Webb City Sentinel market column - Wednesday, September 16, 2020

My stint of melon cutting has come to an end.

The melon crop will start petering out soon and I don’t want to take orders online that I might not be able to fill so I have removed them from the online store. But it has been a fun run. Since the middle of July I’ve cut and packed 110 quarts of melon and cut melon for about 600 free kids meals. That’s a lot of melon and it sure was good!

Now is the time to savor the season of fall. MU Extension was at the market yesterday with samples of pumpkin bread. It was lovely, not too sweet but full of fall flavors. Our Extension nutrition educator comes to most Tuesday markets so stop by and sample a tasty healthy recipe featuring market produce.

The market will look even more seasonal than usual this Saturday because in additional to the huge mum plants and all the pumpkins and gourds in every shape and color, we  will have large decorative corn stalks. Jann
Amos, and corn stalks from his garden, will be set up by E & O Produce. You may remember Jann as our honey vendor for well over a decade. This Saturday he’s happy to be your corn stalk vendor.

Saturday we’ll have ten farms, plus two mushroom growers. The farms will be loaded with produce, several will have pumpkins and mums, Maypop and Vang Garden will have lovely cut flowers. The flowers always seem to be at their most spectacular in the fall. Garrett and Sunny Lane will have all-natural meats, Helm’s will have honey and honey products, DnD Smoked will have a wide selection of their seasonings and mixes. Clear Water Shrimp Farm will be at the market, as will three bakeries. MaMa JoJo’s will have artisan pasta along with made-at-the-market sauces. Good Golly Tamales will have their frozen tamales, which by the way are gluten-free. They also have vegetarian and vegan options, as well as mild through super hot fillings. Ghost pepper anyone?

Juniper Coffee is back. They took a short vacation and they were missed!

Cooking for a Cause benefits Crosslines, our regional food pantry. The cooks and servers are recruited by Central United Methodist Church which is one of the more than 40 churches that supports Crosslines. Crosslines started in 1982 and serves Joplin, Carl Junction, and Webb City. It continues to meet its original mission:  to eliminate duplication of services while providing a centralized location to operate a food pantry and clothing bank. Since its inception, folks in need can go to one location for a wide range of services rather than search from church to church.

 

Justin Cauble will be on the NEW market stage which has moved to the center of the pavilion. We had to move music out to the tent for most of the summer to avoid crowding but now space has eased up inside the pavilion and we are so glad to have our music back with us.

 

The Tuesday market continues to be our easy day. Easy to park, easy to shop, easy to social distance, easy to get a tasty meal or snack. We have lots of picnic tables out on the grass and under the tent so folks can enjoy a Saturday breakfast or pasta dish on Saturdays or street tacos and grilled corn or Asian food on Tuesdays outside in the lovely fall weather. Plenty of room, plenty of fresh air. There's probably not a safer, more welcoming place to get your good food. Welcome to the market.