|
|
Market fresh
For many of us, there has never been a Bloomington without a summer Saturday farmers' market. Ironically, we came close to not having one at all. In the 1970s, the idea of a market that would allow farmers to sell directly to the public was a novelty, and like so many '70s ideas, it was controversial. Bloomington Parks and Recreation Board members feared that the proposed location, Third Street Park, would become a "quagmire," and that allowing the park to be used for commercial purposes would set Bloomington on that old slippery slope, opening the door to "too many other things." They turned the proposal down. Undaunted, market supporters kept pushing the idea. The proposal was shuffled to various committees, before Mayor Frank McCloskey's office took it up. With the mayor's backing, parks and rec eventually reversed its stand. It was 30 years ago this July 26 that farmers set up shop for the first time in Third Street Park and launched the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market. "Farmer's Market Debut Big Success" read the Herald-Telephone headline July 27, 1975. Twenty three farmers brought produce to that first market and most sold out quickly. No one knew what to expect, or how much produce to bring. One woman sold her two bushels of cucumbers and potatoes, her dozen ears of corn and her single cabbage in half an hour. It took a little longer for a young boy to sell his 450 pounds of potatoes, but they too were gone by the market's close. Lloyd Keller spent the first Saturday of the market trying to sell his tomatoes over in Paragon in Morgan County, where business was slow. Someone told him they were starting a market in Bloomington, so the next week he hauled his tomatoes over and completely sold out by 9:30. "I'd never seen a market like that before," he says, impressed. He's been coming back for 30 years. Mr. Keller is 90 years old now, still working his 25 acres, still harvesting gorgeous red tomatoes. Although there are other markets around today, Bloomington, he says, is the best. His blue eyes peer out of his weathered face and he cackles with laughter as he remembers that he felt some trepidation at first about coming down to Bloomington. "I thought they might be crooks down there," he says, but he has come to prefer Bloomingtonians because they are so honest. Let them take home a basket to carry their tomatoes, and it's right back the next week. He lives 15 minutes from Indianapolis, where they've got markets now, but he'd rather drive all the way down to us. Don Dunkerly has also been around since 1975, selling vegetables and bedding plants. At first it was pretty informal, he says, but these days the market is professional — upbeat, organized and smoothly run, with many more vendors. The competition is good, keeping you on your toes, and he likes the people here. If you know you have a clientele who will buy what you produce, you don't mind working your tail off to produce it, he says. Harry and Blanche Fowler have been at the market since its founding too. They have made friends over the years with vendors and buyers alike, and although "one big family" can sound like a cliché, when Blanche says it against the friendly bustle and hubbub of the market, it doesn't seem too far off the mark. She's learned a lot from her market family. One African woman, here with her IU student husband, asked what she did with the vines from the sweet potatoes she brought to market. Well, I throw them away, said Blanche. Don't, the woman told her. They are the best part of the sweet potato. "The things we throw away are delicious to others," she says now, and doesn't blink an eye when people ask her to keep the beets and just sell them the greens. Thirty years on, all sorts of things have changed at the market. It has moved, for one thing, from Third Street Park, to the Courthouse Square in 1982, to the parking lot at Sixth and Lincoln in 1984, and finally to its current location in Showers Common in 1998. The larger space accommodates more than 90 farmers. The product range has changed too. From vegetables and flowers the market has expanded to allow dairy products, meats, eggs, and other locally grown and produced food items. And in response to popular demand, the months of operation are opening up. Traditionally from 7 to noon on Saturdays from May to October, in 1999 the market added Tuesday afternoons to its schedule, and this year the Saturday market will stay open through November, culminating in the Holiday Market, complete with the Tuba Santas and Christmas trees, the last Saturday of the month. Although they are a relatively new phenomenon in the U.S., markets around the world have long brought farmers and consumers together. It's not hard to see why. Markets are certainly good for farmers. Nationally 94 percent of all farmers work their farms themselves and bring in less than $250,000 in annual receipts; 19,000 of them sell only at the more than 3,100 farmers markets across the country. Knowing they have a guaranteed market is a godsend, and helps to preserve an endangered way of life. Markets are good for consumers too. We get to buy fresh, healthful food bred for taste, not shelf-life. Farmers markets remind us of what food really looks and tastes like, something we used to know in the fiber of our beings, but that we forget when all our food comes wrapped in plastic and Styrofoam. But most of all, markets are good for that indefinable something that we call community. Shoppers and vendors at the market are in a good mood, laughing and smiling and having fun — something that you rarely see at Kroger or Marsh. Farmers get to chat with the people who are going to eat their food. They share expertise, recipes, advice, face to face. Consumers see the human side of food production, and get a sense for its costs and its hazards, as well as its benefits and joys. Markets remind us that we are truly dependent on each other in a way that is disguised when we only buy our food at the grocery store. Vive le market, and its next 30 years! Lemon Zucchini Vichyssoise1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), chopped fine and washed well (about 1 1/2 cups) 3/4 cup finely chopped onion 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2-pound russet (baking) potato 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, sliced thin (about 4 cups) 3 cups low-salt chicken broth (or vegetable broth) 1/3 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice plus additional to taste ice water for thinning soup lemon slices for garnish In a large heavy saucepan cook leek, onion, and garlic with salt and pepper to taste in oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until leek is softened. Peel potato and cut into 1-inch pieces. Add potato, zucchini, and broth to leek mixture. Simmer mixture, covered, 15 minutes, or until potato is very tender. In a blender purée mixture in batches until very smooth, transferring as puréed to a bowl. Stir in cream, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste and chill soup at least 6 hours or overnight. Thin soup with ice water and season with additional lemon juice and salt and pepper. Garnish soup with lemon slices Serves six. From Gourmet Magazine, August 1994. Farmers' Market Tomato SoupThis soup is all about tomatoes — like the luscious ones you can find at farmers' market — and very little else. The recipe is deliberately sketchy since tomatoes vary tremendously in their sweetness and acidity. The soup could not be simpler, but the only way to get the flavor right is to taste as you go. 4-5 pounds of ripe tomatoes. Doesn't matter if they are ugly as long as they taste great. Using orange tomatoes will yield a luscious, glowing golden soup. Kosher salt, to taste. Good quality vinegar (try aged sherry or Vinaigre de Banyuls), to taste Fruity olive oil, to taste. Croutons (toss cubed bread with olive oil and bake at 325 degrees, turning once or twice, until toasted and crunchy. Sprinkle with salt.) Fresh basil Wash and chop tomatoes roughly, and put them in a heavy saucepan or soup kettle with some salt, maybe 1/2 teaspoon to start. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Tomatoes will release their juices and gradually melt down to pulp, about 20 minutes. When they are thoroughly soft, force them through a food mill or a sieve. Discard skin and seeds. Taste tomato soup. Add salt if necessary and taste again. If very sweet, drizzle in some vinegar. If very acidic you may want to add a bit of sugar. Keep tasting. Before serving, drizzle in some very fruity olive oil, and garnish with croutons and fresh basil. You can serve this hot or chilled. (If you serve it cold, you may need to readjust seasoning before serving.) Serves about four.
|
|
|