Coastal Growers Market

Sorry for the spam…I’m fine

coastalgrowers — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:31:52 +0000

Hi everyone,

Someone hacked into my gmail account this past weekend, sent spam out to all my contacts, changed my password and locked me out of my account so I was unable to notify you of the hoax until now. I was not mugged in Wales, I’m fine, and do NOT send money! I’m really sorry to everyone for the emails, and thank you to all of you who were concerned and let me know about it!

Take Care,

Sara (the real one)

SAD NEWS!!!

coastalgrowers — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:52:51 +0000

I’m writing this with tears in my eyes,I came down here to
Wales,United Kingdom for a short vacation unfortunately i got mugged at the park of the hotel where i stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off but luckily for me is that i still have my passports with me.

I’ve been to the embassy and the Police here but they’re not helping issues at all and my flight leaves in few hours from now but am having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won’t let me leave until i settle the bills,I’m freaked out at the moment.

Sara..

Our market is queen supreme!

coastalgrowers — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:43:58 +0000

Check this out!

http://www.golocalprov.com/lifestyle/2795/

Stay tuned to this space – news to come!

coastalgrowers — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:10:49 +0000

new season! Market starts May 15, 2010, at 9 AM. All your favorite vendors and some great new ones — some from our successful winter market in Wickford, and some you haven’t seen yet! Check back for the schedule of children’s activities, chef demonstrations, and live music. We’ll have links on the website as well in the next couple of weeks.

11 March, 2010 22:29

coastalgrowers — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:29:53 +0000

St. Patty’s Day Mash

Aka The Blue Dack Mash from the kitchen of Andrew Plotsky, Saratoga Farmers’ Market

Basket of local potatoes, blue if possible

One good-sized onion

One medium sized leek

4 cloves of garlic

Olive oil, a few tablespoons

Rosemary

Salt & pepper to taste

Wash and cut potatoes into medium chunks. Boil in water until soft enough to mash (tender to the fork). Meanwhile, back at the ranch, slice the onion thinly and dice the leek. Peel and chop all 4 garlic cloves.

Heat olive oil on medium heat (a few tablespoons) in a large skillet and toss in the garlic. Once nice and sizzly (but not brown!) take a few spoonfuls of the garlic (and a bit of oil) and put aside in a bowl. Add the onions and leeks to the skillet. Cook until they are soft, cooked down, and getting a nice little crispiness/deliciousness on the edges.

(Stir often and cook about 15-20 minutes).

Once potatoes are boiled, drain most of water (saving A BIT). Put cooked potatoes in a bowl. Now this next step is crucial: Mash the potatoes with whatever you have on hand – I usually use a slotted spoon or a big fork for lack of anything better, and they work perfectly fine. DONT OVERMASH YOUR TATERS! It is imperative that you don’t over mash the potatoes. If you do, they will be gluey and sticky and your mouth will get stuck closed forever. Ok. maybe not, but your tuber consuming experience will be much less enjoyable if they are over mashed. I like some chunkies left over, but you can certainly mash the potatoes smooth without over doing them—get to whatever consistency is your muse and then stop!

Next, take your beautifully softened-and-browned onion/leek combination add the extra garlic set aside earlier and pour over the mashed potatoes. Add rosemary, salt, and pepper. (I recommend fresh, coarse kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, though, any form of each will suffice). I purposely have not included amounts of the previous three ingredients for two reasons – first, every palette is different. I may like enough rosemary in my potatoes to make the dish both functional as dinner and potpourri, while you may think otherwise. Second, I encourage the chef to experiment and cook with feelings. Try things out. If you blow it this time, at least you have learned for next!

FOLD the onion/leek/garlic and condiments into the mashed potatoes. This is the other crucial step. DO NOT MASH THE HERB MIXTURE INTO THE POTATOES! Rather, fold it in, allowing the flavors to be incorporated without risking the “over mashed syndrome”. If the potatoes seem dry, don’t worry. Just add some moisture – hot water or veggie broth—adding just a little at a time (we’re not trying to make soup).

Let the dish sit for a few minutes to let the flavors incorporate. After that, maybe you will serve them nicely on a plate with some finely chopped chives sprinkled overtop. Maybe you’ll put a few rosemary sprigs as garnish. Now, enjoy!

p.s. because I tend to ramble on about minutiae, here is the abridged version for those who still want it “quick and dirty”:

boil potatoes

sauté garlic, onions, leeks

mash potatoes

add rosemary, s/p, sautéed onions/leeks fold in mixture to mashed potatoes eat, drink, be happy! (after all it’s close to St. Patty’s Day)

Know Your Grass Fed Farmer?

coastalgrowers — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:01:00 +0000

Don and Heather Minto of Watson Farm

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Don and Heather Minto are the exclusive producers of 100% grass fed beef and lamb at the Coastal Growers’ Market where they are known as Conanicut Island Grass Fed Beef and Lamb, or, the Watson Farmers. They have been farming together since 1970 when Don was majoring in Plant and Soil Science and Heather in Historic Textiles and Museum Education at URI. They made a commitment to each other to pursue their dream of living a lifestyle that made sense, on the land in a natural manner, and began by cutting their teeth on a 10 acre homestead, raising an acre of vegetables, chickens, a dairy goat herd, and a few hogs. They leased a 113 acre farm for several years until reaching the "promised land" when they were chosen by Historic New England in 1980 to manage the newly preserved 265 acre Watson Farm in Jamestown. The responsibility and opportunity to work this land has been an energizing and satisfying experience for Heather and Don and their daughters, Kristin, Melissa, and Cassie, all born and raised on the farm.

30 years later they have balanced life on a sustainable working farm with

the development of educational tours, events and programs at Watson Farm, while also providing public access to this extensive working landscape. Reconnecting folks to the land has been a constant theme for the Mintos while raising awareness of the importance of rebuilding the decaying agricultural system in RI: practices of intensive grazing management, foliar application of organic nutrients, and attention to providing trace minerals to soil, plant, and animal to build soil life are key components of the sustainable system evolved by the Mintos at Watson Farm.

Their mission continues to be producing the highest quality, nutrient dense, tender, tasty and 100% grass fed beef for the local market from their herd of heritage Red Devon Cattle. They also raise about 60 Romney Cross Ewes for wool for their Conanicut Island Wool blankets and Rhody Warm Blankets, also available at the market.

In honour of upcoming St. Patrick’s Day Heather shares her special recipe for Heather Minto’s Home Cured Corned Beef Dinner as the Mintos are offering a special price on brisket at the next two markets (think of freezing one too.)

Heather and Don will host their annual Sheep Shearing Day on May 8th, noon to 4 p.m. at the Farm, which opens for the summer on June 1 and runs through October 15. Self guided Farm Tours are every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. and free for Historic New England members!

Meet your Market Neighbors! Celebrate the Arrival of Spring!

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Woops – we are out of time and space so you will have to wait until next week for the Saddle Up The Chicken story, but trust me, you should buy tickets now for this first musical foodie fundraising party to celebrate spring and our market because:

a. we don’t have that many and

b. you will kick yourselves when you hear how much fun we had without you.

Tickets are on sale at the Coastal Market stall (where the honey and maple syrup are sold.) Sweet and savoury hors d’oeuvres, soft drinks and mixers will be served (but byob) for $12.50 per person. Saturday, March 20th, 7:00 p.m. at the Lafayette Mill.

Heather Minto’s Home Cured Corned Beef Dinner for St. Pattie’s Day

coastalgrowers — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:15:47 +0000

New England Corned Beef Dinner
Serves 6

3 lb corned beef brisket, recipe below
6 medium all purpose potatoes, quartered
8 medium carrots, halved
2 medium onions, quartered
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 large head of cabbage, cut into 6 wedges

Place all the ingredients, but the cabbage, in a large slow cooker or crock pot, cook for 10 – 12 hours on low. One hour before serving, submerge cabbage wedges in the juices in the crock pot.

Serve brisket on a platter surrounded by the veggies

Heather’s Home Cured Corned Beef

3 lb beef brisket, point or flat
3 Tbs pickling spice mix, see below
4 cups water
1 1/2 cups Kosher salt

In large sauce pan or small stock pot, bring to boil the water, spice mix and salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Place brisket in a two gallon zip bag and pour corning brine over brisket. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Place bag in a large dish and weight down brisket so that it is completely submerged in brine. Refrigerate for five days. Rinse under cold water before cooking.

Pickling Spice Mix

2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons hot red-pepper flakes
2 tablespoons allspice berries
1 tablespoon ground mace
2 small cinnamon sticks, crushed or broken into pieces
2-4 bay leaves, crumbled
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 tablespoon ground ginger

Know Your Aqua Farmer!

coastalgrowers — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:59:27 +0000

Market News on February 11, 2010

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Meet your neighbors, celebrate a successful local venture and welcome spring (oh, spring!) when Saddle Up The Chicken makes their first public performance at our community party on Saturday, March 20; from 7:00 p.m. on at the market space in the mill. Locally raised acoustic music to close out our local season! Tickets are available now at the market stall in a limited number (Fire Dept regulations observed) so don’t leave buying yours until the last minute. Sweet and savoury hors d’oeuvre, soft drinks and mixers provided (byob) with all proceeds to benefit the market. $12.50 per person.

Another evening to celebrate community, and raise funds for the RI Community Food Bank, is being organized by Erin Goodman on Saturday, February 27 from 7-10 p.m. at The Hampton Inn at the South County Crossing. Enjoy tastings from Berkshire Brewing Company, The Reynolds Barn, Besto Pesto, and Susanna’s Ice Cream and dance to the music of the KC Moaners (a.k.a. The Jug Band). Non-alcoholic beverages provided by the Alternative Food Co-op. Tickets $20 in advance, online at The 2nd Annual Evening of Refreshment or at the Coastal Growers Market stall at the market; $25 at the door.

Know Your Aqua Farmer: Perry Raso of Matunuck Oyster Company~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Perry Raso works his oyster beds all year round, tending oysters and clams in the seven acres he has farmed in Potters Cove, East Matunuck since 1992, no matter how chilly the New England winter wind off the water might be. Oyster seeds take two to three years to grow to market size, requiring daily attention before they are harvested and shipped to Boston and New York, in addition to many local restaurants. Perry doesn’t always love putting on a wetsuit at five in the morning, but he does love working outside and being on the water.

His love of the ocean began when he harvested littlenecks and steamers as a child in Matunuck, later learning to dive for them before moving far from the coast for college in Greeley, CO. A lasting interest in marine biology called him back here and he transferred to URI, graduating from the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, and recently completing a Masters in Aquaculture. The water he farms began with a clean, shallow, sandy acre he found while diving the Great Salt Pond and leased for 20 years as a “viability farm.” Perry maintains his connection to URI through the Coastal Fellows Program, mentoring students interested in aquaculture and bringing groups and field trips through the farm to demonstrate the growth stages of different species of shellfish and sustainable agricultural processes. “I like to promote being a steward of the environment and am proud to stand behind a business that preserves it, something that resonates in people these days.”

Perry opened a restaurant, The Matunuck Oyster Bar, at the farm on Succotosh Road last year, offering customers waterfront views, a raw bar (featuring a selection of local oysters, of course,) and a varied menu using local produce and breads and seafood fresh daily from local boats. A special menu is being served for Valentine’s Day weekend from Thursday through Sunday evening: dinner is served until 9 on Friday and Saturday; 8:30 on Thursday and Sunday. Reservations are accepted at 401-783-4202.

Oysters and clams from the farm, steamers harvested wild from Potters Pond and little necks from the Bay are available at the Coastal Market every Saturday, not always in exactly the same spot because being the easy going guy that he is, Ryan Davis moves the stall to make the space work best for the crowd – here he is (before the haircut) on our opening day in November.

Coastal Market News, January 28

coastalgrowers — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:50:14 +0000

Market News on January 28, 2010

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Last week, our regular band, Farm Dog, put a sign in their tip hat donating all their market monies to relief for Haiti’s earthquake victims and you were astonishingly generous in response. Jon Dember’s company, Conservation Services Group of Westborough, MA, will match the gift. We may be able to do this again in February and we will let you know through this newsletter in case you want to bring an extra bill for them that day. Thanks so much for gifts already made.

The evening of Saturday, March 20, is the date for celebration of our first successful winter market season. Will you be able to recognize your farmers without their hats and

mufflers we wonder? This is also the First Day Of Spring, so the perfect moment to say thanks for making the market happen, raise our glasses in a toast to local food and thank our band, this being their first, and perhaps only, appearance as Saddle Up The Chicken, an enthusiastic, all acoustic local group with guitars, mandolin, upright base, banjos, harp and squeeze box, playing traditional, bluegrass, old time blues and perhaps some sing along songs – if we, their audience, are in sufficiently good form. The tickets will be on sale next week from the CGM market stall; all proceeds will benefit the Coastal Market.

Another evening to celebrate community, and raise funds for the RI Community Food Bank, is being organized by Erin Goodman on Saturday, February 27 from 7-10 p.m. at The Hampton Inn at the South County Crossing. Enjoy tastings from Berkshire Brewing Company, The Reynolds Barn, Besto Pesto, and Susanna’s Ice Cream and dance to the music of the KC Moaners (a.k.a. The Jug Band). Non-alcoholic beverages provided by the Alternative Food Co-op. Tickets $20 in advance, online at The 2nd Annual Evening of Refreshment or at the Coastal Growers Market stall at the market; $25 at the door.

And one last thought about food and community: we are working on a very simple recipe book to showcase local foods and how to make best use of them, so if any of you have a (tested) recipe to share that uses at least one regular market commodity, please send it to us care of Jackie Gildersleeve, our recipe coordinator, at jgildersleeve (thank you, Jackie!) or just reply to this email.

Know your Farmers: the Barden Family Orchard

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The Barden Family Orchard in North Scituate was founded in 1931 by Gil’s grandparents, Hazel and John Barden, and has been a family owned and run farm since then. All five Bardens: Gil, Sandie, Andrew (the chap always at their Coastal Market stall), Stacey and Luke, are involved in the work of the farm during the growing season.

Gil’s passion is to produce high quality locally grown fruits and vegetables, and since he and Sandie became full time farmers in 2005 they have added many new crops and dimensions to the produce of the farm. In addition to picking your own apples, (20 varieties), peaches (15 varieties), raspberries, blueberries, (new last year) blackberries, (new for 2010) and pumpkins, you can buy their sweet corn (words fail to describe that quintessential summer taste,) tomatoes, summer and winter squash, cucumbers and eggplant from their farm stand open daily from 9-6 from late July until Thanksgiving. Barden Orchard produce is also available at many of the local farmer’s markets almost year round. There is much more information on their website The Barden Family Orchard including lists of crop seasons; the kind of apples that store well; the best varieties for making apple pie and how that particular apple’s flavour and crispness changes in the course of the season. If you are already a Barden customer you will know that all their apple varieties are chosen for quality and flavour: they do know their apples.

Gil shares both a love for farming and the land of Rhode Island in combination with a strong interest in the science of horticulture with his grandfather who founded the farm. Over the last decade he has worked to develop the farm practices, working with the Natural Resources Conservation Council to install drip irrigation systems throughout the farm, and with the Integrated Pest Management Program of the local Cooperative Extension Service to produce Barden crops in the safest and most environmentally conscious way. Currently, the Bardens are preparing soil for planting organic orchards, as lovely as the one in the photo below taken among their current trees. Please check the Barden website for details on when you can visit the farm in the upcoming season.

Coastal Market News (Know Your Local Artisan, Episode Six)

coastalgrowers — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:39:56 +0000

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Market News , January 21, 2010
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Produce at this weekend’s market will include winter squash, potatoes, microgreens, carrots, cabbage, parsnips, possibly leeks, chard, kale, herbs, rutabagas, onions, garlic, fresh eggs and our musical friends, Farm Dog, to accompany your culinary perambulations. Our thanks to Farm Dog musicians Jon Dember and Doc Wood for their long term generosity to our market days. Our thanks also to communications and marketing consultant Thor Johnson for his wise advice on managing our communication system – we’re working on it!Hope to see you all again this weekend and thanks to all of you too for braving winter weather to support your farmers, bakers and artisan food makers.And for those of you anticipating the goat chariots with glee, a news bulletin: all the goats of The Reynolds Barn are now quite pregnant and don’t currently fit between the shafts of the chariots, so we have to wait for spring and the birth of all those kids before they can race around our parking lot on a Saturday morning.Save the Date: the evening of Saturday, March 20, is going to be a great celebration of our first successful winter market season. Stay tuned for details next week as we figure out exactly what kind of brilliant party to throw on the First Day Of Spring!

Know your local artist: Ashley Van Etten of Willywaw ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you come into the market space you probably won’t be able to identify what was once our darkest, most drab corner because it has been transformed by the arts of Willywaw and its creator, Narragansett artist Ashley Van Etten. Every Saturday Ash and her husband, Joe, haul in her beautiful creations and add one more thoughtful detail to their display, slowly turning their market corner into the Willywah Gallery.

Ashley draws her inspiration from the natural world, which is perhaps why she seemed the perfect fit for a green market like ours. She lived for a time before coming to RI in the SawtoothMountains of Idaho and the Tetons of Wyoming, and images from those days live on in her work. A willywah is a ferocious arctic wind that sweeps down coastal mountains and blows out onto the ocean, perhaps embodying the spirit of Ashley’s work. Each of her designs has been pulled slowly from the creative

simmer of her mind, laid out slowly to her exacting standards and then individually screen printed (that might be a slow process too, particularly because it all happens in her tiny home studio.) If it’s not good enough she scraps it and starts over.

The fine quality of the fabrics used is another dimension of the success of Willwah: the tote bags are screened on organic cotton canvas, grown and milled in the US, and the water-based, pigment textile inks used to silk screen the t-shirts have low toxicity but withstand the demands of many washings.

Ashley’s background is in fine art and illustration with a portfolio of work that is astonishing for the breadth of styles she commands; perhaps you might be able to persuade her modest self to show it to you if you can catch her in a quiet moment at the market, otherwise please visit her work online at Willywah.com