"We're back! BFM opens Sun May 8"

From: Robin Shuster
Sent: Saturday, May 7, 2016 7:44 PM
Subject: We're back! BFM opens Sun May 8

Hi BFM friends!

We are back! Starting this Sunday, May 8, from 9-1 in front of the Big Bear Cafe.  This is our 10th season and it is a birthday celebration for Whisked (5 years) and Number 1 Sons as well (4 years).  I can actually claim credit for gently pushing Jenna into doing farmers markets and remember the day Caitlin and Yi Wah ran up to me with samples of their fermented pleasures, right on R street at the end of a market day. Be sure to stop at their stands.

NEW this week: MUSHROOMS, excellent Oyster mushrooms from Eckingtonians James Mattingly and Natalia Allende — Mycolumbia Mushrooms.  Come early because I know they will sell out.  Our beloved chef at market, Jonathan Bardzik, has been raving about these mushrooms and all 3 of them had an epic mushroom throw down a few weeks ago. I saw the photos, wish I had been there.  James and Natalia will have both fresh and dried mushrooms.  I first talked to them about my search for good mushroom producers a few years ago and James joked that he would grow them in the District.  To my great surprise, he started on that adventure about 2 years ago. It took another year to find the right location and figure out the growing needs of his mushrooms, but now he is growing for several restaurants and us.

Yeah, it has been a drizzly, gray week but the spring greens and salads are LOVING it.  Some farmers market only suggestions: green garlic, wild watercress, pea shoots, eggs from duck and geese and just picked  (30 minutes before Bernard starts the truck) squash blossoms.  I saw them today and 14&U and the were the loveliest blossoms I have seen, even in France.

Lots of herbs and plant starts for your gardens, patios, decks, sunny kitchen windows,especially at Reid who turns into a garden center popup for us every May.   But they will have apples too: Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Gold Rush, Gala, Fuji, Cameo and probably a few others as well.

Asparagus, arugula, kales, chard, tatsoi, bok choy and other Asian greens, mixed salad greens,  lettuces, spinach, radishes, sweet little hakurei salad, the babiest beets with cute greens, turnips,

Panorama is running a Mother’s Day sale on almond croissants and their Rustique bread. They have a large selection of breakfast and French style bread, as always.

Carnivores rejoice:  Truck Patch pastured pork and their famous bacon is back.

Home made Pasta is plentiful this week: Ravioli: goat cheese and thyme, burrata, roasted lamb, chicken cacciatore, beef short ribs lasagne, green kale fusili, smoked paprika pappardelle, fettuccine. Matteo’s partner, Rolando, will be at the stand and since he makes the pastas with Matteo and Daniele, he can answer all his questions. Rolando trained in France and Italy.

Keswick Creamery’s cows and goats enjoyed the mostly mild winter and rewarded Melanie with a surplus of milk so she has more aged cheeses than she usually has this time of year.  We have been loving the Lesher and Vermeer and the Camembert this week.  And the yogurt and quark cream cheese is still my reference point for both of those dairy products.

Pies: Whisked has a market only strawberry rhubarb to welcome us back. Apple, Salted Caramel, Rhubarb, Strawberry Lemon.  Celebrate the flavors of Spring with their Quiches: Spring Green and Feta, Asparagus and Goast Cheese, Bacon, Cheddar and Onion and Southwestern Spinach and pepperjack cheese.  And everyone who purchases at the stand will get a Birthday Cake Cookie in honor of Whisked"s 5th anniversary.

Finally,  Kombucha is back at Number 1 Sons.  Gorlami radishes (vegan meatballs) are new this year and Spring Ramp Kraut is a short seasonal specialty with West Virginia ramps. Everyone who sampled it at 14&U today bought it and I grabbed a container for myself as well.  If you are yearning for cucumber pickles, please please please try the dill pickled daikon spears.  As you know, I am a demanding New York pickle nut, but these pickled daikon spears did it for me.  Try them.

MUSIC at the Market: Rye and Dirty. All “folked” up mix of old time, blue grass, blues and hip hop.

See you Sunday

Robin and the Teds

ps: DC Greens' Farmers Market Brigade  -  We are looking for a few good neighborhood volunteers to join the DC Greens' Farmers Market Brigade.  DC Greens is a food access non-profit in DC that works to support food education, food access, and food policy in the nation’s capital.  DC Greens will be administrating this year's Produce Plus program, which provides additional dollars to spend at farmer's markets across DC for participants in the Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, and Senior nutrition assistance programs.  If you are interested in becoming a Brigade volunteer, you can get more information here:

http://dcgreens.org/brigade/?mc_cid=e58addbe22&mc_eid=7d140263e0 

The incredibly successful Produce Plus Program will restart in June and will last until November 30th but we need volunteers for the Brigade.