FARMERS’ MARKET MUSINGS

Jan Mettler was the Farmers’ Market’s Community Representative a
few years ago, and just about every time she spoke I would hear her
say the words “fresh, local, seasonal” when she would talk about
the market.
After a few years, those words sank into my bones. Now, whenever
I speak of the Farmers’ Market, when I welcome the Relish cooking
classes, or thank the people who attend the Zucchini Festival or
Salsa Gigante!, those three words are just part of the vocabulary I
use to describe a true Farmers’ Market.
The main ingredients of a Farmers’ Market are fresh because they
are not shipped long distances. They are local, mostly grown by
farmers within ten miles of the Plaza. And they are in season,
because the farmers cannot grow sun-ripened tomatoes in the winter
and table grapes in the spring.
I learned a lot from Jan, and every Community Representative
brings something valuable to the market. In addition to Jan, the
position has also been held by Cindy Daniel, Lee Nalle, Lynn Davis,
Barbara Bowman, and Taya Levine.
Article 4, Section 3 of our Farmers’ Market Bylaws states “In
order to ensure that community input is available to the board, a
non-voting community representative will be nominated and elected
by the members at the end of the growing season.”
It is almost time for the market to start thinking of a person
from the community to nominate and elect to serve in this position
in 2012.
Fresh, local, and seasonal produce is the foundation of every
Farmers’ Market, but at Salsa Gigante!, celebrated on the Tuesday
before last, four chefs reminded us how to shop for and cook with
fresh, local, seasonal produce. Chef David Chombo of Tacqueria
Guadalajara found five of the seven ingredients for his winning
salsa recipe from our farmers. The avocados and salt came from a
greater distance than northern California, but the rest of the
ingredients were grown within 20 miles of the market. (See page B5
for Chombo’s winning recipe and more photos.)
Ortiz Farms –  yellow onion
Hector’s Honey –  tomatillos
Early Bird’s Place – serrano chiles (remove seeds if you want
less heat)
Bernier Farms – Spanish Roja garlic
Ortiz Farms – cilantro
As Donna Del Rey wrote when she sent me the recipe, “It couldn’t
be much simpler.”
Thank you to all those who helped organize Salsa Gigante! It was
a great way to remind everyone that the farmers will continue to
truck their fresh, local, seasonal produce to town on the
Healdsburg Midweek Market Day  Tuesday  through October 25.
Mary Kelley is the manager of the Healdsburg Farmers’
Market. The Saturday morning market continues through November. The
Tuesday afternoon market continues through October.