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Polly Jane's Jams
articles and photo by Chris Moore

We have a new vendor at NFM who will be here until the end of the season.  Polly Reott, from Polly Jane's Jams is a master food preserver.  She selling canned jams including strawberry jam, blueberry cherry jam, blueberry raspberry jam (her best seller – has whole berries, tart - very good), strawberry rhubarb, and sour cherry preserve.

First with her grandparents and then with her mom, canning has been part of Polly Reott's life.  She is also a food safety volunteer at UW Extension, teaches food preservation workshops and basic kitchen skills.  When she is not canning she is the lunch lady at St. Dennis school.  Polly and her husband (who works at Union Cab) have lived on the Northside for seven years.  Their son plays Warner Park football. 

So come down to the market to try some delicious jams and to say hello to our newest vendor!

This Week at Artisan's Row...
Rachael Winkley - Jewelry
Maggs Kailhofer - Jewelry (link)
Elinor Gbedey - Soy candles, t-shirts
Vicki Lane - Funky Bracelets (link)
Muriel Simms - Cards, bookmarks
The Hefty Family - Windswimmers (link)

Visit the artists' blog (link)  

It's Pet Palooza!
Sunday, Sept 20th at the Northside Farmers Market

Brought to you by the Dane County Time Bank (link)

It's a parade, it's a fashion revue, it's a costume contest for pets of all kinds! There will be crafts and maybe a little Poga. We'll gather at 10:00am in the Anchor Bank parking lot to register... then we'll work on some pet-related craft projects. From 10:30 to noon, the parade and contests will provide lots of fun! Everyone is invited to participate (as long as your pet is not aggressive).

Enter the pet fashion show, best outfit, best collar, best bandana, best bling, best holiday costume (any holiday), the pet/owner look alike or dress alike contest. Also competitions for waggiest tail, best hair, best smile, best trick, smallest pet, and others. The Fashion/Costume show and other competitions will occur on a stage near the Farmer's Market, with market patrons helping to judge.

See you (and your pets) there!
 

Market Report for September 6
articles and photos by Chris Moore

With mornings feeling a lot like fall, your Northside Market offers much produce for you to enjoy. Tomatoes (large home grown, grape tomatoes, roma tomatoes) are still available at the market – in fact, for some farmers such as Hermsdorf Farms, the tomatoes are starting to ripen, for other farmers the season is almost over. Some other produce sightings at the market include lemon grass, bitter melon and leaves (stir fry), rama (Xwbkuab – like Asian squash, good for stir frying), banana peppers, kale, green/yellow beans, potatoes, carrots, cilantro, red/yellow peppers, onions, garlic, and raspberries.  Ortega Farms has poblanos, cabbage, green peppers, and summer squash.

Stramm, our fish vendor, who is here every two weeks, supplied us with freshly caught (day before) catfish, white perch, and buffalo fish. Juan Gonzalez has the usual (or unsual) squash flowers, plus green onions and radishes.

Coming soon from Jimmy Hudson are sweet potatoes, kohlrabi, more watermelon, and new beans and sugar snap peas. 

During the market we were treated to a "Jam" session of wonderful music.  Moldy Jam, the "oldest running jam session" has been around for 30 years.  See their website for more information (link).

Hope to see you at the next market. You can enjoy a hot breakfast at Brady's, have some coffee with one (or two) Caramel Pecan Rolls from Dolci, and find nutritious locally grown foods that our market provides for your benefit.

Late Summer Vegetables with Roasted Garlic Dressing
by Angela Trentadue

With cool evenings on us, I find this dish to be a very satisfying addition to supper. I've also found that kids love this dish so it's a great way to get them to eat a good variety of vegetables. This is a great way to use Romanesco broccoli too - that funky, chartreuse-colored variety with the conical florets. Just about any variety of veggies would work here - fingerling potatoes, cauliflower, zucchini, even green beans.

Ingredients

4 medium size carrots, washed well (peel if you prefer)
4 medium size beets (about 3" across), greens trimmed and scrubbed
2 medium size leeks, rinsed well to remove any dirt/sand in between layers
1 head of broccoli
1 delicata squash
2 heads garlic
1/4 c sherry vinegar
1/2 c olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Trim roots and any loose or dirty skins from garlic heads and cut in half crosswise. Don't worry if you can't cut through the main stem. Lay the cut heads onto a large piece of foil with the exposed cloves face-up and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Fold the foil up to make a nice little package and roast in the oven about 30 minutes. The garlic is done with the cloves are soft enough to mash and starting to turn carmel-brown.

Directions, continued

While the garlic is roasting, prepare the vegetables. Cut the carrots lengthwise into quarters. Toss in a large bowl with olive oil to coat and then arrange on a sheet pan in a single layer. Cut the beets the same way, toss with oil and add to the sheet pan with the carrots. Slice white and light green parts of the leeks into 1/2" thick circles, toss with oil and add to sheet pan. Cut broccoli into small florets, toss with oil and add to sheet pan. Finally, cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and then cut each half into 1/2" slices. Toss with olive oil and add to other vegetables. Make sure that the veggies are arranged into a single layer as much as possible. Season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and roast in the oven about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and starting to turn brown on the edges.

Meanwhile, squeeze roasted garlic into a saucepan. Add vinegar and put over medium heat. Whisk until garlic is smooth and incorporated with the vinegar. Leaving the pan on the stove but with the heat off, slowly whisk in oil until the dressing has come together.
When the vegetables are done, drizzle dressing over them, toss gently to coat and serve.