Collinsville Farmers Market

There is a quote from Cicero that says, "Before beginning, plan carefully."  After spending the past four months planning like crazy, it is wonderful to find ourselves at the beginning of another Collinsville Farmers Market Season!

Opening day will be June 12th (10am-1pm, every Sunday , rain or shine until October 23rd.)  This year's beginning will bring back many of our old friends...some vendors that have been with us every year since our real beginning six years ago like Wild Carrot Farm.  It also will introduce you to some fresh, new faces like Larson's Garden Center.  And this year brings back a vendor who was with us years ago--Collinsville Baking Co.

Same goes for our musical performances (all of which are listed in the Calendar section of this site.)  Old favorites like Bill Benson, Nathan Day and the Substitutes are among some of our returning favorites.  New performers like Spagetti Cake will bring new sounds to our garden party.

I know our vendors have been planning, planting and now harvesting those delicious spring crops of berries, lettuces and more for their beginning weeks at the Market.  I'm sure they will have all your old favorites throughout the growing season, and ,hopefully , they will also have something that is completely new to you that you will like trying.

So come enjoy a new beginning of the best garden party around...the Collinsville Farmers Market!

 Best,

The Collinsville Farmers Market Committee Gang

A Story from the Zen Tradition...

Behind a temple there was a field where there were many squashes growing on a vine.  One day a fight broke out among the squashes and they split into two groups.  They made a racket shouting at one another.  The Zen Master heard the uproar from the temple and went to the field to find the squashes quarreling.  In a booming voice he scolded, "Hey Squashes!  Why are you fighting?  Everyone sit in meditation right now."

While the squashes were sitting in meditation, their anger began to subside.

Then the teacher turned to them and calmly said, "Each of you feel on top of your head."  When the squashes felt the top of their head, they found some weird thing attached there.  It turned out to be a vine that connected them all together.  The squashes remarked, "This is so strange.  Here we have been arguing and split into groups when we are actually all tied together."  What a shame...what a mistake!"  After that revelation, the squashes all lived harmoniously enjoying the pleasures of their beautiful field together.

At this time of Thanksgiving, your friends from C.A.R.E. (who produce and operate the Collinsville Farmers Market as a non-profit, volunteer community event) want to thank you for supporting the market and our community, helping to demonstrate how we are all connected.  Let's be mindful that the harvest cycle is our constant reminder of beginnings and endings.  We believe our local farmers give us so much more than just produce to eat; they give us a sense of the circle of life itself!

We wish you a peacful day with friends and family and lots of GREAT local food!

Best,

The Collinsville Farmers Market Committee Gang

(Special thanks to Rev. Rushan Sinnaduray from the First Cong. Church Canton Center for sharing this story in this week's sermon!)

"To everything there is a seaon and a time for every purpose under the heavens."  This quote from Ecclesiastes sums up how we feel this week as we prepare for the last Collinsville Farmers Market of the 2010 season.

There has been "a time to plant and a time to pluck up what has been planted."  And for those of us lucky folks who frequent the CFM, a time to enjoy the harvest of our local farmers.  Their efforts give us a time to meet with neighbors on a relaxed sunny Sunday... a time to take in the sights of picture perfect fruits, vegetables, flowers and food...a time to pick and choose healthy, delicious produce to bring home...a time to cook and share the local harvest with our friends and family around our own tables. 

We are grateful for all those good times!

So please take time to join us this last Sunday, October 24th (10am-1pm) and celebrate this season.

This is also a great time to thank all of my fellow CFM Organizing Committee members...a better Gang of Volunteers you will not find! 

Thank you to all our supportive customers who make this market so successful and rewarding. 

Canton Advocates for Responsible Expansion (C.A.R.E. Inc) puts the CFM on every year as a non-profit, volunteer-run donation to Canton, but we couldn't and wouldn't do it if our community didn't show their love for the market so strongly! 

Anyone who might want to show their love as a Volunteer for next season's market, we would love to have your help.  Just email us at collinsvillefarmersmarket@gmail.com.

See you next year!

All the Best,

Mary Engvall and the Collinsville Farmers Market Gang

July is just around the corner and to me that means so are native blueberries.  There are few things more delicious than big, juicy local blueberries.  And, as has been widely promoted, blueberries are also high on the "good for you" chart.

Ranking number one in antioxidants (vs. 40 other fruits and veggies), it helps slow or prevent oxidative damage from free radicals helping to guard against heart disease, cancer and strokes among other illnesses. These little blue powerhouses pack vitamin K, Manganese and vitamin C.

Enjoy them as a topping for cereal, yogurt or ice cream.  Make smoothies or preserves.  Drop some in your favorite pancake recipe or bake into muffins, pies or tarts.  

You can buy them at our market from local growers or pick your own javascript:mox();  Keep them refrigerated for freshness and wash only just before using.  Don't wash them before freezing...and, by the way, besides from birds blueberries have few pest issues so pesticides are rarely used.

So pick them, buy them, eat them...just don't miss them!

Here's one of my favorite Blueberry Pie recipes adapted from the Martha Stewart Pies & Tarts cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 x your favorite pie crust recipe or store bought

1 large egg

1 Tbsp. lowfat milk

3 pt blueberries 

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. ground cinnamon

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter cut in small pieces

Directions:

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half the dough to 1/8-inch thick circle, about 13 inches in diameter. Drape dough over a 9-inch pie pan, and transfer to refrigerator to refrigeratefor about 30 min.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together the egg and lowfat milk to make egg wash and set aside.

Combine the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, flour, and cinnamon and turn onto chilled bottom crust. Dot with the butter.

Roll out the remaining piecrust dough to the same size and thickness. (If desired, make an extrawide lattice-top crust, roll out dough to one-eighth inch thick, and cut four 3-inch wide strips. Refrigeratethe strips till hard. Weave the strips over the filling, and seal the lattice to the bottom crust with the eggwash.)

Brush the rim of the crust with the egg wash, place the other piecrust on top, trim to 1/2 inch over the edge of pan, and crimp the edges with a fork or possibly your fingers. Make slits in the top if not using lattice top.

Transfer the pie to the refrigerator to refrigerate till hard, about 15 min. Brush with the egg wash (sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar as a nice touch) and bake for 20 min. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, and bake for 30 to 40 min more until juice are bubbling.

Makes one 9 inch pie.

Here's what you'll find at the Collinsville Farmers Market once the blueberries are ripe for the picking!