3 New FRESHFARM Market Locations

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Finding local products and produce just got more convenient for DC-area residents. FRESHFARM Markets is opening three new markets: Crystal City, VA; Bethesda, MD; and at the U.S. Department of Health & Human  Services (HHS) in Southwest DC.

The Crystal City FRESHFARM Market will  open on Tuesday May 18 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, the Bethesda FRESHFARM  Market will open on Saturday, June 19 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and the HHS FRESHFARM Market will open on Wednesday June 2 from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM.  All of the markets will be open weekly through the end of October.

“FRESHFARM Markets is delighted to bring more  farmers and artisan producers to neighborhoods in our greater metro DC  area,” said Bernadine Prince, co-director of FRESHFARM Markets.  “This is a win-win for consumers who want to eat seasonally and locally and for our farmers who bring the freshest farm-raised foods to our producer-only farmers’ markets.”

The new markets will showcase the best seasonal products that local farms in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Pasture-raised meats, eggs, artisan cheeses, yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables, breads  and baked goods, fresh flowers and plants will be available.

Each week the markets will also host chef demonstrations using products from the market. The demos will illustrate the health benefits of eating fresh, locally grown foods and will inform shoppers on how to make simple recipes using seasonal ingredients.

2010 FRESHFARM  MARKETS SCHEDULE

Crystal City FRESHFARM  Market
Dates: Tuesdays,  May 18 – October 26
Time: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Crystal Drive between 18th and 20th  Streets
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD

Foggy Bottom FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Wednesdays,  April 7 – November 24
Time: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Location: I Street, NW between New Hampshire  Avenue and 24th Street, NW
Opening Day Chef at Market: Steve Badt,  Miriam’s Kitchen, 4:00 PM

Health & Human Services FRESHFARM  Market
Dates: Wednesdays, June 2 – October  27
Time: 2:30 PM –  6:30 PM
Location: 200 Independence Avenue, SW
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD

Penn Quarter FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Thursdays,  April 1 – December 23
Time: 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
8th Street, NW between D and E  Streets
Opening  Day Chef at Market: Bryan Moscatello, Zola Wine & Kitchen, 4:00 PM

FRESHFARM  Market, By the White House
Dates: Thursdays, May 6 – November  18
Time: 3:00 PM –  7:00 PM
Location: Vermont Avenue, NW between H and I Streets, NW
Opening Day Chef at Market: Jaleo/Think Food Group GIANT PAELLA, 4:30 PM

H Street  NE FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Saturdays, May 1 – October 30
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00  PM
Location: 625 H Street, NE (parking lot across from H Street Self Storage)
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD

Silver Spring FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Saturdays,  April 3 – December 18
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Ellsworth Drive between Fenton Street and Georgia Avenue
Opening Day Chef at Market: Pedro Matamoros, 8407 Kitchen & Bar, 11:00 AM
The April 3 market will be held in Gateway Plaza at the corner of Colesville and Georgia Avenue due to an event at the regular location.

St. Michaels FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Saturdays,  April 17 – October 9
Time: 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Location: Muskrat Park in the  harbor
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD

Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Sundays,  April 4 – December 26
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: 1500 block of 20th Street, NW between  Massachusetts Avenue and Q Street and in the adjacent PNC Bank parking lot.
Opening Day  Chef at Market: David Varley, Bourbon Steak, 11:00  AM

Annapolis  FRESHFARM Market
Dates: Sundays, May 2 – November 21
Time: 8:30 AM – 12:00  PM
Location: Donner  Parking Lot in downtown Annapolis
Opening Day Chef at Market: TBD

DC Dirt with Chef Rob Weland

Posted on by Sacha Cohen
Photograph courtesy of Michael Harlan Turkell
Photograph courtesy of Michael Harlan Turkell

Poste Brasserie, part of the Kimpton Hotel family, is well-known for its environmentally sound practices and for its equally eco-minded star chef Rob Weland who has been at the helm since 2004.

Chef Weland is committed to using fresh, sustainable, and organic ingredients, some of which come from Poste’s own organic vegetable and herb garden.

In addition to overseeing the kitchen, he hosts the hugely popular market-to-market dinners and helped create the new farm-to-table ‘Poste Roasts.’

These farm-to-table dinners take place outside at the Chef’s table and feature spit-roasted meat sourced from local farmers and summer-inspired sides, all served family-style.

In this inaugural issue of DC Dirt, a new Q&A column with DC’s green movers and shakers, we sat down with Chef Weland who dishes on his favorite local green business, must-have organic staples, and more.

Favorite vegetable that you grow in the Poste Brasserie garden:

Heirloom tomatoes……But that’s considered a fruit….so garlic then!

Your cooking philosophy, in three words:

Simple, local, sustainable

Three ingredients you can’t live without:

Eggs, sea salt, good olive oil

Guilty pleasure:

Eggplant parmesan

Favorite local green business:

FRESHFARM Markets

Biggest eco sin:

Using too many paper towels at home,……according to my wife!

Organic “musts” for the home cook:

Shopping at their local market for eggs, dairy, and produce.

Your foodie heros:

Alice Waters, Larry Forgione, Marco Pierre White and Gray Kunz

Brave Food World

Posted on by Sacha Cohen
Joel Palentin of Polyface Farms courtesy of Food, Inc.
Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms courtesy of Food, Inc.

Eat something organic before you head to see Food, Inc., the provocative new documentary from filmmaker Robert Kenner, featuring authors Michael Pollan (An Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) because you surely won’t want to eat after watching it.

The film serves up a stomach-churning look inside the highly mechanized world of food production, from chickens that never see daylight to cows forced to stand all day in their own feces. Even seemingly innocent soybeans are revealed to be “patented” by chemical giant Monsanto in their effort to control seed production and independent farmers.

Perhaps even more disturbing than the shocking reality of modern food production gone awry is that the agencies (FDA, USDA) that are supposedly there to protect us are in cahoots with the handful of corporations that put profit ahead of our health, the livelihood of the American farmer, and the safety of workers and our own environment.

Interspersed among the food borne illnesses and soul-less, window-less factories are interviews with colorful social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield’s Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms’ Joel Salatin. Says local hero Salatin,“Imagine what it would be if, as a national policy, we said we would be only successful if we had fewer people going to the hospital next year than last year? The idea then would be to have such nutritionally dense, unadulterated food that people who ate it actually felt better, had more energy and weren’t sick as much…  now, see, that’s a noble goal.”

Besides strengthening my resolve to not eat processed food and to support local producers whenever possible, the take-away for me was that we must pay even closer attention to what we are eating and why. Vote with your wallet by choosing locally grown food and organics, eschew mass-produced meats, corn syrup laden snacks and genetically modified produce. We can’t afford not to.

Poste, Wolftrap, Kiehls Celebrate Earth Day

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

The events just keep rolling in for Earth Day. Here are a few that you may want to check out:

Garden Party at Poste

Wednesday evening, get a taste of spring and support FRESHFARM Markets. For a measly $5, you’ll enjoy cheese tastings from Cowgirl Creamery, wine samples from local vineyards, and more. The fun starts at 5 on Poste’s patio.

Kiehl's Argan LotionKiehls and Potomac Riverkeeper Event

Drop by the Kiehl’s store in Georgetown on Wednesday from 6-8 for the unveiling of the uber-skincare line’s limited edition Argan Body Lotion featuring labels designed by Adrien Grenier, Erykah Badu, Kelly Slater, and a team of students from Parsons.
Potomac Riverkeeper will benefit from the proceeds raised from this Limited Edition Series.

Computer and electronics recycling at Wolf Trap

Serious about spring cleaning and recycling? On Saturday April 25th you can drop off obsolete computers, audio and stereo equipment, DVD players, telephones, cell phones, televisions, and more at Wolf Trap’s Center for Education. Find out more here.

Event: Farm to Fork Dinner

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Farm fresh tomatoes are playing a starring role in a special five-course feast at Evening Star Cafe in Del Ray on Wednesday September 10th. The dinner, also hosted by Planet Wine and FRESHFARM Markets, is being prepared by Chef Will Artley and will feature local products from Three Way Farm, Eight Acres Farm, Smith Meadows Farm, and Dragon Creek Aqua Farm. All of the evening’s wines will be sourced from several Virginia wineries.

Farmfresh Market Dinner Menu

Cherry Tomato “BLT”

with Housemade Ricotta, Braised Bacon, Shallot & Parsley Salad

Trio of Tomatoes:

Tomato Salad with Arugula Pesto and Garlic Chips,

Yellow Tomato Gazpacho with Spicy Cucumber Ice,

Shrimp Fritter with Smoked Tomato Aioli

Seared Sea Scallop

with Tomato Carpachio, Wild Mushroom Ragout, Sweet Virgina Corm Sabayon & Basil Essence

Grilled Beef Tenderloin

with Tomato and Blue Cheese Gnocchi & Tomato Caviar and Napoleon of Ratatouille

Sweet Heirloom Tomato Tart

with Basil Ice Cream

The dinner costs $75 and includes wine but not tax or gratuity. For reservations, call Evening Star Cafe at 703-549-5051.