Downtown Salem – Page 61 – Salem Main Streets

Playing With Your Food – Week 7

Jul 302014

Cherry and grape tomatoes at Clark Farm’s stand

“Playing With Your Food” is a weekly post highlighting a few of the many great uses for the wide range of produce and artisan food at the Salem Farmers’ Market, a Salem Main Streets project. While we can never predict exactly what our farms will be able to bring each week, we do our best to reflect some of the fun items we’ve found recently and what’s likely to be available for the upcoming week. Hopefully this will give you a few new ideas to play with, and inspire you to try some new things at the market.

It’s so interesting to see how the colors of the market change from week to week. A few weeks ago, we were looking at a sea of pink and green – now the true summer rainbow is starting to emerge. Tomato season is not yet 100% here, but the tide is certainly starting. The corn is here to stay, the blueberries have been out in force, and looking at my garden, eggplant is on its way. This week, we’re playing with a few colorful ingredients that are, oddly enough, all members of the nightshade family – starting with the familiar and moving to the downright unusual.

Potatoes from Heavens Harvest

Cherry Tomatoes

While the full-size tomatoes are still ripening, cherry tomatoes of all shapes and sizes are definitely here. Do you really need me to tell you what to do with them? Chances are you’re so happy popping them in your mouth that they won’t even make it home! That said, here are a few fun ideas:

Sun Gold Tomato Pasta – easiest pasta ever, but only worth making during the summer. Use any small tomatoes you like, don’t worry about holding out for sun golds.
Rosy Chicken – it’s rose season, too (the wine, not the flower – our website doesn’t like the accent)! Put it to work.
Just slice a few up along with some chunks of Wolf Meadow Farm‘s mozzarella and splash with a little red wine vinegar for an instant summer salad – perfect for picnics!

Potatoes

The small, multicolor potatoes that start showing up at the market this time of year help make standard sides a little sassier. Use them for any recipe that calls for small potatoes, but make sure that their colors get a chance to shine!

“Best Pan-Roasted Potatoes”
Spanish Roasted Potato Salad
Slice, toss with garlic cloves, salt, and pepper, and bake at 400 for at least 30 minutes.

Husk cherries…or whatever you call them… still in their wrappers.

Husk Cherries / Ground Cherries / Cape Gooseberries / whatever

Usually when I see something really rare and special at the market, I hold back a little while and make sure that our market customers get first dibs. Sorry, guys; I threw that rule right out the window when I saw that Clark Farm had husk cherries last week. I had to have them. No one seems to agree on what to call them (made more complicated because there are apparently two species that are practically identical), or even what they taste like, but what you can expect is a unique, small bite of sweet, sour, and savory packed together.

Corn, Basil, and Ground Cherry Salad – the flavors in this summer salad are a great way to balance the complex flavors of the husk cherries, as well as highlighting other market goodies like corn, basil, and cucumbers.
Combine them with cherry tomatoes for any summer pasta dish (like the sun gold tomato pasta mentioned above).
Eat them raw on their own – I dare you to have just one.

Do We Know How to Party in Salem?

Salem Festivals No Responses »

Jul 302014

Of course we do — when was the last time you saw a one day festival around here? And the upcoming Heritage Days celebration of “yesterday & today” runs from Aug. 1 to Aug. 10, proving our point. When we want to share the fun and food of our community with friends, neighbors and tourists, we make it last.

“Heritage Days has been a long standing tradition in Salem and this year we have ten days of fun-filled events,” comments Mayor Kimberley Driscoll. “With almost 40 different activities to choose from, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Come join us as we celebrate Salem being such a great place to live, work, and visit.”

In the coming days Salem Main Streets (as well as every other local organization with a mission to promote Salem) will be advising you of the highlights of Heritage Days. For now let’s just point out the “perks” of actually living here (in other words proof of residency gets you the following…):

The Peabody Essex Museum and the Salem Witch Museum are always free to Salem residents.

The Salem Trolley is free to Salem residents through September 30, 2014. Residents can receive a Resident Ticket by providing proof of residency at the Trolley Depot (8 Central Street). Resident Tickets are only available at the Trolley Depot and cannot be purchased on the Trolley itself. The trolley runs daily 10 am – 5 pm.

The Salem Ferry offers 20% discount plus $5 off for Salem residents on their round-trip Salem Ferry ticket.

The Witch House will be free to Salem residents during Heritage Days.

Pioneer Village will be free to residents on Saturday August 2nd.

Forest River Pool—- Red, White and Blue Blowout, Tuesday, August 6th from 6 pm – 8 pm. It’s July 4th in August! Salem residents wear your red, white and blue to the pool and participate in themed games and activities. (the pool is only open to Salem residents).

And that’s not even counting the fun to come, including some of Salem Main Streets’ own interactive ticketed events like Mayor’s Night Out and Ice Scream Bowl! Stay tuned!

Puzzled As To What To Do?

Salem Event No Responses »

Jul 292014

Puzzles to the right, puzzles to the left. It’s a puzzling sight. This Friday through Sunday, Aug. 1-3, the Hawthorne Hotel will be THE meeting place for the 12th annual Puzzle Parley.

What is a Puzzle Parley? Since 1994, the Puzzle Parley has brought together people passionate about jigsaw puzzles. Anyone interested in making, collecting, assembling, displaying, discussing, or buying and selling jigsaw puzzles, whether young or old, new or veteran, is invited to attend and participate. Registration is required, check out their website for full details.

These are the firm, wood-cut puzzles rather than the die-cut cardboard type.

According to the National Museum of Play, around 1760, English mapmaker John Spilsbury pasted one of his maps to a board, cut around the borders, and created the first jigsaw puzzle. The first American puzzles appeared around 1850 and in 1908 Parker Brothers introduced its Pastime puzzles, featuring pieces cut as animals, letters, and geometric shapes.

At the 12^th Parley, there will be a special workshop for beginner puzzle cutters, as well as plans for a tour of the First Church of Salem, with special attention to the Parker family stained glass window and its game symbolism. Plus, a panel “How to sell puzzles in the Internet Age, ” a session on restoration, and a session on puzzle box repair.

Why hold this popular event at the Hawthorne? Bob Armstrong, one of the founders of the Parley explained “We’ve had several locations over the years. But we liked the ambiance of the Hawthorne Hotel. It is not a modern ultra sterile building. It has an old-fashioned decor that goes well with vintage puzzles.”

New this year, though, is a Sunday Puzzle Fair. Armstrong explains “Traditionally our meetings concluded with table sales. But we added Sunday 1-3 pm segment to the Parley, free of charge and open to the general public,” to open up the viewing potential.

See both new and vintage wooden jigsaw puzzles.
Peruse the history of jigsaw puzzle cutting.
Sit down, relax and try your hand at assembling different types of wooden jigsaw puzzles.
Chat with other jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts.

Several puzzle cutters and sellers from all over the country who are attending the Parley will be displaying their works. There will be puzzles for sale and exhibits that show the history and diversity of high-end wooden jigsaw puzzles.

Sounds like a typical, change of pace Salem Ma event.

Playing With Your Food – Week 6

Uncategorized No Responses »

Jul 232014

S’mores experimentation with Sweet Lydia’s marshmallows

Bruschetta with edible flowers from Maitland

I try to be practical at the Farmers’ Market. I look for ingredients that will help me cover the basics, or that I can use in a few different meals, or that are specific to the season. But summer is also a time for parties and get-togethers, and sometimes you need something a little more special to spice things up (or to cover up the fact that it is WAY too hot to spend more than 5 minutes in the kitchen). Thankfully, the market has a lot of options that will cover you for special occasions, or regular days that just need to feel special. Here are a just a few things we’ve been playing with recently:

Edible Flowers

Did you ever notice those beautiful little plastic boxes full of flowers at the Maitland Mountain Farm stand? Did you realize they were full of EDIBLE FLOWERS? Well, they are, and the folks at Maitland can tell you all about the different types. You can sprinkle them on top of pretty much anything – pasta, soup, salad, or bruschetta. Almost too pretty to eat! Almost.

Fancy Cheeses

In addition to the delicious artisan cheeses of Wolf Meadow Farm, everyone’s favorite green grocer Milk and Honey always has an array of interesting cheeses at their market stand. I always love to see what new products they’ve brought! This week, we tried this amazing honey lavender fromage blanc made with unsalted goat’s milk cheese. It was absolutely delicious and surprisingly light, perfect for a summer snack on crackers or toast, or used to substitute ricotta in one of our favorite summer appetizers. Why don’t you sprinkle a few edible flowers on there while you’re at it?

Marshmallows

Seriously, a farmers’ market that has marshmallows? If you’ve ever had a marshmallow from Sweet Lydia’s, you wouldn’t question it. They are absolutely out-of-this-world and they CAN be roasted – though they melt a little faster than store-bought marshmallows, so keep your eye on them. Roasting them under a broiler actually does very nicely, especially if you live in Salem and don’t have access to a fire pit. Our household was split between whether the raspberry or the coconut was better roasted (psst, it was the raspberry).

This is only a small sliver of what’s available – we didn’t even touch on the chocolate bread at When Pigs Fly Bread, or Jodi Bee Bakes’ ridiculously good gluten-free and vegan cupcakes, or the infamous “turducken cookie” at The Cookie Monstah! What are your favorite “special occasion” treats from the Farmers’ Market?

Squiiish…

Contest Looking to Grow New Crop of Window Boxes

Contests No Responses »

Jul 212014

Photo Courtesy of the Hawthorne Hotel

Window boxes are next up to be honored in Salem. Window boxes? Yes, the long narrow box in which flowers and other plants are grown and then placed on an outside windowsill— Salem has been holding an annual Window Box Competition since 1993. And this year is no different as Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, The Salem Beautification Committee and The Salem Garden Club have issued an invitation to residents and businesses to “help beautify our City and show off your gardening talents.”

Wood of course is the traditional material with which to build a window box, but people have used fiberglass, brick, metal, vinyl, and cellular PVC!

The simple container brings life and color to a vintage home, no matter the season. For example, in the summer go with brightly colored flowers and vegetables. But by autumn switch to small pumpkins and gourds. Definitely adds some spice to the look of the home’s exterior.

Registration concludes Wednesday, July 30, 2014. Judging will take place July 31st – August 3rd. Then the Awards Ceremony & Reception will be held during Heritage Days on Thursday, August 7th at 5:30 pm. in the garden of the Brookhouse, which is located at 180 Derby St.

For more information, rules and to register, call 978-619-5676. Or email: etalkowsky@salem.com with the subject: Window Box Registration; include your name, street address and telephone number.

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