Do you garden and grow your own?  What do you do with all your extra zucchini?  Ample Harvest can help you to find a place for some of your extra garden bounty.  One out of six Americans needs food assistance, but can’t get fresh produce from the local food pantry. You can help though — through Ample Harvest, you can find a place close to you where you can take your locally grown produce and share it with people who will really appreciate it.

The Moorings ‘Bag of Doughnuts’ – lobster, crab & shrimp fritters with chipotle-maple aioli

The next day we happened upon a small cheese, coffee and bake shop on Bellevue Avenue called Le Petit Gourmet.   Part of a program called Farm Fresh Rhode Island, we learned that the entire state is making a concerted effort to support local resources in many amazing ways.  In this instance, small stores such as Le Petit Gourmet are able to purchase food from local area farms in a CSA type of fashion:  Storeowners choose the products they would like to sell, and a boxful of those products from various RI farms will be delivered.  We were thrilled to see some of our local favorites including Harvard Farmers’ Market’s own Shy Brother’s cheeses on board, and we were delighted to bring home one of Rhode Island’s own premier artisan cheeses.   It was spectacular, especially paired with wine from the same owner’s store next door The Newport Wine Cellar.  Kudos to those behind the scene finding creative ways to get farm fresh goods to consumers!

Two days later, I brought the family back with me.  Luckily, I got to witness not only the busy bar scene happening on a Saturday, but I also had the honor to meet both the friendly general manager Steven Simone and the very welcoming owner Scott Plath, who also owns Cobblestones in Lowell.  Now in the second year, and having spent time building a strong ‘foundation’ with Hawaii native executive chef Enx Dadulas, the folks at Moonstones are now embracing the local food scene. Moonstone’s spectacular seafood, illuminated by the gorgeous marble raw bar, hails primarily from New England.  Similarly much of their beef and produce are sourced from several local farms and farmers’ markets.  And while the menu draws inspiration from global cuisine, once the growing season gets underway, more and more menu items will celebrate local sources.

Our favorite appetizers included local mussels in a tomato-wine-garlic sauce and the curried butternut squash-goat cheese pakora.  The special soup of the day, a lamb provencial-style soup, was a great beginning on a cold rainy evening; the wasabi made for a bloody mary with a kick; and the ricotta zeppoli for dessert was truly divine.  We told Scott we would spread the word…please help us with this grassroots effort!  It’s definitely worth the quick drive up the highway; Les Femmes Fraiches are looking forward to visiting again soon!

One of Paris’ Two All Organic Markets — 17th district

It’s no surprise the French are keen on organic and fresh produce, given their reputation for details and fine cuisine.  On a recent January trip to Paris, Kathy Comstock (our newest HFM Blog contributor) found one of two all-organic markets thriving.  In the part of the 17^th district called the Batignolles, the Saturday market runs from 7AM until 1PM.   Stalls spill with fresh fruits, veggie, legumes, meats, fish, oils, teas, spices and a lot more.  Plus the vendors, largely farmers who make the weekly trip in from the country, provide their own version of entertainment and song as they pile potatoes, measure rice, splice beets from roots, and advise recipes.  How encouraging to see the global awareness of all that is natural and home grown sprouting from all venues, even Paris in the dead of winter!

We want to introduce you to a new pet project of ours. It involves our most favorite pastime of all: eating fresh local food, of course! The HFM gals, a.k.a. ‘Les Femmes Fraiches’ have decided to frequent establishments who are striving to support all things local. Our first stop: Nourish in Lexington.

We met with Nourish’s friendly owner Karen Masterson, who explained their mission was to source their food locally and ‘responsibly,’ but to also price their food ‘respectably’ so that all customers would feel welcome.  We were delighted to see some of our vendors on the menu, including River Rock Farm…and the food was fabulous and fresh (I recommend the rice paper rolls and peanut noodle tofu!). The addition of live music, organic beer and vodka, and local works of art on the wall makes for a happening scene… check it out at www.nourishlexington.com. Great to meet you, Karen, and thanks for nourishing us.  We’ll be back for sure!

She’s visited us for several years running, sometimes blending vegetables, sometimes slicing squash, sometimes shopping the stalls for her infamous homemade raw tomato sauce and gazpacho. The HFM’s great friend and supporter Kelly Bollman of Simple Balance returns again this year with her green smoothies…this time with a challenge for us! Join fellow cleansers and green food lovers around the area and pledge three weeks of green smoothies.    The cost: only $10 with half the proceeds being donated to the HFM! For info on the Challenge, to register, to find recipes, get nutrition tips and more, go to Kelly’s website at www.aboutsimplebalance.com And be sure to share some good  smoothie tips with us; we’d love to post them. Cheers to good health and all things green!

Does it get any better than this? If I saw this guy pull into the market, I would want to be the first one on that boat shopping for whatever he had to offer!  Besides the fact that he is super cute,  this has to be the most interesting and exciting farm stand ever. Are you drawn to beautiful stalls? I am, and I think it is worth a note to vendors that every thing you can do to make your stall prettier, more inviting or curious, the better your sales will be.  While your products will speak for themselves, ultimately, how many people walk right by and don’t even stop at your booth?  Each time that happen that is a lost potential sale and opportunity to celebrate your harvest or product.

Perhaps take a cue from this guy and consider bringing some animals, giving away samples, or re-imagining how your booth is presented….it certainly makes a difference.

So keep a look out to each of the vendor pages (over on the left)  for new information and lovely images from Alexa. It’s all going up soon…(graduation isn’t too far off after all!) and as we get each vendor updated, we will let you know so you can go check them out and learn something new about the people who feed you.

I love this wedding video created by an (obviously) charming couple (Tara and Richard) in New Hampshire. I can’t help myself (maybe I’m being slightly cheesy and sentimental)…but I think I speak for all my farmers market organizing cohorts….THIS IS WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO… – Rochelle

p.s. Scavenger hunt details coming soon!!

Liz over at Hyperlocalvore recently posted an interesting calculation about yard sharing and going hyperlocal – as in growing your own — that presents some interesting calculations.   She figures that if you yard share (with 2 other people) 2 apple trees, 15 blueberry bushes and 4 almond trees, that over 20 years you can actually make a profit of  over $61,000 (by pure re-invested savings)… and by that calculation, if you don’t yard share, and instead bring your extra goods to the market to sell you can make over $320,000  — all for a very modest investment of $1700 — check out her #’s and let us know what you think.

Oh, and we are sending out applications for our 2010 season now, so email us if you have some extra fruit trees that you are ready to make some $$ from.