Phyllis' Kitchen--Fried Green Tomatoes

If you shopped at the Monroe Farmer's Market this past Saturday, you likely saw Phyllis Perrin of Caroline's Old Tyme Products demonstrating her fried green tomato recipe in the hospitality tent.  And even better, she was giving away samples to the many customers who'd never tried them before (and those who have had Phyllis' fried green tomatoes in the past!)

As promised, here is her recipe:

Fried Green Tomatoes

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. all purpose flour, divided
1/2 c. cornmeal
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
3 medium-sized green tomatoes, cut into 1/3 inch slices
oil to fry
salt to taste

Combine egg and buttermilk, set aside.  Combine 1/4 c. all-purpose flour, cornmeal, 1 t. salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan.  Dredge tomato slices in remaining 1/4 c. flour; dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cornmeal mixture.  Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a large cast iron skillet.  Heat to 375 degrees.  Drop tomatoes, in batches, into hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden.  Drain on paper towels or a rack.  Sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt and/or use a dipping sauce.

Garlic Aioli Sauce

1-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. water
1/2 t. lemon juice
1/8 t. sea salt
1/4-1/3 c. olive oil

Combine all ingredients except oil in a blender.  With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.

For a variation, add 2 t. snipped fresh basil.

Hidden Treasures at the Market

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If you've ever stopped by the Monroe farmer's market, you can't help but notice the mounds of vegetables, the tables full of jams, jellies, and canned goods, and the usual fare that makes up a market.  But among the abundance are not-so-common products that you might miss on a casual walk through the market, products you didn't even realize you could to put on your market shopping list. Here are a few things to look for next week:

From Amy Burdick of 10th Ave. Soaps and Danielle Zimmerman of Meadow Ridge Alpacas-- felted soap

Yes, they look a bit hairy at first glance.  These soaps are the joint effort of two market vendors--Amy makes the soap and Danielle raises alpacas. They then dye and felt the alpaca fibers to the bar of soap, making a lightly exfoliating soap/washcloth in one.  They make a truly unique gift.

From Luanna and Joe Parr of Paracres Farm--red onion marmalade

A jam made with onions may not sound incredibly enticing at first glance and it's not something you'd put on a peanut butter sandwich.  That's why they offer samples.  But nearly everyone is delightfully surprised by the fruity, onion-y flavor that makes a great hors d'oeuvre for a party or snack for just you. (Add a little bit of cream cheese before topping the cracker with marmalade--it's delicious!)

From Arlo Gough of Gough's Gorgeous Goods--dehydrated vegetable baby food

The Goughs, who have made a business of dried vegetables, have taken the idea to another level this year with their dehydrated baby food powder.  Just add a little water and you have a meal for your little one with varieties like beets, butternut squash, and green beans.  Lightweight and easy to pack, with no extra ingredients or preservatives, this is one more product that you can now purchase with your weekly groceries at the market.

From John Ebersol of Appleseed Farm and Scenic View Bakery-- whoopie pies

An Amish specialty--two cake-like cookies with a generous amount of fluffy, frosting-like filling.  They're just like Little Debbie's specialties, except that these are yummy, baked without preservatives, made fresh weekly, don't come out of a box, contain pronounceable ingredients...

From Randy and Iva Kauffman--maple sugar

The Kauffmans are known for their home-processed maple syrup and honey, but look twice to see the little tubs of maple sugar.  Maple sugar is syrup cooked down to the point that it granulates like sugar.  It's much easier than toting around a bottle of syrup to spread some maple flavor everywhere and naturally sweeten coffee, tea, and such when you're on the go.

From Phyllis Perrin of Caroline's Old Tyme Products-- gooseberry jam, dill pickled grape tomatoes, and mango salsa

Definitely not your everyday grocery store fare.  Her sauerkraut, pickled peppers, lemon curds, and rhubarb-strawberry jams are perpetual favorites, but she makes a myriad of other flavors and this is only a sampling of her array of specialties.  You'll have a difficult time coming up with a type of jam, jelly, or pickle that she doesn't have on hand or won't be able to custom make for you.

Discover other treasures for yourself this weekend at the Monroe Farmers Market!

Vendor of the Week--Yes Coffee Roasters

This week's featured vendor:

Yes Coffee Roasters

 yescoffeeroasters@gmail.com

Yes Coffee joined the Monroe Farmers Market just this summer and they bring a new, unique product to the community.  Here is a little more about them in their own words: 

Yes Coffee Roasters is a small­batch specialty coffee roaster based in Monroe, Wisconsin, Green County. Our operation is dedicated to roasting high­grade green coffee beans from the world's best growing regions. Through a selective and demanding sampling process, and a cumulative knowledge of coffee from it's origins through the roasting process, we roast our favorite green coffee beans to bring out all the unique flavors within each bean. We package and ship these coffees within two days of roast­date to home­brewers, and provide the education and support to ensure a kind of hand­shake between the grower, the bean, and your sense of taste. Simply put, we are the middle­men, and enablers, bringing you into a relationship with some of the worlds most fantastic growers of high quality coffee beans. Happy brewing!

And if you haven't yet tried any Yes Coffee, be sure to stop by their stand this Saturday and they will indeed, enable you.  Every cup is individually brewed and goes perfectly with a homemade cinnamon roll, fresh fried pie, caramel buns, or of course, savored by itself.

Phyllis' Kitchen--Lemon Cream Pie

Phyllis Perrin, of Caroline's Old Tyme Products, is a longstanding vendor at the farmer's market. She has been gardening and canning for decades and freely shares her wisdom, tips, recipes, and especially humor. And on top of that, she gives out samples of her many jams, jellies, curds, and pickles.  As a result, she usually has a number of customers at her stall, like this:

Lately she's been sharing an easy recipe with her customers.  In case you haven't stopped by her stall lately, here it is...

Lemon Cream Pie

2 c. whipping cream (1 pint)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 T.)
1 8 oz. jar of lemon curd or other jam/preserve  (Phyllis' is highly recommended of course!)
1 baked pastry or graham cracker pie crust

Pour the cream into a mixing bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top.  Whip it until soft peaks form.

Slowly stir in the lemon curd.

Pour into a crust and chill for a couple of hours.

And that's it!  Very simple but delicious.

Vendor of the Week--Cool Cow Corner Farm

This week’s featured vendor:

Cool Cow Corner Farm

Tim & Nick Akins

2148 County D South Wayne, WI 53587

608-558-0661 (Tim) or 608-558-7503 (Nick)

Email: akins@wekz.net

www.facebook.com/CoolCowCornerFarm

South Wayne, Wisconsin, is the home of Cool Cow Corner Farm where the Akins family raises Gelbiveh/Red Angus beef. Gelbiveh, one of the oldest known German cattle breeds, is widely recognized for excellence in growth, muscling and marketability, giving them a lean cut of meat. The Red Angus breed has attained a high level of popularity due to their high grade of meat.

Cool Cow Corner cattle are finished in 20 months assuring high quality, tender cuts of meat. Their cattle are born and raised on the farm allowing Nick and Tim to continually monitor their growth rates and diets. Cool Cow Corner Farm uses no drugs, hormones, or GMO feeds in their animals' diets, so you can be assured of natural, healthy, and superior tasting cuts of meat.

Cool Cow Corner offers a wide variety of meat options. One can purchase individual cuts of meat such as roasts, rib steaks, sirloin, and hamburger. They also offer sampler packets with a variety of different cuts. You can also order a side of beef (or half a side) and receive cuts of your specifications. Besides the frozen meat available at the market, Tim and Nick also grill hamburgers, steak sandwiches, and hot dogs to order at the market so you can try it out for lunch while you shop.

Stop on down to the Monroe Farmers Market on the Square, Saturday from 8am to 1pm, to see what Cool Cow Corners Farm is cooking up!