It's not often that bok choy grown in the Connecticut River Valley, now covered in snow, is available in February. And chocolate-covered goat cheese truffles are as rare as tomatoes.
Last Saturday, a seemingly impromptu event took place in a space made small by a throng of people in winter clothes. Among the group was a man dressed in a bright yellow duster lined with white fur. He wore a hat and dark glasses. The rest of the crowd made room for him, his woman and his kid, while the three of them strode through packed aisles of fresh vegetables, meats and exotic cheeses, all from Western Mass.
Winter Fare, a winter farmers' market, was started up last year by a small group led by Juanita Nelson, a local food activist, tax resister and off-the-grid pioneer, among other things. She and others never expected a turnout of over 700 people at the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield. Their goal? Fresh greens in winter. So Juanita and her crew planned ahead this year and alerted vendors in advance. This year at the High School in Greenfield, over 1,000 people turned out eat soup and buy meat, cheese, maple syrup and honey.
The guy in the coat stood out because in Western Mass., in winter, people's clothing is typically confined to ski jackets and barn coats. They like it that way and when fur comes to town, whether it is in the form of a coat lining or apr?s ski boots, the appearance is noted, like a pack of deer in the yard. "Lots of them this year," one person says of the deer. The friend responds, "Yeah, long winter, no food."
At Winter Fare at the high school in Greenfield there was plenty of food. There was slurping at the soup bar where local ingredients mixed with local talent could be detected. Another topic, not so duly noted, is the economy. The guy in the yellow coat came from New York to visit friends. He just got laid off from his job at the Museum of Natural History. "I figured I'd check this place out," he said. "Why not? I could stay in New York and look for a job, but there aren't any."
The wall of greens at the Red Fire Farm table was almost empty at 2 p.m. The farm brought in more money than any other day at a farmers' market, according to Sarah Ingraham, who was working the stand. The 75-acre farm sells produce in farmers' markets locally and in Boston.
"Direct sale is always best," said Ingraham. "The current climate for local food is pretty amazing. For us, it's like 'Yes! Things are coming around!' It's only getting reinforced by the national food scares. People are interested in the source of their food."
Maybe the beauty of this event is that it took place with no marketing, no survey, no polls, and only a small insurance policy in case somebody fell down and hurt themselves. At this market the sellers name the price. That's not true at Wal-Mart, where they don't have a soup bar, or a big guy wandering around in a yellow coat buying dino kale and wondering if he should settle down in these parts.
Kale is a thing of beauty. The "dino" variety of kale, named for its dinosaur hide-like texture, is pretty available around here in winter because it is a storage crop. It is known to be one of the few plants that can grow right up through the snow. One really good way to prepare it is to slice the thing to ribbons and flash-fry it in olive oil, which will create a crackling, cackling in the pan. My version features a fried egg on top, which achieves the perfect balance of backyard and barnyard.
Dino Kale Sunnyside Up
Ingredients
1 bunch dino kale
1 farm-fresh egg (hormone-free feed)
Instructions
Break the leaves away from the core and rinse to remove any dirt or sand.
Roll into a cigar shape and slice thinly in a manner that is also known as chiffonade.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. (Locavore option is butter.)
When oil or butter begins to smoke, drop in the kale ribbons.
Stir with wooden spoon until crisp.
Displace ribbons of kale with an egg.
Fry until the yoke is fairly cooked and remove from pan.
Place egg in the center of the little pile of dino kale.
