This Saturday will be the first Kid's Day at the Market with lots of fun and educational activities for kids. The Bisbee Kiwanis Club has created a Treasure Hunt that will send youngsters around the market to discover objects at different vendor booths. Prizes will be awarded. There will be two groups of treasure hunters, those aged 9 to 12 and those under nine. The younger set must be accompanied by an older child or parent. Pick up a treasure "map" to get started at the Kiwanis table under the special events tree. Watch a goat milking demonstration under the tree and visit a baby emu and a pygmy goat and try smashing piñatas. Amy Ross of Willcox will entertain with pleasing melodies on her keyboard accompanied by husband Derek on guitar.

Long time sweet onion grower, Bobbie Gowins is back with the Vidalia-style sweet onions and mild burgundy red onions (and the first of the cherry tomatoes) that he raises in McNeal. He recommends adding slices to sandwiches.

The Bistro at the Market has great breakfast burritos and egg salad sandwiches all made with organic ingredients and even the dishes and cutlery are good for the earth as they are made out of cornstarch and compostable.

Stout's Cider will bring fresh apple cider, old-fashioned and sugar-free apple butters, apple crisp, their famous apple nut cake and "mountainous" apple pie as well as cherry and apple pocket pies and pecans pies. The apple products are all made from Willcox apples.

The Montoya Family will bring green beans, "nopalitos", carrots, heirloom round and creamy Romanesco summer squash, as well as onions and garlic.

The Produce Wagon will offer sweet corn, watermelons, red potatoes, summer squash, read and white baby boiler onions perfect for stews, regular onions, pecans, pistachios and pinto beans.

With the rainy season starting soon, Andrew Nelson can help you set up an attractive and economical system to start harvesting the water off your roof. He uses recycled food grade barrels painted to match your house, makes barrel stands out of recycled wood and can assist with gutter installation and gray water systems.

Brian Wolfe also makes a business out of recycling tires of all sizes, those from lawn mowers to tractor and road graders. He turns them inside out to make long lasting and inexpensive flower pots, hose holders, planters, compost bins, feeders, wood boxes and whelping beds. Pick up a pot, tub or "bunk" planter from him at the market (painted in earth tones or a color for accent). If you have at least 10 tires at home that you want to transform into useful containers call him to arrange a "turning" at 642-1126.

Sierra Vista Farmers Market

Sign up at the information booth and at other vendors for a weekly market news bulletin to let you know what's fresh and special at the market.

The local goat cheese dairy, Fiore di Capra, will return with their gourmet goat cheeses (spreads, marinated cheeses, chevre logs, tortes, plain goat cheese and feta cheese) as well as raw goat's milk and fragrant goat's milk soap.

Roger and Priscilla Tabar will bring their therapeutic emu oil body care products to both markets this week as well as a baby emu. Ask them about their emu meat which is red meat low in fat and cholesterol and raised without the use of antibiotics and growth hormones. Try some of their meat in a tasty emu burger as I did recently at Café Ole in Sierra Vista.

Try Sky Island Brand grass-fed beef this week at both markets from the Moroney family who ranch at the historic 47 Ranch on Davis Road who are deeply committed not only to producing high quality tasty meats but also to safeguarding the environment and improving their range lands. Their ranch is off-the-grid, operated on solar power including solar water pumps on all of the ranch's wells, and they practice holistic range management, rotating cattle and sheep on pastures to prevent over-grazing, reseeding with native grasses and building small rock dams to slow down erosion and run-off.

The Mobleys will return with their beautiful elephant garlic. Eighty one year old Leo Dunaetz will bring the delicious tender sweet corn, sweet "Ambrosia" cantaloupes, onions and lemon cucumbers that he raises. Audrey Eskue offers juicy plums and apricots from her small Sierra Vista orchard as well as little green onions and green tomatoes. Try Bob Berry's honey, tomatoes, green onions, fresh basil and sunflower bouquets.

Barbara Wiley will return with jams, jellies and syrups she makes from organic or no-spray fruits and berries, pure cane sugar, all natural pectin and no corn syrup or artificial ingredients.

. She says, "My goal is make jam that is good for you and taste good, just like your grandma's. I grew up on a homestead in Haines, Alaska where my family had to can fruits and vegetables to survive the long winters. Although canning is becoming a lost art nowadays, "I'm here to bring it back."

She makes jam from strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, Marion and bumble berries (sending a family member up to Oregon to get organic fruit), tropical offerings (mango, papaya and pineapple) as well as local desert offerings such as pomegranate and mesquite bean jelly, jalapeno jellies and prickly pear jelly and syrup as well as no-sugar added jams. Try a refreshing glass of her prickly pear punch at the market.

Two new items great for grilling are her Mesquite Barbeque rub with mesquite meal and spices and Mesquite Sauce from mesquite meal and mesquite pod juice, molasses and spices. Try her Garlic Dill or Bread and Butter pickles (great on burgers) or Pickles & Peppers for those who like a little heat.

Alice Coleman is carrying two new products, sweet sorghum syrup and the High Grade rubs to season meats and fish created by a Bisbee culinary entrepreneur. Sorghum is made from sorghum cane and high in iron, calcium and potassium. Use over pancakes or biscuits or as topping for ice cream or in popcorn balls, pumpkin pie, ginger snaps or gingerbread. (Substitute cup for cup in any recipe that calls for molasses, honey, corn syrup or maple syrup.)

Recipes

Baked Onions with Pecans (Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions")

4 large onions, peeled

1 cup chicken stock (omit in solar oven)

3 tblsp butter

1 tblsp honey

1 tsp grated lemon rind

? tsp paprika

Sea salt

? cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

Cut onions in half along equator and place cut side up in buttered glass baking dish. Mix stock, butter, honey, lemon rind and paprika and heat gently until blended. Season to taste. Pour over onions. Bake, covered for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees, basting occasionally, until onions are just tender. Remove cover, sprinkle with pecans and bake another 10 or 15 minutes until lightly browned.

Flambeau Roast

(Shannon Hayes' The Grass-fed Gourmet Cookbook)

2 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 ? to 3 pound roast (chuck, rump or heel of round)

2 tblsp olive oil

1 onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

? to 2/3 cup good brandy

Fresh thyme, rosemary and bay leaf herb bouquet or dried bay leaf & 1 tsp each of dried herbs

Preheat oven or solar oven to 225 degrees. Rub salt and pepper into roast. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven and brown roast on all sides. Add onion, garlic and shallot and cook until onions are translucent. Remove roast from heat. Add brandy and immediately light the roast with a match. Allow fire to burn out on its own, then add herbs. Cover and roast until tender about 2 to 3 hours.