One of the earliest “green leafy” vegetables to arrive in Northeast Ohio is spinach. Spinach is a very dark green leaf that adds both color and nutrition to many of your favorite dishes.

Spinach is very versatile and can be cooked into dips, eggs, soups and casseroles of all kinds. You can add it as a flavor enhancer, almost like an herb, to any soup or as a primary component where it adds both structure and volume, as in a spinach quiche. Of course, you can use it in salads as well, either as the sole “leaf” or combined with others like any of the many varieties of lettuce.

Spinach is a terrific source of vitamin K with one cup providing an amazing 1110% daily vitamins (DV)!  It is also a good source of vitamin A with that same cup yielding almost 300%DV! Other significant nutrients include manganese, magnesium, vitamin C and B2. Spinach has so much folate, it was the source from with the first commercial supplement was extracted.

Spinach is often cited as a good source of both iron and calcium but compounds in spinach actually reduce the bioavailability of these minerals making spinach a better source on paper for these nutrients than it truly is.

Like most vegetables, the terrific nutrition found in spinach is very short lived lasting only days after being picked (note - freezing can extend this time to as much as 8 months).

Two of my favorite uses for spinach are quiche and smoothies.

Crustless quiche - whisk 6 eggs, add 2 cups of fresh spinach, one cup grated parmesan cheese and season to taste (I’ll add salt, pepper, basil and oregano). Bake in a greased deep dish pan until set (about 45 minutes at 350). Garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley.

Smoothies - I often blend fresh frozen spinach with fresh frozen strawberries, a banana, a kiwi and a cup of filtered water for a nutritious and refreshing summer treat.

Take advantage of the higher nutrition and better flavor of locally grown spinach as it come into season. You’ll be amazed at the huge number of things it can be added to.

Ken

In general my kids- ages five and two- are typical for their ages.  They love a dish one day, and the next it is completely out of the question to think it would pass their lips.  This time of year, however, it isn’t hard to find something that they are excited to eat.  The snap peas are in full swing, and they are eating them with abandon.  Earlier this week we took a trip to the farm where my husband works to pick enough for dinner, and they ate more straight from the plant than what I put in the bag.  At home, I sauteed the remainder in a little butter, with salt, pepper and a bit of mint tossed in at the last minute. These, too, were gobbled up in no time flat.  The carrots are beginning to make an appearance, too, and I’ve even seen my five year old jump up and down with excitement at the prospect of a fresh carrot! It makes a parent proud to see children eat vegetables without being goaded to do so, and fresh carrots and peas are surely appealing to many youngsters because they are so sweet and crunchy.

Farmers’ markets all over Northeast Ohio have booths over-flowing with snap peas right now.  In contrast with those found at the supermarkets, farm-fresh snap peas are still crisp and full of life, bursting with flavor.  Buy an extra quart or two now for blanching, and in the winter you will be glad you did.  Local, freshly dug carrots are hands-down my favorite vegetable. Their commonplace appearance belies their remarkably sweet and earthy, full-flavored crunch. 

The Countryside Farmers’ Market at Howe Meadow is in full swing, and our second market at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens opens for the season on Thursday, June 25^th from 4-7pm.  There is no entrance fee to come to the market, and you can also enjoy free access to the magnificent grounds before or after you shop.

Many other Northeast Ohio markets have recently made or are making their debut this week, and I’m sure there’s one close to you, with a container of peas (and perhaps a bunch of carrots) that has your name on it.

See you at the market,

Beth Knorr

A fantastic picture is emerging from the mosaic of farms in Northeast Ohio.  Folks are connecting on the street, in their gardens, and online.  Both gardens/farms and websites are popping up with incredible frequency, within Cleveland and in the surrounding region.  Urban farms and farmers’ markets are also sprouting up at an amazing rate, and I have the pleasure of managing the young Tremont Farmers’ Market in Cleveland.

The story of the Tremont Farmers’ Market started in the fall of 2006 with a small group of urban growers who decided to create their own market in a neighborhood that craves access to fresh, healthy food.  Most of the growers participated in the OSU Extension Market Gardener Training Program, met up in Lucky Park and delved into their first season of growing professionally.  Fast forward to the present, June 2009, and TFM has expanded into Lincoln Park.  The market has also grown to include farmers from outside the city, but still continues to be a venue for city farmers.  This year’s urban growers include Redozo Farm, The Garden Boyz, TUFS (Tremont Urban Food System), and Wonder City Farm (which currently grows in urban and rural settings).  We strive to make the market accessible to new growers as well as seasoned farmers. 

Beautiful Lincoln Park

Opening day is Tuesday, June 16 in beautiful, historic Lincoln Park, from 4:30-7:30 pm.

Available at the market this year are fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, cheese, meat, eggs, bread and other baked goods including vegan baked goods, flour, brownies, honey, maple syrup, coffee, plants, cut flowers, repurposed art, wonderful jewelry and knitted pieces.  Musical guests are market openers Lisa and Heather Malyuk.   Chef Ricardo Sandoval, owner of Fat Cats, Lava Lounge and Felice’s Urban Restaurant, will be showcasing his amazing culinary combinations in a cooking demonstration.

Our stories may seem small at times, but added together, we are becoming a force Together we will gather to grow food, break bread and grow stronger.  Together we will connect the plots and feed Northeast Ohio.

Peace and good eats,

Jody Lathwell, market manager

More info:  www.tremontfarmersmarket.com

Strawberry jam. It was the beginning. Each lazy summer of my childhood, the litany of preserving the season’s bounty began with strawberry jam. I was reminded by my mother in early June that strawberries would certainly be ripe for my grandfather’s birthday (June 15^th) and that we would be heading out to a nearby farm to pick as soon as they were ready. Strawberries were soon followed by sweet cherries, sour cherries, raspberries, plums, currants, apricots, pears, peaches, and apples. In the middle, of course, came cucumbers for sweet, dill, and bread and butter pickles. And later, canned tomatoes, chutney, corn relish, even sauerkraut. Our basement cellar shelves, filled with empty glass canning jars by spring, soon gleamed again with the reds and yellows and greens of the preserved harvest.

My mother did most of the work, so for me, it was fun picking, pitting, stirring, licking the spoon. For many years after I married and moved away, much of Mother’s summer labor found its way into my pantry. But at some point I realized that I needed to learn how to make the preserves my family had come to love. It began with strawberry jam.

For several years after moving to Cleveland, I would time one of my visits to my mother in Michigan so that I could bring back a lug of ripe strawberries from the farmers’ market to make my jam. It slowly began to dawn on me that driving from Cleveland to Ann Arbor for sweet, ripe strawberries was crazy. And so it was that my involvement in the startup of the North Union Farmers Market began with strawberry jam.

Mother made three completely different kinds of strawberry jam, including one that “baked” in the sun for about a week until the juice was a thick, deep sangria red and the berries were firm and intense with strawberry sweetness. But our favorite, and the easiest to make is the simple cooked jam found inside the box of any commercial pectin. For one batch, here’s what you need:

Start with about 3 quarts of fresh, ripe strawberries (strawberries do not ripen after they have been picked so be sure you get ripe berries to begin with either by picking them yourself or buying them from a farmer.)

7 C of cane sugar (I know it’s a lot, but that’s jam for you)

You will need eight (8) ½ pt jelly jars with lids and screw tops

I put my jelly jars in the dishwasher and wash them when I start the jamming process.

Gather round your helpers to begin hulling the berries. Cut off the green caps (called calyxes) and crush with a knife or potato masher. (I have an ancient aluminum measuring cup that cuts through the berries nicely.)

Measure 5 cups of crushed berries into an 8 qt heavy enamel cookpot and begin to heat to a boil. You may add ¼ C of lemon juice, if you like the flavor. I do not add lemon juice.

Gradually stir in the pectin and continue cooking to bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. You can add a bit of butter to reduce the foam.

At this point, you should have a shallow saucepan slowing boiling in which to sterilize the lids and soften the rubber on the seal. Put the lids into the boiling water.

After the berries and pectin have come to a full boil, add the sugar and stir constantly until the mixture returns to a full rolling boil again and boil for 1 minute.

Remove the jam from the heat and retrieve the hot jars from the dishwasher. Spoon the hot jam into the jars, leaving about ¼ inch of space at the top. Wipe the top of the jar clean and dry of any slopped jam. Use a tongs to take the hot lid out of the boiling water to set it onto the jar of jam and screw down the lid. Repeat the process until you have filled the jam jars. Any left over jam can be eaten immediately or saved for toast in the morning. When your jars are filled and cooling on the counter, listen for the gentle “pop” as the cooling jam creates a vacuum in the top of the jar. Jam can be stored in the pantry until next strawberry season, if it lasts that long.

American Farmland Trust has created a bit of friendly competition between markets to increase awareness and interest in farmers’ markets.  I was curious, so I signed up TFM, just to see what would happen.  So, check it out, and decide for yourself!  I believe voting starts on June 1, and the results will be tallied during Farmers’ Market Week Aug 2-8, 2009 .   www.farmland.org/vote

To read more about the contest: http://www.farmland.org/news/pressreleases/AmericasFavoriteFarmersMarket.asp

Submitted by Jody Lathwell, Market Manager, Tremont Farmers’ Market