May's strawberries gave way to June's abundant blueberries, blackberries, and soon raspberries! Berry season is a great time to test your home preservation skills. Grab a few extra quarts and toss them in the freezer, or grab some sugar and pectin and turn them into jam. Nothing tastes better on a cold winter day than a fruity dessert or breakfast bars made from the previous summer's berries!

Berries are good for you, too! They are high in antioxidants, vitamin C, and are anti-inflamatory. Blackberries in particular have special properties that help keep your brain alert! More fun facts about blackberries can be found here.

We have a little market give away going on this week and next. Click here to complete our online survey for a chance to win one of three market gift bags!
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Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a 8 x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Put 2 cups oats in a food processor and blend for approximately three minutes until they take on the consistency of flour. Combine with remaining two cups oats, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, sea salt and cinnamon. Add melted coconut oil to mixture and stir until well combined.
2. Measure out 2 cups of mixture and spread over the bottom of the parchment lined pan, using your fingers to press down firmly. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until the oats just begins to brown. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place berries and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add tablespoon cornstarch and simmer 5 minutes more until compote is thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Once the oat mixture and berries are slightly cooled, spread berry compote over oats and top with remaining oat mixture. Using your hands or a spatula, press down on the oats. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely (about 2 hours) before cutting into 9 squares. Store in the refrigerator and serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.

By The Mostly Vegan

​Ever wonder how coleslaw became the official dish of summer BBQs? It's because spring cabbages are coming out of the fields in June and early July after lettuce and other leafy greens have called it quits for the season. Every picnic needs a salad, and cabbage holds up better to the heat of summer than tender lettuce.   

Out of all of the late spring vegetables, cabbage probably gets the least amount of love. People who claim not to like cabbage likely haven't had it roasted or grilled. Roasted cabbage gets caramelized around the edges and takes on a buttery flavor regardless of whether butter was used or not. In the summer, grilled cabbage steaks are a fun vegetarian main dish or a nutritious omnivore side. 

There are many different varieties of cabbage, some green, some purple, some crinkly, some smooth, and while most are round, there are even some unique cone shaped varieties. Now is a great time to buy cabbage at the market and try some new recipes. For some inspiration, check out this list of 20 cabbage based recipes form the Kitchn.
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​Garlic scapes are one of my spring time favorites. After a winter of eating store bought garlic and onions, I get a little unnaturally excited for these early season alliums. Never heard of a garlic scape? It's not surprising, they aren't sold in the grocery store and are only available at markets for a short period each spring. Scapes are the shoots that grow from hard-neck varieties of garlic*.  They look like curly green stalks with tightly closed buds on top when they're young and tender. Farmers and gardeners harvest them in the late spring so that they won't drain nutrients from the garlic bulbs that will be dug up in a couple of months for storage. 

What to do with scapes? I chop them up small and use them in place of garlic when sautéing vegetables, toss them whole on the grill, or whizz them up into a herb pesto in the food processor. Scapes are milder than garlic, slightly sweet, and a great addition to your spring ingredient rotation.

*There are many varieties of garlic, some are hard neck, which produce scapes, and others are soft neck which do not. Most of the garlic available at the grocery store are soft neck varieties that do not form scapes. 

We at the Carbondale Community Farmers Market require that our farmers tell us about their growing practices in the application to sell at the market. We also ask that farmers display a provided sign stating whether their products are are certified organic, sustainably produced, or conventional produced. These labels, however, are not comprehensive and it's still important to talk with your farmer!
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Certified Organic: This farm is has been certified organic by the USDA. This involved rigorous farm inspections that ensures fruit & vegetable crops were grown with NO Chemical Fertilizers, Pesticides, or Herbicides. Animals were raised under humane conditions and are free of antibiotics and growth hormones. No GMO seeds or animal feed were used.  Foods were prepared using certified organic ingredients.
 
Sustainably Produced: Fruit & vegetable crops were grown with NO Chemical Fertilizers, Pesticides, or Herbicides. Animals were raised under humane conditions and are free of antibiotics and growth hormones. No GMO seeds or animal feed were used. Foods were prepared using certified organic and sustainable produced ingredients.
 
Conventionally Produced: Fruit & Vegetable crops may have been grown with the use of Chemical Fertilizers, Pesticides, or Herbicides. GMO seeds or animal feed may have been used. Prepared foods feature conventionally produced ingredients.
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Downtown Farmers Market starts this week! Come support farmers, makers, bakers, and musicians. This season's market will feature 10-15 vendors each week with locally grown vegetables, fruits, sustainably raised meats and eggs, hand crafted soaps, herbal wellness, and baked goods.
 
This year, the market has a new location in the 200 block of N. Washington Street near town square between Jackson and Oak streets. There will be music, children’s activities, artisans, and educational opportunities scheduled throughout the season. The new site is adjacent to the Flyover Community Garden and close to many downtown Carbondale restaurants. Community supported radio station WDBX has worked with the market to arrange a weekly line up of local music. Local restaurants will provide hot food and cold beverages for sale at the market. What a fun way to spend a Wednesday afternoon!

We'll have greens, greens and more greens at the market this week. Spring is all about the greens. If you are looking for an out of the box way to incorporate more delicious spring salad mix into your weekly food routine, check out the recipe below for easy weeknight spring rolls!

This week’s vendors:

• SIU Sustainable Farm: Salad Mixes and Kale
• Plant a Seed/La Colina Linda: Leeks, large scallions, mustard greens, carrots and gluten free vegan baked goods
• Mustard Seed Sowers: Kale, chard, red romaine, fresh herbs, dried herbs, handmade reed baskets, and hot and iced herbal teas
• Flora Bay Farm: - flower bouquets, fresh cut herbs,dried herbs, green garlic, French sorrel and Plant starts (herbs, veggies, fruit, Cascade hops)
• All Seasons Farm: lettuce, kale, eggs, pac choi, certified organic plant starts
• Silver Moon Skincare: Handmade soaps, lotions, and sprays
• Dayempur Herbals: Herbal tinctures, oils, salves, sprays and syrups made from organic and locally grown ingredients. Featuring allergy relief tinctures for spring. 
• Union Springs Farm:  spinach, salad mix, arugula, microgreens, heirloom tomato and pepper plants and other garden plants
• Homer Grown: Scallions, baby bok choy, popcorn, and vegetable, herb, and heirloom tomato starts
• ​Scratch: Rhubarb soda and hickory cream soda, flat bread, and freshly milled local bread, sourdough creations, and biscuits. Ask them about their new CSB (Community Supported Brewery) shares!  
  
• Town Square Market/ Longbranch: Town Square Market/ Longbranch: handmade breads & pies, fair-trade organic coffee & Ambrosia tea, and a dinner special: Sloppy Joe’s (bar-b-que spiced local, organic ground meat served on a homemade organic bun with all the fixins, chips and beverages. Available to eat or to go!

Special Guests:

• Carbondale Parks District  with Kids Activities
• Illinois Nutrition Education Programs: SNAP-Education with an interactive activity table featuring a range of nutrition and healthy living topics

Music at the Market 
April 20th -  Matthew Decker 
April 27th -  John Michael Veach
May 4th -    Kathleen Shaffner
May 11th -  Hey Honey ​
May 25th-  Kevin Henshold-Spier

I would like to introduce you to the burrito bowl, my go to busy weeknight meal. Start with a base of cooked rice and beans: I use local Mckaskie brown rice and home cooked dried orca beans from the bulk section of the Coop, but quick cooking white rice and canned beans would speed this meal up even more. Top your rice and beans with roasted or stir-fryed veggies, add salsa and yogurt or cashew cream and maybe some tortilla chip crumbles and enjoy! A filling, quick, affordable way to eat healthy local food  any night of the week.

This recipe uses produce readily available in late winter: sweet potatoes obtained from Miller Tater Farm early in the season and greens from Hollow Pumpkin Farm. A spring version could use snap pea, asparagus, and spinach. A summer version zucchini, new potatoes and bell peppers, and fall version butternut squash and collard greens. Here the veggies are cooked on the stovetop, but oven roasted root veggies like carrots, beets, and turnips would also be a welcome addition. Mix up the veggies based on what you have on hand and what is in season.

​Not all eggs are created equal, and deciphering the meaning of labels at the store can be tricky. Cage-free, brown-eggs, natural, free range, soy-free, pasture-raised, local? How to choose! And does it really matter?
 
Yes it does! Eggs coming from confinement operations are more likely to contain growth hormones, antibiotics, and present a higher risk of salmonella. Currently about 95% of eggs produced in the US come from confinement operations and it’s important to know what alternatives there are. Cage-free means that hens are not confined to cages, but does not ensure that they have access to the space or conditions necessary for the birds to thrive. Free-range or free-roaming similarly do not guarantee that hens will have adequate space or humane conditions, simply that they have access to the outdoors. Labels to look for in a store include Organic, Animal Welfare Approved, and Certified Humane which are certified by outside organizations that have high standards for animal welfare. Another common label is pasture raised, or pastured eggs. Pastured often hens live in mobile chicken coops in pasture where they have access to fresh air, grass, and bugs and produce healthier eggs. The pastured label is not well regulated, so be sure to purchase from a farmer you know! Local pastured eggs are the best!   
 
Nutrition fun facts:  “Eggs are quite possibly the world's perfect protein source. The six grams of protein in each egg has the highest biological value—a measure of how well it supports your body's protein needs—of any food, including beef. The yolks contain vitamin B12, deficiencies of which can cause attention, mood, and thinking problems.” Studies have shown that eggs from pastured chickens have twice the amount of vitamin E and more than 2.5 times more omega-3 fatty acid levels. (1)