July 3 Market News

Tomorrow's Saturday market will be a bit different, but will still offer the great produce and products you expect.

Because of the Third of July celebration downtown, we will "part the sea" for the pancake feed. Our vendors will be set up on both ends of the block, with the pancake breakfast in the middle. So, you might have to walk a bit more for your goodies. But, on the bright side, we'll have extended hours. We have been asked to be set up by 7 a.m., and will sell until 11 a.m. So, come on down for the pancake breakfast, pick up goodies for your July 4th celebrations, enjoy the games and activities, and make it a day in downtown Clay Center.

What's at tomorrow's market? Red, white, and blue potatoes; cherry and big tomatoes; cucumbers; zucchini; onions; green beans; beets; homemade breads; donuts; buffalo meat; squash; jams and jellies; and much more! We hope you will stop by and make us a part of your Independence Day weekend.

June 5 Market Update

It should be a beautiful morning to come to the Farmers Market, from 8-11 a.m. on the west side of the Courthouse square. We have a lot of veggies making their season debut about now, including potatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers. Others -- the cool season crops -- are nearing the end of their season, meaning this may be the last week to get your fill of fresh lettuce, spinach, asparagus, and radishes.

Did you know the Master Gardeners have something special planned for every Farmers Market? Your guess is as good as mine, as to what they have up their sleeves for tomorrow. Bring the kids down and see what fun activity or yummy treat the Master Gardeners create.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

What You'll Find on May 29

First, to answer the question we keep getting asked: yes, we will have a Farmers Market tomorrow. Why not stop by on your way to the lake or picnic or whatever you have planned and pick up some fresh produce or local products? You could even take a moment or two and visit the Veterans Memorial at the Courthouse Square, just as a reminder of why we celebrate Memorial weekend.

Have you tried the breads and rolls that are sold each week at the market? They are absolutely delicious. How about the flavored vinegar? I picked up some Basil Peppercorn vinegar last week and enjoyed it as a marinade and as a vinagrette this week. The scent alone is worth the trip downtown.

What you will find at the Clay Center Farmers Market this week: baked goods, asparagus, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, onions, radishes, hanging baskets, flavored vinegars, seedlings, broccoli, squash blossoms, the first zucchini and potatoes of the season, and much more!

Weekly Update for August 22: Let the Tailgating Begin!

School has started, the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler ... you know what that means? It's FOOTBALL SEASON! It's also tailgating season! Whether you're headed to the K-State Fan Appreciate Day tomorrow, or anxiously awaiting the start to high school football, it's a great time to stock up for your tailgating menu. Come visit our Clay Center Farmers Market to get great tasting watermelon, buffalo burgers, and all the veggies you need to dress up your favorite tailgating foods.

What else might you find at the Farmers Market this week? Watermelon, Cantaloupe,Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Red, All Blue, and Yukon Gold Potatoes, Onions, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Beets, Peppers, Eggs, Breads, Zucchini, Acorn and Spaghetti Squash, Jams and Jellies, Buffalo Meat, Dried Flowers, Flavored Vinegars, and much, much more!

Bring a friend, and we'll see you there!

Weekly Update for August 15: Start the School Year Right

Ready or not, here it comes! School starts next week for USD 379 Clay County and most surrounding districts. With the start of school comes the big question: what's for snack?! The Farmers Market provides lots of options for healthy, delicious after school snacks. Why not serve up a colorful bowl of watermelon and cantaloupe? Or a plate of zucchini bread? One of our household's favorites is a plate of sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cheese, and ritz crackers with ranch dressing. It's easy, and our girls love them.

What might you find at the Farmers Market this week? Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Red, All Blue, and Yukon Gold Potatoes, Onions, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Beets, Cabbage, Peppers, Eggs, Breads, Zucchini, Squash, Jams and Jellies, Buffalo Meat, Dried Flowers, Flavored Vinegars, and much, much more!

The Sleichter booth will be absent from the market this week, but with so many great vendors, you probably won't even miss us! :) So, head down to the market this Saturday, and bring a friend!

Weekly Update for August 8: National Farmers Market Week

It's official. August 2-8 is National Farmers Market Week, and August is Kansas Farmers Market month. As one blogger said, "In Kansas, we've believe our farmers and markets are so sensational we need an entire month to celebrate."

In honor of the Farmers Market week, we want to sincerely thank the Clay Center community. It has been a great year for the market -- and we're not even to the half-way point yet. It's inspiring and rejuvenating to see the number of vendors and visitors to our farmers market grow each week. All the time, work, and investment in the gardens are worth it, when we see people enjoying themselves Saturday morning at the Courthouse square. The Clay Center Farmers Market has become more than just a means to sell produce and products; it's also an experience that we look forward to each and every week.

The weather has been kind to us lately, and the selection at this week's Clay Center Farmers Market will be plentiful. We expect to have Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Red, All Blue, and Yukon Gold Potatoes, Onions, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Beets, Cabbage, Peppers, Eggs, Breads, Zucchini, Squash & Spaghetti Squash, Jams and Jellies, Buffalo Meat, Dried Flowers, Flavored Vinegars, Smoked Brisket, and much, much more!

We hope to see you there. Bring a friend with you!

Weekly Update for July 24: Free Grilled Samples, Downtown Location

Bring your appetite to this week's market. The Master Gardeners will be grilling up some tasty buffalo meat and assorted vegetables. If you haven't yet tasted buffalo, it will be worth your time to come downtown and see what you've been missing. And yes, we will be downtown again this weekend, even though it is fair week.

As an added bonus, our wonderful Master Gardeners also just finished production on a great recipe book. Now, you can not only get the ingredients to make delicious meals, but you can also find out how to make them.

What else you may find at the Farmers Market this week: Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Red, All Blue, and Yukon Gold Potatoes, Onions, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Beets, Cabbage, Peppers, Eggs, Breads, Zucchini, Squash, Jams and Jellies, Buffalo Meat, Dried Flowers, Flavored Vinegars, Smoked Brisket, and much, much more!

We hope to see you there. Bring a friend with you!

Weekly Update for July 24: Free Grilled Samples, Downtown Location

Bring your appetite to this week's market. The Master Gardeners will be grilling up some tasty buffalo meat and assorted vegetables. If you haven't yet tasted buffalo, it will be worth your time to come downtown and see what you've been missing. And yes, we will be downtown again this weekend, even though it is fair week.

As an added bonus, our wonderful Master Gardeners also just finished production on a great recipe book. Now, you can not only get the ingredients to make delicious meals, but you can also find out how to make them.

What else you may find at the Farmers Market this week: Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Red, All Blue, and Yukon Gold Potatoes, Onions, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Beets, Cabbage, Peppers, Eggs, Breads, Zucchini, Squash, Jams and Jellies, Buffalo Meat, Dried Flowers, Flavored Vinegars, Smoked Brisket, and much, much more!

We hope to see you there. Bring a friend with you!

Weekly Update for July 18: Sidewalk Sales, Squash and Stuff!

This Saturday, a trip to downtown Clay Center is even more enticing. Not only can you pick up the fresh, home-grown produce and meats and homemade products you've come to expect at the Farmers Market, plus swing through Tasty Pastry for your morning coffee and roll, but you also can enjoy the sidewalk sales. Most of the downtown businesses have some great deals right now, on all sorts of items. Whether you're picking up ingredients for a delicious supper, the tools to grow your own, or the utensils to cook it in, downtown Clay Center is the place to be this Saturday morning.

What you may find at the Farmers Market this week: Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Red, All Blue, and Yukon Gold Potatoes, Onions, Cucumbers, Beets, Cabbage, Peppers, Eggs, Breads, Zucchini, Squash, Jams and Jellies, Buffalo Meat, Dried Flowers, Flavored Vinegars, Smoked Brisket, and much, much more!

We hope to see you there. Bring a friend with you!

July 4th Farmers Market and Patriotic Potato Salad

I hope everyone starts off the Fourth of July with a trip down to the Farmers Market. We will have the following, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Red, White and Blue Potatoes, Cucumbers, Onions, Beets, Yellow, Light Green and Dark Green Zucchini, Round Zucchini, Crookneck Squash, Pattypan Squash, Papaya and Lemon Squash, Buffalo Meat, Eggs, Peppers, Fruit and Pepper Jams and Jellies, Breads and other baked goods and MUCH, MUCH more!

We hope to see you there!


Patriotic Potato Salad
Serves 4-6
Print recipe only here.

2 pounds total of russet, purple, and red-skinned potatoes
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar**
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons each fresh basil and parsley, thinly sliced
6-7 cranks of freshly ground black pepper
a generous sprinkling of salt, to taste

Scrub the potatoes well, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Add to a medium size pan of water (with a couple of splashes of white vinegar, if desired). Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until potatoes are tender yet still firm to the touch, about 8-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, water, herbs, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and set aside.

Drain potatoes, and place in a large bowl. Add diced celery, and pour vinaigrette over the potatoes. Gently stir to avoid breaking the potatoes. Serve at room temperature or chilled. (Potato salad tastes better after it sits at least a few hours.)


Pictures and Recipes from: http://foodblogga.blogspot.com

Farmers Market weekly update for June 27

Things are really heating up outside and also at the Farmers Market. We will start seeing the first tomatoes at the market this week. Did you know that tomato pigments, lycopene and carotene, are not produced above 85 degrees. Tomatoes will ripen, they will just not be as red. They will be more pink. When it is super hot outside, pick them when they are about half red and allow them to ripen to a full red inside. They will look and taste wonderful.

What you may find at the Farmers Market this week. Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Red, All Blue, and Yukon Gold Potatoes, Onions, Cucumbers, Peas, Beets, Cabbage, Peppers Eggs, Breads, Zucchini, Squash, Jams and Jellies, Buffalo Meat, Cherries, and much, much more!

We hope to see you there. Bring a friend with you! Next week we will have tomatoes for all those July 4th cookouts!

Father's Day Weekend Farmers Market Update for June 20th

I hope everyone has found a place to cool off with the added heat this week. The Farmers Market is starting to really take off. We are seeing more and more produce coming each Saturday. Bring Dad down to the market and pick up some vegetables to put on the grill.

What you can expect to see this week. Green Peppers, Peas, Snow Peas, Yukon Gold and Red Potatoes, Green Onions, Beets, Radishes, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Tomatoes (limited number), Jams and Jellies, Buffalo Meat, Breads and much more.


Thanks and have a great weekend!

Six weeks along and were still going strong!

It is hard for me to believe that the Clay Center Farmers Market has been going for six weeks. We are starting to see more and more produce. If we could only get the sun to come out and shine, we would be doing much better!

What we can expect to see this week at the market: Baby Beets, Peas, Radishes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Green Onions, Potatoes, Green Peppers, Zucchini, and Jams and Jellies.

If you can't make it tell a friend, if you can make it bring a friend. We hope to see you on Saturday morning between 8-11.

Week Five and the Gardens are Alive!

With the recent rains in the area many producers are spending more time weeding and harvesting than watering. What you can expect to see at the market this week, potatoes, onions, radishes, broccoli, lettuce, squash, squash blossoms, eggs, jams and jellies, and rhubarb. We may see the following snow peas and strawberries. I was in Concordia last night and one of the vendors had lots of fresh strawberries. She has more but wasn't sure if she had the time to pick them and come down on Saturday. She was going to call me if she was going to make it. I hope she does.

If you haven't yet been the Farmers' Market, check out what you're missing:


Hope to see you on Saturday. Spread the word about our market and watch it grow! THANKS!