Help CUESA Support Farmers and Educate Urban Eaters ~ Today!

Do you enjoy reading this newsletter each week? Have you attended one of our programs, classes, or farm tours? Or do you simply want to help spread the local and sustainable gospel — in the market and beyond? Please consider giving to CUESA. We rely on contributions from the community to continue our important work. And remember: we're a nonprofit, so all donations are tax deductible.

Complimentary Gift Wrapping at the Market ~ Dec 12 and 19

Every gift-giving season, we encourage our customers to do their holiday shopping at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. This week and next, we're providing an extra motivation ― we'll wrap farmers' market gifts for you at no cost! Our gift-wrapping station will be set up at the information booth on December 12 and 19 from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm. Volunteers will wrap your gifts in reusable brown paper bags or kraft paper, and we'll provide gift tags as well as colorful ribbon to complete the festive look.

Holiday Farmer Dinner 2009 ~ December 12

Please join Marin Organic and MarketBar as they pay homage to local farmers and their stunning harvests. Chef Rick Hackett of MarketBar will create an inspired four-course Mediterranean dinner using winter's delights. This magical meal will feature greens, meat and goodness from McEvoy Ranch, Allstar Organics, Green Gulch Farm, Clark Summit Farms, and Drakes Bay Family Farm. A percentage of the proceeds will benefit Marin Organic. Learn more >

California Culinary Academy Farmer Series ~ December 18

Thanks to a recent collaboration with CUESA, the California Culinary Academy (CCA) will be hosting a series of farmer lunches and dinners in the student restaurant, Carême 350. The prix fixe meals mark the culmination of each class' culinary education and will feature produce grown by a local farmer. The first dinner, on December 18 from 6-8 pm, will feature the exquisite vegetables of David Retsky from County Line Harvest. Reservations are available through the Carême 350 website. Contact Beth Casey for more information.

Climate Change and Agro-biodiversity Talk ~ December 17

Visit the Ecology Center in Berkeley for a dialogue about the value of traditional crop varieties and ecological agriculture in an unstable world, with special guest Dr. Debal Deb, ecologist, scholar, author and founding director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in West Bengal, India. This is a benefit to support Dr. Deb's initiatives, which have conserved and regenerated over 600 varieties of traditional rice to date. Dr. Deb will discuss the crucial importance of this agricultural heritage to food security and resilience in the face of climate change. Learn more >

The Market is Open on Christmas Eve and Closed on December 26

Because Christmas falls on a Friday this year, and many of our farmers would rather spend the day with their families than prepare for market, we'll be closed on Boxing Day, December 26. The market on Thursday, December 24 will run from 10 am - 2 pm and feature a special expanded list of sellers to help you stock up for the holiday weekend.

Why go to the mall when you can get something for everyone on your list at the farmers' market!

Beyond Snacks

La Cocina works with low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs who are launching, growing and formalizing food businesses. Their gift boxes offer a sampling of treats made by the businesses they have incubated, including: truffles from Neo Cocoa, chocolate-covered baked goods by Kika's Treats, caramel-shortbread-chocolate bars from Clairesquares, exotic Indonesian beverages from Sajen, spicy Mexican snacks from Botanas Felicitas, and more. You can also buy them online here >

Salt (and Sugar) of the Earth
Allstar Organics combines their organic herbs and spices (grown, dried, and processed on the farm) with French sea salt and fair-trade evaporated cane juice. They'll have salt gift packs that include rosemary, garlic, and lavender salt, and sugar packs with rose petal, spearmint, and lavender sugar. Buy them online or come to the market to mix and match.


Organic Rice and Almonds
Massa Organics will be selling gift sets filled with their organic farm products: a bag of their rice, a jar of almond butter, and a half pound of roasted almonds. They also have an almonds-only gift box with almond butter and roasted almonds. Find it at tomorrow's market or buy them online >

Just Peachy
Bella Viva Orchards will bring a wide variety of gift packs to market this week full of their dried fruits (like the white nectarines featured at left) and candied nuts. Stop and pick up some tomorrow or buy their dried fruit online here >



For Your Sweety
It's tea season and honey makes a great gift. Marshall's Farm Natural Honey will have several holiday packages at their stand tomorrow, and their small jars would make great stocking stuffers or Hanukkah gifts. Also see their "Honeykah" gift pack here (it's Kosher) >

Be Prepared

Sciabica's is offering eight of their most popular olive oils — four varietal and four flavored olive oils (lemon, garlic, orange and jalapeño) — in an easy-to-fold-and-carry gift box. Buy it online here >

Wild Love
Give an authentic piece of the wild west with wildcrafted soap, sachets and incense made from western trees and plants. Juniper Ridge will have gift packages at the market this weekend; they're also available online >

Not Your Average Fruitcake

Every year, June Taylor crafts her artisan Christmas cake using hand-dried citrus peel, stone fruit, raisins and aged private reserve port from a local distillery. Her recipe is traditionally English and the result is not anything like the fruitcake you've had. If you miss your chance at the market, get it here >

A Box of Veggie Goodness
Want to spread the local produce love? Consider giving a pre-paid CSA membership. Here are a few Ferry Plaza farms to start with: www.eatwell.com
www.farmfreshtoyou.com
www.tierravegetables.com
www.froghollow.com

Gift Coins

The picky shopper, the market regular, the timid newbie: our farmers' market gift coins are just the thing for everyone on your list. For $25, you get 25 one-dollar tokens good at any seller's stand at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. They come pre-wrapped with a surprise treat from the market inside. Gift coins — as well as colorful Ferry Plaza Farmers Market tote bags and reusable cotton produce bags — are available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays all month at the information booth.

This list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to holiday shopping at the market. See a more complete list of options here. Or take a look at Market Manager Lulu Meyer's selection of gift ideas over at 7x7 Magazine. You'll be surprised how many of the names on your list you can cross off — all while stocking up on groceries for the week! And we'll wrap your gifts for you while you shop.

Saturday, December 12 ~ Market to Table

11:00 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration
Peter McNee, Poggio

11:45 am - Seasonal cooking demonstration and book signing
Georgeanne Brennan, author of Gather: Memorable Menus for Entertaining Throughout the Seasons

Tuesday, December 15 ~ Food Wise Booth

12:00 - 1:00 pm - CUESA's market chef Sarah Henkin will be giving out recipe cards and samples of a simple meal made with market ingredients.

Market to Table cooking demonstrations will be on holiday for the rest of December and all of January. 2010 programs will resume in February

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will be attending the market as of Friday. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. You'll find a list of which farmers regularly attend each market here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes—it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, December 5

In: Apple Farm

Out: Flatland Flower Farm, Bernard Ranches, Hare Hollow, Double K Christmas Trees (for the season, snowed in!), Prather Ranch, Primavera, Hayes St. Grill, Chan Nursery (until late January), McGinnis Ranch, Allstar Organics, Rose Pistola, Ridgecut Gristmills, Lucero Organic Farms

Tuesday, December 8

Out for the season: Happy Quail, Devoto Gardens

Thursday, December 10

In: Achadinha

Returning and plentiful this month (weather willing):
Page mandarins, nettles, root vegetables, winter squash, persimmons, carrots, Meyer lemons, grapefruit, oranges, radishes, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, rapini, limes, baby lettuces, cardoons, puntarella, radicchio, sweet potatoes, leeks, fennel, cabbage, kiwis, chicories, salsify, mushrooms, walnuts, clementines, cherimoyas, stone-ground wheat, dandelion greens, dried shelling beans

Winding down/limited supply:
Grapes, Dungeness crab, pomegranates, avocadoes, berries, pastured eggs, pears and apples (many varieties will still be available of both these fruits from cold storage throughout the winter)

Farms returning this month:
Brokaw Nursery (December 19th)

Vendor and value-added items not to be missed:
Bing cherry syrup from Lagier Ranches, prime rib roasts from Marin Sun Farms, horseradish from Happy Girl Kitchen

Featured recipes for December

Leek and Rapini Fritters from Angelo Garro with Nikki Silva & Davia Nelson (The Kitchen Sisters, authors of Hidden Kitchens)

Grilled Radicchio Salad with Pink Grapefruit, Pink Peppercorns and Garlic-Tarragon “Ranch” Dressing from Chef Eric Tucker of Millennium Restaurant (February 9, 2008)

Hearty Brown Rice, Butternut Squash, and Kale Soup from Sarah Henkin, CUESA's Market Chef (January 13, 2009)

Apple Cider Pie from the Smit Family of Hidden Star Orchards (November 22, 2008)