New Recipes from KidMarket

We had a great time at KidMarket and hope that you did, too! In case you missed Scott Eichinger, here are his fantastic recipes for homemade peanut butter, applesauce and pizza dough (all kid favorites!) I have it on good authority (my own seven-year old son and peanut butter aficionado) that Scott's peanut butter is the best that you will ever taste. Try these recipes with your kids and let us know how they turn out! We're gearing up for this weekend's Market -- details on vendors and more are coming very soon... See you Saturday at the Market!

KidMarket Was Great!

Thanks to everyone who came out for Cheverly Community Market's very first KidMarket -- we had so much fun! Between face painting, a hike at Lower Beaverdam, making jewelry and t-shirts, getting cool wooden swords, eating cupcakes and ice cream, and completing the Treasure Map, we're all pretty tired!

We also want to thank all the community groups, vendors and volunteers who worked so hard to make this special event a great success. We hope you all had fun, too!

Photos are up on flickr.

Did you take photos at the Market? Want to share them? Join our flickr pool!

We'd also love to publish your Market stories on the blog -- email your story about what you did, what you made with your Market goodies, etc.

This week and next, we'll post recipes for Scott's homemade peanut butter, pizza dough and applesauce, an article about nutrition for teens, some Market profiles and more on the blog. Fall is gearing up to be an exciting time for Cheverly Community Market -- come back and visit!

See you Saturday, October 5, at the next Market.

Special KidMarket Activities

Tomorrow, Cheverly Community Market begins what we hope will become an annual tradition -- KidMarket. In addition to the great treats that our regular vendors bring each Market, Cheverly schools and family-focused groups will join us for this very special morning. Visit their tables, which will be set up in the grass just in front of the Community Center: Cheverly Parents Resource Center (CPRC): make potato print t-shirts and little flags (and renew your CPRC membership!) Judith P. Hoyer Early Childhood Elementary: face painting -- your face as a work of art! St. Ambrose School: Make your own jewelry at Beadingham Palace. Proceeds will benefit Endangered Species Weekday Nursery: Buy a square on the sidewalk and create a masterpiece with chalk Mother's Day Out: Make paper airplanes and learn about this fantastic early childhood learning program Cheverly Advocates for Public Schools (CAPS): get a pencil and learn what you can do to help our local public schools Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek will sponsor a hike at 9am lead by Gabe Horchler. Hikers of all ages can meet at 9 at the Friends of Lower Beaverdam Creek table. Cheverly Women's Club will have a craft table where kids can make pinwheels Music by Cheverly Community Market's very own house band -- the Hot Noodles! Market Chef Scott Eichinger will demonstrate making peanut butter and an easy pizza dough. The Market is creating a kids reading corner featuring books on goats next to the Cherry Glenn Goat Cheese Table. Make sure to pick up a Treasure Map from the Market table and find the answers to all the questions! And from our regular vendors... Clan Stewart Farm will be bringing Macintosh and Smokehouse apples in addition to their wonderful grass-fed meats. Smokehouse (Gibbons Smokehouse, Mill Creek, Red Vandevere) apples are an old variety -- wonderful and very flavorful apples that originated in the 1830s with William Gibbons of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The original tree grew near the smokehouse of Mr. Gibbons and thus its name was derived. Besides its excellent eating qualities, Smokehouse is a fine cooking and baking apple. The apple has greenish-yellow skin covered with shades and stripes of red. Flesh is yellowish, crisp and firm with a pleasing spicy flavor. Ripens September or later depending on the locale. A creative caterer friend to Jug Bay is sending with Scott several jams and relishes with Jug Bay's own organic tomatoes and basil. Among the usual treats they'll have Organic Heirloom Tomato Marmalade; Heirloom Tomato/Ginger Marmalade; Heirloom Tomato & Lavender Jam; Sun Gold Cherry Tomato Relish and Genoa Basil Pesto. Scott will also bring cherry tomatoes, beans, squash, zucchini, eggplant, big tomatoes, red peppers, hot peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, and perhaps peaches and corn. Krishon Chocolates Eric Johnson will bring his latest kids-creations: working on caramel and chocolate covered apples. Eric will also have Caramels, Truffles, Bark and Goddess Bars. Simple Pleasure ice cream is pulling out the stops with Stracciatella (Vanilla Ice cream with Italian Chocolate blended), Vanilla, Cantaloupe,Strawberry -n-Cream, Cookies-n-Cream, and Italian Ice

Tom Baldwin with New Starts Farm is coming back from summering at his farm in New York. He's bringing fall hardy mums, herbs in pots and possibly onions, gourds and leeks.

Last week, Crystal met Al Pong at his farm in Fulton, MD. Al will be bringing Asian Pears, Persimmon Trees, Gogi Berries, Prickly Pear Cactus and some of his large fragrant, flowering plants. BUBBLES! Michelle Burns with Mystic Water Soap will bring her amazing bubble machine and bubble wands in addition to her hand-made soaps and beauty products. We are happy to report that Joe and Jo-Anne Romano harvested Honey at Golden Leaf Farm earlier this month. They'll be bringing honey sticks for the kids and a sampling of the first harvest of wine grapes from their vineyard. (There are only two vineyards in Prince George's County -- they're one!) Nicole Sylver of Sylver Spoon is happy to offer a discount again on pre-ordered cupcakes: $2.00 per cake with a 4 cupcake minimum. Same flavors: Red Velvet, Chocolate Chunk, Vanilla cupcakes with choice of Cream Cheese, Chocolate and Vanilla Buttercreams. The Toppings Bar will include rainbow sprinkles, gummy worms, chopped nuts, coconut and Oreo cookie chunks. To pre-order, call her at 202-492-1480 or email nsylver1@yahoo.com. Just in from Melanie and the Methodist Church: enjoy ROOIBUS TEA (a red tea) and BLUEBERRY iced teas in addition to the fantastic organic fair/free trade coffee that the church offers at every Market. Both teas will be lightly sweetened, CAFFEINE FREE and full of antioxidants and healthy alternatives to overly-sweetened fruit juices.

It's going to be a terrific morning...

we look forward to seeing you for KidMarket at Cheverly Community Market!

A Good Way to Get Kids Active and Healthy

Has your child attended a Mommy & Me yoga class? Did you do yoga when you were expecting? Yoga benefits people at every age, and kids can gain strength and balance while learning new ways to relax. Many schools have started to include yoga in their physical education curriculae.

Parents.com has some really great articles on yoga, along with photographs showing different poses (taken from The Kids' Yoga Deck), as well as videos. Local yoga instructor Kelly Fisher recommends starting out with the gorilla, tree, airplane, bow, butterfly and color rest poses. She also recommends warming up with sunrise and sunset.

Try it out -- your child will probably love trying something new (and it's good for you, too!)

See you tomorrow morning at KidMarket!

Special Offerings from Jug Bay This Saturday

Wow! Scott from Jug Bay is bringing some great new offerings to the Market this week...

"A local caterer whom we work with made several jams and relishes with our organic tomatoes and basil. He is a very creative cook and made a lot of the jams and marmalades with all organic ingredients."

Here's what Scott plans to bring (in addition to cherry tomatoes, beans, squash, zucchini, eggplant, big tomatoes, red peppers, hot peppers, potatoes, cucumbers and perhaps peaches and corn):

Heirloom Tomato Marmalade 8 oz - Organic Product Heirloom Tomato/Ginger Marmalade 8 oz - Organic Product Heirloom Tomato & Lavender Jam 8 oz - Organic Product Sun Gold Cherry Tomato Relish 8 oz - Organic Product Genoa Basil Pesto 8 oz - Local Organic Basil

This promises to be quite a Market -- we can't wait to see you there!

Kids, Herbs and Vegetables

A special article for KidMarket from Cheverly Community Market herbalist/nutritionist Bevin Clare... I remember mushy grey brussel sprouts as a kid, but they didn’t stop me from loving farm-fresh veggies as an adult. Vegetables and herbs can be a fun and interesting part of any kid’s diet (never mind an important one for their growth and development). With the right ideas and strategies, you can make KidMarket this week the beginning of your child’s love affair with veggies. Below I share some practical ways to add veggies and fresh herbs into your little one’s diet. Most importantly, share a love of fresh foods and herbs and the abundance of summer. Teach your children about the growing cycle and watch plants around you. Discuss why plants make vegetables (to disperse seeds and reproduce), and help them look for seeds in each of the vegetables they find. Inspiring a love of nature and the seasons will help them to connect with their food in a whole new way. If they see you loving fresh foods and reveling in the abundance of the season, they may learn to do the same. Prime your little one to be ready to shop ‘til they drop this weekend since they will be “in charge” of one of your meals. Get them a basket and assign them to find two or three vegetables for the family this week. Once they choose their veggies, they can also help to pick out a recipe and to make the meal. This can be a fun and rewarding way to connect farm to table. Beyond turning all vegetables into ice cream, there are a number of ways to encourage copious vegetable eating in kids. Try making a rainbow vegetable pizza with whole grain dough, and pile it sky high with rainbow colored vegetables. See if they can find each color of the rainbow at the market. As root vegetables become in season, make healthy baked fries out of anything but potatoes. Any squash, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips and turnips will work if you cut them into strips, lightly coat with olive oil and bake until browned. Salsa is good for all of us and so easy to make! Just chop and combine almost anything you can find at the market including peppers, corn, fruit, summer squashes and zucchini and tomatoes. You can also add a can of rinsed black beans for extra protein and flavor. You can also make a great dip from plain yogurt and fresh herbs or use fresh herbs and a spice mix, and dip veggie sticks in for a healthy snack. Lastly, soups are always a hit, so you can lightly cook almost any vegetables and puree. Fresh corn makes a great base, and is so sweet and creamy in the summer you don’t even need to add cream. To drink, try making a variety of herbal teas and adding a little bit of juice. Once your kids get use to this they can create their favorite combos, and you can add the tea to the bottle in the fridge so they get more nutrients and less sugar in each cup. Be sure to have fun with your kids this weekend and build that rainbow of veggies, and after Saturday's KidMarket, every market can be kid market!

Pre-order Your Cupcakes from Sylver Spoon for KidMarket!

Nicole Sylver of Sylver Spoon is happy to offer a discount again on pre-ordered cupcakes: $2.00 per cupcake with a 4 cupcake minimum. She's bringing back the same popular flavors: Red Velvet, Chocolate Chunk or Vanilla cupcakes with choice of Cream Cheese, Chocolate or Vanilla Buttercream. And don't forget the toppings: rainbow sprinkles, gummy worms, chopped nuts, coconut and Oreo cookie chunks! Maybe a little of each... Mmmm, chocolate chunk cupcake-chocolate buttercream with sprinkles, worms and oreo chunks.... Sounds like KidMarket heaven to me! To pre-order, call 202-492-1480 or email Nicole. You can pick up your delicious cupcakes Saturday morning during KidMarket (but don't be surprised if they don't make it home -- they make a fantastic breakfast!)

Kid Recipe #1

As promised, during KidMarket week, we'll be bringing you recipes that are especially well-suited to kid cooks. Our first, Powerball Cookies, was found in Wondertime magazine. They're lots of fun for kids to make (just make sure to have a bath ready -- they'll be sticky) and a great healthy snack to boot.

Click on the cookies to get a printable version of the recipe.

See you Saturday at KidMarket!

KidMarket This Saturday!

We're getting ready for a very special Market...

We hope it's a new tradition!

Cheverly Community Market's first KidMarket will take place this Saturday, September 20, 8:00-11:00am. In addition to our house band, the Hot Noodles, and our regular fantastic vendors (more on who you can expect later this week), we'll have special guests from CPRC, Hoyer, Spellman, Weekday Nursery/Mother's Day Out, St. Ambrose, CAPS and other community groups. Visit their tables to make potato print t-shirts or flags, get your face painted, get a balloon and more. We'll share more details as the week goes on. We'll also share some recipes for healthy food that kids can make (with a little help) and other great family information.Come to the Market this Saturday

for food and fun for the whole family!

Did you get a chance to read this?

Last week, Cheverly Community Market herbalist/nutritionist Bevin Clare wrote a fascinating article about the Nightshade family. We're worried it didn't get its' due and that many of you didn't get a chance to read it. Click on the salsa to the left or on the link above to learn all about these highly beneficial plants. And make Bevin's salsa: take raw corn, peaches, tomatoes and chilis (you decide quantities). Dice everything, mix and serve. She put this together in just a few minutes at the Market and it garnered rave reviews. If you tried it, you wanted the recipe. If you didn't try it, you're going to want this recipe!

Thank you, Cheverly!

Thank you to everyone -- customers, vendors, performers and volunteers who braved a stormy Saturday morning and made their way out to the Cheverly Community Market. We were so pleased that so many friends and neighbors came out to share the morning with us!

We are so very grateful to everyone who supports the Market. This is truly a community effort, and we rely on many, many people to make each Market a success. We're especially thankful this week to all the volunteers who came early and stayed late to set up in the gym. And thanks, too, to the town for its assistance in logistics. We definitely thought twice (or more) about holding a Market during a tropical storm, but the support that the people of Cheverly demonstrated today makes it all worthwhile.

New photos are up on our flickr page. Get ready -- our first KidMarket is just two weeks away!

A Message from Crystal About Saturday's Market...

Hello all! Preparations are well under way for what may be one of the most unusual Markets of the season... Tomorrow morning at 5am, before the sun comes up -- and probably in the pouring rain -- hearty farmers will be in their field picking corn for our Market. At the same time, breads and pastries will go into ovens. Terry Moist will start his trip from Clan Stewart Farm in Pennsylvania, Griffen Basignani will load cases of wine that started as grapes on his family's Maryland vineyard. Charles and Kelly are getting together tonight to practice for tomorrow's performance. (Don't forget to tip!) Nicole Sylver will be up until the wee hours whipping buttercream and making sure her cupcakes are mixed and baked to perfection. The Russells with Simple Pleasures Ice Cream will load their ice cream and cart into the van they rent to come to market. And don't forget to put your clothing donations into plastic bags tonight. Jason Gaines is counting on them for his Eagle Scout Project. These are only a few of the vendors and people who will brave the elements tomorrow morning to join us at the Cheverly Community Market. Hope you will come out to thank them in person, stock up on terrific food and drink, have a relaxed breakfast with friends and enjoy some fine music...what a great way to kick off September.

We look forward to seeing you in the Community Center Gym tomorrow morning, 8:00-11:00am, rain or shine!

Late Summer is Nightshade Time

Here's a great article from Cheverly Community Market's very own herbalist/nutritionist Bevin Clare: The nightshade vegetables: tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, and chili peppers, are abundant and tasty in Maryland this time of the year. All members of the family Solanaceae family are native to the New World—that’s right—there were no chilies in India, no tomatoes in Italy and no potatoes in Ireland before the plants of the new world were spread around the globe. In addition to the vegetables, this plant family has a number of interesting and occasionally poisonous or hallucinogenic plants, including tobacco, datura, and mandrake. I hardly need to expand on the delight of summer fresh heirloom tomatoes, ripe purple eggplants, and crisp peppers (see suggestions below for eating!). One of the nutritional principles I often share with clients is to make sure you are eating a rainbow each week (of fruits and vegetables). If you look down at your basket or cart and see a rainbow of every color you will know you are getting the full array of vitamins and micronutrients you can get from your plant foods. A meal of grilled purple eggplant with fresh heirloom tomatoes of yellow and red and green, along with some orange peppers and green basil spread over the top is beautiful on the plate and inside of your body. This is an excellent time of the year to practice this, so try to gather your own rainbow (maybe in the rain!) at the market this weekend. The nightshades weren’t always as loved as they are now. When they first moved to Europe they were considered poisonous and raised only to feed the livestock. Many of the nightshade family are still used for stronger purposes. Alkaloids found in this plant family are used to create motion-sickness patches, treat pesticide and chemical warfare poisonings, and to prevent allergic reactions. Tobacco, a sacred Native American plant traditionally used in ceremony, is also used widely as a drug around the world. What to do with your rainbow of vegetables? Let them shine as themselves. A simple dressing of olive oil, salt and lemon can be enough for many of these vegetables to be fabulous. Add a sprinkle of whatever fresh herbs are available. Nightshade vegetables this time of the year are fresh and strong enough to stand on their own, you don’t need to do anything fancy. Heirloom tomatoes should be stored out of the fridge until they begin to get too soft as they loose their delicate flavor in the fridge-- place them on a kitchen towel out of sunlight and in a cooler area. Add to salads, salsas, or slices and serve, or eat like an apple and get messy for fun! Eggplants can be roasted, entirely whole on the grill or in the oven until soft with a charred outside. Carefully transfer it to a bowl, pick off some of the skin and the top and puree with olive oil, lemon, tahini, salt and garlic for a warm and dreamy baba ganoush. Make a salsa with everything else you have, multi-colored peppers, tomatoes, green onions, cherry tomatoes, and some chilies and you can eat this with beans or meat for a healthy and lovely dinner. Be sure to stop by the (indoor) market this weekend to grab your rainbow of nightshades!

Like the Boy Scouts, We're Prepared and We'll Be There

As many of you know, Arvind Lal, Crystal's husband, has provided incredible support to the Market over the past year in all aspects -- from listening to legal advice to where most of you see him nearly every Market -- selling bread. For several years, Arvind has also been very active as a Leader for Cheverly's Boy Scout Troop 257. Arvind is part of the heart and soul of the Market and of Cheverly, and it's because of him that crazy ideas (like the Market) sometimes work!

Struggling to decide whether or not to cancel the market because of this weekends weather forecast, we decided to follow the example of Cheverly Eagle Scout Jason Gaines. You see, he (and Arvind) is holding a clothing drive as part of Jason's Eagle Scout Project-- rain or shine this Saturday , 8:00am until noon, in front of Cheverly Community Center. The clothing items being collected include coats, shirts, blouses, pants, and newly purchased undergarments. Donations accepted -- and welcome -- from customers at Cheverly Community Market.

Well, we can't very well leave Jason, and Arvind out in the rain! The clothing drive got Crystal thinking -- all of our vendors rely on our Market for a portion of their livelihood. Rain or shine, they have to sell their products in order to continue producing those products. So when the rains come down on Saturday morning and you're tucked warm and safe in bed, we hope you'll remember to get up, get dressed and venture out with all the proper rain gear. You risk of getting a little wet -- maybe even soaked -- for the sake of vendors and artists who have agreed to risk a lot more to keep the Market running. Remember the motto: Be prepared!

Now, here's the good news for those of you who aren't Eagle Scouts (or even Brownies!):

We plan on being in the gym.

We'll have fresh coffee waiting for you. Loaves of crusty bread and pastries that would make a Parisian cry. Basignani Winery, a small family-owned business, where even the wines are named after family members will be making their first appearance this season. Many of you remember them from our Thanksgiving Market. They'll be bringing Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Riesling. Clan Stewart Farm, which raises pastured animals, will have limited quantities of seasonally available chevon (young goat) and lamb, as well as pastured pork and grass-fed beef. They will also be offering a new sausage--Italian all-beef sausage.

Scott Hertzberg of Jug Bay will have HEIRLOOM TOMATOES corn, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, hot and sweet peppers, (including anaheim and poblano) cukes and maybe beans and watermelon. Martha Allen has made a new batch of blueberry jam. Yum!

Michelle with Mystic Water Soaps has spent the last week making new product to bring to market.

Eric Johnson with Krishon Chocolates has handmade caramels to offer, plus a caramel sauce for ice cream. We hope to see Circle C Oysters, Emma Dudley, and Sylver Spoon Cupcakes. The market will also have fresh pasta and Cherry Glen Goat Cheese.

And of course, music from Cheverly Community Market's very own house band, the Hot Noodle!

Let's show that our support for the Cheverly Community Market is stronger than what any storm can deliver. See you in the Cheverly Community Center Gym, this Saturday, 8:00-11:00am. And remember to bring some clothes to donate to the Eagle Scouts!