We had a real nice crowd at the market last Saturday. Thanks to everyone for coming out on the last Saturday of February.

With this being the first Saturday of March, it makes me hopeful that spring weather is just around the corner. Please see below for the weekly update.

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The Update....

J.L Kennedy Meat Stand

**please order your pickled corn beef for pick up on sat march 16 th... it is always a sell-out item and of course is limited -as are all these wonderful local products for st patt's day...

**please keep phone call orders and any messages to ring in during our business hours of 9-9 mon-thurs and 9-6 on friday...

The number at the farm is 724-898-2316.

Greenawalt's offerings will be similar to last week with local Amish grown items such as potatoes (sweet, yukon gold and white), onions, turnips, and winter squash. Brian told me he is running low on the many of the local items, so get them while you can. Brian just picked up a very large box of dried beans from Amish country. The varieties include great northern and cranberry beans.

If you have not tried the milled grains from Stanton Milling, please do yourself a favor and give them a try. I tried the buckwheat pancake mix over the weekend and was very pleased with the results. These are locally grown and milled items from Stanton Milling Company in New Stanton, PA. Stanton Milling has been in operation since 1858. They offer:

Kistaco Farm

Apples of course- Kistaco still has a variety of locally grown apples. They are carefully stored at just the right temperature to keep them fresh. Varieties still available are:

-Golden Delicious
-Red Delicious
-Jonagold
-Mutsu
-Empire
-Stayman Winesap

Other local items include:

-Apple Donuts
-PA Maple Syrup
-Honey

- Suzanne's Kitchen Creations (Salsa, Relishes, Applesauce, Pickles)

- Wood Street Bread Co. (6-8 different breads)

And of course Cider- the best in Pittsburgh.

Zang's Greenhouse...Locally grown items this week include, mixed small head lettuce, micro greens, rutabaga, beets, onions, celery root, parsnips, mushrooms, shallots, white and red potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Shipped in items include spinach and swiss chard, eggplants, peppers, asparagus, garlic, onions, green beans, and several varieties of tomatoes. Florida citrus is still going strong with several orange varieties available.

In the flower department- Rick will have hyacinth, tulips and amaryllis. He will also have cut tulips.

Kew Park Coffee Bar- We have a fresh batch of beans that were roasted by Commonplace Coffee Roasters. Also, will have fresh squeezed grapefruit, tangerine, and orange juices. We are on the last box of tangerines so get it while you can.

PA Made Cheese- Hopefully you were able to meet Dale and Martha Liveremore from The Ark Farm in Jefferson County, PA when they visited the market a few weeks ago. The Livermores manage a herd of about 100 grass-fed sheep, and also operate a creamery that makes sheep milk cheese. We liked the Livermores (and their cheese) so much that we will begin selling their cheese starting this week.

When I was in California I met Peggy Smith, one of the founders of Cow Girl Creamery. They are a world class creamery that were pioneers on the artisinal cheese industry in our country. They operate a cheese chop at the Ferry Building market in San Francisco. The cheese is fabulous. Although I am committed focusing on locally made cheeses at PA Made Cheese I do want to occasionally share other cheeses at the market, and with our local cheese makers. I call them "inspiration" cheeses in the hopes that our local cheese makers might start making similar styles. I have made arrangements with Cow Girl Creamery to have some of their fabulous cheese shipped in to the market. It will be here in a few weeks. Learn more about Cow Girl Creamery at: http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com

California Connection- In addition to my visit with Cow Girl, I also had the opportunity to visit the Van Dyke Ranch in Gilroy, California. I get most of my dried fruit from Van Dyke. I was able to meet Peter Van Dyke, the owner of the farm and got a great tour of the entire operation. The farm is in a beautiful location, right next to a mountain. This is kind of a quite time of year at the farm as there are not even blossoms on the trees. Peter explained that this is the time of year when they prune and maintain the trees. Peter keeps the farm organic so there are very specific methods that are used. He explained that the cherry trees are nearing the end of their product life cycle, so he is getting ready to pull them out and plant new trees. It will take about 5 years to complete the process of replacing the trees. It was really great to meet Peter and gain a better understanding of the care that goes into growing and processing his fruit.

I also established a relationship with a new fruit grower- Bella Viva Orchards. They grow some amazing fruit and have developed great expertise in processing and drying fruit. I now have some dried Rainier cherries and dried Pluots for sale at the market. Pluots are a cross between plums and apricots. The dried version is very soft, and sweet but tart.

Finally I visited an olive farm in Gilroy. I met the owner and toured the milling facility and the olive grove. The farmers name is Jeff Martin. He calls his farm Frantoio Grove. He has about 3,000 trees, all of the Frantoio variety. He recently purchased a Pieralisi olive mill. This is a huge investment for a single farmer to make. Its also a big deal because it means that the olives can be processed very quickly after harvest. This produces a very high quality olive oil. It is a very impressive operation and the oil is excellent. I will have it for sale at the market next week.

The Greek Gourmet- will have homemade spinach and meat pies at the market each week- in addition to 20+ flavors of hummus. Stop by and talk to Jack at the booth.

BANDY Woodworks will have children's toys and games, and great items for the home and office using local reclaimed and salvaged wood and non-toxic finishes. Cutting boards and wine racks make a great Valentine's gift for the foodie on your list! Their booth is on the right when you walk in the front door from N. Sheridan, directly across from Greenawalt's. Preview some of the items carried at the market by visiting www.bandywoodworks.etsy.com.

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Visit the market's website for information on the market and all the vendors. You can sign up for a weekly email update.

Also, check out the video about the market produced by Ths folks at East Liberty Development (ELDI). It was directed and produced by local film maker Michael Pisano. So a great big thanks Michael and ELDI's Margaret Graham for producing the video. So please check out the video and share it with others.

The Farmers' Market Cooperative of East Liberty is located at 344 North Sheridan Ave., adjacent to the Home Depot parking lot. The market operates year round- and is open from 5 AM until 12 noon every Saturday of the year.