KidMarket is coming!

Get set for a very special event at Cheverly Community Market, our first (and hopefully annual) KidMarket! We'll have special activities and tables from local groups and schools, including CPRC, Hoyer, CAPS and Spellman. There will be face painting, potato print t-shirts and other great activities in addition to the great food and music found at every Cheverly Community Market event. Mark your calendar for Saturday, September 20!

And if you're part of a Cheverly organization that focuses on kids, we'd love to have you join us for this special day. To get group information, please email us.

Maryland begins its Farm to School Homegrown Lunch Week two days later -- what a great way for Cheverly to participate in this very worthwhile program!

Soup! Soup! Soup!

We have so much produce that we've been making soup hand over fist in the past week. I made a great minestrone last night, Scott Eichinger made a creamy sunchoke soup last week, and I think I hear gazpacho calling my name today (I suppose vegetables really shouldn't call your name, but there it is...) Scott has a great recipe for a creamy corn soup over on his blog, Eat With Me... (By the way, Scott at Jug Bay has the best corn I've had all summer. It's sweet, juicy...absolutely delicious. Thanks, Scott, for bringing it to us at the Market. We can't wait to get more of your great produce at the Market on September 6!)

New Recipes...

We're planning to post lots of new recipes on the Cheverly Community Market website over the next few weeks. This week, we've posted Monica's Peach-a-Rita, Kelly's Watermelon-Pomegranate Slush and, from Scott, Pasta with 1000 Herbs. Scott also has a great recipe posted at Eat with Me for Sunchoke Bisque. Basil recipes are coming, as well as some wonderful surprises...

There are some really delicious treats on our recipes page -- and we're always happy to add more. If you have recipes that use ingredients from the Market, and you'd like to share, let us know. Judging from the bounty at potluck in July, there are some fantastic cooks in Cheverly!

Krishon Chocolate

Did you taste Krishon Chocolate's amazing bittersweet/espresso bark last Saturday? Or the dulce de leche truffles? Phenomenal. I even went off my regular vegan diet for this. Eric Johnson, the chef/chocolatier behind Krishon, continues to make incredible small-batch confections using the best organic, free-trade chocolate, cream and other ingredients. When the weather gets cooler, look for Eric to bring his hot chocolate -- really a drinkable ganache -- to the Market, as well as caramels and more of his unique flavor combinations. And think ahead -- the holidays are coming and chocolate makes a great gift (hint, hint)!

You say "Jerusalem Artichoke", I say "Sunchoke"...

Okay. That doesn't quite have the same lilting quality as "You say potayto, I say potahto"... still. Did you get any of Mrs. Dudley's sunchokes on Saturday? They're creating quite a stir amongst the Market foodies. (Sort of like Iron Chef goes local...) What to do with them? What are they? According to Wikipedia, sunchokes come from a species of sunflower and are native to North America, although they are cultivated around the world and used in much the same manner as other tubers. They are not native to Jerusalem and they are not a type of artichoke, though they are related. Sunchokes store the carbohydrate inulin (not to be confused with insulin) instead of starch, so they are an important source of fructose. They are also useful as a replacement for white potatoes for people who have diabetes. The tubers have a consistency much like potatoes, and in their raw form have the same taste as potatoes except with crispness and a slight powdery note. The carbohydrates give the tubers a tendency to become very soft and mushy if boiled, so it is, as with most vegetables, best to steam them lightly to preserve their texture. The inulin is not well digested by some people, leading to the misconception that sunchokes are not edible or an assumption that they cause flatulence and gastric pain. In the Baden-Württemberg, Germany, over 90 percent of the Jerusalem artichoke root is used to produce a spirit called "Topinambur", "Topi" or "Rossler". When buying sunchokes, look for the freshest roots, which are plump and vibrant in appearance. If they are left too long in the open, they become wrinkled and soft and can develop a bitter taste. Fresh ones, properly steamed, have a mild, sweet and nutty flavor that requires no additional sauce or condiment to accentuate it. So far, I've heard about plans to roast, steam, saute and puree sunchokes into soup. Personally, I plan to roast them, then toss with some slow-roasted garlic and a little grey salt. How about you? We'll be publishing some recipes using sunchokes in the coming weeks. If you have a cooking method for this Market treasure, email us -- we'd love to add your recipe!

Did you miss something at yesterday's Market?

Did you miss Elk Run Vineyards yesterday? We certainly did. Elk Run Vineyards had signed up to be at our market this past Saturday -- and at two more markets as well. Unfortunately, the State of Maryland won't let them. Seems that Marylands' laws prohibit them from attending more than 12 events a year and nor more than three in each county... If we were all in Virginia, this would be no problem since Virginia has -- for a long time -- actively supported viticulture by allowing wineries to attend an unlimited number of events. Elk Run will (hopefully) return to us in November for our final Market of the season, but we think they should be allowed to sell more frequently than our current laws permit. If you also feel that the laws limiting the manner in which wine is sold directly to Maryland consumers are too restrictive, visit Free the Grapes! and Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws or contact your State Senate District 47 legislators, Jolene Ivey, Doyle Niemann or Victor Ramirez.

New Recipes Posted

We have new recipes on the Cheverly Community Market website: Mint Juleps and Tabbouleh. There are some great recipes on the site, and we're adding more contributions from our Market friends. Kelly Fisher's watermelon slush is coming this weekend (and it's fantastic) as well as a delicious recipe for corn and black bean salad. If you have recipes that use Market foods and you'd like to share, email us!