Push open the door of the new Farmer’s Market Midtown on
Union near Belvedere and John Raney is ready with a handshake.
“Are you a Midtowner?” he asks. “Welcome to your market!”
Greeter, owner, and Midtown enthusiast, Rainey is a retired
commercial broker who believes the neighborhood is ready for a metro
market specializing in local products and personal service.
“We like to say, ‘Farm fresh to you,'” Raney says. “If you want beef
from Neola Farms six days a week, come here. Fresh-frozen shrimp from
Muddy Waters in Louisiana? We’ve got that too.”
Raney is still developing his produce suppliers, but his groceries
include many vendors who sell in the area’s seasonal markets: nuts from
Delta Pecan Orchard, grits from Delta Grind, frozen entrées from
No Time 2 Cook, baked goods from Big Ono and Backermann’s, coffee from
McCarter Coffee, and local honey.
The market also sells gifts such as pottery and handmade soups and
is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Farmer’s Market Midtown, 1632 Union (726-1031)
Van Cheeseman remembers the coldest morning of last winter
like only a farmer can. It was 14 degrees outdoors, and inside his cold
frame, it was only 9 degrees warmer.
“Everything was frozen,” he recalls about his lettuce and arugula.
“But by noon, it had thawed and was fine.”
Thanks to the cold frame’s two layers of plastic, which trap in the
afternoon heat, Cheeseman is able to grow produce during the winter
months at his Flora Bluebird Farms in Holly Springs,
Mississippi. “It’s all experimentation, but we have plenty to keep
selling. We hope to be here all winter,” he says.
Broccoli raab, Asian greens, mustard greens, mesclun mix, sweet
potatoes, spinach, cucumbers, kale, and the last of the summer tomatoes
are some of the vegetables available now and sold Saturdays from 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Cooper-Young Farmers Market in the parking
lot of Tsunami restaurant. Later in the season, bitter greens, Bibb
lettuce, heirloom garlic, beets, and onions will join the lineup.
A handful of other growers join Cheeseman at the Saturday market.
Dodson Farms from Forrest City, Arkansas, and Gracious
Garden, also from Holly Springs, sell vegetables, and Shoaf’s
Loafs sells baked goods. Donnell Century Farm from Jackson
sells all-natural Angus beef on the first, third, and fifth Saturdays
of the month.
Since produce availability will vary each week, Cheeseman suggests
contacting vendors for weekly e-mail updates. Check the Flyer‘s
Hungry Memphis blog for addresses.
Cooper-Young Farmers Market,
928 S. Cooper, Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.,
I seem to be the only food writer in America who missed the Lee
Brothers’ first cookbook on Southern cooking, which garnered all kinds
of attention, including the James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year.
Lucky for me, I grabbed their new book off a co-worker’s desk, and
lucky for you, the chefs are stopping in Memphis as part of their
whirlwind tour through two dozen cities.
Charleston natives Matt Lee and Ted Lee will be at
Davis-Kidd Booksellers Thursday, November 19th, at 6 p.m. to sign
copies of Simple Fresh Southern: Knockout Dishes with Down-Home
Flavor (Clarkson Potter). Thanks to Brontë Bistro, the
event also will include complimentary appetizers from three of the
book’s recipes: green goddess potato salad; collard greens with poblano
chilies; and cocktail eggs with roasted peppers and country ham.
Davis-Kidd events coordinator Christina Meek expects a crowd. “I
just got an e-mail from Matt Lee saying the books are selling out,”
Meek says.
Appreciated for their creative spin on Southern favorites, the Lees
like to update traditional recipes with fresh flavors and seasonal
ingredients. I made the book’s collard greens soup last week, which
calls for red chili flakes and kosher salt to kick up the seasoning and
turnips and cannelloni beans to bulk up the greens. The result? A soup
so good it’s unlikely you’ll have leftovers for freezing.
