FOOD: Spring Is in the Air at the Farmers Market

By KATHLEEN NIXON
Special to the Falls Church Times

March 2, 2010

Looking around these days at the piles of snow and broken trees, you would think that spring was still a long way off. But by the looks of things this last Saturday at the Farmers Market, spring is trying to inch its way back into our lives. With pleasant temperatures and plenty of sunshine, the vendors were showing off their wares without the customary tents and some of the customers were even walking around in shorts!

With the warmer weather a few new things are showing up at the Farmers Market. Wisteria Gardens is bringing back many of its salad greens, DragonFly Farms has great soups like Thai Pumpkin, and Country Gardens has brought out house plants and winter interest plants to liven up homes and gardens during these last dreary days of winter.

The sunny day seemed to attract more customers than usual for the winter–Atwater’s sold out of bread by 11:00 a.m. But it was still quiet enough to be able to visit with many of the vendors, which is one of the joys of the winter-time market.  Vicki Fedor from Northgate Winery shared her stories of attending the Governor’s Cup award ceremony to receive her winery’s numerous medals, and I even got the chance to wish a Mother Earth Mushroom vendor a “Happy Birthday!”

I have also gotten to know Union Street soaps a little better and look forward to their soap aromas each Saturday morning. Recently I tried the Orange Citrus medley soap and I loved it. Union Streets’ most popular soap is the Healing Bar, which was developed to help dry itchy skin – something that affects all of us during these dry winter months.

The weather also served as a reminder that the Farmers Market Chef Demonstrations are just around the corner.  The first Farmers Market Chef Demonstration of the season will take place on Saturday, April 24^th, with Tracey O’Grady from Willow.  And just before that, on Wednesday, April 21^st, ArtSpace will feature the movie “Fresh” along with appetizers from the Farmers Market Chef Program partners.

FOOD: New Farmers Market Vendors Are Worth a Visit

By JIMMY SCARANO
Falls Church Times Staff

February 26, 2010

If you haven’t braved the cold weather on Saturday mornings to check out the Falls Church Farmers Market, you’ve been missing out. This winter the city’s food wonderland has bolstered its already stellar vendor line-up with two excellent additions.

In December, Oh! Pickles set up shop, offering a range of classic barrel-cured pickles.  A month later sausage and charcuterie maker Jamie Stachowski, who has developed a cult following among area meat-eaters, snagged a spot and started selling homemade bacon, kielbasa, and a number of other European-style fatty treats.

I’ve been a frequent customer at both.

In a perfect world, the pickles at Oh! Pickles would be locally made from locally grown cucumbers.  Alas, they are imported from the New Jersey-based Patriot Pickle Co., which sells wholesale to many restaurants.  They also contain preservatives, which is a turn-off for many people.  But they sure taste good.

Usually the stall is setup with samples of every kind of pickle, but sometimes they don’t get around to it.  If there are samples the day you happen by, I say just eat them all and decide for yourself which one you like best.  If not, I’d zero in on the classic kosher dills, which add a springy tang to any sandwich.   For a zippier pickle, go for the spicy red hot variety.  The crinkle cut bread-and-butter pickles are a tad on the sweet side but also good.

Stachowski’s stand at the other end of the market has been drawing huge crowds.  The wafting aroma of pork fat sizzling away on a hot plate inside of his jeep is surely a factor in his success.  He doesn’t have a sign yet and he doesn’t need one—market-goers just tilt their noses up and start walking.

After years toiling in restaurant kitchens (where his homemade charcuterie was often featured on menus), the wonderfully eccentric Buffalo native shifted to meat crafting full-time a little over a year ago when he launched Stachowski Brand Charcuterie.  Since then he’s slowly built up a customer base, selling mostly to restaurants and local specialty food shops, including Red, White, and Bleu, the city’s wine and cheese specialist.  He’s also organized several pick-ups at random spots in the Northern Virginia area through the online foodie forum DonRockwell.com.

Bringing his product to a Farmers Market was a logical next step and we’re lucky to have landed him.  He’s got some seriously good stuff.

Seemingly every person I’ve come across at his stand at the market has walked away with some fresh kielbasa.  The sausage is mildly spiced, a little sweet, and supremely juicy.  The veal bratwurst, laced with cream, is just as succulent and pleasantly subtle.  Both are a far cry away from many of the off-tasting and overly spiced supermarket sausages.  There’s no doubt that they are made with care and calculation.

Some of the smoked products are a little more assertive.  Sometimes it’s just the right amount of smoky goodness, like with the smoked kielbasa, which is a great foil for crusty bread, good mustard, and pickles.  But the Portuguese linguica I brought home a few weeks ago was a little too smoky to enjoy.

Other misses have been the painfully salty Irish bacon, the strangely spiced venison pate and the too-lamby merguez sausage.  But perhaps those are a matter of personal taste.  European-style charcuterie can be quite bold—some people like that and others don’t.  The beauty is that there are always a handful of cooked samples at Stachowski’s stand so you can make the decision for yourself.

Stachowski’s prices aren’t bad either, although they are frustratingly uneven.  Somehow a single piece of Irish bacon (which cooks down to essentially nothing) and a huge link of smoked kielbasa both sell for seven bucks.  I suspect such discrepancies won’t remain for long.  His business is still evolving (take a look at the Web site here) and considering its small scale is doing incredibly well.

A winter time market will never measure up to the bounty of spring, summer, and fall.  But the Falls Church Farmers Market is thriving in these cold months.  Its two newest vendors are chief examples why.

FOOD: Valentine’s Day Inspiration at the Farmers Market

By KATHLEEN NIXON
Special to the Falls Church Times

February 10, 2010

Right around the corner is one of those holidays that strikes fear into the heart of many – Valentine’s Day. This day focused on romance and love reminds us that we have to come up with something creative to show that special someone in our life that we care. There is no better medium than food.

A great source of inspiration for a Valentine’s Day feast is the Falls Church Farmers Market.  You can go all-out and gather ingredients to prepare a delicious brunch or you can simply buy some of the high quality pre-made treats that vendors offer.  The winter hours for the Farmers Market are 9 a.m.-12:00 p.m. on Saturdays, so it sets up beautifully for Valentine’s Day, which falls on a Sunday this year.

Sunday Brunch Ideas

After a recent trip to the Farmers Market I put together a meal of French toast, bacon, and spiced apple cider, which you could easily translate into a Valentine’s Day brunch spread.

You will first want to stop by Atwater’s for the bread. Now there are many different types of bread you can pick up for French toast. For me, the ideal French toast bread has a crunchy crust and a soft inside. I first tried the Cranberry Pecan bread thinking that the cranberries and pecans would add a nice texture to the French toast, but I was very wrong because it was too dense, soaked up too much of the batter, and became very soggy. You will want bread that is soft on the inside and will only lightly absorb the batter.  My pick is Atwater’s Rosemary Italian bread, which despite its savory-sounding name actually works perfectly.

Good French toast isn’t possible without good eggs. You can pick some of those up at Smith Meadows.  Apple cider can be had at either Toigo Orchards or Black Rock Orchards, both of which put out a fine product. Finish out the tour by swinging by Cibola Farms for some bacon and Blue Ridge Creamery for fresh butter.

There are many recipes online or in cookbooks for French toast. I use a few eggs, vanilla, cream and maple syrup. When you mix up the batter, you will want to make sure you whisk it thoroughly. I haven’t gone to the gym much lately, so I end up whisking at least three separate times to get the right consistency. I also put all of my bread slices in a shallow pan and pour the batter over the slices, turning them a few times to make sure the batter is fully absorbed. Finally you will want your cooking oil and pan medium hot for thorough crispy cooking.

It’s a good idea to set your oven to 200 degrees when making a big batch of French toast.  When you’re done with a batch slide it into the oven and it will stay warm and fresh while you continue to cook the rest.  A warm oven is a good resting place for bacon as well, which you should cook at a low temperature on the stove to render out all the fat and crisp it up nicely.  When you’re putting together a meal like this it’s also nice to have the table set before you start cooking—you’ll want to eat right away.  Another nice touch is to gently warm the maple syrup for the French toast.  Trust me; your fellow diners will appreciate it.

To make the spiced apple cider, put three cups of apple cider in a sauce pan and add in ginger, cinnamon or cloves depending on your taste. Bring the mixture to a slight boil and then put a lid on the pot and reduce it to a simmer while you cook the rest of the breakfast (you can cook it for just a few minutes or let it bubble away for a half hour or so for a stronger spice flavor—the choice is yours). Spiced cider is a nice warm up during the winter months and a great way to get your fruit during these times when fresh local fruit is sparse.

Don’t Want to Cook?

If cooking a full meal is not for you, there are some other options at the Falls Church Farmers Market. Stop by Sinplicity for the ingredients to put together a romantic dessert. Leland Atkinson will be offering all the ingredients for a Passion fruit Sundae.  You can pair Passion Sorbet (Passion fruit, Coconut Milk, Ginger and Rum) with a bag of Biscotti Rustica and a bottle of Port and Vanilla Glaze.  If chocolate is your thing, Sinplicity can still deliver with ancho chile fudge, hot chocolate mix or a pair of Sinplicity coffee mugs filled with biscotti. And don’t forget your frequent Sinner card!

Want to go out?

And if none of these ideas work for you, many of the Falls Church Farmers Market Chef restaurant partners will be offering special meals to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Liberty Tavern will be open for brunch; Willow has several Valentine’s Day dinner specials February 12^th-14^th along with a wine dinner on February 11^th; and Argia’s will be open, featuring many special dishes including a lump crab, avocado and white truffle appetizer.

For photos of the French toast breakfast and more pictures of the winter scene at the Farmers Market click here.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

FOOD: Reflecting on the 2009 Farmers Market Chef Series

By KATHLEEN NIXON
Special to the Falls Church Times

January 22, 2010

The Falls Church Farmers Market has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade, adding more diverse vendors and products each year.  In 2009 the market added a new dimension with the debut of the Farmers Market Chef Series, a program that brought local chefs to the City hall parking lot to cook seasonally-inspired dishes.

The addition proved to be a success on many levels.  Not only did it introduce chefs to the Farmers Market and its vendors, but it also gave market-goers inventive ideas for what to do with all the goodies in their tote bags.

Here’s a recap of all the deliciousness that transpired over the late summer and fall…

August 29^th- Argia’s

Aimee Suyehiro of Argia’s kicked off the season. It was only fitting to have one of the City of Falls Church’s own restaurants start the new program.  It was also Suyehiro’s initial enthusiasm about the series that helped get the program off the ground, as I was not sure how the chefs would embrace the idea. It is not easy being the first, and we did not know what to expect.

Every event has to have a few things go wrong in the first few moments, and this event was no exception, but everyone had a great attitude and with Argia’s close by, the whole morning went off beautifully. Suyehiro and I toured the Farmers Market the week before her demonstration to discuss what ingredients she would use and she fell in love with the Green Zebra tomatoes from Potomac Vegetable Farms. She loved them so much that she bought a bunch for her specials menu that night at Argia’s. For her demonstration, Suyehiro used local arugula and those prized Green Zebra’s in a salad and Blue Ridge Dairy ricotta on Atwater’s bread for a bruschetta.

September 19- Sinplicity Catering

Leland Atkinson of Sinplicity Catering blew everyone away with his amazing ice creams and desserts, which incorporated many of the fruits from Toigo.  A critical component of the chef demonstrations is to show how you can be creative with the many different ingredients from the Farmers Market.  Atkinson used lemon poppy seed bread from Atwater’s as a base for ice cream and a fruit compote to make a show-stopping dessert.   He also drizzled some Raspberry Cabernet dessert wine from Fabbioli Cellars over his own lemon ginger sorbet—an unexpected but delicious combination.

Atkinson should be commended for developing seven demonstrations for the morning as well as bringing almost his entire kitchen and staff (his lovely wife and two daughters) to assist.  I don’t know who had more fun; the onlookers, Atkinson or his daughters.

October 3rd- Willow Restaurant

I saw Debra Rubin and Tracey O’Grady of Willow at the Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood event last winter. While quickly assembling seafood tastes for eagerly waiting patrons, I asked them if they would be interested in participating in the series. Both enthusiastically said yes, then went right back to work! The duo had already committed to doing tastings at the Arlington Farmers Market throughout the summer and fall featuring local vendors, so they were very comfortable heading into their demonstration.

Even with this knowledge, I don’t think anyone could have anticipated the overwhelmingly positive response to their dish, which was a knock-out wheatberry risotto with butternut squash. The wheatberries were from a new Farmer’s Market vendor, Moutoux Orchards, which sells locally grown and milled grains.  We had asked Moutoux Orchards to bring extra wheatberries the day of the demonstration and they brought 60 pounds, which they promptly sold out of thanks to the demo.

October 31^st- Liberty Tavern

In late October Liam LaCivita, head chef at Arlington’s Liberty Tavern, brought a Big John grill with him, so we had to find a meat, or in chef speak “a protein”, to be the feature as part of the series. LaCivita settled on buffalo brisket from Cibola Farms, which he paired with a colorful apple and radish slaw. There were many inquiries about the aroma that was wafting through the market as well as the many colors of the different radishes.

A critical aspect of the series is to introduce seasonal vegetables to customers that they may not have known about or known how to prepare. Washington Business Journal writer Missy Frederick, who stopped by the demonstration, commented in her blog that she bought radishes just to prepare the slaw dished out by LaCivita.

Looking Ahead

One great benefit of the 2009 Farmers Market Chef Series was the opportunity to show off the Falls Church Farmers Market to local chefs. It was an honor to guide the chefs around the market and to introduce them to the many great vendors. All the chefs said that the Falls Church Farmers Market was their favorite event and really looked forward to coming back again in 2010.

The 2010 Farmers Market Chef Series will resume on Saturday, April 24^th.  The series will consist of nine demonstrations from local chefs, including repeats from last year and a few new chefs. The series will also be launching a new Web site and blog in early 2010 which will include interviews with local chefs, seasonal recipes, and recipes and videos from last year’s demonstrations.

Thank you to all who made 2009 such a great inaugural year for the Falls Church Farmer’s Market Chef Series!

Farmers Market Winter Hours: 9 to 12

The Falls Church Farmers Market, open every Saturday year ’round, begins winter hours of operation Saturday, Jan. 2.

The Market is open from 9 a.m. until noon, January through March. It opens at 8 a.m. the rest of the year.

The Farmers Market is held in the City Hall parking lot, 300 Park Ave., and is coordinated by the Falls Church Recreation and Parks Department.

For more information, call 703-248-5077.

FOOD: The Gift That Comes Closest to the Heart

By JIMMY SCARANO
Falls Church Times Staff

If you’re scurrying around town looking for last minute gifts, I feel your pain.  The pressure to find the right present has been weighing me down since Thanksgiving.  But there is hope.

When my back is against the wall I always turn to food, and Christmas shopping is no exception.  A food gift is personal, memorable, and a conversation-starter.  I’ve spent the last week compiling a list of 10 places in the City limits to get a great gift for the food lovers on your list. Here are my picks of the litter, in no particular order.

1. Anything from the Farmers Market (300 Park Avenue, 703-248-5001): Winter at the Farmers Market may sound a little lame, but the sting of no summer produce is lessened by the vast array of artisan products and homey treats.  You could go the traditional route and pick up a few jars of jam, apple butter, or some gourmet coffee, all of which can be had at several vendors.  But I’m more intrigued by the less typical foods.  On my last visit I enjoyed the lip-smacking pickles at Oh! Pickles, a new vendor offering a variety of New Jersey-imported cukes (and even pickled tomatoes).  There are pickle freaks out there, and if you’ve got one in your family a mix-up of horseradish, red hot, and bread and butter pickles would make a great funky gift.  Just remember that Saturday is the last chance to get anything at the Farmers Market before Christmas.



2. Fancy stuff from Red White & Bleu (127 South Washington Street, 703- 533-9463): The obvious choices at this gourmet shop are the carefully selected wines and beers, sourced locally and from around the world.  My interest, as always, is the food.  Chief among the great finds here are the locally made sausages and other charcuterie from Jamie Stachowski.  Pick up a few links of smoky kielbasa or linguica, throw in a chunk or two of any of the innumerable high-end cheeses that catch your fancy, and hide it all in the back of the fridge.  There’s no rule that a gift has to be under the tree.  If you can’t wrap your head around the idea of a refrigerator present, check out the chocolates, olive oils, and other gourmet goodies. Read more

Last Big Day for Farmers Market Season

To paraphrase Yogi Berra, if the Farmers Market gets any bigger, nobody will go there anymore – just too crowded. And this Saturday was a mob fest – shoppers and vendors everywhere, with nary a spare space to park.

And the Farmers Market is becoming more than just a place to buy fresh produce. It’s an entertainment venue as well – THE place in Falls Church to see and be seen, and to enjoy a little free entertainment on the side.

Open Kitchen’s Chef Bernard was a crowd pleaser, conducting a cooking class with banter worthy of Julia Child. Tip of the day: “Never wash a mushroom – it destroys the ‘woods’ flavor. I’d no sooner do that than wash an oyster.”

Musicians have found the Farmers Market as well, adding the sensory pleasure of sounds to the tastes and smells already stimulating the crowd.

Officially the Farmers Market season doesn’t contract until the new year. But several vendors end their sales year at Thanksgiving, so the following Saturday should be a smaller affair. Read more

SATURDAY 10/31: Liberty Tavern Chef at Farmers Market

Liam LaCivita of Liberty Tavern will be bringing out the big grill from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Falls Church Farmers Market, 300 Park Ave.

LaCivita will be preparing:

• Buffalo brisket from Cibola Farms
• Watermelon Radish relish from Tree & Leaf farms
• Stayman apples from Toigo Orchards

– All dressed with local honey served over grilled bread from Atwaters.

The event is part of a continuing series of Farmers Market Chef Demonstrations.

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