IN SEASON
Your garden may have gone into hibernation, but our dedicated stallholders still have plenty of fresh seasonal produce to tickle your tastebuds.
This month, choose from citrus fruit; salad greens; fresh herbs; broccoli; kiwifruit; apples; jerusalem artichokes; beetroot; kale and collards; tamarillos and sprouts (for a full list of CVFM vendors and produce, click here).

WE WANT YOU!
If you've got top quality cut flowers, root crops, sweetcorn, avocados or small stock to sell at the market, we'd love to hear from you. Please phone Helen on 021 523 616 for more information.

MARKET BITES

Oh Baby
Pardon us for jumping on the parental guilt bandwagon, but we were interested to note that a British baby expert has come out bagging pureed baby food.
Gill Rapley, deputy director of Unicef's Friendly Baby Initiative, says that babies don't need 'transition' mush between milk and solids. She recommends babies are fed on breastmilk exclusively for the first six months, then introduced to solids straight away - and that babies feed themselves from the outset (good for coordination, apparently - possibly less so for the household furnishings). Mind, the experts will probably be telling us that strollers are a fire risk next week, so don't fret overmuch.

Arctic Spring
Oh crap. Seems the reality of global warming has set in that little bit more with the discovery that spring is arriving in the Arctic two weeks earlier than it did just ten years ago. Scientists have found that Arctic animals are starting their springtime rituals prematurely, plants are flowering three to four weeks before they used to and the snowmelt kicking off a fortnight earlier. Such observations, they say, are proof that "the seasons are changing and it is not just one or two warm years but a strong trend seen over a decade." Hmmm.

Coming Up Roses
Got a few creaks in the old joints? You may want to look to your garden for help. That's the message from a British medical study that found patients with rheumatoid arthritis benefitted significantly from a simple herbal remedy made from rosehips. In a six month trial involving 74 people, sufferers who took a herbal product called LitoZin in addition to their regular medicine reported a 20-25% improvement in their activity levels. You heard it here first folks - gardening is good for you.

Ingredients:

• Zakar certified organic beef shin on the bone (one large or two small)
  
• 1/4 cup of River Estate olive oil
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• 4-6 garlic cloves*, finely chopped
  
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes in juice
  
• 2 cups of Waiuku River red wine
  
• 1 1/2 cups chopped Italian parsley, or 1/2 bunch of chopped celery herb (available from Dullumbundra Farm)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
  
• Salt and pepper

Method:

Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, add onion and garlic and cook gently until transparent. Add the beef and colour on both sides. Add the wine, tomatoes, sugar and parsley / celery herb, reduce the heat and cook slowly for at least two hours until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
Serve with piping hot tagliatelle*.

* Cook's Notes:
Traditionally, garlic is planted on the shortest day of the year and harvested on the longest. Stock up on fresh garlic at the Clevedon Village Farmers' Market again in December.
This rich beef sauce pairs perfectly with your favourite pasta - it's also delicious served with wilted baby spinach leaves (available from Fancy Lettuce and Sunset Coast Organics), rustic bread (choose from several delicious options at the Wild Wheat stall), rice or couscous.

CLEVEDON VILLAGE FARMERS' MARKET VENDORS & PRODUCE

• Alison's Pony & Trap Rides Fresh winter fruit and flowers!

  Dullumbunda Farm - kale and collards; root vegetables; sprouts; oyster mushrooms; tamarillos; culinary herbs
  
• Pacific Skye - fruit juice and seasonal fruit
  
• Fancy Lettuce - lettuce; bok choy; broccoli; living herbs; spinach; cauliflower
  
• Clevedon Bowling Club - kiwifruit
  
• Estuary Orchards - citrus fruit
  
• Sunset Coast Organics - certified organic fruit and vegetables, including culinary herbs and gourmet salad mixes
  
• Cuconics - telegraph cucumbers
  
• Wild Bee - fresh local bush and field honey
  
• Nature's Corner - free-range eggs
  
• Hungarian Deli - traditional air-dried meats and gluten-free sausages
  
• Waiuku River Wines - merlot and cabernet Bordeaux-style blends
  
• Paella Pan - traditional paella cooked on-site; fresh crepes
  
• Cathedral Cove Macadamias - fresh macadamia nuts and macadamia nut products
  
• Heart of the Globe - Highland beef products; salami; fresh artichokes; marinated garlic; fruit pastes
  
• Blackwood's Gourmet Breads - freshly-made bagels and flatbreads
  
• Wenvoe - handmade jams, chutneys and jellies
  
• Bentru - Smoked specialty meats and sausages; traditional proscuitto
  
• Clevedon Valley Cheese - flavoured and plain goudas; handmade cow's, sheep's and goat's milk cheeses
  
• Piako Pete - smoked fish; fresh flounder and snapper; smoked eel (when available); whitebait (when available)
  
• Salmonman - fresh hot smoked salmon
  
• Zakar - BioGro beef cuts; premium beef mince and sausages
  
• River Estate - premium olive oils and table olives
  
• Tasty Morsels - fresh gluten-free baking
  
• Alvita - roasted fresh nuts
  
• Running Brook Seeds - quality heritage flower and vegetable seeds
  
• Wild Wheat - artisan bakers of traditional and sourdough breads
  
• Market Espresso - great coffee and refreshments
  
• Philippe's Chocolate - handcrafted chocolates and pattiserie
  
• Soggy Bottom Holdings - purveyors of rare breed free-range meats
  
• Pilgrim's Certified Organic Lamb - certified organic lamb cuts
  
• Finn's Kindling - bagged ready-cut kindling
  
• Sylvia Sandford Limes - fresh locally-grown limes
  
• Hungarian Twisters - 'Kurtos Kalacs' traditional Hungarian pastries
  
• Clevedon Animal Farm - pony rides for the kids
  
• Alison's Pony and Trap Rides - pony & trap rides for kids and adults
  

Visit our website at www.clevedonfarmersmarket.co.nz
To unsubscribe to this email click here and type 'unsubscribe' in the subject line