I went to the mother lode of farmer's markets in the state this morning. Maureen and I got up before 7 AM (like it was a week day!) so that we could pick up our little sister, Frances, to take her to the Bloomington FM, take her on a tour of IU, and go to FARM-Bloomington for lunch.
Bloomington has some rules for its market with one major one. To sell something at the market you must have grown it or raised it. Not someone else grew it, but you are the farmer. Here are the rules. This means that when you are buying something you are getting it from the person who grew it. It also means there aren't pastries (though outside the market a few places like FEAST set up). It also means if you are Local Folks Foods and one of the items in your product comes from off your farm, you can't sell it.
These rules have no impact on the size of the market. It is huge. I'm guessing it is at least twice the size of the Broad Ripple, Carmel, or Noblesville markets. You might even be able to add all 3 up to get to the size of it. And wow are there vegetables there. I think this was a good week. The variety of tomatoes was awesome. There was everything you could think of and more. Here is what we got:
- Chanterelle Mushrooms (they are orange...never had them before, but excited)
- Eggs (Schacht Farms)
- Bratwust (Schacht Farms) - so good!
- Ground Pork (Schacht Farms) - Pork Burgers, here I come!
- Jersey Blueberry Bush (Backyard Berry Plants) - okay with was an impulse but it was only $12. Had I bought a comparable one in Indy at a nursery it would have been $25 - $30 in the spring. This is also a very hearty variety that can survive both a flood and a drought.
- Peaches from Hope Indiana
- Fingerling Potatoes
- New Potatoes
- Brandywine Tomato
- Vine Ripe Beef Steak Tomatoes
- Black Cherry Tomatoes
- Golden Cherry Tomatoes
- Red Bomb tomatoes
- Red Onions
- Flowers (for Frances)
- Strawberry Jam (Heartland Family Farm) Really this is a strawberry sauce. I think calling it a jam is misleading, but it is so good poured on ice cream we had to have it.
- Corn - There were a ton of places selling corn at the market, but this one stand had a huge line. Maureen must have been in line for 20 minutes while Frances and I got her flowers and a few other items)
- Sassafrass root - I am going to use this in making root beer
The first thing I did when I got home is I crushed some tomatoes and diced some tomatoes with the onions and pepper to make salsa (I also grabbed a bunch of cilantro from my garden). Hopefully those will be the last tomatoes I buy for a while. I am now looking forward to dinner tomorrow night: fresh corn, pork burgers, salsa, chips.
The other fun thing I made today an iced mint tea. It is currently cooling so I am hoping it will be good. Here was my recipe:
- 6 tablespoons of fresh loose leaf earl grey tea (courtesy of Harvest Cafe)
- 1 quart (4 cups) of filtered water
- 2 handfuls of mint from the garden
- 1 handful of stevia from the garden
After bruising the mint and stevia with a wooden spoon I mixed in the tea in a stainless steel pot. I added the water and cooked over medium heat (no lid) until the temp got to 190 degrees (about 10 minutes). I let steep for 2 minutes and then poured through a milter sieve. At that point I would have put in a quart of ice, but I was out...so I just put it in the fridge and am now waiting for it to cool. Smelled good.
I think Frances liked IU. I loved walking the campus even though it was hot and the meal at FARM was of course incredible. I had a bacon and egg pizza. The only disappointment was I thought if anyone could find an Indiana Soda, it would have been them...hence the sassafrass.
One last thought. My comments on Indiana Soda reminded me of a very disappointing experience this week. Since the beginning of the month I have gone to Cafe Patachou to get coffee five or six times. They have such good coffee and are known as a place that features local ingredients. I only assumed the coffee was local. I learned they get it from Louisville. There is of course nothing wrong with that...it is great coffee, but sad because I will no longer be partaking in their coffee for the rest of the month.
Tonight Maureen and I are headed with some friends to a middle eastern festival. Hopefully I find some locally made stuff there...if not I am still kinda full from the pizza.
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