Happy New Year, and welcome to the February / March '09 edition of Fresh.

The bad news: most of us have had to give up the summer holiday nana naps and 11am sauvignon spritzers to get back to the daily grind.

The good news: the kids are back at school too. Yep - all us poor parents get to breathe a sigh of relief as another month of mad juggling (childcare, work, quality kid time) comes to an end. Just watch us skip out of the school gate.

Still, the one bit of term-time that parents never miss is daily lunchbox duties. For a start, the PC brigade is full of dire warnings about salt/sugar/fat/additives in snack foods. Then there's the small matter of what the little darlings will eat - most households could supply a small pig farm with end-of-day lunchbox detritus.

So, backed up by some entirely unscientific research (a quick chat with some folks we ran into at the dairy), we've compiled some easy, tasty and affordable lunchbox ideas, all available here at the Clevedon Village Farmers' Market. They're healthy, too, so you can tell those health nazis to stick it in their solar-powered yoghurt-makers and ferment it.

• Kids can be foul about veges, but - luckily for lunchbox-compilers - they tend to prefer raw to cooked. Carrots, cucumber sticks and tomatoes are safe(ish) options - try scrubbed, super-sweet baby carrots and cherry tomatoes for the novelty factor.
  
• Nuts and seeds are great for energy and they're yummy, too. To make up a tasty seed mix, try tossing pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a bit of oil, soy sauce and honey and roasting them in a medium oven.
  
• Cut market pita bread into triangles, brush with olive oil, garlic and herbs, then bake in a medium oven until crisp and golden. These are great snacks or sandwich replacements and keep for a couple of weeks in airtight containers (plus you won't have to deal with any more soggy crusts).
  
• Fresh fruit, obviously. I mean you can't really blame the kids for turning up their noses at floury supermarket nectarines that have spent two months in a cool store, can you? Berries are a particular winner.
  
• Salami or other tasty cured meats. The kids love them, and the market versions aren't full of yucky fillers and preservatives.
  
• For a sweet treat, half or quarter chocolate/almond croissants are great. Buy a few and keep them in the freezer - they'll defrost by lunchtime if you get them out in the morning. Ness Valley Nut’s macadamia shortbread is also a delicious treat packed with the goodness of macadamia nuts.
  
• The kids we know love cheese - and it's full of protein and calcium. Add a couple of chunks to the lunchbox each morning and watch it disappear.
  
• To really up the protein stakes, pop hard-boiled, free-range eggs in with the cheese.
  
• God made sweet corn to save parents from summer mealtime insanity. Make the most of the season and add cold cooked cobs to the kids' lunches.

Pumpkin paradise
It's almost our favourite time of year again - Pumpkin Competition day. If you plan to bring in your prize-winning effort(s) (and a record-setting 100 of you apparently do), please note March 29 in your diary. That's weigh-in day; you'll need to have your pumpkins in to us by 9.30am for weighing and judging.
Great prizes will be given in a range of categories - from biggest pumpkin to weirdest and most beautiful - and the fabulous Sunset Coast Band will be on hand to get your toes a-tapping. See you there.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH
Sweet corn, peruperu and avocado salad

The perfect light lunch on a hot day this salad is equally satisfying when teamed with a tender South Devon or Highland grilling steak from the market. Some like it hot but if you don't you can reduce the amount of jalapeño chilli to 1 teaspoon.

Salad
400g of cooked small peruperu
3 cobs of fresh cooked corn
1 small cucumber
A handful of cherry tomatoes
1 small avocado
1 Tbsp minced jalapeño chilli
¼ cup of flat leaf parsley
¼ cup of mint
4 tsp lime juice
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt & freshly ground pepper

Lime vinaigrette
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp lime juice
Salt and pepper
6 lime segments peeled and cut into thirds

Avocado sauce
1 small avocado
2 tsp lime juice
¼ cup water
Salt and pepper

Salad - cut kernels from corn cobs with a sharp knife. Deseed and peel the cucumber, chop into small dice. Finely chop the fresh herbs and put a little aside for garnish. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season to taste.

Avocado sauce - peel avocado and place in a bowl with water and lime juice. Blend to a smooth consistency.

Vinaigrette - whisk together oil and lime juice, season with salt and pepper and then add lime flesh.

Assembly - Scribe a line of avocado across the centre of each plate and place a serving of salad on top of this. Scribe another line of sauce next to the salad, and then drizzle vinaigrette over the salad and around the plate. Sprinkle over herbs and serve.

Cook’s notes: Peruperu is also known as Maori potato – they have an excellent flavour and hold together well when cooked. Your sweet corn should be sweet and tender enough to eat raw. When corn is picked the sugars in the kernels start to convert to starch if your cob isn’t sweet, it’s old or picked too late.

CLEVEDON VILLAGE FARMERS' MARKET VENDORS & PRODUCE

• Anthony's Tomatoes - tomatoes that taste like tomatoes
  
• Soggy Bottom Holdings - purveyors of rare breed free-range meats
• Sunset Coast Organics - organic fruit, vegetables and herbs
• Holmbrook Produce – chutney jams, mustards, pickles
• Clevedon Animal Farm - pony rides for the kids
• Bentru - smoked specialty meats and sausages; traditional prosciutto

• Heritage tomatoes by the ute load

  Schanzer Landscape - exotic plants
• Ardmore Valley Blueberries - blueberries
• Clevedon Valley Cheese - artisan cheese
• Piako Pete - wet fish; smoked fish & eel
• Pasta La Vista – Fresh Artisan Pasta
• Pacific Skye - seasonal fruit; fruit juice
• Wild Bee - fresh local bush & field honey
• Cuconics - telegraph cucumbers
• Salmonman - hot smoked salmon cured in a variety of ways
• Heart of the Globe - Highland beef products; artichokes
• Running Brook Seeds - quality heritage flower and vegetable seeds
• Wild Wheat - artisan bakers of traditional and sourdough breads
• Paella Pan - traditional paella cooked on-site; fresh crepes
• I Love Pies – handmade pies with an NZ flavour
• Limes on the Firth - fresh limes; cooking demonstrations 10-11am
• South Hill Farm - outdoor tomatoes
• Bruntwood Farm - asparagus and berry fruit
• Hungarian Twisters - Kurtos Kalacs traditional Hungarian pastries
• Alison's Pony & Trap Rides - pony & trap rides for kids and adults
• Willow Brook - lavender products; Iris plants and lavender
• Zakar - BioGro beef cuts; premium beef mince and sausages
• Broccolini - broccolini
• Eureka Nurseries - flowers and produce
• Strawberry Corner- fresh strawberries
• Mandeville Gardens - native plants
• Sweet Art - cakes and chocolates
• Nature's Corner - free-range eggs
• Estuary Orchards – Citrus
• Clevedon Village Caterers - Cornish pasties and quality baking
• Alvita - fresh & roasted nuts
• Pilgrim's - organic lamb
• Clevedon Proteas - Proteas and Waratahs
• Blackwood's Gourmet Breads - freshly-made bagels and flatbreads
• Waiuku River Wines - red & white wines, verjuice
• Fancy Lettuce - lettuce; spinach; living herbs
• Market Espresso - great coffee and refreshments
• River Estate - premium olive oils and table olives
• Dullumbunda Farm - fruit; vegetables and herbs
• Hungarian Deli - traditional air-dried meats and sausages
• Clevedon Cuisine - gourmet provisions
• Listers - Passion fruit and preserves
• Clevedon Juice & Icecream - juice and icecream
• David's Garden - Asian vegetables a specialty
• Avoculture - Avocados
• Zorba - great Greek food
• Ness Valley Nuts - fresh roasted and chocolate macadamia nuts
  

Clevedon Village Farmers Market
Every Sunday 8:30am-12 noon, Clevedon Showground, Monument Rd, Clevedon

Visit our website at www.clevedonfarmersmarket.co.nz
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