Summer Days...food and more

I'm in love with summer days.  Days of clear blue skies, a scented wafting breeze, berries ripening, bees buzzing lazily and days that stretch sunshine until 10pm!  I'm at home and there is no place I'd rather be, putzing in the garden, making jams and conserves in the kitchen, grilling supper outdoors and reading the last pages of a great novel. 

John and I visited a lovely farmer, Nina, at a local Farmers Market and purchased all of these beets!  I really enjoy Nina's sense of style with her signs and table layout!  I came home and made a lovely Beet Relish to enjoy this winter and present to my Preserve It! Class at The Market later in the week.

Fresh shell peas are had to come by these days!  A yield of 1 cup shelled peas for every quart of pea pods seems skimpy, yet SO worth the effort!  I made my peas into a "Pea Cream".  It's a condensed sauce of peas, stock. garlic and seasonings that can be frozen and then made into soups, a spread for toasted baguettes, pasta sauce and more! 

Our "South Bed" perennial garden is full of lovely blossoms and Pierre's playground!  Pierre is allowed to romp and roam, roll in the grass and take naps in the shade as the invisible fence encompasses this entire area.  The small red tree is a dwarf peach and he is quite smitten with it....it's just his size! 

Two years ago we lost a huge, magnificent ash tree to Emerald Ash Borer.  I wasn't planning to plant anything in it's place until this little beauty of an American Chestnut!  I cannot wait for the harvest to begin (it will be a number of years) and just ponder the possibilities of my own chestnut tree!  Soaking the leaves in Calavados to wrap tiny goat cheeses, roasted chestnuts, Marrons, a candied chestnut treat, soups and MORE! 

Pierre is always shy for the camera.....

My mom, Linda, makes a mean Strawberry Pie!  Perfectly ripe, ruby red berries in a homemade glaze...the nicest blend of sweet and tart!  

Of course I needed another tart pan, I didn't have one this shape and it was on sale.  Justification.

Pate Brisee with freshly ground peppercorns always makes a lovely tart.  I made several batches this week to keep in the freezer for quick weekday tarts and quiches.  The dough freezes beautifully and I can take a package out in the morning to be defrosted and ready to roll when I get home from the shop.  

 

My quiche turned out lovely and the shape of the pan inspired me to be fussy and add a few sprigs of chives!

Now it's off to work I go...the cacao beans are calling me to make chocolate bars this morning!  Peppalo Stone Ground Chocolate is our new company and we are having a blast!  More about this in the future... 

Farmers Market Etiquette

Enfant Rouge Farmers Market Paris France

Tables of fresh lettuce all in a beautiful, towering stack, bundles of radishes still damp from their morning under the faucet, wooden quart boxes overflowing with ripe, red, fragrant strawberries, globes of fresh mozzarella cheese and jars or jewel colored jams are just a hint of what we find at the Farmers Market each week.  It's also a large part of Four Corners Creamery and Prochaska Farms weekly work load. 

Les Halles Farmers Market, Paris France

There is something special about the Farmers Market, a way to connect a person to the food we eat, a sense of community, the anticipation and surprise of what we might find to take home this week and for me personally, a bit of mystery as to what we will be eating fresh this week!

Saline Tuesday Evening Farmers Market Saline Michigan

I thought I'd share a few insider tips on how to make the Farmers Market vendors your very best friends and get the best selections for the week!

• TRUST; trust that your vendor is bring the very freshest, ripest,  finest product he has to offer!  Look for the busiest vendors, they usually have a good reputation that you can build on.  Ask them to pick the "best" of the selection for your and they gladly will! 
• KNOWLEDGE; know approximately what should be in season and what to expect this week.  All climates are different and unlike the grocery store, farmers will have only what they have grown and is ripe that week.  

• QUESTIONS; Be clear when asking questions about pesticide use, production, handling etc, and be conscience of the farmer's time as Farmers Market hours are usually limited.  Often you can ask to visit the farm or facility if you'd like more information. 

• BAGS; I always bring at least 2 bags; one for dry stuff and one for wet stuff.  I never take the wooden or plastic boxes on display, they are too bulky and cost the farmer.
• TOUCHING; I just don't do it!  This is not the grocery store that has product and produce sitting on the shelves for weeks.  Fruits and vegetables are picked ripe and sold in a short time from the farmer.  Customers handling them for 6 hours will ruin tomatoes, berries, lettuce etc.  Cheeses and breads are also fragile, not to mention, do I want to purchase food that 100 people have had their hands on that morning?  I expect the best and if I don't get it, I won't buy from that particular farmer again.
• NEGOTIATING;  I have read many articles in magazines encouraging negotiating/asking for a price break with farmers and am always flabbergasted at this notion.  I feel as the value for the asking price is always very fair, if not downright cheap.  The cost involved in getting a farmer to market is quite extensive; labor to pick and wash, cost of space at the market, gas in driving large trucks full of product, time and extras like bags, signs, etc. Also, depending on the availability of produce, the farmer is competing with everything from backyard gardeners to huge stores like sams club.  There is no level playing field in farming.  If I come across the last head of napa cabbage, I am giddy that I got there before it was gone for the week!  I don't ask for a discount.  I'm not sure where people got the idea that it's acceptable to bargain with a farmer over a 50 cent pepper or $3 watermelon....Would your employer ask you for a discount on or negotiate your paycheck?  It's the same concept.  Walking 10 feet in a farmer's shoes has me gladly paying $3 for a quart of fresh strawberries.
• ENJOY YOURSELF; The Farmers Market is the one place you can really have fun with food, enjoy the weather & your community.  You can bring your dog (check out this gal dressed up) and your  children, ride your bike and have a coffee and a multitude of tasty treats!  You can feel great about shopping locally and bring home a beautiful bouquet!      

We really love bringing Four Corners Creamery cheeses to many farmers markets in the area and have met so many lovely people, we feel very grateful that they purchase from us each week and enjoy what we make for them!  I think it's particularly special that they have chosen our cheese for their supper table.  It's being there in spirit!

Main Street Farmers Market loot! Blissfield Michigan

Winter Farmers Market & Ricotta

Cheese production doesn't stop at Four Corners Creamery (aka John and I's home away from home!) just because it's winter!  Our goat milk production has slowed a bit this month as all the girls are awaiting kids, they are keepin' that milk!   So, we make a few different cheeses that are great seasonal additions to our line up. 

The first is whole milk ricotta.  Folks, this is not the stuff from the cooler section of the grocery.  This is warm, milky, rich, eat off the spoon cheese.  I am not Italian and just didn't get the "ri-coat" love affair that my customers had.  Until a visit to Italia in 2009.

A perfectly blue sky, a crisp, Sicilian morning in April rocked my world.  I watched a farmer deliver his Fresh Ricotta and by the time I made it to the dining room of the restaurant, it was dished up with a tiny cup of fresh fruit chutney, waiting for me.  The most passionate love affair ensued.  John is aware of this affair and feeds it weekly, right here in Tecumseh.  A spoon and the honey jar are waiting patiently for this week's batch.  Any leftovers are headed into crepes.

We learned more than just cheese making in Italy and Sicily.  We took pleasure in the smallest handmade/handpicked foods.  Simple meals created with joy and the fresh, fresh, freshest ingredients!  In fact, with all of the simple meals, it made restaurant meals seem less special, less flavorful, less personal. 

My favorite part of farmers markets and producing cheese is the personal aspect.  A farmer/producer "nourishes".  The actual food itself is nourishing, the connection to the earth nourishes our souls, the market itself nourishes our "primitive gatherer" and the relationships created nourish our community.  

 

Farmers Market Jackpot

Today's visit to the Main Street Farmers Market in Blissfield yielded such a beautiful supper and still life I had to share it here! I like nothing better than to purchase beautiful things and if I can eat them...all the better!

John and Jamie are a bit under the weather, so some Local Chicken Noodle Soup was on the menu for tonight. Everything that went into my pot came from Lenawee County Michigan, the place we call home.

The concept that my " neighbors"
hard work, made my supper possible is always a bit awe inspiring to me.

You've already made the best chicken soup for your family, you don't need my recipe.

Feel free to send a comment if you really want the recipe!

Red Currants...for real?

I admit, I am a sucker for fresh fruit and I like it tart! (My family disagrees and calls it sour!) Red currant jelly is one of my favorites! A beautiful bright red and translucent, sweet and tart, sticky and smooth!

This week at Main Street Market (Blissfield at Hathaway House) Farmers Market, the owner of Vine Haus, Barb, had the most beautiful fresh red currants for sale! I am so excited! Tomorrow morning is jelly making at my house! I do love to make jams and jellies...they are easy, take little time, give me a huge sense of satisfaction and domestic goddess status amongst family and friends. I also love to eat toast with jam on a freezing, dark, January night. Usually more than one piece!

I also found a salsa recipe using red currants (on tomorrow's menu) and a lovely looking cake.

My fondest memory of red currant jelly is Amboise France, with a fresh crepe and chantilly (whipped cream). Wish me luck in reproducing them this week!

I will update and send recipes ASAP! Enjoy your farmers market this week and make a batch of jam too! That liquid pectin is amazing!

Living the Farmer's Market life

I thought you might enjoy a day in the life of a cheese maker preparing for the Farmers Market! John has it easier than some folks, because we have an abundance of GREAT farm markets close to Tecumseh. Four Corners Creamery currently attends Saline, Ann Arbor, Canton and Blissfield at Hathaway House, all of which are 25 miles or less away. These are nice markets that are committed to offering locally made goods.

At Four Corners, John makes about 450 lbs of cheese per week, but we bump up Fresh Mozzarella production in the spring and summer months another 100 lbs. Our production runs Tuesday-Friday every week. John makes both cow milk and goat milk cheeses and yogurt. Some of our cheeses age up to a month, but we focus on fresh. The philosophy behind this is simple: fresh cheese is healthy, tastes great and remains affordable. We want everyone to be able to afford a round of fresh goat cheese every week! Ounce per ounce, we are about the same price as a large scale (think millions of lbs!) goat cheese producer!

When milk prices fluxcuate (it's on the commodity market) we can keep our prices the same.

So, the cheese is made, drained and packaging begins...each fresh goat cheese round is hand formed, sprinkled with a mild herb blend and wrapped in plastic. About 200 of them, each at approximately 6 ounces!

Each aged goat log is inoculated, drained and hand formed into a triangle shaped log and set to aging for about 3 weeks in a separate area. The already aged logs are weighed and cut into 6 oz. pieces and wrapped for sale.

The "Northern Lights" is a fresh cow milk spread that is drained, mixed with salt, garlic, paprika and ground peppercorns and is ready for sale 12 hours later.

Our cream is allowed to ripen overnight and our butter is lightly salted with sea salt.

It's a busy week during the farmers Market season, we love it! The people, the recipes, the vendors, the FOOD! It's an amazing process to be involved in!

Thanks for buying our cheeses and enjoying them...we make them just for you!

Is this a Farmers Market or what?

On our way to the Musee du Louvre today via foot on a busy boulevard, Rue du Turbigo, we happened upon 2 of my "don't miss" points in Paris! The 1st was a visit to E Dehillerin, a cookware paradise! It was a tight fit, literally, but I left with Birthday treasures! The tiny terrine pans, copper pots, and everything in between had my name on them, however I controlled myself and purchased a few must-haves: knives, wooden pate spreaders, a square tart pan and "Le Repertoire de la Cuisine" book! The girls and John surprised me with an omelet pan later in the evening...I nearly took it to bed with me, I was so excited!



The 2nd must see was the street market and it was phenomenal. Interesting area and the whole street was shut down. I took many photos and bags home, I could not resist the madelains and gateaux, the girls could not resist the racks of clothing! John was sniffing pans full of Paella and oogling the seafood! The "Madame"s start as soon as you pull out your Euros! It was festive, smelly, beautiful...purely heaven!

I have lots to talk about this day, but will save for another post! We are off to my Birthday celebration! Au Revoir!

Creativity, Rants and February

February is planning and testing time at The Market and Four Corners Creamery (our cheese making business) for the Farmers Market season. We love to try new cheese making procedures, aging techniques and bacterial cultures. Occasionally there are winners...but just as often, a great idea turns funky! So goes the quest to create cheese! I am thankful for this time to anticipate the spring and summer months, and yet still catch a nap on my day off!

We are very fortunate to participate in Farmers Markets that are "Grower Only" markets. Tecumseh, Ann Arbor and Saline host Farmers Markets that have guidelines in place to assure customers that all of the food/goods produced are licensed, actually produced by that vendor and local to the area. The market manager oversees the vendors and keeps the integrity of the market. So goes my rant...

RANT: Why are Farmers Markets allowing resellers to participate?

I have had a few customers tell me (at The Boulevard Market) that they have purchased cheese from England at their Farmers Market?!?!?

My opinion is that the problem then becomes two fold; the reseller takes business away from the local brick and mortar business by avoiding all the cost associated with doing business, (ie; taxes, licensing, insurance etc.) and from the local farmer by bringing in products that are less expensive to grow on an industrial level.

Allowing resellers compromises the local farmer by creating competition that is unhealthy. Local farmers are more diversified in their crops and keep seasonal for the most part. The farmers are using a local labor force, travel less to reach the markets and guarantee growing conditions and pesticide/fertilizer use.

Reselling is no different than shopping at the grocery store, except your local grocer usually puts that money back into the community through donations to charities, a local labor force and the property taxes that they pay. Not to say resellers don't, but not on the dollar level of a grocer.

I go to the Farmers Market to CONNECT to the community and know who is growing/producing the food I am purchasing. I expect to make some changes to my shopping list depending on what is in season or what I might have missed that morning. I like talking to my neighbors and seeing what they have chosen or are making for supper with their purchases. I like trying new vegetable varieties, buying a beautiful bouquet and checking out the beeswax candles, breads and fruits. I like spending my money and time on people I know!

If your argument is "my farmers market is small and there isn't much selection", all the more reason to shop there! Successful, Grower Only markets are created by the demand in the community! Ask that farmer to grow something special for you, ask the cheese maker for a pound of ricotta next week, ask for a pot of purple petunias...ask where your food is coming from, who is creating it and where you can get more of that good stuff!

By the way- the photo is my Dad, Mike Prochaska, after a long day of farming!