Yesterday’s market in Salida was possibly our busiest yet!  We had new produce and prepared food vendors, as well as new artisans and a kid’s play area.  The Maverick Potter was even there and market goers were able to help him throw bowls for this year’s Shedfest!  Shedfest is our harvest celebration.  It takes place on October 16, the weekend following the last Farmers Markets of the season.  The entire community comes together to celebrate the diversity, abundance and strength of our foodshed.  The full-day event will be held at the Salida SteamPlant and will include food preservation classes, an interactive foodshed expo, cider pressing, live music, food and more.  Check back for more details coming soon!

Local Foods Recipe Contest:

The past few weeks I’ve been busy preserving food for winter.  Drying fruit and vegetables, pickling, canning, and lacto-fermenting.  As I prepare to cook up a bunch of peach and pear sauce and butter this week, I find myself wondering about your favorite ways to preserve food.  This week, instead of picking a local ingredient for our recipe contest, I want to know your favorite way to way to preserve food.  What is your favorite food to preserve and how do you like to preserve it?  Post your recipe by Friday, September 10 at 5pm for a chance to win 5 market bucks! Market bucks can be spent at any vendor at either the Salida or Buena Vista market.  Just post your recipe as a comment below for a chance to win.

Since our responses to the recipe contest have been a bit slow so far, I’ve posted my delicious but simple pear sauce recipe below to start us off.  I’ve also gone back through my past blog posts and added some recipes for our past contests as well.  So, if you’re curious about our pasts markets, or hoping to learn how to make dandelion vinegar, massaged kale, and other dishes that highlight local ingredients, be sure to check our previous market reports!

Vendor Feature: Shiloh Ridge Glass and Gypsy Go Green

Shiloh Ridge Glass is a regular vendor at both the Salida and Buena Vista Farmers Markets.  Shiloh Ridge Glass sells a variety of fused glass jewelry and accessories all handmade by Heidi in Westcliffe, CO.  Heidi started making fused glass about eight years ago when she bought a kiln and taught herself the craft!  Shiloh Ridge Glass currently sells necklaces, bracelets, watches, earrings, barrettes and more, and has plans to sell larger items, such as fused glass plates, in the future.

For the past few weeks, in addition to selling their fused glass jewelry, Shiloh Ridge Glass has also had a booth for their other business: Gypsy Go Green.  Gypsy Go Green sells bags, tee-shirts, headbands, journals, bookmarks, camera and glasses cases, and more.  Many of Gypsy Go Greens ite

ms are made from recycled materials and/or fabric scraps.

For more information on Shiloh Ridge Glass visit their website: shilohridgeglass.com.

The ingredient for this week’s local food recipe contest is dandelion.  What is your favorite way to eat wild dandelions?  We are looking for recipes that utilize the greens, flowers, and/or roots.  Post your favorite recipe by Friday, August 27^th at 5pm for the chance to win five market bucks spendable at either the Salida or Buena Vista market.

Vendor Feature: Wisdom Within

Wisdom Within is a non-profit, started in June of 2009, that focuses on natural and holistic approaches to child birth and reproductive health.  Wisdom Within offers on-going classes, programs, supporting services, and an annual symposium.

Wisdom Within was started to fill a gap in the community; there was a lack of resources in the community and many people were doing the same research.  Wisdom Within was created as a place for families to go to get all of the information they need in one place.

Wisdom Within’s farmers market booth offers a variety of health promoting drinks, as well as information on the many services that they provide for our community.  Their green juice is made with thistle, plantain, dandelion, mallow, and lambs quarter that they harvest from the wild and mixed with apple, cucumber, and lemon.  If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s delicious and made in their bike-powered blender!  They also make a thistle lemonade that they sweeten with apples and an herbal iced tea made with red raspberry, red clover, and nettle.  For those wanting to fulfill a sweet tooth, they make a raw, vegan ice cream with avocado, cashew, and honey from Beyond the Hive.

For those of you with children, they offer a space for breast-feeding, bottle-feeding, and diaper changing.  They have plans to expand their booth in the future to include a children’s play area as well!

Wisdom Within’s book is sponsored by a different organization every week.  This week they were sponsored by the Book Haven and were giving out 20% of coupons for book purchases!

At this week’s markets we were also fortunate to enjoy music from Scott Adams.  The video below includes a clip of his performance at the Buena Vista market.

Click here to view the embedded video.

CCFA’s New Facebook Page

We just created a Facebook page to help us share information with you!  Click on the link to the right and become a fan!

Vendor Feature: Colorado Grown

David Lynch, owner of Colorado Grown, moved his farm from the Front Range to Buena Vista with the goal to continue to provide local food to this region.  When he arrived here, he found there was no local food system in place, so he created a local farm business: Colorado Grown.

Colorado Grown’s primary goal is to provide a raw milk source for the region and it works closely with Cottonwood Creek Dairy to accomplish this.  In Colorado, raw milk can only be purchased directly from the farm and until Colorado Grown and Cottonwood Creek Dairy started working together, no one was supplying raw milk in this part of Colorado.  For this reason, Colorado Grown acts as a distribution service for Cottonwood Creek Dairy.  Colorado Grown distributes raw milk, yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, butter, cream, buttermilk, and soft cheeses, such as mozzarella and queso fresco, for Cottonwood Creek Dairy.  These products are available through a cow share program,  a program that David Lynch and the Raw Milk Association of Colorado, which he is president of, helped get legalized in 2005.

In addition to distributing raw milk, Colorado Grown also distributes fruit, vegetables, and meat.  David Lynch works with a network of farmers that he knows personally to obtain these products.  All Colorado Grown products come directly from the farmer or producer.

Colorado Grown has a booth at both the Salida and Buena Vista markets where they sell some of the products they have available including pasta, salsa, and jam.  While raw milk products are not for sale at market, Colorado Grown staff will gladly let you know how to join their cow share program!

For more information on Colorado Grown, visit their website at www.coloradogrownbv.com.

The process is simple.  To vote for our market, all you have to do is:

1.)    Go to www.farmland.org/vote or click the button on the right!

2.)    Type in Salida or Buena Vista

3.)    Click “Vote”

That’s it. That’s all it takes to bring CCFA’s markets one step closer to being America’s favorite farmers markets!

You can vote for multiple markets, but you can only vote for each market once, so make sure to vote for both Salida and Buena Vista!

According to American Farmland Trust (AFT), the purpose of this contest is to re-connect local consumers to local farms, with the ultimate goal of keeping our nation’s farm and ranch land productive and healthy!  Buying at the farmers market keeps money in the local community and helps farms and ranches remain economically viable. By voting, you’re helping support farms and communities across the nation. As American Farmland Trust says, “No Farms No Food™!”