First things first. It’s watermelon
season! The market has many delights,
but for me nothing tops watermelon. While I didn’t do an official survey
yesterday, I’m pretty sure we have at least five different kinds of watermelon
right now. I chose for my first one an Orange Crisp. As the name implies, the “meat”
is orange, and it has a lovely firmness, but I love it because it is so sweet
and seedless. I’ll have worked my way through it by tomorrow so I can try
another variety then. Luckily for me, my husband Phil isn’t much of a
watermelon eater so I don’t have to share. And, yes, I do like it so well that
I can go through a medium sized melon in three days – easily.
We also have truckloads of cantaloupe, plus
canary and honey dew melons. It’s pretty much melon heaven at the market.
The sweet corn has come in as well, and the
field tomatoes, the sweet and hot peppers, the eggplant. It may be hot, but the
produce is well worth frequent trips to the market.
And if you get too hot, just run through the
kids’ sprinkler. The park’s new splash pad is so popular that we stole the
idea, as well as the sprinkler from the kid’s garden and set it up on the
fenced lawn north of the kids’ tent yesterday. From the squeals and laughter
coming from that direction, I’d say it was a big hit.
Tomorrow we have Scott Eastman on the market
stage. Stewart’s Bakery is serving bacon lettuce and tomato on Ciabatta
bread with fruit salad for $6. There will also be fresh cut fruit salad and
chef salad at Stewart’s. I am writing this Tuesday night and just finished the
chef salad. It was delicious.
Along with our usual excellent vendors, MoBlooms is coming to
the market tomorrow with their beautiful locally grown bouquets.
The Free Kids Meal, which is served from 11 to 1 on Thursday,
is turkey and cheese cubes with crackers, corn on the cob, watermelon and milk.
Yes, that would be market corn on the cob and watermelon.
On Saturday, the Pommerts will play. Cooking for a Cause
benefits Webb Cares, the school – community collaborative that makes sure kids
in need get basic necessities like school supplies, a bed to sleep on or
clothes to wear. The Latimer family is supplying all the volunteers - that’s
Karen and Jim and two of their daughters’ families, the Millers and the Parkers.
Breakfast is served from 9 to 11.
The Free Kids Meal on Saturday is baked oatmeal with market
blackberries and milk.
Stewart’s Bakery is serving vegetable soup with crackers for $5
for eat in or take away.
We had some visitors from Columbia this week. Two students from
the MU journalism school were in town to do a documentary on the market’s work
with our Hmong farmers.
We learned the market was featured in last month’s Feast
magazine, the food magazine based in St. Louis, for our work with the Hmong. And
Fue Yang who manages our education center has become something of a media star.
He was recently featured on the web site
of the national Farmer Market Coalition and by the University of Missouri
Extension news service.
We have so much good going on for us as a market and a
community – stellar growers, a fun splash pad, AND it
won’t be long before the street car is back on the tracks. And some of the best
produce of the season – all waiting for you at the market. See you there!
