This early in the season in Northeast Wisconsin sometimes sees a smaller number of choices with the cold often holding off growing season up here longer than most other parts of the country, but it’s been warm this year. I fully expected to see items in the stalls that I wouldn’t normally see in Green Bay until later in June. For that reason, I decided to spend most of my time during this market with my old favorites.
This was unfortunately the kind of Saturday morning where I needed to walk right past Cold Climate Farms. They always have a line forming first thing in the morning, and even after some time browsing other stalls, they still had a significant line waiting to purchase with them. This is an opportunity for me to put my attention elsewhere, and it's an opportunity I can’t let pass. I found many similarities in the available produce this time of year compared to last year– the choices are much more limited this soon than they will be in even two weeks. There was, however, an abundance of early season alliums to sample. Green garlic has already come, and I wonder if we’ve missed our window for garlic scapes. I’ll find out in a few short weeks, as I often don’t see scapes for sale until later in June. Even if that window has passed, I did manage to get my hands on a bundle of chive blossoms– a treat I have never tried before. Green onion with a strong, purple bulb. Green Garlic. Chive blossoms– these were the mixed wares I left with from Adam’s Heirlooms and Full Circle Community Farm. Asparagus was available at almost every grower’s stall, and I suspect that will remain the same next week. Next weekend will be asparagus weekend for me, as I entered this week with two very specific goals: I needed Irish bacon, and I needed ramps. Ramps were unfortunately not with any of the vendors on site that I’ve seen in the past. This could be another growing season issue. It’s been so warm this year that my expectations will surely be tested every week. At least I got my Irish bacon and my wide selection of alliums to enjoy with a sliced loaf of Breadsmith Sourdough. This year, we are embarking on a true Market Meals Segment where the main ingredients of a dish must come from our local Farmers’ Markets here in Green Bay. As this week’s meals are finished, this article will be updated with links to the recipes I created. I love ours Farmers’ Markets in Green Bay, and if I can convince even one reader to visit based on a meal I cook, then I consider it an honor to send them to our local farmers.
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 The Farmer’s Market Season kicked off last week, and I made sure I found my way downtown for the Saturday Morning Market first and foremost. The evening markets across Green Bay offer a variety of vendors and new experiences. However, I have a soft place in my heart for the Saturday Morning Market after years of attendance. It’s my priority each week once the weather turns. I have many vendors that I make a point to visit, but I know that I’ve missed out on good stuff in years past. Turns out, even after nearly four years, I still haven’t discovered all of the gems. Near the Walnut Street Entrance sits the Behnke Farms van, and it’s a van I have both stopped at and walked past a thousand times. This is my fourth year attending the market, and for that reason it sometimes feels hard to find something new to highlight for you, dear readers. Behnke Farm recently caught my attention again over the winter when they started carrying and advertising their picahna at the Winter Market on Military.
The number of heirloom variety growers at the Saturday Morning Farmer’s Market has grown in the last few years, but one of those I have always kept my eye on is Adam’s Heirlooms, who frequently had vegetable varieties on the table that I never saw before that day. One weekend, I happened to stop by and see two words that excite an avid cook: Berkshire Pork. Berkshire hogs originally hail from England, and in many cooking circles, they are considered some of the best available to a modern cook. They may not be Iberico pigs, but this variety of hog is talked about nearly as often as their Spanish, acorn eating relatives. I had to stop. I had to buy, and I learned a lot from the folks at the stand.
While most of my energy was focused on the animal husbandry portion of their offerings, the varieties of peppers and other vegetables on the other end of their stand remained peculiar and unusual compared to the other vendors at the market that morning. I will be back to investigate those further during the final farmer’s market as hot sauce preparations begin several weeks late in the Eating Normal House. Of note, you can access their website to pre-order what interests you most and pick it up at the Market this weekend. They have home delivery in the Manitowoc area if that is more your speed. I can only wish for a home delivery in Green Bay in the fast approaching off season.
Their previous business model focused entirely on the boards wasn’t as inviting for me as a person who doesn’t do much hosting at home. Access to a big cheese case, however, is very inviting. Cheese and crackers are a common snack in the Eating Normal House, and we left this visit with a brand new cheese in our lives after enjoying the cheese tasting during the event. Souper Day and Bountiful Boards have also taken on joint ventures in catering. If you’re looking to supply a tasty, locally produced lunch to an office or an event, stop in to the Revolution Market to investigate your options. Many of the potential items were available for sampling and viewing during the Grand Opening event– including a lunch box which would fill that office lunch void perfectly. We took home one of their cold sandwiches for lunch the next day and enjoyed the Souper Day crafted sandwich with Bountiful Boards cheese to its fullest.
These new expansions provide all businesses involved with a great opportunity, and we as a community would be foolish to ignore the opportunity that it also presents us. Eating well and eating local in the age of inflation takes some of the pain out of the wallet by putting the money into the hands of people you know, and the people here will know you. They make it their responsibility.
Here’s to a new era at the Revolution Market.
Green Bay’s Saturday morning market has been my favorite event of the year since my first visit. This new, relaxed season with fewer COVID guidelines has opened it up in a whole new way, and over the course of this new season, I’ve become very familiar with a Green Bay Cheesemaker-- Kickass Cheese-- who is our highlighted vendor this week. There’s not much time left in the season, so they absolutely deserve the recognition while shoppers still have a chance to visit. We stop by their stall every week when we visit the farmer’s market looking for something new to try. Brie, cheddars, curds, jack cheeses, swiss, parmesan… They’ve got something for everyone, and their flavors regularly rotate. If you want to get an idea of what they have to offer before you make a visit to them at the market, you can visit their website to see pictures and descriptions of every variety that they produce on the reg.  Morning comes, and the grocery order of the day before is safely stored in my refrigerator. The sheer amount of produce and meat that came from local sources is somewhat hard to believe even after a delicious spring and summer farmer’s market season with other vendors in Green Bay. Produce with Purpose Farm has a strong variety available for the time of year, and access to humanely raised and butchered meats propelled them up the list of my favorite places to shop in the last month. It only made sense that I would eventually set up a farm box pick up, and here we are using it as a challenge opportunity. Hi folks, long time no write. It’s been a hell of a few months. My health is still not quite where I want to be, but I’m very excited about a challenge I issued for myself starting Thursday, April 15th with a big farm box from Produce with Purpose over at Revolution Market in Green Bay. I’ve debated for a long time if I should start picking up with them weekly after several pleasant in person visits and their new delivery service through Eat Street, and I woke up on a Sunday morning with a fresh idea: let’s cook and eat local only for one whole week starting with them.
And trust me, I know I’ve been screaming on the rooftops about how much I love this place. It might even be getting annoying. I really believe in what they’re doing over there in trying to make these kinds of goods accessible throughout the year. Home delivery, farm boxes, daily vendor hours. It’s dedication, and I’m dedicated to it. It’s a mission I believe in, and to try to live it a little bit more myself, here’s what I’m doing. My husband and I try to stick to a $100.00 grocery budget a week, which I will surpass slightly buying local meat for our meals. I’m okay with a little extra money out the door to eat local. We’ve got a few weeks in our area before the farmer’s markets start opening and more and more vendors start selling. If this little challenge works out, we will continue to spend nearly every cent of our grocery budget on our local growers and producers. Here are my rules:
If this sounds like something you want to try yourself, Produce with Purpose is open for box building until 7 am on Tuesday each week to give them time to gather up what you order. Green Bay and Fox Valley locals have got some time to figure out what they want if you want to do this with me. Visit their Barn2Door ordering website here if you’re interested. Below is a list of what I personally ordered for the coming week, and if I come out of a recipe particularly proud, I’ll post it for you to try!
Sunday, March 7th, my husband and I went out on a whim to a little building on Holmgren Way that I've watched from a distance for the better part of a year now. Crippled by closures this time last year, Revolution Market got off to a slow start while they prepared to welcome vendors into their space. Those restrictions are gone. Vendors are in their stalls, and Sundays are for Produce with Purpose as one of the only vendors on site during the weekend. We didn't know what to expect when we arrived. Google Maps told us the whole building was closed, but Facebook told us better. Signs outside let us know that someone was indeed on site and selling. That someone was Rick from Produce with Purpose, holding down the fort at his indoor farmer's market with product availability across the board. I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I was when Farmer’s Market season came back around. I’ve been waiting for it as the weather got nicer out of my office window. I’ve been waiting for it since I moved to Green Bay. I had the expectation that the Farmer’s Markets would be miles above any that I went to in the smaller towns that I’ve lived in up until this point, and I was right to hold those expectations. The Saturday Morning Market that’s held on Washington street downtown is apparently smaller than the Wednesday market, but we’ll get to that one soon.
What matters is that this Saturday Market was the perfect way for me to get my feet wet in the local scene of growers, cheese producers, and meat purveyors. With around ninety vendors in attendance, I can say with relative certainty that I probably won’t have to use a big box grocery store for my shopping unless I need canned goods, sodas, or the like to renew our stockpile. I can support the local community for all of my regular cooking needs. |
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