The Market is Open

Good morning everyone,
The Market is open, and a big welcome to White River Creamery, an exciting newcomer to our market. White River Creamery started showing up in Little Rock just a few months ago, and already their product has gained some notoriety. Artisan cheeses, made from their own goat’s milk (raised right, no hormones or antibiotics), including Fromage Blanc, Aged Feta, Marinated Feta, and Garlic & Chive Fromage Blanc. I’ve been buying their cheeses for a month now and am very happy to see them join us. They milk Nigerian dwarf goats, which produce a very creamy and buttery milk, perfect for rich cheeses. The cow’s milk they use comes from a neighboring cow dairy operation that shares their values.

In the past few months, our dairy section has gone from zero to twelve products. It’s good to see it grow; the dairy side of our local food scene has been sadly unrepresented. It’s notoriously difficult for small dairy farms to make it in this state, so demanding is the lifestyle and unfavorable the odds, so I find it very important to support any dairy farms who try to make it happen by buying their products. It’s not a hard sell; I can’t find feta in the grocery store this good or this fresh.

Check out their grower profile and photos to learn more about them. An e-mail and phone number are included; I encourage you, as always, to make contact and get to know your growers.
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In the market this week…

• Vegetables! Come Friday, you’ll probably be recovering from a food binge. I applaud your love of eating, but it may be time for some fresh vegetables. If so, there is kale, broccoli, salad greens, and spinach, from the likes of Arkansas Natural Produce, Kellogg Valley Farm, and Willow Springs Market Garden. Veg out.
• Pie! If, on the other hand, you’re still working out a mean sweet tooth, White Rivery Creamery has Fromage Blanc Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake, with a gluten-free option. Ready to bake and, well, probably really delicious. It comes frozen, so if you decide to wait a few days before diving in, that’s OK.
• When I’m digesting a load of guilt, I’m typically drawn to hummus for some reason. It feels healthy, I guess, and Geek Eat’s Blackbean & Rosemary Hummus is divine.
• Pecans from Hardin Farms. It’s been a long wait for pecan season, and, actually, my favorite part about it is shelling them. For one thing, you save a lot of money if you buy them cracked vs. shelled. But it’s also therapeutic to grab a bowl, put on a good movie, and spend a quiet afternoon shelling pecans. Your hands get dusty; your fingernails may hurt, but there’s something about it. Shopping frenzy at the mall? Or shelling pecans with family?
• Frozen plums from Ratchford Farms. I’m a fan of Ratchford’s plums; they are the perfect blend of sweet and tart and make a great addition to oatmeal.
• Meat. What? You’re about to eat a family’s worth of turkey and ham and who knows what else? Do you really need meat? True, come Wednesday or Thursday, Thanksgiving’s feast will be a sweet but distant memory, and your freezer may be empty. In which case, there is the usual offering of beef, sausage, offal, lamb.
• We usually think of food in the market, but Bluebird Hill has some homemade products to enjoy, such as custom quilts and hand sewn dish towels. Made to your liking, good for Holiday gifts, and supportive of our local businesses.
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Last but not least, check out the first entry in our aspiring video series on our local farmers:
Meet Willow Springs Market Garden in full video. This video was recorded by Channel Hardly, a partnership of local video producers looking to help share what’s happening in Arkansas. The video is a great capture of Robert’s personality and growing philosophy, in all its quirks and wisdom.
See you soon!
Sincerely,
Sam Hedges