update: due to the earlier darkness, markets are closing at 6 PM for the rest of the season
Dudley Town Common Farmers Market
intersection of Blue Hill Ave and Dudley Street
Tuesday and Thursdays 3-6pm
Through Oct 29
Bowdoin Street Health Center Farmers Market
230 Bowdoin St, Dorchester
Thursdays 2:30-6pm
Through Oct 29
This Week
We'll have: Beets, Carrots, Potatoes, Shelling Beans, Cabbage, Collard Greens, Swiss Chard, Kale, Spicy Salad Mix, Lettuce Mix, Parsley, (Apples and, with any luck, Corn, on Thursday) and the last of the Peppers, Eggplant, Japanese Eggplant, Yellow Summer Squash, Zucchini and Cousa Squash for the season!
News from the Farm
The farm has hosted some great volunteers in the past several weeks. College students taking a class about food and the environment at Northeastern University have come out. A small group of New Balance employees and high school students had a lot of fun last week harvesting for the market. A group from GRO, the Gardening through Refugee Organization Project, is coming next week. Then, there are the dedicated and lively regular volunteers that come on their own on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday mornings to be outside and work with us. Let us know if you're interested in learning more about where your food comes from and would like to join us in the fields: http://thefoodproject.org/volunteer
Besides helping us with the harvest, we have had thoughtful and encouraging discussions with many of these groups about how we as citizens and communities can work together to improve and stabilize our food systems. In these discussions, our farmers markets become tangible examples of how one can support his or her community by enabling the growing of healthy, local food.
Recipe of the Week: Winter Minestrone
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta or bacon coarsely chopped (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound Swiss chard (or kale or collards), stems trimmed, leaves coarsely chopped
4 little potatoes, cubed
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini (or pinto) beans, drained, rinsed
2 (14-ounce) cans low-sodium beef (or vegetable) broth
1 ounce piece Parmesan cheese rind
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, pancetta, and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and potato; saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and rosemary sprig. Simmer until the chard is wilted and the tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, blend 3/4 cup of the beans with 1/4 cup of the broth in a processor until almost smooth. Add the pureed bean mixture, remaining broth, and Parmesan cheese rind to the vegetable mixture. Simmer until the potato pieces are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Stir in the whole beans and parsley. Simmer until the beans are heated through and the soup is thick, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Discard Parmesan rind and rosemary sprig (the leaves will have fallen off of the stem.)
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
-- Jess Liborio, Urban Grower