooking Light Magazine

1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1-1/2 cups cubed seeded peeled cucumber
1 cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (optional)

Combine feta cheese, lemon juice, and pepper, partially mash with a fork. Stir in cucumber, onion, mint, and dill. Serve with pita or tortilla chips.

Recipe for July 5

No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars

Made By Sarah Leonard and found in Rachael Ray's magazine

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup local honey

2 cups granola, such as Back to Nature brand

1 cup rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup thin pretzel sticks

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar with the honey and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. remove the saucepan from the heat.

Add the granola, rice cereal, raisins, and pretzels to the saucepan and fold the ingredients to evenly coat with the sauce. Transfer the granola mixture to a 9-by-13-inch ungreased baking pan and press firmly to evenly fill. Gently press the chocolate chips onto the top of the granola. Let the granola mixture set in the refrigerator until firm, about 15 minutes, then cut into 2-1/4-by-3-inch bars. Yum-o!

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Recipe for June 28

Yellow Squash Cookies

Baked by Asia Bonacci

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup margarine or butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup shredded yellow squash

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1 cup raisins (optional)

Blend flours, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon together; set aside. Beat butter or margarine with brown sugar and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating completely after each one. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Add flour mixture, one-third at a time, beating on low speed until combined. Stir in squash. Add oats, beating on low speed until combined. Stir in nuts and raisins, if desired. Drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes.

What's Fresh for Saturday, July 5

What's fresh?

Happy Fourth of July weekend

from the Farmers and Friends of the Cleveland Farmers Market!

We appreciate your support!

"Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever he had a chosen people, whose breasts he has made his peculiar deposit for substantial and genuine virtue. It is the focus in which he keeps alive that sacred fire, which otherwise might escape from the face of the earth."

Thomas Jefferson, c. 1781

- Yellow squash, sweet corn, crisp cucumbers, and perfect-for-frying okra from Mr. Smitty of Mound Bayou

- Baby squash and cool cucumbers, limited edition blackberry jelly, tomato jelly, and pickled peaches, and the usual delicious assortment of jams, jellies, preserves, and hot sauces from Mickey and Nancy Sellers of Cleveland

- Juicy peaches and (possibly, if we're really lucky) blackberries from The Apple Farm of Cleveland

- Tender yellow squash and fresh cucumbers from Owen and Dorothy Scarbrough of Shelby

- Basil transplants and yummy, ready-made basil pesto from Jesse Strassburg of Cleveland

- Ready-for-dippin' cucumbers and throw-me-in-a-casserole yellow squash from Mack and Ollie Hoop of Cleveland

- Delicious farm-fresh eggs and sweet plum jelly from Patrice Chandler of Ruleville

- Assorted greenhouse vegetables and herbs from Cornelius Toole of Mound Bayou

This list is accurate as of Friday, July 4 but is subject to change without notice.

Quantities of all items may be limited. Please come at 8 a.m. for the best selection.

July 2008 "Delta Flavor"

Welcome to Delta Flavor, the unofficial e-newsletter of the Cleveland Farmers Market. Delta Flavor is the term we like to use for the taste of the freshest local produce that can be found in the Mississippi Delta.

Recap of June 2008 Markets:
The Cleveland Farmers Market opened on June 14, 2008 to record crowds and sales. In the first two markets, farmers made over $1,400 and customers purchased a tremendous variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, value-added products, honey, and eggs. There was a bit of a slump on June 28 with many vendors out of town or coping with the hot dry weather.

It seemed that you couldn't open the local newspapers in June without reading a positive article about the Cleveland Farmers Market. Many thanks go out to the Cleveland News Leader's Sarah Coleman and Kristy Kitchings and the Bolivar Commercial's Candrese Jones for their outstanding support. Of course, Strings Design created an eye-catching logo and advertising campaign which also greatly contributed to the early success.

And, the Cleveland Farmers Market received a generous grant from Heifer International to sustain our ongoing mission of growing the market and the community.

July 2008 Market News:

• Market Days: July 5, July 12, July 19, and July 26
• Monthly Meeting: July 12 at 10 a.m. (after the Market) behind the Cleveland Post Office
• In July, 1,300 WIC participants will receive $18,200 in vouchers to spend at the Cleveland Farmers Market. The Cleveland Farmers Market is a proud participant of the Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
• Check out the Friends Tent later this month for t-shirts and tote bags and stickers. The shirts and bags will be for sale with all proceeds benefitting the Friends Tent.

Friends Tent Schedule:

• July 5 -- Sarah Leonard and Jerry Kandies
• July 12 -- Emily and Jay Weaver (tentative)
• July 19 -- Rie Somlai and OPEN
• July 26 -- OPEN