Strawberries are in Full Force at Market! | March 16, 2015

Fresh & Local

This will all but certainly be the last week with citrus, but it’s all good because Strawberries are in full force! Heather Robertson of Johndale Farms currently has three varieties of the sweet Ponchatoula Strawberries you see her with at market: Festival, Camino Reál, and San Andreas. According to Heather 140,000 of her 150,000 strawberry plants are of the Festival variety, but if you’re looking to mix it up ask to try a pint of a different variety this week. Feeling ambitious? Try picking up a Strawberry plant start from Jim Mizell at our Tuesday or Saturday markets, get your own little crop going, and get creative with strawberries! We’ve been seeing lots of restaurants around town doing just this with green strawberries lately. Former CCFM staffer, longtime CCFM supporter and Meauxbar Executive Chef extraordinaire Kristen Essig recently Instagram'd a picture of unripe green Louisiana strawberries she was quick pickling with caraway and allspice. Or maybe pick up some Strawberry Mint Syrup from Locally Preserved and whip up some tasty Spring cocktails to celebrate the return of nice weather. No matter what you do, you can’t go wrong when you’re dealing with fresh Louisiana Strawberries!

Pick of the Week:
Cooking Demo and Cookbook Signing with Chef Carolyn Shelton!

We have a special treat at market this Saturday. Chef Carolyn Shelton, cookbook author and expert purveyor of creole cuisine, will be with us for a cookbook signing and cooking demo! She’ll be whipping up her signature Creole “Mess” Greens starting at 9 a.m., so be sure to plan accordingly so you can sample this fine dish. In addition to cooking for us, Chef Carolyn will be signing copies of her popular cultural cookbook, Zydeco, Blues n Gumbo, all market long starting at 8 a.m. In the book, Chef Shelton compiles Southwest Louisiana Creole food recipes from some of our state’s most prolific Zydeco and Blues artists along with short biographies on the artists and their contributions to the music. From Amadie Ardoin’s Couche-Couche to Clifton Chenier’s Zydeco Green Beans recipe, this cookbook is bursting at the seams with Southern Louisiana food and music cultural history. Be sure to come on out this Saturday, sample some greens, get a cookbook signed and enjoy the weekend with us!

Story of the Week:
Kindness pays off, in Shrimp!

We got a call from our very own Shrimp lady, Kay Brandhurst of Four Winds Seafood, after market last Tuesday wondering if we’d found her wallet in the parking lot after market. Staff members went out looking but came up empty handed. When we reported back to Kay that we hadn’t found it, she informed us that a nice tourist couple found her wallet in the French Quarter that morning after she had been there dropping off some shrimp for a restaurant (no she wasn’t doing any pre-market partying). Later Kay told us that when she went to pick up her wallet, she paid the couple for their kindness in 15 lbs. of fresh jumbo shrimp. It sure pays to be kind, especially in South Louisiana.

Tuesday’s Green Plate Special

Staff and shoppers alike are still clamoring over the delicious roasted lamb sandwiches that Carrollton Market was dishing out under the GPS tent last week. We can’t wait to see what lunch specials they come up with tomorrow. Be sure to come on out and have a plate with us!

Recipe of the Week

One of the many perks of living in Southern Louisiana: getting to enjoy the best strawberries in the world! Thank goodness for Ponchatoula. Looking for something new to do with those delicious berries? Try this Stuffed Strawberry Muffins recipe using market berries and jam. Bonus points for using local milk and eggs in the recipe!

UPTOWN
200 Broadway Street near the River
Tuesday March 17 | 9 am - 1 pm

FRENCH QUARTER
1235 N. Peters St. in the French Market
Wednesday March 18 | 2 pm - 6 pm

MID-CITY
3700 Orleans Avenue near the Bayou
Thursday March 19 | 3 pm - 7 pm

DOWNTOWN
700 Magazine Street at Girod Street
Saturday March 21 | 8 am - 12 pm