It’s berry time at the market! Yesterday we
were expecting blueberries from Robertson Farms. They came with a full load,
but we also had berries from Braker Farm (blueberries), Pates Orchard
(blackberries), Mooberrie Farm (blueberries), Yang Family Farm (strawberries –
but not many!), and Agee Herbs, Fruit, and Vegetables (blackberries and black
raspberries). We will soon be knee deep in berries so get ready! Time to eat fresh, bake goodies, and freeze
for the winter. Load up while you can – it’s berry season.
Today the market serves lunch at the Webb City
Library from noon to one. The kids will eat ham & cheese sliders, fresh
sugar snap peas and fresh blueberries, plus white or chocolate milk. All
children, 1 through 18, are welcome. The Children’s Summer Reading Program for
elementary kids starts right after lunch.
Thursday, the free kids meal is Frito pie,
plus cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices.
For adults, FitFoods will have vegetarian
baked ziti, chicken Florentine, or asparagus and bow tie pasta, plus salad and
garlic bread for $7. Songbird Kitchen plans to be at the market with egg rolls
and other Asian treats. Drew Pommert will be on the market stage.
MU Extension will teach you how to prepare
Swiss chard, with garlic scapes and bacon bits. And you’ll get a taste
too! Garlic scapes are in season right
now. The late Frank Reiter, known as The Market Dude for his creative cooking
demonstrations, introduced me to scapes. It’s a hidden treasure for both the
farmer and the diner. In order to encourage garlic to concentrate its energy on
developing the bulb, the farmer cuts the green top off the plant before it
flowers. Until we knew better around here, the farmer just pitched the tops in
the compost pile. But guess what? Garlic tops, aka scapes, are tasty! Mince them up and add them to stir fry or a
sauté or frittata and they lend a mild garlic flavor. Grab a sample tomorrow at
the Extension table. 
We debut a new market event tomorrow – Story
Time at the Market. Our newest volunteer, Ms. Deb, who is a retired
teacher, will be near the Kids Tent to share the joy of reading from 12:30 to
1. Join her for stories, poems, and songs about bugs and a funny donkey.
Activities are targeted to 3-6 years old, but all are welcome.
There will be lots of kids at the market tomorrow. In addition,
to the children at the kids tent having lunch (we’ve averaging 200 kids each
market day lately!) we’re expecting 60 students from Sarcoxie for a field trip.
They visit the market and learn about where their food comes from, listen to
the music, and ride the streetcar, and then they get to go to the playground
and splash pad. What a fun field trip!
Speaking of the splash pad, a friend who works for the Joplin
Globe was at the market yesterday with a couple of other staffers. They’d been
doing a photo shoot at the splash pad and playground area for a feature in
JMagazine. We all agreed that King Jack Park was the place to be this summer!
Saturday Clickety Clack – We’re Reading Down the Track rolls
for the first time this year. We’ll be reading a Berenstain Bears book – All
Aboard. Free tickets are available on Eventbrite starting at noon today (you
can also get them on the market’s facebook page). If you can’t get a ticket,
come on anyway. We usually have extra seats, especially between 9 and 10 am.
Webb City’s Queen of Crafts Lisa Sweet will be at the Clickety
Clack craft table just south of the Kids Tent. She created a coloring page
based on the book for the kids to color.
Cooking for a Cause will be staffed by volunteers
from Webb City Masonic Lodge #512 and Webb Chapter #204, Order of the Eastern
Star. They will donate their profits to Duo for Dogs which provides
service and support dogs to help with mobility assistance, veteran assistance,
healthcare facilities, and more. Farm fresh scrambled eggs,
biscuit and gravy, sausage, hashbrown casserole, and juice or coffee for $6.
If you’re looking for lunch, stop by MaMa JoJo’s for some
fabulous fresh pasta dishes (they have lattes and other fancy drinks too).
FitFoods will have protein bites, fruit cups, salads, and wraps.
Trilogy will be on the market stage.
Chuck Lonardo shares his culinary secrets Saturday with "Veggies 2.0, cooking with onions".
Chuck Lonardo shares his culinary secrets Saturday with "Veggies 2.0, cooking with onions".
Tuesday is Eat Street!
It’s a food truck feast. Already confirmed are Culver Creek Eatery
(BBQ), MaMa JoJo’s Pasta, Songbird Kitchen, Danny Jim’s PB&J, Ghetto Taco,
Kings Kettle Corn, and Squeezers Lemonade.
Eat Street is open from 4 to 8:30. It will be located just west
of the market between the market and the kitchen so you will probably want to
enter the market from the south entrance from Hall Street and Garrison
Street where there will be plenty of parking. Handicapped parking will still be
located north of the pavilion.
Drew Pommert will be on the market stage
during market and another musician takes over at 6:30. The chalk art area will
be set up for kids near the music. There will also be a photo booth, so bring a
camera – or a smart phone.
The market will be open from 4 to 7 as usual,
though some vendors may stay later. Eat Street is open till 8:30.
The free kids meal is served from 4:30 to 6:30
on Tuesdays. The menu is ham and market potatoes with other market veggies or
fruit.
Kids Yoga starts at 5 north of the kids tent.
Adult Yoga starts at 5:45 north of the streetcar barn. Both classes are
donation-based and for beginner to intermediate.
As you can tell from the length of this column, we have begun
the high season in earnest and it only going to get better from here on out.
Come join the fun!
