Update for Saturday, October 1st, The market is open for business this Saturday. I spoke with several of the farmers and expect a wide variety of items available this Saturday. In the apple department, we are in prime time. I spoke to Tim Hileman from Kistaco Farm. They will have McIntosh, Jonathan, Empire, Red Delicious, Jonathan Honeycrisp, Gala and Cortlands. And if you have not tried Kistaco Farm cider yet this season, you owe it to yourself to pick up a gallon or half gallon. It has excellent balance between sweet and tart flavor. Prices on apples are excellent, especially when you buy in quantity. Kistaco will also have a variety of vegetables including Bell Peppers, Hot Peppers, Eggplants and Tomatoes. I spoke with Rick Zang from Zang's Greenhouse. Rick will have a wide variety of local vegetables, including potatoes, beets, beans, greens, leeks, onions and shallots. Rick always has a selection of Pennsylvania mushrooms. Concord grapes from Erie County will be available. Fruits and vegetables are also be available at the Kennedy and Greenawalt stands. SAVE THE QUINCE! And this brings me to the topic of Quince. Quince is an unusual fruit. Years ago, backyard quince trees were common. People would cultivate them to harvest the fruit for cooking in pies or preserves. Inedible in raw form, and looking like a cross between a pear and a golden apple, quince cooks up sweet, with a vibrant rose color and a floral aroma and flavor. Unfortunately, many people do not realize how delicious quince products are. I was speaking to the farmers a few weeks ago trying to see if someone can get me some. Brian Greenawalt told me that he know a few Amish farmers that have quince trees on their property. But he said that the farmers have begun cutting them down because they did not know what to do with the fruit. I asked him to tell the farmers NOT to cut down the trees, and instead send some of the fruit to the market. Half jokingly, I asked Brian to get a bushel for me. Sure enough, last Saturday when I saw him at the market, he told me he had my bushel of quince. So I had to get busy figuring out what to do with it. I found some very simple recipes to make either quince paste or quince jam. The quince paste is great to serve with certain kinds of cheese, particularly goat and sheep milk cheeses. I tried it with some of the Riverview Dairy goat cheeses that are available at the PA Made Cheese stand. I found they work really well together. So please check out these really easy recipes below. Stop by the Greenawalt stand to pick up some quince. Please, help save the quince! Quince Paste Recipe http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/membrillo_quince_paste/ Quince Jam Recipe http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quince_jam/ Other quince recipes are available if you click here: quince Check out the whole baked quince. ************************************************************************************************* Please visit the market on Saturday! David Lagnese ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Please visit the market's website for information on the market and all the vendors. You can sign up for a weekly email update. http://www.farmersmarketcooperativeofeastliberty.com/ ************************************************************************************************* 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. ************************************************************************************************ Farmers' Market Coop of East Liberty is responsible for the content of this email. David Lagnese, 344 North Sheridan Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206