| 2nd Annual Farmer's Market Sunday, September 22nd, 2002 |  |
| 2nd Annual Farmer's Market Sunday, September 22nd, 2002 | |
On a crisp, sunny, last day of summer, St. Joan of Arc held the second annual Farmer’s Market next to the community garden on the north side of the church. Members of St. Joan’s and neighbors in the community were treated to a sale of donated baked goods, preserves, honey, and Emma Krumbies apples, along with garden harvested corn, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, red, green and yellow peppers, basil, and much more.
Why I even saw a couple of giant pickles shaped like the letters “S” and “J”, priced at one million dollars! Ok, so they were really just extra big gourds, and, no they weren’t actually worth a million dollars. But they did stir up curiosity, especially among inexperienced gardeners (like myself) who at first believed they really were giant mutant pickles.
Whole Foods Farm Coop and Eco Village were also a part of this years Farmer’s Market. They offered organic breads, baked goods and other items for sale. Meanwhile, festive accordion music provided an extra ambiance thanks to Bob Barnes.
“Farmer Rick” Klehr said that this year’s Garden Project volunteers began turning over the garden in late April. Every Wednesday evening volunteers came to work in the garden. Once again composted sheep manure (100% organic of course) was used to fertilize the ground thanks to a bartering arrangement Farmer Rick has with his neighbor. In fact, the Garden Project uses bartering to get everything they need to keep their garden growing. Bartering arrangements eliminated the need for the Garden Project to rely on financial assistance from St. Joan’s. “We have not had to use one dime of St. Joan’s money” to keep it going, said Rick. He feels that bartering is a great way to instill trust between people and adds an extra uniqueness to St. Joan of Arc’s Garden Project. The Garden Project’s financial independence also allows them to donate all their proceeds from the Farmer’s Market to Second Harvest. This year’s Farmer’s Market raised $761.63.
Garden Project volunteers along with “Farmer Rick” Klehr and “Farmer Dan” Chouinard, are Suzanne Zadra, Chris Oppegard, Marlene Gibuis, Kevin Schroeder, Jim Schoeller, Patty Bentz, Sue Fecarotta, Virginia Skruppy, and Ellen Thayer.
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Ellen brought a giant batch of her own freshly made salsa to share with everybody who came to the Farmer’s Market. All the ingredients in her salsa were from vegetables she grew in her own garden. The salsa was a big hit and many people asked if they could buy it. But the salsa wasn’t for sale because Ellen hoped that by giving out the recipe for her salsa instead, she would inspire people to start their own gardens at home. So here it is:
Farmer’s Market Garden Salsa
Ingredients -
Dice tomatoes and peppers with large knife. Remove the seeds and chop finely. Handle Jalapenos with gloves. Chop sweet onion. Put all together in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add fresh ground pepper, a pinch of salt and ground cumin. Cool in fridge. Before serving add fresh squeezed lime juice and finely chopped fresh cilantro. Ellen says the fun of making this salsa is that proportions don’t matter much. Experiment and be adventurous!
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