Bisbee Farmers Market
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Every year more local ranchers are producing meats the old-fashioned way, on the range and in pastures, avoiding the feed lot and other confined animal feeding operations and the growth hormones and antibiotics they require.
To celebrate this return to more humane and sustainable ranching which results in a leaner, healthier and a lot less-traveled product, a couple of the market's grass-fed ranchers will offer tastes of some of the meats they raise this week.
For a preview of the June 16th Solar Cook-off at the market, come watch the sun roast a "pastured" chicken. Its producer, Joshua Koehn, of Josh's Foraging Fowls, near Willcox, raises chickens outside where they eat plenty of green, growing forage and insects. The chickens live in portable, bottomless yurts that provide shelter, shade and protection from predators and are moved to a fresh piece of grass every morning. This keeps fresh forage available, keeps the birds clean and also fertilizes the pasture by spreading the manure around. The chickens are also fed a high quality ration of corn, oats, soybean meal, alfalfa meal and an organic mineral mix.
While he specializes in chickens, some cattle and hogs are also integrated into the system at Josh's farm. The cattle graze the forage so it is short enough for the chickens to eat, and in turn the chickens fertilize the pasture and control the flies. Next the pigs are allowed to range behind the chickens to clean up any feed that the chickens have wasted. This all works together to produce healthy animals and fertile soil in a way that is good for the environment.
Josh's chickens are now available at the meat market at both farmers markets and by contacting him for bulk orders. Pick up flyers for Josh's pastured poultry as well information on the solar cook-off and solar ovens.
Shop early for home-grown, fresh organic blackberries from Hereford grower, Bob Dirks, who also sells pecans and trail mixes.
The Montoyas will bring cut-up cactus pads or "nopalitos" as well as carrots, green onions, garlic, shallots, romaine lettuce and the first summer squash.
Dalen Nichols will offer local cherries (Bing and Rainer), new red potatoes, field and greenhouse tomatoes, pistachios and pinto beans as well as Picacho Watermelon.
Gray's Garden of Eat'n will have sweet (yellow, white and red) spring onions, green tomatoes, watermelon and multi-grain and sweet breads. (Also at Sierra Vista Farmers Market.)
Bisbee's Mike McConnell, has blended spices and sea salt for his High-Grade Rubs for Chicken, Pork, Beef and Fish. The chicken rub, also great for cooking turkey says McConnell, who grills year-round, is best mixed with olive oil to form a paste which can be worked into the meat an hour ahead of time to act as a marinade.
Get this year's pecans fresh from Chuck Hallsted who hand shells the pecans he raises with his wife Sue.
Stop for a glass of fresh lemonade from Shelby Gonzalez (next to the Bisbee Food Co-op's Bistro at the Market.) This enterprising youngster is raising money to go to a paleontology camp this summer.
Sierra Vista Farmers Market:
Alethea and Michael Swift of Fiore Di Capra will return with their gourmet goat cheeses made in the only licensed Grade A Goat Dairy & Creamery in the state. Alethea has raised goats since she was four years old. They now have 250 goats and milk between 160 and 170 of them twice a day in Pomerene outside of Benson.
Their products include goat cheese or "chevre" logs, (Tuscan Herb, Pepper Blend, Paprika, Herbs de Provence and Honey Walnut); spreads (Plain, Jalapeno Cilantro, Mesquite, Roasted Garlic, Roasted Red Pepper, Chipotle, Spinach, Lemon Dill, Garden Vegetable); marinated cheeses (Italian Style with Sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts and Italian seasoning in olive oil), Spicy 4 Pepper with 4 types of hot peppers with cilantro and other spices in sunflower oil), Pepper Berry Bay with Juniper Berries, Black Peppercorns, Bay and Rosemary in Grapeseed oil) and Mediterranean (Cubed Queso Blanco with Kalamata and Spanish Green Olives with parsley, rosemary in olive oil) and tortes, Sun Dried Tomato with Pesto or Orange Cranberry Walnut layered with plain chevre. They also produce raw, un-pasteurized goat's milk.
Find out more about the pure prickly pear fruit products that have helped many to keep their blood sugar and blood cholesterol numbers down from Natalie McGee of Arizona Cactus Ranch in Green Valley who has been making her organic cactus health foods for over 17 years. Try a bottle of her new Prickly Pear Green tea sweetened with pear and agave nectar.
Want to eat like an Aztec or the Tarahumara Indians who can run all day on a teaspoon of chia? Arizona Chia owner and UA Professor, Wayne Coates, from the Arid Lands Department, responsible for reviving this ancient health and energy food (higher in omega 3's than flax) will be at the market to sell his chia.
Sweet and savory, meat and dessert, "empanadas" or South American-inspired turnovers will be offered by Kris Masalsky who makes these flavorful pastries from scratch. She will sell frozen empanadas for "Take & Bake" in the booth with Max McCarty, the retired Alaskan fisherman who offers frozen salmon, halibut and other ocean fish. Using his salmon Kris has created a Wild Alaska Salmon empanada. Try the Brazilian (pork, apricots, raisins and pine nuts), Ecuador Delight (spinach, feta cheese and black olives) or Viva Argentina (beef, tomatoes, green olives, raisins) or dessert empanadas with tropical fruit or pumpkin, dates and raisins.
Grammie's Garden will have Picacho watermelons, greenhouse-grown tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and eggplants, and local pinto beans as well as certified organic mangoes and pineapples from Mexico. They also bring hand-made, air-dried DeCio pasta which is vegan (no egg) in exotic flavors such as Spinach, Basil Garlic, Wild Mushroom, and Chile Cilantro.
Thirst-quenching, prickly pear lemonade is available from Barbara Wiley who offers a huge array of home-style jams, jellies and syrups made from local and organic fruit.
Stop by the Dragoon Marketplace for local pesticide-free tomatoes (red, orange & yellow varieties) and lettuce as well as home-style chutney, apple cranberry sauce, grapefruit marmalade, pistachios and macadamia nuts and fair-trade chocolate.
Recipes
Cheesy Squash Blossoms
(For gardeners that have squash blossoms on their squash plants right now. Recipe by Richard McCarthy.)
Squash Blossoms
Goat Cheese
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Stuff a dollop of goat cheese with small spoon into each squash blossom. Lay in pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Broil for 5 minutes or until brown and crunchy.
Blackberry Buckle
4 Tbs. butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blackberries or blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 Tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. grated orange or lemon peel
1 1/2 Tbs. milk
Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and beat well. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients, alternating with milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in berries. Spread batter in greased 9"x9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until surface springs back when touched. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan to place on wire rack.
For glaze, combine ingredients, gradually adding milk until the mixture is of a spreading consistency. Drizzle glaze over the warm cake and serve. (Recipe adapted from Miss-Lou Blueberry Growers Association.)
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