Looking for the best seasonal fresh food for your July 4th picnic or barbecue? The market will be open 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on July 4th, with strawberries, peas, an excellent selection of local meats, and much more! Teachers from The Summit School for Tradition Music will be displaying their talents, and picnic tables will be out. Join us to celebrate the height of summer and our nation’s birth this Saturday!
Oh salad is so boring, so bland. Right? Oh geez, definitely not! Salad becomes one of my favorite summertime meals. You can either buy the greens fresh at the market, or plant your own starts. For a gal like me who is making meals for one, the dirt is the perfect lettuce storage device. You pick off the leaves you want to munch on and the rest will still be there next week when you get your next red leaf hankering (instead of going brown and mushy in your fridge – like so many well laid vegetable plans).
I love to bring a big salad to the bakery as my lunch. To make it really easy for the week I pull out 5 of my large food storage containers and fill them about 3/4 of the way with my favorite raw leafy green. Then I toss in some chopped fresh or dried herbs. I love lots of basil and cilantro (although not in the same salad). Then I add the goodies. Those are the cooked chicken, feta cheese from Lazy Lady Farm, sliced radishes, sprouts from Toll-a-Bell Farm (my favorite are the lentils – they are a green and a protein!) and whatever else tasty ends up in my fridge after market. Then I use little 2 oz food storage containers for the salad dressing. I like adding dried spices and salt directly to the salad then just putting olive oil and lemon juice or balsamic vinegar in the little container. But you can also just fill the little container with a complete dressing. I’ve included a recipe from Sugar Ridge Farm for their Maple Sweet ‘n Sour Dressing. Put the little containers inside each of your big salad containers, put a lid on them and stick them in the fridge. Now you have salad for the entire week and it’s so easy, you don’t have to worry about missing out on your daily dose of greens just because you’re running late in the morning. Good grub.
Next weekend (June 6) make sure to check out the Montpelier Fashion Show when we will be joining forces and moving some of our vendors up to State St for the event. MontpelierFashionShow.com
Maple Sweet ‘n Sour Dressing
1/2 c Oil
1/2 c Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 c Catsup
3/4 c VT pure maple syrup
1 tsp minced garlic
pinch horseradish
Mix all ingredients together, pour over your favorite salad and enjoy!
Recipes contributed by Stephen & Diane Jones of Sugar Ridge Farm
Post from “Our Food” found in The Montpelier Bridge newspaper
by Claire Fitts
The first peas arrived at market this past Saturday and, as with the strawberries, have been selling out fast. Greater quantities will be available this Saturday. With all the cool, cloudy weather, farmers are anticipating a slower producing, but longer strawberry season. Also (if you can believe it!), tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers have been available in quantity at market! Season extending techniques (greenhouses, row covers, etc.) are allowing our farmers to bring this diversity to market so early in the season.
If enough strawberries are available, Strawberry Shortcake will be sold at market this Saturday to benefit the Wellspring Waldorf School. Enjoy this seasonal treat with biscuits made by Red Hen Bakery, organic strawberries, and Cabot whipped cream, and help support a this rural alternative ed school! 
Thank you to Ariel Zevon and Adam Woogmaster from L.A.C.E Farm Fresh Market and Cafe (located in Barre) for preparing wonderful Strata and fresh salsa and salad at market this past Saturday. Look for our new “Make it a Market Meal” page for seasonal recipes from our monthly Chef events and the twice monthly Food Column featured in The Montpelier Bridge.
And one more thing– MARKET WILL BE OPEN ON JULY 4th!!!! Start your 4th of July celebration at market! Live music, prepared food to enjoy at market, and strawberries, peas, salad mix, cheeses and breads, pies, cookies, and other treats to create your 4th of July picnic!
The market looks forward to hosting Ariel Zevon from L.A.C.E. Farm Fresh Market and Cafe of Barre for a “Shop with the Chef” event this Saturday. Gather with us at 10:30 to watch Zevon cook using fresh market ingredients. Free recipes and samples! Choosing the best produce and cooking techniques shared. If it is raining, the event will be rescheduled!
Also this Saturday, strawberring will be available in quantity. Come get a tast of this seasonal treat in Strawberry Shortcake form on June 27 to benefit the Wellspring Waldorf School!
So much is happening at the Capital City Farmers Market these days. First, we are sad to say goodbye to long term vendor and friend Guido Mase of Grian Herbs. Guido is moving to the Burlington area and will no longer be able to attend the market. He will be greatly missed, both for his quality products and his incredibly friendly presence. We wish him luck!
Last Saturday the market participated in Montpelier’s Annual Fashion Show. Market vendors set-up on State Street and joined the llama parade to kick off the start of the show. Market fashions were on display, with Mink Hill Studios hand painted clothing, The Wool Shed knit hats and sweaters, French Metalworks silver jewelry, and Eat More Kale t-shirts. 
This Saturday, live music from Sweet Japonic will entertain us. The market will finally be at its full size, with the adjacent Jacob’s lot opening to make room for Wood Belly Pizza’s wood fired oven. On June 20th, Ariel Zevon from L.A.C.E. in Barre will share her cooking skills in our monthly Shop with the Chef series. See you there!
This Saturday, the Capital City Farmers Market will spill onto State Street to join with Montpelier’s annual Fashion Show. The festivities include a Llama parade and animals on display, vendors on State Street and in the market lot, a tight rope walker, Damn Yankee String Band at market, and of course the Cat Walk with models displaying downtown Montpelier fashions! The market has lots of unique and personally designed 
clothing and jewelry, so check out our fashions before the show kicks off at 11 a.m. Also, Woodbelly Pizza will be back at the market this Saturday, offering wood-fired pizza loaded with local ingredients!
Despite the threatening weather, the rain has been holding off on market days. May 23 was a spectacular market, with Lee Duberman from Ariel’s Restaurant in Brookfield cooking a fabulous dish for customers to sample, and the community gathering to enjoy the day. A picnic table was added to the market space, providing a sunny place to sit and rest, and more will be added soon. This Saturday, Jairo Sequeira will play with traditional Latin Standards on guitar with his son, Gabe, accompanying on viola. Live music will be a regular part of the market now!
Fresh produce available at market: Spinach, salad greens, lettuce, scallions, radishes, potatoes, chard, basil, cilantro, fiddleheads, ramps, mint, and more! Every week brings something new.
