Saturday, May 7, 2011

2011 Guide to Lincoln, Nebraska Farmer's Markets and Farms

Photo Credit
It finally looks like winter decided to disappear and summer is fast approaching and with summer the local farmer's markets and farms are gearing up to start selling their goods.  Seeing we live in an agriculture state Lincoln is abuzz starting this Saturday with loads of locations where you can purchase goods from local growers.  This week I'll go through the markets, farms and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in and around Lincoln, Nebraska.





Farmer's Markets

Haymarket Farmer's Market - Runs May 7th through Oct. 15th.
Located on 7th & P streets,
Time: 8-12 p.m. n oSaturdays.
This is the biggest one in Lincoln with roughly 120 vendors on any given Saturday.
Website: http://lincolnhaymarket.org/events/farmers-market/

Centennial Mall Garden Market - Runs July 6th through Aug. 31st.
Located on L street between 14th and 16th streets.
Time: 12-4 p.m. on Wednesdays

Old Cheney Road Farmer's Market - Now until Oct. 30th.
Located at 5500 Old Cheney Road
Time: 10-2 p.m. on Sundays
Website: http://www.oldcheneyroadfarmersmarket.com/


Jazz in June Market - June 7, 14, 21, 28
Located at 12th and T streets
Time: 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays
Offers live music, food, vendors, and local artisans.
Website: http://jazzinjune.com/ 


Fallbrook Farmer's Market - Begins June 16th
Located at NW 6th St. and Fallbrook Blvd.
Time: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Thursdays


UPCO Community Market - Runs June 15th through Sept. 21st.
Located at 48th and Madison streets
Time: 3-6 p.m. on Wednesdays

Farmer's Market at the FARM - Runs May 21st through Oct. 29th.
Located at 11855 Yankee Hill Road
Time: 9-Noon on Saturdays


St. Paul UCC Farmer's Market - Runs June 7th through Oct. 11th.
Located at St. Paul United Church of Christ - 1302 F St.
Times: 4:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays

Piedmont Farmer's Market - Runs May 14th to mid-September
Located on 1265 S. Cotner Blvd.
Time: 8-noon on Saturdays

Farms/Orchards


Page's Produce
Growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers at 2455 County Road A, Valparaiso. They have a roadside store and also attend the Old Cheney Farmer's Market.  They concentrate on sweet corn, tomatoes, apples and peaches.

Martin's Hillside Orchard
A U-pick orchard in Ceresco with raspberries, apples, cider, & pumpkins.  Tours and butterfly garden.
Website: http://www.hillside-orchard.com/

Darby Springs Farm - Ceresco
Sells free-range eggs, heritage chicken, milk, butter, and more.

Branched Oak Farm - Raymond
Produces milk for a variety of cheeses (Quark, Camembert, Gouda, Mozzeralla, Cheese Curd, Seasonal selections.
Hours: Store is open 11-6 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays
Website: http://www.branchedoakfarm.com/

Common Good Farm - Raymond
Located: 1702 NW 40th St., north of Raymond
They offer 45 kinds of produce, herbs, & meats.  They offer a CSA program as well as offer their products at an on-site store.
Website: http://www.commongoodfarm.com/

Sunwest Farms
Located: 4851 N. 84th St.
Phone: 402-466-7022
Website: http://www.sunwestfarms.blogspot.com/

Chrisholm Family Farm - Elmwood
Offers products on sale at the farm.
Open daily, 7 a.m - 7 p.m.
Website: http://www.chisholmfamilyfarm.com/

ShadowBrook Farm
Located: 2201 W. Denton Road
Market-style CSA.
Website: http://www.shadowbrk.com/

West Blue Farm - Milford
Offers chicken, lamb, and beef products without antibiotics nor growth hormones.
Website: http://www.westbluefarm.com

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Chicken Stocks Smell Good

The remnants of chicken and an interesting book.
In the last posting here we made a chicken, brined it, roasted it, consumed it, fed it to ours rats or other various pets and then we got yelled at by the wife or husband for leaving carrot shavings in the sink overnight and cooking to much fatty food.  There were also bones, anywhere from 2-3 whole pounds of bones depending on the size of the bird and what I didn't feed to my pet rats I saved to make one of the most basic components of cooking, stock.  Good stock beats the pants off of anything that you can buy at the store.  Not only does it lend a nice aroma to your house during the 4-5 hour process of making it, but it is the foundation of so many dishes from risotto to sauces to soups. Today I'm going to run you through a fairly basic stock with a little help from Michael Ruhlman's Ratio.

As you can see by the title of the book we are going to use a ratio here to make our stock, 3-2.  Simply, it is 3 parts water to 2 parts bone.  I had 2 pounds of chicken bones left, so I used 3 pounds of water (6 cups) to produce it.   The rest of the ingredients were as follows:

Almost done, 1 more hour.
1/2 pound onion (I used 1/4 pd. leeks & 1/4 pd. onions)
1/4 pound celery
1/4 pound carrot
4 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. of black peppercorns (crushed of course, you can also roast them a bit first)
3 sprigs or so of thyme
small bundle of parsley

Once you have your chicken bones and COLD water in the pot bring you temperature up to just below a simmer (180 F) then drop the temp to low, skim the congealed junk (proteins and foam) off the top, and let that baby sit for 4 hours or so.   During the last hour of cooking add the remaining ingredients listed above to finish the stock. Additions will cool the stock so, bring back to a simmer then reduce the heat to low again and give it another 45-60 minutes to steep.
Not just for hair or hippies.

Finally, remove the large pieces of bone and discard, run the stock through a fine mesh strainer or chinoise then repeat the process again through some cheese cloth. For some bizarre reason I can not find cheesecloth in Lincoln, NE so, I just use a bandanna that I stole from my wife, she wasn't happy but it works just fine and I can simply wash it.  Throw the freshly strained stock in the fridge to cool and store.  It will keep for 7 days in the fridge and a month or so in the freezer.  Be careful not to keep around onions or other things that will impart odors on the stock because it will pick them up.

There ya have it, either store in a ziplock bag or nice sealable tupperware and you have yourself roughly 4 cups of chicken stock to use on whatever your heart desires.  My wife used it immediately after I made it for some mad wive's breakfast risotto.  Till next time.


I was going to use you for leek soup, but...