July 02, 2005

Mark your calendars: The Chef at the market series continues with Cathal Armstrong from Restaurant Eve on July 9th.

A tour is being offered July 20 - 21, to educate agriculture producers on how to market their products by visiting farm operations, including South Mountain Creamery, that are successfully utilizing a variety of strategies. Also visited will be The Chili Man, Catoctin Mountain Orchard, Gourmat Central, and Flying W Farm.

The $20 per person fee must be paid by July 13th. More information is available from Berran Rogers 804-524-5960, or reply to this message to request a brochure, as a PDF file.

Here’s something you might rather not ponder. This week’s Science News reports from last moth’s meeting of the American Society for Microbiology that researchers found some commercial brand ready-to-eat bag spinach contains a significant number of bacteria, many of which are resistant to several antibiotics. They advise consumers to be sure to wash even “ready to eat” greens. Cooking will also kill bacteria. More testing of other bagged salads and loose produce is planned. The details of the study can be found at: http://www.sciencenews.org./articles/20050625/note16ref.asp

Thank you to the reader who forwarded this link to some great sounding recipes -- http://www.sfgate.com/food/recipes/

Several that read like a shopping list for your next visit to the Farmers Market are the Vegetable Frittata; Cheese Ravioli with Asparagus and Peas; the Sauteed Salmon with Morels & Peas; and the Five-Spice Tofu with Vegetables. And there are many more recipes offered, so check it.