Who's coming to Market this week? CUMC Fair Trade Coffee Tea Gifts

We're gearing up for our special Labor Day weekend Market and our vendors are just starting to tell us about the special treats they have in store...


As summer comes to an end and temperatures drop (low 70s today?!), we start thinking about Fall produce...and we're not the only ones! In addition to great hot or iced coffee and tea, juice packs and fair trade gifts, CUMC will have fresh figs and fig preserves this Saturday, direct from the Hartwig-Davis' backyard. If you got a chance at the figs last Market, you know they're absolutely delightful. How about this for a special early Fall treat: toast a few slices of baguette, slather on a bit of goat cheese, add slices of fig and a drizzle of honey, then crush a little bit of toasted walnuts or pecans over the whole thing. Delicious! See you this Saturday at our special Labor Day weekend Market!

What are you making with Market purchases?

We're in that challenging period between Markets -- as far away from one as from the other. We've eaten our fruits, vegetables, bread and cheese. Only a few lovely Clan Stewart eggs remain. What to do?


How about scrambled eggs with feta and fresh thyme? It's a simple, elegant dish that soothes... Beat eggs with a tablespoon or two of water. Gently scramble them (olive oil or butter are both good), keeping them soft. Add crumbled feta and fresh thyme (leaves only), lower heat and warm through, making sure to keep the eggs as soft and smooth as possible. That's the whole thing. And you probably have some great ways of preparing eggs and other "between Market" dishes, too. We'd love to get your advice! -- Posted from the iPhone of Awesome

If you're near a computer right now...

Charles & Kelly of our house band, The Hot Noodles, are playing at The Potomac Grill right now (Saturday night, 8:45pm). Catch the stream at http://www.thehotnoodles.com -- Posted from the iPhone of Awesome

What do you do with older fruit?

Somehow, we actually had a few stray peaches and nectarines that -- while perfect early in the week -- got a tad overripe...what to do? Not enough for jam or a pie, but we didn't want to waste them (and we had a house full of hungry kids celebrating the last Friday of summer vacation.)


Dollar-size peach/nectarine pancakes! So good that they had seconds and thirds!


Made even better with S&S Maple Farms maple syrup (thank goodness we stocked up last season!) What do you do with odds and ends of produce?

Good news!

We've decided to have a special Labor Day Weekend Market! Please join our vendors on Saturday, September 5, 8:00am to noon, and stock up for your Labor Day celebrations! Vendor details coming soon...

Saturday at Cheverly Community Market: the whrrl story

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Photos from today are on flickr!

This is Baruck. His mom and dad think that this may be his first ice cream. Ever. And what a way to start! This photo, and over 200 others from today (and 2,356 others from all of our Markets) are posted on flickr.

Great market!

A wet, but wonderful Market! Thanks to everyone who came out: vendors, volunteers and customers. We had a lot of fun...and hear one little boy and little girl had their very first ice cream today!


Photos will be posted soon...our whrrl story is at http://whrrl.com/e/f1d0n. -- Posted from the iPhone of Awesome

We're On, Rain or Shine!

Just a reminder that Cheverly Community Market is on, rain or shine! If it's rainnig Saturday morning, we'll be inside the Cheverly Community Center, 6401 Forest Road. If it's sunny (and keep your fingers -- and toes -- crossed for sun), we'll be in our regular location (parking lot outside the Community Center.)

One way or the other... See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's at the Market this Saturday: Our Vendor Roundup

This weekend, many families are gearing up for the return to school. Where did summer go?! Sack lunches for the kids (and the adults!) can be made easy and healthy with a trip to Cheverly Community Market this Saturday. It's also a great time to limit the amount of cooking you have to do, and we have the fresh fruits, vegetables and other local products to make lovely, delicious meals with a minimum of preparation. The August 22 Market will include yellow and white peaches, pluots, ginger gold apples, prune plums, cantaloupes, cherry tomatoes, red tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, roman candle tomatoes, purple onions , eggplant, grape tomatoes, green peppers, red peppers, a variety of hot peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, yellow zucchini, green beans, low-acid yellow tomatoes, green tomatoes (for frying), roma tomatoes (great for sauce), kale, collards, sweet white corn, cucumbers, small red potatoes, blackberries, raspberries, cider, jerusalem artichokes, swiss chard, herbs (cut and potted), collaloo, winter squash, peppers, canned pickled beets and peppers, and purslane, gala apples, Japanese maple, fig , goji berry, citrus (meyer's lemon, key lime, calamondin), pomegranate trees, gardenia, prickly pear, cheddar and Colby cheeses, including Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Cheddar with Garlic and Chives, Cheddar with Horseradish, Colby, Colby with Dill, Italian Colby, Jalapeno Colby, Crabby Colby, and BBQ Colby, watermelon Italian ice (made from Shlagel Farm's yellow and red watermelons), as well lemon Italian ice made with real lemons and pieces of lemon peel, cantaloupe and cantaloupe coconut (made with Shlagel's cantaloupe), vanilla and stracciatella (vanilla blended with Italian chocolate and a hint of hazelnut), hot or iced coffee and iced tea by the cup, wine, bread and pastries.

Vendors for the August 22 Market: CUMC Fair Trade Coffee Tea Gifts Eve’s Cheese Al Pong Shlagel Farm Rebert Farm/Benny’s Fruit Stand C&E Farm Simple Pleasures Ice Café

Basignani Vineyard

Cheverly Breadbasket

and maybe a surprise or two!

Music by Charles Andrews of Cheverly Community Market house band The Hot Noodles

Sadly, two of our favorite vendors will not be with us this weekend: Cookies to Cocktails (Liz Esposito) and Circle C Oyster Ranch. We look forward to seeing both back in September!

We look forward to seeing you, your friends and neighbors tomorrow at the Market!

Who's at the Market this Saturday? Eve's Cheese!

Eve's Cheese (Kent County, MD) makes really wonderful cheeses with fresh, grade A milk from the cows at Fawnwood Farm. The cows, a mixed herd of Jersey cows, Guernsey, Brown Swiss, gives Eve’s Cheese its unique flavor and unsurpassed quality. This cheese is not mass-produced, which translates to small batches of artisanal quality. This week, John Nunn will bring a selection of cheddar and Colby cheeses, including Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Cheddar with Garlic and Chives, Cheddar with Horseradish, Colby, Colby with Dill, Italian Colby, Jalapeno Colby, Crabby Colby, and BBQ Colby. Every single one is delicious (and we're working our way through all of them. We are so lucky!)

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's at the Market this Saturday? C&E Farm

Emma Dudley of C&E Farms has some of the most beautiful herbs and heirloom plants you'll ever see, as well as wonderful vegetables. Best of all? She has lots of information on how best to use all the herbs, plants and produce that she brings...a real fount of knowledge whom we're very, very lucky to have! Last Market, she had purslane and perilla, two plants which used to be much more common. And if you need an aloe plant, Mrs. Dudley has the nicest aloe I've ever had -- I purchased one last year. Without much care at all (seriously), it's a lovely healthy plants with many little babies, and, best part -- it's really useful. Last year, she got a bunch of us cooking with Jerusalem artichokes, otherwise known as sunchokes. She'll have them again on Saturday, as well as gorgeous swiss chard, herbs (cut and potted), collaloo, winter squash, peppers, canned pickled beets and peppers, and purslane. She'll also have plants and shrubs from Triangle Seven.

See you this Saturday at the Market!

Who's coming to Market this week? Basignani Vineyards!

World-class wines on 22 acres! We're excited to welcome Basignani to Cheverly Community Market again.

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's coming to Market this week? Simple Pleasures Ice Cafe!

Wow -- this is a week to really see (and, luckily for you, sample) how our vendors are working together this season! Did you know that some of our vendors -- including Simple Pleasures and Martha's Jams -- frequently purchase ingredients from our produce vendors to make the very freshest, tastiest local products? This is a really cool extra benefit of small, local vendors coming together at Cheverly Community Market, and we're thrilled to be part of the symbiosis!

This Saturday, Simple Pleasures Ice Cafe will have a watermelon Italian ice (made from Shlagel Farm's yellow and red watermelons), as well lemon Italian ice made with real lemons and pieces of lemon peel, cantaloupe and cantaloupe coconut (made with Shlagel's cantaloupe), vanilla and stracciatella (vanilla blended with italian chocolate and a hint of hazelnut).

We've seen may happy people wandering the Market with a cone or cup (or planning ahead and purchasing a quart!)

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's Coming to Market this week? Rebert's Farm/Benny's Fruit Stand

Our friend Matt Rebert is bringing the prettiest, most colorful produce of summer to us this weekend. Reberts will have yellow and white peaches, pluots, ginger gold apples, prune plums, cantaloupes, cherry tomatoes, red tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, roman candle tomatoes, purple onions and...possibly pears (if they're ready!) This is the perfect weekend to stock up on fruits and vegetables for those easy, healthy breakfasts, sack lunches and end-of-summer dinners, and Rebert's is here to help!

See You Saturday at the Market!

Who's coming to Market this week? Shlagel Farms!

Shlagel Farms will have all sorts of wonderful high summer vegetables and fruits this week, enough to plan meals for quite awhile! This is the time to cook early in the day and enjoy cold or room temperature meals at night (or even cook only once or twice a week and really enjoy a break form a hot kitchen!) This may even be the week to go raw!

This week, Shlagel will have eggplant, grape tomatoes, green peppers, red peppers, a variety of

hot peppers (wonderful for salsa!), yellow squash, zucchini, yellow zucchini, green beans, red tomatoes, low-acid yellow tomatoes, green tomatoes (for frying), roma tomatoes (great for sauce), kale, collards, sweet white corn, cucumbers and small red potatoes. They'll also have red seedless , juicy peaches, blackberries and a limited supply of raspberries. And of course, plenty of the tasty cider that many of you are hooked on! Here's a super-simple recipe from Ellen Shlagel. It's exactly the kind of food we all want to eat in August: simple and delicious!

Shlagel's Fiesta Corn

Shuck the sweet corn and remove the kernels with a knife. Saute them in a small amount of bacon drippings or olive oil along with diced onion, red pepper and jalapeno peppers to taste. When corn has slightly browned and all are tender remove from heat and add diced red and yellow tomatoes. This is not only yummy, but makes a beautiful dish! Why not try some Fiesta Corn wrapped up in a Moctec chipotle wrap with some gently scrambled Clan Stewart Eggs? A sliced tomato on the side, maybe a little Eve's Cheddar on top... you have a great Sunday brunch right there!

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's at the Market this Saturday? CUMC Fair Trade Coffee Tea Gifts

You know them. You love them. On Saturday morning, you may quite possibly need them! Cheverly United Methodist Church brings delicious free and fair trade coffee and chocolate to us again this week. They'll also have both hot or iced coffee and iced tea by the cup (discount if you bring your own reusable cup). Add some vanilla or chocolate soy milk to that iced coffee to make a great treat, or go old-fashioned with a simple hot cup. No matter what way you take your morning beverage, you'll be happy that CUMC Fair Trade Coffee Tea Gifts is is here for you Saturday morning! See you at the Market!

Music at the Market: Charles Andrews of The Hot Noodles

Charles is a Cheverly fixture -- he's one half of ChvBlog, a frequent musical guest at Cheverly Weekday Nursery, Cheverly Day, Cheverly Swim & Racquet Club's Adult Night and other local venues...as part of an acoustic duo or his full band. Charles makes significant contributions to the quality of life in our town, and we're grateful that he volunteers his musical services at nearly every Market. Here are a few things you may not know about Charles: He's a local through and through, born and raised in Washington, DC. He's a classically trained composer. His great great grandfather was a Civil War general. He's learning to dive. He makes a fantastic (though infrequent) peach pie. He likes science fiction. He's turning 40 really soon. Do you feel like you know him just a little better now? Good. Now, if you've been to the Market, here's something you already DO know about Charles: he's a really great musician with a wide variety of influences. And he's pretty funny. Ask nicely, and he may even play those Rush and KISS songs you've been hankering to hear (or Elvis Costello, The Clash and The Cure, if that's more your speed). But do me a favor and request some of his originals. They're lovely. And please tip -- four hours of playing in the heat is hard work! (I nearly forgot! He's also one half of local concern (and occasional Cheverly Community Market vendor Andrews & Dunham Damn Fine Tea, the best tea in Cheverly!)

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's coming to Market this week? Al Pong!

We're getting news from our vendors about what they'll be bringing to the Market this Saturday...good stuff! Al Pong will have those delectable white peaches -- indescribably lovely and delicious. They're usually the first Market fruit my family finishes off, and I think about those peaches for two whole weeks until I can get them again. Maybe we should buy more... He'll also have gala apples and cherry tomatoes, in addition to trees and plants. Japanese maple, fig , goji berry, citrus (meyer's lemon, key lime, calamondin, etc.), and pomegranate trees, gardenia, prickly pear... Al has gorgeous, healthy specimens, and he'll happily discuss their care with you. I may have to get a meyer lemon tree, just to make up for that time I told my mom we didn't have room for her meyer lemon tree. It's still a source of "discussion" in my family. This may finally be my chance to make amends!

See you Saturday at the Market!

No Cookies to Cocktails treats this weekend...sigh.

Did you know that Tuesday, August 18, was National Cupcake Day? Hopefully you got the news in time and whipped up a batch because, sadly, we won't have Liz Esposito's delicious treats this weekend. Her brother is getting married, so we guess she's got a good excuse! Congratulations to your brother and your family, Liz -- we look forward to seeing you in September with more of those delicious cake and pie pops, cupcakes and cookies!

Market Faces: Congratulations to Abby Lal!

Cheverly Community Market would like to take a moment to congratulate Abby and send her good wishes for her first year at Parsons School of Design in New York City. If you've been to the Market (or spent time at the pool, or most anywhere in Cheverly) you know Abby. She's been a fixture at the Cheverly Breadbasket tent, a lifeguard, babysitter... We'll all miss Abby's smiling face and wonderful spirit, and can't wait to hear about her adventures in the Big Apple. When you see her mom, dad, or brother Nick at the Market this weekend, make sure to be extra sweet -- they'll be missing their girl.

Have a great time, Abby...and study hard!

Mid-Week Meals

How are your Market purchases holding up? We're enjoying plums, peaches, cheese and tonight -- corn! Since it's a few days old, we'll follow Mark Bittman's advice and lightly steam it in milk (I think we'll go half milk/half water). I can hardly wait! Hope you're eating great Market food tonight, too!

How are you getting the most out of your food purchases?

We've likely all experienced opening the refrigerator only to find a lot of disperate bits and ingredients, fruit that is a few days past it's prime and a container of something or other that's about to expire. It's really tempting to close the door, get the car keys and head out to the closest restaurant to let professionals solve your meal dilemma. But wait! This is your chance to get creative.


This morning, with two hungry children, I opened the fridge and saw a rather stale (but well wrapped) cake layer, a bit of whipping cream, some very soft plums and peaches (perfectly ripe on Saturday) and some cherries (with a few fuzzy friends in the bag). What to do? Let them eat cake! After poking holes all over the top of the cake, I infused it with a bit of vanilla agave nectar. I let the flavor sink in, then cut thin slices (three per plate). There was just enough cream to whip up a few generous tablespoons. I washed and cut the fruit, and squeezed the plums over the top (they were a little too soft to cut.) It smelled great and, as you can see, looked lovely. I'm putting this experinent in the win column -- my son declared it "even better than banana-chocolate chip pancakes." My daughter asked if we could have some more tomorrow. The next time you're faced with a refrigerator full of "almosts", let your creative juices flow...you'll be glad you did!

Our photos...

Photos from today's Market are up on our flickr page... Did you know that we currently have over 2,100 photos from our two years as Cheverly Community Market? Take a look! And if you have Market photos you'd like to share, let us know!

Our whrrl story in two parts...

This was such a great Market, we had to whrrl it in two parts! Hope you enjoy the story!

More stories at Cheverly Community Market

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Our vendors are upping the ante!

Wow -- I cannot wait for tomorrow! We've got so many new things to try. Liz Esposito of Cookies to Cocktails has been experimenting and she's come up with something really great: pie pops!



Cookies to Cocktails will have two flavors tomorrow: banana-nutella and mango-lemon (made with Martha's Jam). I can't wait for tomorrow morning!

Late -- and VERY special -- announcement!

We are thrilled to share this news: Cheverly's own Chestnut Hill Honey makes its' debut at Cheverly Community Market tomorrow!



Stella and Dan Scott bring a lovely Serbian tradition to us: slatko. Slatko, a sweet, cooked fruit syrup, is served by the spoonful (with a glass of water) to honored guests when they enter the home. Chestnut Hill puts a special twist on the tradition: honey mixed with fruits and nuts. Stella combines local clover and wildflower honeys with local almonds, walnuts, pecans, cherries, apricots, plums, blueberries and other fruits to make this very special treat. We can't wait to get a jar (or two or three) home! Of course you can offer it to honored guests in your home, but we plan to keep a bit for ourselves -- it'd be great on granola, yogurt, ice cream, pancakes, waffles.... How about this? Simple, with toasted baguette and a little bit of cheese. Delicious! In Serbia, the combination of honey, fruits and nuts is regarded as an aphrodisiac, and is said to be helpful for cholesteral. As if you needed more to recommend this treat! They'll also have plain clover and wildflower honeys available. Make sure to stop by and sample Chestnut Hill honey at the Market tomorrow. We know you're going to love it!

Who's coming to Market tomorrow? Here's the Roll Call...

Join us for another beautiful Saturday at Cheverly Community Market! Many treasures are being picked and prepared for you right now, from vendors including: * Reberts/Benny's Produce Stand * Shlagel Farm * Simple Pleasures Ice Cream * Cheverly Breadbasket featuring Firehook and Moctec * Cookies to Cocktails * CUMC Free & Fair Trade Coffee Tea & Gifts * Circle C Oyster Ranch * Martha's Jams * Clan Stewart Farm We'll also have Master Gardeners on hand to answer your plant queries and The Hot Noodles for sweet tunes. It's going to be a great Market, and we hope you'll bring your friends and neighbors for a great morning, Cheverly style!

See you Saturday morning, 8:00am to noon, at Cheverly Community Market!

Who's Coming to Market on Saturday? Rebert's/Benny's Fruit Stand!

Matt Rebert tells us that they'll have both white and yellow freestone peaches, donut peaches, five types of plums (those Fujol plums are amazing!), a variety of eating and cooking apples, white and yellow nectarines, and blackberries... Something for everyone!


Bring an extra bag -- this is the week to make peach ice cream, apple cobbler, blackberry cafloutis... And how about whipping up some fruit into a delicious, quick, healthy breakfast smoothie next week? You'll be so glad you stocked up!

Get Inspired by Vegetables and Fruits at Cheverly Community Market this Saturday!

You'll find these beauties and more, this Saturday at the Market!

One of my favorite things about Cheverly Community Market is the wonderful colors in all the produce -- it's always inspiring. Last Market, I was especially struck by the beauty of the cabbage and zucchini at Clan Stewart, as well as the amazing plums, apples, berries, peaches and nectarines at Rebert's, the tomatoes, carrots, corn and kale at Shlagel and the peaches at Swann, melons at Dudley's and the amazing white peaches at Pong's. High summer is a great time to eat the rainbow...and to get inspired! Photos from last Market are on flickr, and our latest Market story is on whrrl.

Who's coming to Market this week? Simple Pleasures Ice Cream!

If you get to the Market early and leave by 10:00am, you're probably missing a great treat: Simple Pleasures Ice Cream. As soon as they arrive, the cart is mobbed, and there's good reason for that! Simple Pleasures Ice Cream has a cafe in Bowie and certainly worth the trip (especially now that we've really hit the dog days of summer!), but eating their delicious concoctions at the Market is a really special treat. They've been working with some of our produce vendors to make flavors using Market produce, and we think you'll love these flavors just as much as we do! This week, Simple Pleasures will have Shlagel Farm's Cantaloupe and Cantaloupe Coconut, Blackberry, Vanilla, Stracciatella, Chocolate and Italian Ice. In addition to single, double, or triple cones, they welcome pre-orders: quart size $8.50 and 1/2 gal. $16.50. Stick around and grab an ice cream treat. With temperatures in the high 80s and high humidity forecast, a little ice cream is just what will all need Saturday! Finally, a word of advice for all you parents: do not give eight-year old boys $10 and send them off alone to the ice cream cart with any expectation of change returning to your pocket! (I think he had a great time, though!)

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's at the Market this Saturday? Cheverly Breadbasket

The Lal family brings amazing local bread, pastries, muffins, tortillas and chips to Cheverly through the Cheverly Breadbasket. Supplied by Washington-area favorite Firehook Bakery and local favorite Moctec, the Breadbasket is always a very popular part of the Market -- make sure to stop by early for the widest selection! This week, Cheverly Breadbasket will feature Moctec's 12" chipotle wraps, which were introduced at the last market. They make great breakfast burritos (make a quick salsa, gently scramble some farm-fresh Clan Stewart eggs, add a little Eve's cheddar, and you've got a little bit of heaven), as well as tasty brown-bag sandwiches (try a little farmer's cheese, some olive tapenade and lettuce rolled for lunch. Easy and delicious!) In addition to the gorgeous sweet pastries, scones and muffins that the Breadbasket carries, they also have fantastic have savory options: ham and Gruyere croissants, spinach feta croissants, and plain. If sweet danish is your idea of Saturday morning perfection, try them made with fresh blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries. We won't tell if you try a few!

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's at the Market this Saturday? Cookies to Cocktails!

Liz Esposito of Cookies to Cocktails is very popular with the kids (and the adults, too!) Cookies to Cocktails makes these great little cake pops -- chocolate-coated cake on a stick -- that kids adore. And you don't have to feel bad about giving in to their demands on this: cake pops are made with fresh ingredients (including most of the really important food groups) and they're small, so no one gets too full. The cake pop has been a big hit at the Market, so this week, they're bringing a lot... chocolate chip, red velvet and chocolate cake (by popular demand!) Cookies to Cocktails will also have fresh-baked cupcakes (chocolate with peanut butter icing; red velvet with cream cheese, vanilla and chocolate with buttercream), muffins, vegan cupcakes (if you tried the vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes before they sold out at last Market you know how good these are!) and sugar cookies. And since Liz knows you what goes best with cupcakes and cookies, she also brings ice-cold milk and water. Who knows...we hear Cookies to Cocktails may even bring some test kitchen surprises!

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's at the Market this Saturday? Cheverly Master Gardeners!

This is really gross, isn't it? Many of us have started gardens this year, and some of us need a bit of reassurance, or just some occasional good advice. That's where Dave and Casey Kneipp and the Master Gardeners come in. Cheverly Community Market will have Master Gardeners available to diagnose plant and insect problems -- this is a great service (I recently got great advice from Casey -- she calmed me right down when I saw this nasty stuff on my lovely zucchini plants...) The Master Gardeners can also share advice and ideas for what to do with those healthy plants and how to get the most from all your gardening efforts. Bring your plant samples to the market and get a considered opinion...and terrific advice. (By the way, it's some sort of mold on those leaves -- due to the heavy rains and cool temperatures. And here I was ready to pull everything out, burn it and seal it in plastic bags! Thank goodness for the cooler heads of our Cheverly Master Gardeners!)

See you (and your plants) this Saturday at the Market!

Late afternoon fruit break...

Look good enough to eat, don't they? Well, visit Rebert's/Benny's Fruit Stand tent this weekend to pick up some of this beauties. We went with Matt's favorite last week, the Fujol plums, and they were absolutely remarkable! Remember, you can get look at all the great, fresh food our vendors bring to Market on flickr.

Who's at the Market this Saturday? Why our house band, of course!

We're always grateful to have Charles and Kelly of our house band, The Hot Noodles, with us. Two sweet voices, two sweet guitars combine to make your Saturday morning at the Market fun and relaxing. Charles and Kelly play a mix of covers (from Buddy Holly to the Clash to the Grateful Dead to Wilco, and pretty much everything in between) and originals. They'll be performing at the Takoma Park Folk Festival in September, as well as regular gigs at Greenbelt's New Deal Cafe and other engagements (check their website for dates and downloads). We're so lucky to catch them on home turf ... make sure to tip them and let Charles and Kelly know how much you appreciate the great music!

Who's at the Market this Saturday? CUMC Fair Trade Coffee Tea Gifts

This is not your grandma's church basement coffee! Cheverly United Methodist Church offers fair- and free-trade coffees and tea at every Cheverly Community Market, in addition to chocolate and other gifts. But right now, I want to talk about coffee.

This stuff is goood.

I've been enjoying it iced for the past several markets -- just black with lots and lots of ice, though I hear that milk and sugar are delicious in it, too. (Actually, I usually go hot for my fist cup of the day, iced thereafter...) Now here's a special Market twist: iced coffee with chocolate or vanilla soy milk. Now, that is a great hot summer morning treat, and you'll be glad you ordered one (so glad that you may order a refill...they offer a discount for refills, or if you bring your own mug.) If coffee isn't your thing, CUMC makes wonderful iced tea, and they also have organic juice packs for the kids. My advice: get a pastry or a muffin, some fruit, and an iced coffee. Sit down and chat with your friends and neighbors at one of the long tables with the pretty tablecloths. Watch the kids dance. Maybe after that coffee, you'll want to take a spin on the dance floor yourself.

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's coming to Market this Saturday? Circle C Oyster Ranch

We are so glad to have Rich Pelz back with us at Cheverly Community Market. We're glad that he's bringing his amazing oysters and blue crabs, but we really look forward to chatting with Rich at each Market -- it's always amusing and educational!

This week, Rich is bringing jumbo, regular and cocktail-size oysters and some of the tastiest blue crabs you'll find anywhere. These crabs are fresh and very feisty -- they gave Rich quite a fight last Market!

See you Saturday at the Market!

Who's coming to Market this week? Shlagel Farms!

We love hearing from our vendors...they're funny, warm people! Today's email includes this note from Eileen of Shlagel Farm... "At the risk of sounding repetitive, I'll say it again....Cheverly is such a warm welcoming community. I have more fun there than at any other market I sell at. I am so thankful that you invited me to come! This week will pretty much be a repeat of last time. We will have yellow tomatoes and seedless yellow watermelon this week which makes a lovely fruit salad when combined with red watermelon and orange cantaloupes. I will also have some grab-and-go fruit cups for those that don't want to purchase an entire melon. "I have been asked a lot, 'What can I do with an eggplant?' Here's a simple idea: slice the eggplant in 1/2 " slices (I leave the skin on). Brush it with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt, then broil until browning and bubbly. Remove from oven. Place one thick red or yellow tomato slice over each eggplant slice and then sprinkle with grated parmesan. Bake until cheese melts. Enjoy." What a fantastic, simple recipe! And I can't wait to enjoy some fruit salad Saturday afternoon as part of our band/photographer/webmaster family lunch. Who knows...I'll probably even get the kids to eat some fruit from those grab-and-go cups as they dance to our house band! Make sure to stop by the Shlagel tent and pick up some terrific fruits and vegetables -- it's high season now and Shlagel Farm has an amazing selection to share with you!

See you Saturday at the Market!