News from Silkey Gardens, Northfield:
Raspberries are here! With the current weather, they are coming on fast and strong. Strawberries are still available, as well as limited amounts of cherries and blueberries. Currently we are limiting cherries to two quarts per customer....
We always recommend calling before you come out to check availability of any given fruit.
Silkey Gardens is at 12109 Cannon City Boulevard. Phone: 507-645-4158.
At times a search goes on that can take us to faraway lands. Here is a recent post from the Chefs Collaborative's blog:
http://chefscollaborative.org/category/blog/
Don't set sail for Europa yet. This Saturday is Rochester's first-ever Healthy Living Fair, next to the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market. Also, the outdoor farmers market is increasing its frequency from once to twice per week.
More on RDFM's new Wednesday market: http://www.postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1457841
Hopeful signs of growing interest in where our food comes from....
Here's an update from Paul Silkey of Silkey Gardens, Dundas:
"Everything looks good so far, especially the strawberries. The cool start has set them up well and we are looking forward to a good crop this season. Our best estimate as to when we will start picking strawberries is somewhere between June 15th (if it continues warm like the last few days), and June 20th or so, if things cool back down some. We hope it will cool down since nothing good happens to strawberries when it gets this hot.
Our raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and cherries are coming along nicely and should start toward the end of the strawberry season. We are running about 2-3 weeks later than last year due to a much colder spring this year."
For more information call Silkey Gardens at 507-645-4158 or visit the website.
News from Kari Dunn, Rochester Downtown Farmers Market manager:
"We definitely have asparagus, and there were fiddleheads last week so I'm expecting there will be more tomorrow. Ramps and watercress, too. I haven't heard from any of the morel vendors, though Rich Merrill is usually pretty good about letting me know when he has them. I guess it will be a surprise, and worth going down to see if there are any around....'
From Kari Dunn, manager of Rochester Downtown Farmers Market:
"Weather has been pretty crummy for things like asparagus - but I expect we'll have at least 40 to 50 vendors and of course that number will grow as more produce becomes available. We have a total of 93 vendors this year! There should be ramps and watercress tomorrow, pea shoots, lots of lettuce varieties, green onions, salad mixes, radishes.....Do you visit our Facebook page? I'll be 'reporting' live to it from market this year."
For more news and information on one of the best farmers markets in the Midwest, check out RDFM's website here.
There's just one big missing piece to RDFM being of the highest calibre. Great Tastes asks city leaders: When can RDFM have a specially designed area in central Rochester, instead of several congested parking lots?
Twin Cities chef Scott Pampuch is presenting his annual summer Tour de Farm events at Cedar Summit dairy, New Prague; Axdahl's Garden Farm, Stillwater; and Riverbend Farm, near Delano.
Highlights: participitation by "it" chef Mike DeCamp of La Belle Vie, Minneapolis, and Twin Cities "bad boy" (or so sayeth Pioneer Press) chef Landon Schoenefeld at the Cedar Summit gathering.
More on Tour de Farm here.
One of Great Taste's secret loves is the flavor of violet.
The romance began in this writer's youth when she discovered Choward's Violet candies--with its long-lasting flowery taste and unforgettable aroma.
Now Great Taste is finding this fancy flavor more often. Violets seem to be popping up here, there, and everywhere--and not just because it's spring.
Violets make an eye-catching addition to salads. They can be crystallized and served on cakes. Recently yours truly has been drinking violet tea, or, specifically, "The Violette" from Jardin d'Elen, France.
Today Great Taste found a violet jelly recipe in a Post-Bulletin sister publication, Radish. This writer has come to realize that it's more than "okay" to love violet....She does not feel alone anymore. Do you love violet, too?
Let the Earth Day vibe keep hoppin' towards the holiday.
Get fresh Easter eggs and other farm-direct foods at tomorrow's Rochester Downtown Farmers Market indoor market: http://www.rochesterdowntownfarmersmarket.org/
Ready for a barrel of foodie fun? Reserve for the "Progressive Beer Dinner" featuring three of the area's top restaurants--Sontes, Rochester; Nosh, Lake City; and The Rainbow Cafe, Pine Island--on April 16th.
The event kicks off at 5:30 pm with starters at Sontes, followed by a coach bus trip to Nosh for entrees. Then it's on to The Rainbow Cafe for three more courses, with departure at 9:30 pm for Sontes. Aboard the coach a beer class and tasting will be presented featuring Brooklyn Brewery.
A few of the dining highlights: locally raised braised oxtail tamale with grilled pear and Spanish onion salsa; locally raised adobo braised pork shoulder with local fresh goat cheese and polenta; and warm carrot cake with Delice de Bourgogne and mesquite honey "buttercream" and ancho chile toffee.
Event tickets, $125 each, include food, beer class, gratuity and transportation. Tax not included. Advance purchase required; call Sontes at 507-292-1628. In addition, rooms will be available at the Hilton Garden Inn, Rochester, for a special Progressive Dinner rate.
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