The Market is Open and Thank You!

Good Sunday Market,

First off, a HUGE thank you to everyone that made our fundraiser such a success yesterday. From all of the participants that purchased tickets to our wonderful Board members and volunteers for helping it run smoothly, we had such an amazing time learning how to make honey pilsner pickles, ricotta cheese, and bavarian pretzels. Speaking of which, we can not thank our teachers enough for volunteering their incredibly value time to lend us their expertise. If you’re interested in giving them an extra thank you, they’ve all got wonderful products on the market:

• Angela Gardner of Garden Works led a wonderful workshop on transforming plain old cucumbers into delicious honey pilsner pickles. Garden Works has got plenty of other great preserved local products on the market like sweet apple cider butter and tomato juice. Angela also helps The Root Cafe preserve their pickled okra, nabak kimchi, and my personal favorite, their spicy garden pepper marmalade.

• Kent Walker taught participants how to make a delicious, fresh, and surprisingly easy ricotta cheese. Though he doesn’t sell ricotta on the market, he does have some amazing aged cheeses, including bluff top gouda, garlic montasio, habanero cheddar, leicester, and what I would describe as incredibly soft and delectable ophelia.

• Ashton Woodward of Arkansas Fresh Bakery led us through the steps of making truly authentic bavarian pretzels, the likes of which can not be found on the market. Many folks show up right when Food Club opens to snag whatever delicious extras Arkansas Fresh sent us that week, and you can always add their Arkansas sourdough, birdseed multigrain, ciabatta, or honey flax seed sourdough to your order and guarantee yourself the best bread in town.

Let us not forget that the inaugural St. Joseph Farm Fest is just one week away! Farm Fest is a weekend celebration of sustainable agriculture and healthy lifestyles presented by St. Joseph Farm and the Farm and Food Innovation Center. Join us during two days of farm tours, speakers, artisan craft demonstrations, local music, and good food and drinks at St. Joseph Farm in North Little Rock. You can donate here to help make this amazing festival happen and purchase tickets here to join in on the Fall fun.

Thanks again!

- Alex Handfinger
Director of Operations

Do you have questions or comments about this, or any, weblog? Thoughts on local food, goods, or events? Reply to this email and let us know what’s on your mind. Your feedback is always greatly appreciated!