FARMERS MARKET Austin Farmer's Market newsletter week of Sept 14th-20th

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Rise and Shine
The Newsletter of Austin Farmers' Market
Week of Sept 14 - Sept 20

WEDNESDAY Market Open.
. . . 4 - 8 pm - You may see shrimp and fish!

Parking Garage is NOW OPEN! Come to The Triangle for the Wednesday night market and get into the free garage just west of the market.
Heaps of Harvest TOMATOES are waning, get them now. Peppers are in full force, including Hatch-type hot peppers A little shade-grown arugula and lettuce, some collards and chard. Lots of basil! Find cucumbers, and--yes---small cabbage and sweet potatoes, okra, summer squash, winter squash, onions. Smattering of persimmons. Sprouts from Hands of the Earth Sats. Mushrooms from Kitchen Pride on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Farmers' contact information and description listed here.
With the Sides. .
Low-temp pasteurized cow's milk, buttermilk, butter, yogurt; Berkshire pork; field-harvested bison; peacefully grazed lamb; grassfed beef; honey; eggs from pastured or free-range chickens; seafood; goat's milk cheese; and, cow's milk cheese. See a complete listing of ranchers and grazers at the vendors section of the website.
To Top it Off
World-class ready-to-eat, value-added foods and fine artisan gifts! Pick up foods representing all kinds of ethnic and delectable choices (many of them award-winning!), and take time to shop for hand-crafted high quality gifts. See listings of vendors at the website.

HOURS & LOCATIONS
Saturdays, 9 am - 1 pm year round, Austin Farmers' Market at Republic Square Park downtown, 422 W. Guadalupe at 4th and Guadalupe.

Wednesdays, NOW 4 - 8 pm Starting Oct. 29th '08 - March '09, WILL BE 3 - 7 pm Year round at Triangle Park, 4600 Guadalupe at Lamar & 46th.

PARKING is FREE and EASY at both locations. Saturdays, park FREE at meters, north ½ block of the Classified lot, or in the State parking garage at San Antonio between 3rd and 4th, a mere 50 feet from the market. Wednesdays, park FREE in the new public parking garage with several hundred slots.

We accept debit cards for market tokens that you can spend just like cash, and Lone Star Card and WIC FMNP coupons.


SFC IN THE NEWS
Austin Farmers' Market Director Suzanne Santos has been recognized in the Statesman's 2008 Fortunate 500

News 8 Austin covered the Green 4th of July Celebration on Saturday at Austin Farmers' Market:
Green 4th on News 8

The Austin American-Statesman came out June 17th with three stories on local farms and the tomato 'food security' that they provide because of safe practices, extensive inspection process by Sustainable Food Center, and the true-blue integrity of the farmer having your best interest in mind. See the stories on-line at Austin news, sports, weather, Longhorns, business | Statesman.com, under the food section.


THIS WEEK'S RECIPE
Recovering Ike
Need to get grounded after the shaky, windy weekend?

Ingredients

2 or more friends

Lots of cloth shopping bags and at least one ice chest, plus a blanket (for Wednesday)

An appetite for adventure and discovery

Instructions
1. Check website for times, locations.

2. Load up and head 'em out.

3. Purchase your farmers' goods first, and early on. Experiment, and get a few items that you haven't tried (like persimmons or jejubes).

4. Get a quick, healthy meal from one of the several food vendors, then set back and enjoy live music, people watching, and being with friends while you help family farmers!


AWARDS:
WINNER!
Meaning Numero Uno,
The Big Cheese, Primo

SFC: Best Nonprofit in the Local Heroes Awards by Edible Austin readers, Spring 2008 issue
A-List Poll for the "Best Place to Buy Fruits and Vegetables" by Austin American Statesman readers


Market's Open, Weather or Not!
We closed the market Saturday, September 13th with a notice sent out to everyone on the Friday before. Hurrican Ike was a serious threat and the safety of our farming friends and the customers was of utmost importance to us. This was the first cancelation of Austin Farmers' Market in the 5 1/2 years of operation. Please help make up the losses that the farmers and other vendors experienced by coming to the markets, with your friends, to buy delicious, just picked produce and lovingly made prepared foods, with great signature value added products and artisan goods.

Some farms had to stay in their fields and batten down the hatches, but they will do alright, if you come back just as strong as they do in this next week. Thanks!

Go Local Austin
For just $10 for a card that lasts all year, you can explore weekly specials at the Austin Farmers' Market offered by most of the vendors and the Info Booth as a way of saying "Thank You" for being a loyal Go Local customer. This Go Local Austin card is also good at participating Go Local retailers (ONLY LOCAL!) all over town. Buy your card at the convenient Go Local Austin booth at the market, and $1 goes back to the Sustainable Food Center! An even tastier deal!


TRAFFIC WATCH: Pecan Street Festival this Saturday, so avoid 5th, 6th, and 7th streets from I-35 to Brazos. Get to the market from I-35 via 15th or MLK, and from the west, via 5th Street.

We will have a market next week, Sept. 27th, in our regular spot! Shuttle busses for the ACL Fest will be to the north of us, so come down, especially to help make up sales for the farmers! There will be parking (check details next week).

Take the 'Dillo to have fun and get to the market! New service - 6th Street 'Dillo #451 - on Saturdays now includes a route that travels from Bowie Street between 5th and 6th (5 blocks west from the market) to Red River and back again. The 'Dillo runs every 11 minutes and goes right by Republic Square Park!

VEGGIE VALET: If you ever need to drop off your veggies while you run through the market for goods and round up your vehicle, we can take care of your bags at the Information Booth and get them to you curbside when you drive up.

MEET THE FARMERS
This is the most up-to-date information about which vendors will and won't be attending the market as of Wednesday, when we send this letter. If there are no changes to a vendor's status, they will not be listed. To find out which farmers and specialty vendors regularly attend each market,
click here. Some of the farmers only come seasonally because of a time-sensitive crop, like peaches, but we host more than 60 family farms throughout the year. Please understand that there are often last minute changes--it's the nature of farming!

Wednesday, September 17th

OUT: Blackland Prairie Farm, Hands of the Earth Farm, Walnut Creek Farm, Happy Vegan. West Wind Dairy Goats will be retiring from the goat's milk cheese business, so they are permanently out.

RETURNING: Deli Bento, producer of the charming boxes of Asian-style healthy and delicious meals, returns to Wednesday market!

IN: Happy Vegan is back! Oma's and Opa's Farm, Brazos Valley Cheese, Watson Farms, Maine Root root beer, Garza Gardens.


Saturday, September 20th

IN: Ruth with Usable Art.

OUT: Tecolote Farm (every other week for the fall, see them back September 27th). Fredericksburg Grassfed Beef (every other week). Creatlery (back 9/27). Steele Farm, back with a fall crop. Miayawear's Bonnie is out for several weeks on maternity leave. Paw Bakery - Jasmine and Ting had two beautiful baby boys, Isaac and Ivan, Sunday, July 20th! (They'll be out for several weeks). Reddy Wiggler (vermicost, compost tea, wiggly stuff out until later in the fall).

Don't forget the ice and a handy ice chest for all of the dairy, seafood, meat and poultry vendors.

THIS WEEK & MORE

SWEET MUSIC

Wednesday - September 17th
Suzanna Choffel! playing about at 5:30 pm to 7 pm.
Saturday - September 20th
New Oleans Jazz Band. Hear the tunes at 10 - 11:30 am unless the creek rises!
Also expect to see as a regular feature of the market some juggling workshops, pet obedience school sessions and more (coming in the future)!


SPECIAL EVENTS:
CHILE BASH is Sept. 2nd - 21st! Visit any of the three Z'Tejas Austin locations - Avery Ranch, Arboretum or Sixth Street - between these dates, dine on delicious Texas chiles and benefit SFC at the same time.

Additional information may be found online at Z'Tejas
or by contacting Lauren Churchin at lchurchin@peergroupconsulting.com

TEXAS FRENCH BREAD Local DINNERS! BRING YOUR OWN WINE!
Texas French Bread is embarking in new local adventures for dinner service at the Rio Grande St. cafe on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings.

Other September, October Events:

National Park(ing) Day, Friday, September 19, 2008 at 9 am, various locations
AGA Director Randy Jewart at 512-743-4245
randy@austingreenart.org
PARKing Day Sponsorship

Join Austin Green Art, Sustainable Food Center, the Austin Farmers' Market and the multitude of farmers and Chef David Garrido in celebrating the "Locavore Lunch" that will be set up on 4th Street / Republic Square Park as a meal extraordinaire complete with farmers' ingredients prepared in a multi-course meal. TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT. Check out the other locations on the website.

Austin Restaurant Week, Oct. 12-15, Oct. 19-22
Presented by Rare Austin, Soiree Event Production, and Alexan Vistas. Austin Farmers' Market is one of the sponsors.
Austin Restaurant Week - October 12-15 & 19-22, 2008
Austin Restaurant Week celebrates Austin's best restaurants. Here's how it works: Three courses for either $25 or $35 and you can pick a different restaurant for eight total nights. Choose from more than 50 of the city's hottest spots!

Support - Makin' It Happen!
Staff coordinate the myriad of educational programming activities, work with dozens of volunteers, and manage the many nuts and bolts of the Market. The Market is co-sponsored by the City of Austin, City of Austin Parks and Recreation Dept., and the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Dept. There are also generous contributions and partnerships with the Austin Museum of Art and Classified Parking, Downtown Austin Alliance, Community Investment Corporation, The Triangle, managed by Cencor Realty Services, Wine and Food Foundation of Texas, Z-Tejas!, Texas Department of Agriculture, Wheatsville Co-op, and many more major sponsors in the downtown area and in the media including KGSR-FM107.1, Edible Austin and the Austin American-Statesman.