Saturday Morning Market MVPs of 2021

As some of you know, in mid September, I published my first recipe with Nosh Green Bay featuring Booyah-- almost entirely shopped for at Green Bay’s Saturday Morning Farmer’s Market. Our local farmers are among our most treasured resources, especially so in an area like this that lends itself so well to the act of growing our food. Creating meals centered around what they produce has been one of the greatest pleasures of the year, and I intend to keep it up until the end of the season.

However, as the season ends, I would be remiss not to highlight the farmers and artisans that have made this farmer’s market season a delicious one for my husband and I. We’ve done our best to visit every stall at least once this year while still supporting our favs-- so here we go! Ya’ll are in no particular order. I love you all!

Cold Climate Farms

Cold Climate Farms has been one of my first stops for two years now at our Saturday Market. I can always find something there that I want to take home, and often they surprise me with something I had no knowledge about before that visit. They opened the doors for me to the wonders of garlic scapes my first year in Green Bay. They brought locally grown San Marzano tomatoes to Green Bay this year, and I canned tomato sauce made with those tomatoes this year. 

Their quality and variety is hard to beat, and as the temperatures get colder, the fall veggies will be a new experience for me too. Here’s for some yummy meals!​

Cold Climate Farms' stand from 2020

Pensaukee Valley Certified Organic Farm

We didn’t start stopping to see them until well into tomato season when my husband’s coworker was standing by the stand while we were passing through one day. We had a wonderful conversation with the folks at the stand, bought some cute heirloom cherry tomatoes, and left with a smile on our faces. Every week after that, they remembered us, and the older gentleman responsible for growing the tomato varieties always had something funny to say-- until he had something serious to say! These folks were the ones responsible for the addition of ox tails to our booyah recipe over at Nosh. They were so right. They do more than tomatoes. You’ll find something even this late in the year, I promise.

Shiitake Creek's midsummer selection

Shiitake Creek Mushroom Company

Shiitake Creek is a newcomer to the Saturday market. We’ve highlighted them in their own article before, which you can find here. Even this late in the season, I am experiencing new varietals of mushrooms and learning from the guys that rotate at the stand every week. I’m looking forward to starting with them next year right from the start of the year and getting my fill of EVERYTHING they’ve got going on. Thanks for your knowledge, fellas!

Seifarm Organic Grassfed Beef

Right around the corner from our friends at Pensaukee, these lovely folks had our oxtail for the locally sourced booyah we did in September. With prices of meat rising in grocery stores, why not spend a little more getting your meat from people taking good care of their product before and after the death of the animal? Before too much longer, grocery store meat will cost just as much as the meat you can get from your local farmers.

Kickaas Cheese

Also another fella we have highlighted separately, but the fact remains that locally produced cheese will get me to your table every day of the week, Saturday Farmer’s Market or not. Their staff rotates, so there will be weeks you get to meet the actual cheese maker and some that he might not make it. Still, everyone there knows their shit. Tasty, and they’ve got winter market dates on their website if you don’t get a chance to go say hello.

Voyageur Bakehouse

Voyageur is a Big Treat Only kind of stop for me, but I’ll be honest, I’d buy a giant sourdough loaf from these wonderful people every single week if I didn’t put a cash max on myself at every farmer’s market. I’ve lived in several places across the USA with bakeries claiming to do incredible sourdough, but Voyageur is the best of my life. Delaware’s bread bakeries just don’t stack up. We’re fortunate to have a sourdough bakeshop of this quality in Green Bay, and you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t experience it at least once.