South Royalton Market

Look at sustainability from individual, community, and global perspectives. Join neighbors and friends in a small discussion group (8-12 participants). Course booklet (for purchase @$15 or borrow a loaner copy) provides basis for discussion. Plan on 1 hour of reading outside of class. Meaningful discussion based on personal experience and critical thinking. Seven weekly sessions, 5:30-7:00 pm on Wednesdays starting on February 15. Meeting place: South Royalton Public School library. For more information or to register, contact Elizabeth at the Market: 763-2400 or soromarket@gmail.com.

If you still have incandescent bulbs in any of your light fixtures at home or at work, you may seriously want to consider swapping them out for environmentally and economically friendly CFL bulbs.

The Market has three types for sale at 99 cents/bulb: a small globe (good for bathroom mirrors) to replace 40 watt bulbs, and spiral and a covered spiral (good for general lighting) to replace 60 watt bulbs.

Here’s how the numbers play out in round numbers:

• retail price is 99 cents
• estimated annual operating cost varies from $1.10 to $1.70
• estimated annual savings range from $27 to $62
• estimated life expectancy of the bulb is 7 to 11 years.

The spiral bulb offers the greatest savings. Your energy bill next year for that bulb could be $1.60 as opposed to $63.00 to pay for the same amount of illumination using an incandescent bulb.  In other words, the price of 1 year of incandescent lighting=40 years of CLF lighting. Amazing!

CFLs can and should be recycled. Some of their materials can be reused and it is important to capture the small amount of mercury that they contain.  Fluorescent lights are accepted locally at the Bethel Transfer Station for the nominal fee of 25 censt per bulb or  25 cents per foot (tubular).

This is easy, delicious, complex in flavor, and is great change from all of those holiday sweets. Use a combination of fresh and dried fruits; it’s all very flexible. Serve warm–as a dessert with a dollop of creme fraiche, or as a condiment for main course meats.

Note: cook at 250 degrees for several hours–I recommend 5 hours.

Ingredients:
Fruits:
4 medium to large fresh apples, cored and chopped (it’s fine to leave the peel on) OR 1 1/2 cups of applesauce
2 cups total of dried fruit in small pieces, such as figs, prunes, raisins, dried cranberries, and anything else that catches your fancy (note: scissors make quick work of this)
1 lemon–juice and peel (grated or chopped fine)

optional: fresh, canned, or dried pineapple, chopped

Spices:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Liquid:
3/4 cup of water or fruit juice (cider, orange, pineapple–whatever you have)

Method:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Combine fruit and spices in  a 9×13″ glass pan. Add enough liquid  so that its 1/4″ to 1/2″ deep on the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until everything is hot, then cover with aluminum foil to keep the fruit from drying out.
Stir every hour or so until done.

The long baking time softens the fruit and gives the flavors time to mingle. Bland after 1 hour, this is delicious after 3, 4, or 5 hours.

There’s a community effort underway to thank the multitude of people who helped with the post-Irene clean-up. The Town of Royalton has written a letter to thank six organizations as a way to express their appreciation to the many volunteers who gave time, effort, and heart to their neighbors.

You are invited to sign these letters. They are posted on the Market windows near the check-out. Come inside to add your signature–and help pass the word!

With many thanks for your help — The Market

Very popular when we sampled it out on Member Appreciation Day in October!

Ingredients:
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 cup mild-flavored vegetable oil
1 cup apple cider
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon powder
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow 10 minutes for the oven to come to temperature.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, and cider.  Sift together the dry ingredients (flower, baking powder, cinnamon) and add to pumpkin mixture; stir lightly. Add raisins and nuts, mixing thoroughly.

Grease two bread pans; pour half of the batter into each. Place on middle rack in oven and bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted in the middle, comes out clean. Place pans on a rack to cool to room temperature.

May be iced, if you like, with cream cheese topping: blend maple syrup, to taste, with a package of softened cream cheese. Spread on cooled bread before slicing, or let eaters spread their own from a bowl.

Recipe adapted from a posting by Bill Kelly on the Food Network website.

Royalton Roots is a community organization that supports the South Royalton Farm-to-School program. Their third (!) annual supper, silent auction, and educational program takes place on Friday, October 21. Details below. Reservations recommended; we’ve sold out in the past! Tickets on sale at the Market.

Super  ::  Silent Auction  ::  Program

   Two Seatings of Supper: 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm

   Free program: 6:00 PM “Bringing Vermont’s Farm to Plate Initiative Home: A Local Vision of the Next Ten Years*”

   Cost: $10 ($5 ages 12 and under) suggested donation

   Location: Royalton School, 223 South Windsor Street, South Royalton

Supper is co-sponsored by Royalton Roots, South Royalton School and BALE (Building A Local Economy). Program in collaboration with First Branch Sustainability Network, Local Resource Network, and Pompanoosuc Agricultural Society.

Questions? E-mail: sorodinner@gmail.com or 802-498-8438

*with Erica Campbell, Program Director of Vermont’s Farm to Plate Initiative

Need a new t-shirt, or looking for a way to donate to local relief efforts? Read on.

In the early post-Hurricane Irene days, no traffic could get in or out of part of Royalton due to bridge washouts. A local resident created a connection to the rest of the world by cutting access to Interstate 89. The New York Times dubbed it “the hillbilly highway.”

Supporters of Revive Royalton recovery efforts have designed a t-shirt that features “Royalton exit 2 1/2.”

These t-shirts are for sale at the Market. The full price of $20 goes directly to Revive Royalton. (The Market is selling them at cost, forgoing any mark-up of our own.)

Look for them near the register, next to the display of our own 10th anniversary t-shirts.

Despite receiving considerable damage to their own farm in Royalton, Rachel and Jim Bigelow brought extra vegetables to the Market’s “Got Extra?” collection on Tuesday, September 6.

Rachel and Jim have been steady supporters of the “Got Extra?” program this summer, donating tens of pounds of fresh, locally grown garden vegetables. The Market, in turn, has delivered them to local food pantries for further distribution.

Thank you, Rachel and Jim, for your generous hearts and hands.

A note to anyone looking for sweet corn in quantity (to freeze, for example): Bigelow Farm’s sweet corn survived the flood and is ready to go. They have it in quantity. Sale of the sweet corn will help to offset their loss of field corn (winter feed for their dairy cattle).

Got Extra? is a community outreach program that delivers fresh, local produce to the local senior center and food pantries.

Our August collection brought in 135 pounds of summer squash, cabbage, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, wax beans and more. We thank the following farms, home gardeners and community gardeners for sharing their ‘extras’

• Chap Farm, Royalton
• Bigelow Farm, Royalton
• Wendy Judge
• Leslie Mann Polinowski
• Karen Thorkilsen.

The Market and the recipients are grateful for your generosity.

The zucchini, summer squash, and cucumbers love this hot weather. Before you get tired of eating them fresh, think about pickling them. Pickles can be made in the freezer or canned in a steam-bath.

You’ll find a special display of canning jars, caps, and vinegars near the registers. Deb, our bulk buyer, has received a good supply of spices, including pickling spice mix; red pepper flakes; and the mustard, celery, and dill seed.

Basic information on canning and freezing can be found at university extension education websites. Look for some recipe suggestions on the wooden table by the window in the Market’s Produce section.

If you have questions, feel free to e-mail Elizabeth Ferry, the Market’s Education & Community Outreach Coordinator, or catch her when she’s at the Market on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Here’s to summer!