Fancy Lettuce Organic Meat Wild Wheat Artisan Breads Fresh vegetables Running Brook heritage seeds
FRESH

Market news from the farm gate and beyond...
Mar 2008

The big dry seems to have passed, much to the relief of gardeners and farmers in the district, and the real golden weather is upon us. Early autumn. A season of balmy days and cool evenings. Relaxed al fresco meals with the scent of wood smoke in the air. Soft sunlight on late roses. And really, really big pumpkins.

If you’re growing a whopper to enter in our famous annual pumpkin competition, remember this date: March 30. That’s when you need to load your giant veg into the car and bring it down to the market for weigh-in (on super-accurate digital scales, of course).

Our lovely stallholders have come to the party with a first prize worth in excess of $300 – they also donated another bumper hamper of delicious produce to the winner of this year’s Clevedon Kawakawa Bay Raft Race (a great family day out that raises funds for our area’s hard-working volunteer fire brigade).

IN SEASON
This month at the market, you’ll find blueberries, apples, figs, cherimoyas, potatoes, pumpkin, kumi kumi, watermelon, rock melon, rhubarb, lettuce, kale, eggplant, tomatoes, salad greens, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, beans, broccolini, peas, capsicums, avocados, beetroot and turnips - plus a huge range of non-seasonal edibles (click here for a full list of our vendors and their produce).

NEW STALLHOLDERS
We’d like to extend a warm market welcome to two new stallholders:
Christine and Belmont from Farmhouse Treats and Produce are fourth generation growers who, along with their daughter and son-in-law, cultivate two properties in Te Uku. They offer a range of fresh, top quality veggies – from family ‘basics’ like onions and potatoes to more unusual crops – as well as snacks and treats made from their own produce.
Mandeville Native Nursery is a living testament to the good sense behind indigenous planting. Owner Mandy’s replanted 20-acre block in Tuakau looked lush and serene on the stifling February day when we popped in for a visit. Mandy also offers a reasonably priced planting and placement service, taking both aesthetic and practical considerations into account (wetland areas a specialty).

THE WHEEL DEAL
Nope, we weren’t very impressed with the disruption that the Sub Ride bike event brought to the market, either. If you were one of our many visitors who experienced unreasonable delays or were stopped from accessing the market altogether, please let us know by emailing helen@clevedonfarmersmarket.co.nz. Your feedback will help us fix these issues before next year’s event.

DRY ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS
Brittle and salty, roasted pumpkin seeds can be eaten in the shell... Scoop the seeds from the middle of a ripe pumpkin and rinse off the fibres.
Spread the seeds on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt.
Roast in a moderate oven, 200C/400F gas mark 6 for 10 minutes or until crisp. Keep an eye on them as seeds and nuts burn in a blink.

MARKET PROFILE
Running Brook Seeds

Stella Christoffersen from
Running Brook Seeds

Stella’s stall at the market is a cornerstone of what we are about - real food, that tastes great - it all starts with a seed.
The curator of a growing collection of seeds from rare and unusual varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers, Stella is a seed saver with over 30 years experience who harvests her seeds from over an acre of rambling garden on the Awhitu peninsula.
Visit Stella’s stand at the market for practical advice and non-hybrid seeds for your garden.

MARKET BITES
Building Business
Trade & Enterprise NZ is holding a FREE half-day interactive business related workshop for our stall holders in early April.

Run by experienced professionals, there will be the opportunity for other small businesses in the area to join us.

All attendees are also entitled to book a one-on-one coaching session after the workshop. Spaces are limited, so if you’d like to attend please contact Helen Dorresteyn via email: helen@clevedonfarmersmarket.co.nz, or on mobile: 021 523 616.

“I don’t like food that’s too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I’d buy a painting.”
- Andy Rooney

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

The Best Tomato Juice

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of peeled very ripe tomatoes - coarsely chopped
1 onion, scallion or spring onion
3 basil or mint leaves
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper

Method:
Puree everything and strain.
Add 1/2 a cup of water and chill.
Juice can be frozen or bottled using the water bath method.

CLEVEDON VILLAGE FARMERS' MARKET VENDORS & PRODUCE

  		•
    Dullumbunda Farm - baby carrots and beetroot; silver beet, sprouts; culinary herbs; watercress; tomatoes; radishes; rhubarb; garlic; apples
  • Pacific Skye - seasonal fruit; fruit juice
  • Fancy Lettuce - lettuce; spinach; living herbs; tubs of mesclun
  • Sunset Coast Organics - certified organic fruit and vegetables; culinary herbs and gourmet salad mixes
  • Cuconics - telegraph cucumbers; courgettes; tomatoes; and cherry tomatoes
  • Wild Bee - fresh local bush and field honey
  • Nature’s Corner - free-range eggs
  • Hamlin Nursery - perennials
  • Farmhouse Treats and Produce - seasonal fruit and vegetables; preserves; confectionary; homemade potato crisps
  • Dig This - Eion & Ann Scarrow’s garden plants
  • Hungarian Deli - traditional air-dried meats and gluten-free sausages
  • Scoff Foods - gluten free canapé shells and baking
  • Waiuku River Wines - merlot and cabernet Bordeaux-style blends
  • Paella Pan - traditional paella cooked on-site; fresh crepes
  • Heart of the Globe - Highland beef products; salami; fresh artichokes; marinated garlic; fruit pastes
  • Blackwood’s Gourmet Breads - freshly-made bagels and flatbreads
  • Bentru - smoked specialty meats and sausages; traditional proscuitto
  • Clevedon Valley Cheese - 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 - hot smoked salmon cured in a variety of ways
  • Zakar - BioGro beef cuts; premium beef mince and sausages
  • Running Brook Seeds - quality heritage flower and vegetable seeds
  • Wild Wheat - artisan bakers of traditional and sourdough breads
  • Market Espresso - great coffee and refreshments
  • Blueberry Deli - blueberries
  • River Estate - premium olive oils and table olives
  • Broccolini - broccolini
  • Alvita - fresh nuts
  • Avoculture - avocados
  • Tipaka Moana - subtropical fruit; seedlings
  • Gelato Cart - gelato
  • Mandeville Gardens - native plants
  • Sweet Art - cakes and biscuits
  • Farmhouse Treats and Produce - sweet corn; potatoes; watermelon; rock melon; lettuce; pumpkin; celery; kumara; onions; beans; homemade fudge; home made potato crisps
  • Soggy Bottom Holdings - purveyors of rare breed free-range meats
  • Zorba’s - authentic handmade Greek dishes
  • Sylvia Sandford Limes - fresh locally-grown limes; cooking demonstrations 10-11am
  • Pilgrim’s Certified Organic Lamb - certified organic lamb cuts
  • Hungarian Twisters - ‘Kurtos Kalacs’ traditional Hungarian pastries
  • Clevedon Animal Farm - pony rides for the kids
  • Alison’s Pony & Trap Rides - pony & trap rides for kids and adults
  • Willow Brook - lavender products; Iris plants and lavender
  • South Hill Farm - heritage tomatoes; capsicum

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

Visit our website at www.clevedonfarmersmarket.co.nz
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