Webb City Sentinel Column 4-26-13

Can it already be time for the Market to open for the season? Yes, indeed. We’re open today (Friday) from 11 to 2 at the market pavilion in King Jack Park with all our usual opening festivities: from 11 to 1 we’ll have a free hot dog lunch and music by the Granny Chicks. We have 400 saplings to give away, one to a person till we run out of people or trees. We ordered redbuds from the Missouri Department of Conservation, but discovered this week that they sent us serviceberries. What?!

I’d never heard of a serviceberry. It doesn’t even sound like a tree (although the seedlings look great). But it is and from what I’ve learned, it sounds like a good one. You can grow it as a large shrub or a small tree – I guess it depends on if you choose to prune it. It is loaded with showy white blossoms in the spring and its leaves turn brilliant red and yellow in the fall (photos below). Birds love its berries and people do too. Apparently the berries are particularly nice for pies, jams and jellies. Now that I think of it, the serviceberry is pretty much perfect for the market to give away so I guess I’m happy with the substitution. I hope our customers are too.

And, of course, the stars of the market today and every day are our vendors who will be at the market from 11 to 2. We’re expecting seven farmers with the early field crops like spinach, boc choy, lettuce, green onions, pea tops, Swiss chard, plus some other treats of insufficient quantity to share here. You’ll just have to come to the market to see these crops, but come early. They’ll go fast.
Marley’s Creamery returns to the market today with their raw milk after an absence of over a year.

Other edible treats we expect today – pecans, farm fresh eggs, all-natural pork, lamb, beef and chicken, and honey. A new vendor, PT Gardens of Nixa, will have seasoned salts and sugars, as well as herb and carnivorous plants. They’re putting their vanilla sugar on sale for Friday only at $4 a jar instead of $6. (Vanilla sugar is a treat where ever you would use sugar – in tea, on toast, on rice pudding….) They also have a new pork rub, sage salt, oregano salt and French fry salt. As the season continues, their selection will expand as they harvest from the over 40 varieties of herbs and edible flowers they grow.

And speaking of herbs, Frederickson Farms from Carl Junction is doing herb plants in a big way this year: Mint (Apple, Chocolate, Moroccan, Pineapple) Spearmint, Peppermint, Basil (Sweet, Italian, Genovese, Lemon, Purple, Thai), Garlic Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lavender, Thyme, Sweet Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Summer Savory and Stevia. Plus they have six varieties of pepper plants and over 30 varieties of tomato plants, both heirloom and hybrid.

The Frederickson’s will also have hanging baskets, as will Braker Farms. Fairhaven will have their hand-crafted planters.
Today, in addition to Black Forest and Arma Bakery, we welcome back Mohaska Farm, aka Redings Mill Bread Company, with artisan breads baked in a wood-fired brick oven. Eden Bakery will sell pies, cakes, cookies and breads.

Tomorrow (Saturday)we’ll be open from 9 to noon. Red Bridge plays and the Cooking for a Cause breakfast benefits the Ozark Gateway Audubon Society. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day so come enjoy biscuits and gravy, sausage and eggs cooked to order and listen to some of the region’s best old-style music.

Hazel’s Bakery is our Saturday baker – she’s well known for her pies, cakes, cookies and quick breads. We’ll have two egg farmers, a pork rancher, and about 5 produce farmers. Cottage Small who regularly sells their freshly roasted coffee beans on Fridays is adding Saturday to their schedule, so if you’re a coffee drinker and a Saturday shopper, you’ll want to be sure to stop by their stand.
The Ozark Tamale & Bar-B-Que Company will be at the Saturday markets and if you’re a meat lover, you’ll want to give them a try. Tony Ramos uses a recipe handed down from his mother for mighty tasty tamales. He’ll also have pork, chicken, ribs, sausage, jerky and fresh salsas, all packaged and ready to take home.

Next week, Granny Shaffer’s at the Market returns on Tuesday with hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken salad sandwiches. They’re adding a strawberry/pecan spinach and feta cheese salad to the Tuesday menu. Yum! This Tuesday, Bill Adkins plays.

On Friday, Granny Shaffer’s at the Market returns with the strawberry/pecan salad and chicken salad sandwich for lunch and adds last year’s favorite dish: homemade chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes. Jack and Lee Ann Sours play next Friday and our Extension experts will be at the market to answer growing and gardening questions.

Next Saturday, the Webb Chapter #204, Order of the Eastern Star serves the Cooking for a Cause breakfast. All their profits will go to the Ronald McDonald House. Hawthorne plays music dating all the way back to the Civil War.

Saturday is also our Let’s Plant a Garden Day when every child and teen receives a free tomato plant and instructions. And speaking of gardens, the Kids Community Garden starts up next week just east of the Middle School on Aylor Street. It’s open to middle school age kids and older and meets on Wednesdays right after school at 3 pm.
It’s going to be a bit of a slow start this year, produce-wise because of the recent cold weather, but they’ll be plenty to choose from and more every week. See you at the market!

Just right for this cold weather...

Here's a dish I enjoyed recently with my Australian family. It's from the book "what chefs feed their kids". Chef Piero Selvaggio prefaces it with: I was always looking for ways to incorporate greens like kale into meals for Cody because they are so rich in nutrients. I love the flavor of kale when it's cooked right, but its earthy flavor can make it a tricky addition to dishes. While kale is sweeter in the wintertime, it is available year-round at markets....If your child has never had kale before, start with adding a bit less to the recipe. If you are preparing this for infants or babies still learning to chew or unfamiliar with meat, chop the chicken into very small cubes and make sure not to overcook, because the meat will be too chewy and dry. Kale and squash are a wonderful combination and you can substitute any winter squash for the potatoes. To puree, remove the chicken from the bones and puree with the vegetables and a bit of chicken stock.

Roast Chicken with potatoes and kale

1/2 pound fresh kale, washed, stems removed and chopped
1/2 pound small potatoes (or winter squash like butternut or acorn), chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and fresh pepper
3 chicken legs
pinch of paprika
1/2 lemon, juiced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

Spread kale, potatoes (or squash), and onion onto a large pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and mix to evenly coat the vegetables. Cut the chicken legs halfway through the joint between the thigh & drumstick. Rub salt and pepper and paprika all over the chicken and set atop the vegetables. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooled through and tender. Cut the chicken into small pieces for infants who can chew and add a squeeze of lemon. Serve alongside the vegetables.

Note from Eileen - the whole family loved this dish - especially me. & at this time of year, kale is available at the market, as is chicken year-round. I saved the leftover juices from the dish and combined it with bits of chicken and soup pasta to make a yummy healthy dish for the little one the next day.

2013 Season

The Winter Market continues to be open every Friday from 11 to 2 at the Clubhouse, 115 North Madison. On Friday, April 26, we re-open for the regular season and will be open on Friday and Tuesday from 11 to 2 and on Saturday from 9 to noon at the pavilion.

Folks interested in selling at the market can see the rules, policy and application here

Sneaking more goodness into your family's meals

If you're like me, you may have trouble getting those five servings of produce into your daily diet. I stole an idea from my daughter Cora who feasts almost exclusively on fruits and vegetables. She does a version of this without meat that is yummy - it works with meat, too.

(Below - just a sampling of what was fresh & local at the market last week.)

Good-for-you Spaghetti and meat sauce

Use whatever ratios works for you. & whatever veggies are fresh from the market.

On Sunday, this is the combo I made.

Dice:

eggplant
sweet pepper
onion or several green onions

Mince:

clove elephant garlic

Heat in a skillet enough olive oil to cover bottom of pan lightly. Add above ingredients and saute, stirring frequently, until tender.

Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain (Sunny Lane Farms will have their all-natural beef at the Winter Market on the first and third Fridays of each month)

Combine beef and vegetables. Add spaghetti sauce (we like Ragu's Original). Add Italian seasoning to taste.

I do all this the day before serving and refrigerate overnight so the flavors blend. Then about 3 hours before serving, I put it in a crock pot and simmer until thoroughly heated.

Cook spaghetti, drain and top with sauce.

Last Sunday I paired this with an all-market salad - Romaine and loose leaf lettuce, edible pod peas, green onions, and tomatoes.

And did the anti-veggie crowd complain? Not a bit, in fact they took big second helpings!

Last Sentinel column of the season!

Remember last week’s column? I wrote that the weather this weekend could change all our market plans. And, of course it has. With a forecast that predicted our vendors would be in temperatures less than 45 degrees for over five hours both today and tomorrow, we’ve made the decision to move to winter quarters. So today you will find us at the Clubhouse, 115 North Madison. The market will be open today from 11 to 2, but inside in a warm and comfortable setting. Tomorrow we’ll be at the Clubhouse from 9 to noon. (That's eggplant growing at Frederickson Farms. They should have lots at the market today and tomorrow.)

On both days we’ll have lots of produce. We’re expecting at least five farms with such local favorites as hot and sweet peppers, egg plant, beets, green beans, turnips, Romaine lettuce, butternut and acorn squash, and zucchini. That means lots of good choices for you, but it also means our farmers will need lots of customers to purchase these good things. So please pass the word for us that we’re at the Clubhouse to your friends, co-workers and family.

Today Hazel’s Bakery serves Chicken Corn Chowder for lunch. We have tables for eating in or containers for take-out. Hazel’s and Black Forest will have lots of baked goods for sale. Kyle, son of our Endless Bounty raw food bar vendor, will take orders for Boy Scout popcorn. The orders will be delivered in November. To order just look for the young man in a uniform.

At tomorrow’s market we have Lisa Lammey with Studio Five taking fall portraits. Her photo packages run from $4 to $30. We’ll have a setting with pumpkins and mums to lend a fall flavor to the photos.

Tomorrow will be our last Saturday market of the season. Next week we go to our winter schedule, which this year will be every Friday from 11 to 2 at the Clubhouse. The only exception is the week of Thanksgiving when we will not be open on the Friday after Thanksgiving but instead on the Wednesday immediately before Thanksgiving. Our bakers are taking orders now for Thanksgiving celebrations.

This is the last market column for this year. Watch for news about the Winter Market in the Sentinel’s neighborhood news. And we’ll see you at the market every Friday all winter long!

Webb City Sentinel column - 10-19-12

(Some of the gorgeous mums we'll have at the market on Friday)

Sometimes you just have to play it by ear. Yes, I’m fixin’ to tell you that the plan has changed. Center Creek Bluegrass was scheduled to play at the market today – and they are a wonderful and authentic local group – but the forecast is just too cold for music. Now don’t get me wrong, it is definitely not too cold to come down to shop and pick up some delicious lunch, but cooler temperatures are just not good for acoustic instruments like guitars and basses and we sure want Center Creek’s instruments to continue to produce fantastic music. So be prepared for some great recorded music today at the market. Tomorrow which is supposed to be a gorgeous day, we’ll be back to live music.

When you’re the public face of a project like the farmers market you just have to develop a tolerance for being wrong. Not that I would deliberately mislead anyone, but I sure can misspeak. I always had a real sympathy for Dan Quayle and his unfortunate misspeaks – like the time he addressed the United Negro College Fund, whose slogan is “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” and said, “You take the UNCF model that what a waste it is to lose one’s mind…” If anyone cared enough to record what I say and could drum up a national audience, I’d top Mr. Quayle for sure.

Even with my small audience doing cooking demonstrations on television, I’ve managed many omissions and mistakes. I can’t count the number of times I’ve forgotten an ingredient or that the dish should be seasoned to taste or at what temperature to cook it. Salads have often been my downfall. One time I was doing a recipe that required me to mix up the dressing in the salad bowl and then add the greens to be tossed. On live TV I emptied my bag of greens into the salad bowl only to realize that I could not now mix up the dressing in the bowl or get the greens back into the bag. I had to mix the dressing in the only other bowl I had, which was tiny, so small that the whisk I had for mixing wouldn’t even fit in the bowl. And then there was the time that I was enthusiastically tossing the salad and dumped most of it on the counter. Oh my, the stories could go on and on.

But I am not alone – and it’s so nice to have company. I was with a professional horticulturist yesterday who shall remain unnamed. I was commenting on how glorious the chats south of Webb City look with all the scrubby trees and bushes in full Fall foliage. He rolled his eyes and said “yes, it’s one of the prettiest Falls in years and I was on television just last month saying that we’d have no color this year.”
So back to the market plans. It’s hard to plan too far in advance but at least for this weekend, here are the plans. Today, no live music, but we have a very good lunch. Hazel’s Bakery is serving a favorite just right for the cool weather – ham and beans. You’ll have a choice of white beans or brown beans or a mixture of the two. A bowl costs only $4 and there will be take out containers.

Sunny Lane Farm will be back at the market after an absence of almost a month. So come stock up on your all-natural beef, chicken and lamb. We also expect Madewell Pork to be at the market today as well as our bakeries – Black Forest and Hazel’s. We should have a number of farmers as well with Fall produce and Cottage Small Coffee Roasters with freshly roasted coffee beans and Endless Bounty with raw food bars. There should also be mums and pumpkins. We’ll have a painting table set up for kids wanting to paint their pumpkins. The market also has free acorn squash for kids who don’t have their own pumpkins so everyone can paint.

Tomorrow the painting table will be up again, along with the acorn squash. William Adkins will play for us. The breakfast of pancakes, sausage and eggs will benefit the market’s music program. We’ll have several farmers with produce, mums and pumpkins.

Next week we’ll have our last Saturday market and go to Fridays only for the winter. And it will be a special Saturday because the streetcar plans to run from 9 to 11 and local photographer Lisa Lammey will be taking Fall photos. She’ll have several packages available to order. Here are a couple: one 8x10 & 4 wallet photos for $10; 20 stickers for $5.

Just remember on both activities next week, the weather could make a liar of me! Regardless of the weather, come enjoy the Fall produce at the market.

Sentinel column 10-12-12

We’re having the Great Pumpkin Silent Auction at the market today and tomorrow. It’s our first one, but hopefully not our last. It all depends on our farmers and their ability to grow a Great Pumpkin. This year John Pate of Pate’s Orchard gave it a try and came up with a pumpkin weighing over 100 pounds. He’s donating it to the market to raise funds for our music program.

(These mini pumpkins come from Frederickson Farms.)

The auction begins at 10:30 am today. There will be a sheet on which folks can write their bid, which must be at least $5 higher than the previous bid. The high bidder at 11:00 am on Saturday will be declared the winner.

In addition to having the biggest pumpkin in town in front of their home or business, the high bidder will be listed as the sponsor of the market’s music in all our publicity in May and June. Fame, glory and a Great Pumpkin, too!

If you can’t make it to the market, call in your bid to 417 483-8139 and we’ll update you on bids and write yours in for you.

I guess there’s something ironic about using a silent auction to support our music, which is, after all, hardly silent. Music is the biggest line item in our annual budget and thee volunteers and vendors think it’s a great investment. We are fortunate that the Missouri Arts Council thinks it’s a good investment, too. Each year the Council has contributed a small but critical grant which underwrites the music. That’s our state tax dollars at work and we think those dollars result in much more than entertainment. It makes our market distinctive. To my knowledge, we’re the only venue in Southwest Missouri that hosts free family-friendly top-quality live music three times a week. We think that brings us more customers and extends our customer base far beyond the city limits - and that makes good economic sense. And it gives our local and regional musicians a place to share their talents and passion for music and that builds a stronger arts community. And, let’s face it, music brings life and good feelings to the market. It makes us a happier place.

So here’s hoping some music fans, market fans and pumpkin fans will bid on our Great Pumpkin.

Yes, we did have a freeze last weekend - way too early for my tastes. But several of our farmers used row cover to protect their plants so we will have produce at the market this weekend. It could be the last weekend for tender produce like zucchini, squash, eggplant, green beans and okra, so come get it while you can. We should have a good supply of the cool weather crops like broccoli, spinach, winter squash, pumpkins and mums for some weeks yet.

Today Hazel’s Bakery is serving Cheesy Potato Soup. She’ll have cupcakes and drinks for fifty cents each, as well as her usual spread of cakes, pies, cookies, quick breads and muffins.

William Adkins from Fayetteville, Arkansas will play.

Tomorrow is a big day at the market. Lisa Sweet, the market’s Queen of Crafts, will demonstrate how to paint a scarecrow face and help others wanting to try their hand at it. The less artistically inclined can take Lisa’s demonstration samples home. I’ll show folks how to make a scarecrow using plastic bags and old clothing. There will be a kids craft table where children can color fall coloring pages or make a scarecrow puppet or create veggie art. You’d be surprised what a great spider pipe cleaners and an acorn squash make.

Drew Pommert will provide the music tomorrow and Magic Moments Riding Therapy will serve Cooking for a Cause. Magic Moments receives all the profits from our breakfast of pancakes, sausage and eggs cooked right at the market. It’s served till 11.

Magic Moments uses trained instructors and volunteers to help the physically and mentally disabled ride horses in a safe setting. Whether a child has autism or other physical or mental challenges, riding a horse teaches the child patience and confidence while improving their flexibility, balance and muscle strength. A student who has always been too “slow” to participate in normal school athletics, as in the case of a student with mental retardation, can demonstrate her abilities through horseback riding.

Magic Moments recently began working with the Wounded Warriors program using horseback riding as therapy for our veterans healing from the traumas of their service.

I hope you will invite your family or friends to come out tomorrow and support this fine group of folks – trainers, volunteers and clients. Rain or shine, it will be a great day at the market.

Webb City Sentinel Column - 10-5-12

Wait a minute – what happened to Fall? Well, regardless of the cold forecast for this weekend, we at the market are just stubborn enough to continue celebrating Fall – because it will be back soon. In fact, we have a banner two days lined up for our customers – so brave the weather and come on out today or tomorrow – or both days!

(at right - Zucchini-Pepper Relish - the recipe is at the bottom of the column)

After all, if the IceMusic Festival in Norway is a big success – held outdoors in January in an amphitheater built of snow in way below freezing weather, I’m pretty such we can handle a little cold. And we can actually drive up to the pavilion. IceMusic Festival patrons have a choice of skiing into the concerts or taking a ski lift and walking 20 minutes.

Today we welcome Hazel’s Bakery back to the Friday lunch slot. Hazel’s will serve Meatball Vegetable Soup for $4. It’s the perfect market food because it includes 12 vegetables – that’s about as good for you as it gets and won’t it be just perfect for a cool day? You can eat it at the market or take it home. Hazel’s will also have drinks and cupcakes available for 50 cents each.

Webb City’s own Gospel Strings plays today from 11 to 1.

Tomorrow we’ll be open from 9 to noon. We have a special treat with Robert Scott Bruce of Indianapolis returning to perform. Robert was at the market last year during his Midwest tour with his Celtic harp. This year he’s partnering with veteran musician Joel Conner to bring us “The Music of Simon and Garfunkel.” Robert sings the parts of Garfunkel. A trained operatic tenor, Robert’s sweet voice should be perfect. Joel will sing the part of Simon and play the guitar, though it will probably be his electric guitar since acoustic guitars don’t do well in cold weather. At least it won’t be an ice guitar like you’d find at the IceMusic where every year they feature several ice instruments. Yes, they’ve had an ice guitar, harp, horn… I bet the concerts give the audience chills. Sorry, I couldn’t resist that.

Breakfast will be served by the local chapter of Crime Stoppers which funnels tips about unsolved crimes to law enforcement using an anonymous reward system to folks who call in the tips. The menu is new – pancakes, eggs, and sausage – all cooked to order so it will be hot regardless of the temperature.

Both the meal and the music run from 9 to 11.

We expect to see lots of produce at the market today – green beans, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, green onions, egg plant, radishes, turnips, Swiss chard and other greens, edible pod peas, sweet potatoes, Asian specialty crops and lots more. We should have a good selection of mums and pumpkins of all sizes, including the minis. Tim Green is bringing his gorgeous green peppers and Broken Wire will have peppers of many colors, sweet and hot. We’re expecting our pork rancher and three bakers.

Tomorrow we’ll have no rancher, but Mohaska Farm House will be at the market with their artisan breads, along with Hazel’s Bakery and Arma Bakery.

On both days we’ll having Fall coloring pages for the kids.

Next week is our monthly Second Saturday so we’ll add artists to the mix and the streetcar will be running unless it’s raining hard. We start our pumpkin crafts for kids next week.

The zucchini should weather the cold over the weekend, so hopefully we’ll continue to have a bountiful supply through October. I made the recipe below this week with Carol Parker on KSN and folks raved about it. It’s a great way to use those really big zucchini which are such a buy at the market. Canned, it would make a great personal Christmas present. We still have free canning recipe booklets, canning labels and coupons off for canning supplies at the market information table.

Zucchini-Pepper Relish

3 lbs. zucchini, seeded if necessary
3 onions
2 sweet red peppers
1/4 cup pickling salt
2 1/2 cups sugar (or substitute 1/2 to 2/3 cup Truvia)
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons cornstarch

In a food processor, finely chop zucchini, pulsing with on/off motion. Put zucchini in large bowl.

Finely chop onions in food processor, pulsing. Add to zucchini.

Remove seeds from peppers and finely chop by hand. Add to zucchini.

Sprinkle with pickling salt and stir to blend. Let stand for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Drain off liquid. Rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Drain, pressing out liquid.

In a large heavy pan, combine sugar (or Truvia)), vinegar, dry mustard, celery seed, pepper and turmeric. Bring to a boil stirring. Add drained zucchini mixture and bring back to a boil, stirring frequently.

Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Combine water and cornstarch, mixing thoroughly. Add to zucchini mixture. Cooking, stirring for 5 minutes.

Refrigerate and serve fresh or seal in sterilized bottles and process according to canning directions.

Webb City Sentinel - 9-29-12

We begin our fall schedule next week with the arrival of October (and fall brings new crops like the edible pod peas in the photo). That means we’ll be open on Fridays from 11 to 2 and Saturdays from 9 to noon. The Tuesday markets are finished for the year. When November, or the first hard freeze, arrives we’ll go to Fridays only until we reopen for the 2013 market season in late April. We plan to stay at the pavilion until truly cold weather sets in. Last year we went to the Clubhouse in November but the winter was so mild we could have stayed at the pavilion. And while we love the Clubhouse – it’s warm and wind-free with lovely bathrooms and kitchen, it’s also tough to fit all our vendors inside and tougher still to redirect our customers there. So it’s the pavilion for us until the weather forces us to move.

Besides dropping Tuesdays, the other major change starting next week involves our market meals. Granny Shaffer’s wraps up their season at the market today. They’ve provided us with tasty meals twice a week May through September, often in oppressive heat, and we’ve really appreciated their dedication and yummy food. Next week, Hazel’s Bakery takes over the Friday lunch and will serve a different soup each week. On Saturdays we continue our benefit breakfast, but the menu changes to pancakes, eggs and sausage.

That said, today Granny Shaffer’s is serving hot roast beef sandwiches for lunch. The Plainsfolk will be playing.

Tomorrow Cooking for a Cause includes biscuits and gravy, sausage, and cooked to order eggs. It’s served from 9 to 11 and all profits go to the Ozark Area CROPwalk. CROPwalk is an interfaith walk held in over 2,000 communities nationwide. Our walk is this Sunday and there will be information on it at the market Saturday in case you would like to participate. The focus of the walk is fighting hunger with 1/4 of the funds raised being split locally among Crosslines, Lafayette House, Children’s Haven and the Salvation Army. The rest goes around the world feeding refugees and increasing economic opportunities in areas of chronic poverty. Locally, United Methodist, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Christians (Disciples), Catholics and Baptists walk together. Other churches, businesses and individuals are welcome.

The Loose Notes will play on Saturday.

Keeping the market going two days in a row is a challenge for our growers, but they’re committed to doing it if the weather will cooperate. It’s my job to make sure we have the customers they need on Saturdays when there are festivals galore drawing the customers out of town. So mark your calendars now. On October 6th we have a special musical treat. Joel Conner and Robert Bruce Scott of Indianapolis will present “The Music of Simon & Garfunkel” in much the same way that Simon & Garfunkel originally presented it when barnstorming the U.S. in the 1960's - one guitar and two voices in intricate harmony. Joel Conner, singing Paul Simon’s part, has performed across the United States for nearly 40 years. Robert Bruce Scott is an operatic tenor who performed at the market last year playing his 32-string Celtic harp. We are really pleased to have these musicians stopping at the market during their Oklahoma/Missouri tour.

On October 13th, we’ll have our scarecrow demonstrations. Lisa Sweet, Webb City’s queen of crafts, will demonstrate how to paint the scarecrow’s face – really the only part of the process that takes talent. And for those of us with no talent, she’ll also be giving away her demonstration pieces. I also hope we’ll be able to share some other materials like the clothing used to create the scarecrows. I’ve gone through my closets (is there anything more satisfying than clearing out closets?) and invite you to do the same. If you have long pants, long-sleeved collared shirts, overalls, denim skirts or dresses, old boots or hats, bring them to the market by the 13th and we’ll pass them on to others making scarecrows. The pants and shirts need to be hard woven fabric like denim or cotton. Stretchy fabrics like knits don’t work well. Also, if you have plastic bags, we can use those to stuff the scarecrows. Wouldn’t it be fun if homes and businesses throughout Webb City were decorated with market mums and pumpkins and original scarecrows? And you can add a couple of market carrot driveway markets to complete the effect for only $2 each. Who knows, maybe this winter we’ll get snow and actually need driveway markers.

In the meantime, come to the market and celebrate the fall. There’s still plenty of produce and other good things to buy, great music to listen to and friends to meet and make. See you at the market!

Webb City Sentinel column - 9/21/12

What a lovely time of year. The weather couldn’t be nicer, the rains have greened things up, the pumpkins and mums have arrived and Sammy and Suzie Scarecrow are back on their park bench at the market.

Sammy and Suzie have been fall fixtures at the market for 11 years now. And though their outfits change, their bodies just get a little more stuffing every year and their faces get a good scrubbing – in the washing machine.

(That's Devereaux Lewis of Oronogo, giving Suzy a hug, while his big brother looks on.)

We’ll have a scarecrow building workshop at the market on a Saturday in October but here’s the basics in case you want to start early. Gather up all those plastic shopping bags and two sets of old clothes – either your own or from a resale shop. (Well, I guess you could raid your spouse’s closet.) Regardless of scarecrow gender, you start with one pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Those form the body. Just pin each leg bottom and wrist opening shut with a safety pin and stuff with the bags. Start with the pants, then do the shirt, then tuck the shirt into the pants, pin them together, and add a little stuffing to fill everything out. I always use old boots and gardening gloves for hands and feet, again pinned to the body. For the head, stuff a plastic bag with more plastic bags, put it inside an old white pillow case. Draw or paint a face on a piece of old white sheet, wrap around the head, tie at the bottom and tuck into the shirt, pinning to keep the head in place. I’ve nnever figured out how to keep the head upright, so I just use a stick along the back to keep the scarecrow’s head from lolling about.

Now you’re ready to dress your scarecrow and top with an old hat. The outer garb will fade in the sun but that’s perfect, because changing the outfit each year is great fun. The inner body will be fine for reuse year after year.

Now all you need to do is give your scarecrow a name, add a few pumpkins and mums and celebrate fall. Don’t forget the festive ornamental corn decorations grown and made by our youngest vendor, 13-year-old Lane Luthi. You’ll find him at his sisters’ mum stand.

The market is open today from 11 to 2 and is loaded with beautiful produce. It is amazing how quickly plants perk up with some rain. You’ll see a wide selection of eggplant, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and squash. Today we’ll have the first of the sweet potatoes. And of course we’ll onions, green onions, radishes, Swiss chard, and other greens – basically a ton of local, fresh vegetables. Our pumpkin grower, Webb Citian Heath Reineke, is selling all his pumpkins for $3 each regardless of size. There will be baked goods both today and tomorrow, including Hazel’s Bakery with pies, cakes, muffins, cookies and fruit breads.

Granny Shaffer’s at the Market is serving chicken tetrazzini, green beans, dessert and a beverage for $6 today. Center Creek Bluegrass plays.

Tomorrow we celebrate Market Roots. This Webb City original has been copied across the country and celebrates where our food – and we – originated. The Historical Society will have a world map where everyone can mark their ancestral home. The Genealogical Society’s books will be for sale: Families & Histories of Webb City, Carterville, & Oronogo Vol. I for $65 and Pictorial History of Webb City, Carterville & Oronogo Vol II for $30.

Every vendor will have a sign with their birth place and where their ancestors came from. In the case of our immigrant farmers, we show when and where they became US citizens. There are always several tables full of produce currently in season and where scientists think they originated. Sure hope we have watermelon so we can have Africa represented on the table. The table also has artifacts from around the world just to give the display a little more flavor – after all, you don’t get to taste the display so you’ll have to savor it with your eyes.

The Carl Junction Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star serves breakfast tomorrow and will give their profits to one of the many charities they support like the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Society. The Green Earth Band plays. Be sure and ask them to play “The Market Song” written especially about the Webb City market.

There’s a lot going on in Webb City tomorrow with the market open from 9 to noon, Webbstock all day at the high school and Minerva’s open house downtown in the afternoon. Why not make it a Webb City day and visit them all?

On Tuesday, Granny Shaffer’s at the Market serves hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken salad sandwiches and chef salads. Gospel Strings performs.

It’s a wonderful time of year to visit the market. See you there!