This is your last weekend before Christmas!

If you are still trying to figure out what to get those special people on your Christmas list, then stop by the Camellia City Market this Saturday. Not only will we have great deals on some very great books, but this is also the last weekend of our 1st Arts and Crafts Bazaar at the Market. Our vendors have something for just about everyone on your list. And the best thing is that each item is as unique as everyone on your list!

The Camellia City Market is located in Olde Towne Slidell on Erlanger St. between the Post Office and Griffith Park. Our hours are 8am-1pm. Come early and get your Christmas shopping finished. Remember: Support our locals!

Do your Christmas shopping at the Camellia City Market

Do you have a gardener or foodie on your shopping list that you don't know what to get for Christmas? How about one of these great books, available at the Camellia City Market:

Cooking up a Storm, signed by Judy Walker - $25.00

LSU Ag Center's Louisiana Home Vegetable Gardening - $20.00


Field Guide to Produce - $15.00

If you would like to buy more than one book, we have some special deals.

Louisiana Home Vegetable Gardening and Field Guide to Produce - $30.00

Cooking Up a Storm and Field Guide to Produce - $35.00
Cooking Up a Storm and Louisiana Home Vegetable Gardening - $40.00
All three books - $50.00

And, don't forget about our 1st Christmas Arts and Crafts Bazaar at the Market. Despite the cold weather, last weekend's "Arts and Crafts at the Market" is still going strong. If you haven't been out to visit all of the great offerings, come out this weekend from 8am - 1pm. Avoid the shopping craziness of the mall and shop our 30 local artists and crafters selling their unique and meaningful handmade items. Christmas is right around the corner and we have something for everyone on your list!

This Saturday: Times-Picayune's Own Judy Walker Back at Market

By popular demand, Judy Walker from the Times-Picayune is back at the Camellia City Market to sign her much sought after cookbook, Cooking Up A Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from the Times-Picayune of New Orleans. Ms. Walker will be signing books from 10am - 12pm. These cookbooks make excellent Christmas gifts.

Don't Miss the Market This Saturday!

We are excited to announce our 1st Christmas Arts & Crafts Bazaar starts this Saturday, November 28 and will run through December 19 from 8:00am until 1:00pm. We will be featuring local Northshore artists and craft persons. 30 local artisans and crafters will have many wonderful handmade treasures to help with your Christmas shopping.

Support locals ... SHOP LOCAL

Saturdays, Nov 28 - Dec. 19
Olde Towne Slidell
333 Erlanger St.

Slidell, Louisiana 70459

8:00AM-1:00PM

Order a Smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving

Come to the Farmers Market on Saturday and order a smoked Thanksgiving turkey from our very own Master of the Smoker Gary Wilson. Rain or shine, Gary will be at the market taking turkey orders.
Support locals by shopping local. Let the Camellia City Market help make this Thanksgiving a delicious event. Your family and friends will love it!

Judy Walker - Back by Popular Demand

MARK YOUR CALENDAR -
December 5
Judy Walker from the Times-Picayune will be back at the Camellia City Market to sign her much sought after cookbook, Cooking Up A Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from the Times-Picayune of New Orleans. These make great Christmas gifts.

Announcing Arts & Crafts at the Market

We are excited to announce our 1st Arts & Crafts at the Market, which will take place November 28 - December 21 from 8:00am until 1:00pm. We will be featuring local Northshore artists and craft persons. To be considered as a vendor, please send your information (name, product information, contact information and pictures of product) to ccmdirector@yahoo.com no later than November 24. We are looking to give 30 local vendors the opportunity to participate in this first time event. Booths will be $30.00 for a 10 ft. space. Space is filling quickly.

Announcing our 1st Annual Camellia City Market Christmas Arts & Crafts Fair

Hello, this is Danny and I am announcing our first ever arts and crafts at the Camellia City Market. This will start Sat Nov. 28th for four Saturdays through Dec. 19th. We will be featuring local Northshore Artists and Craftpersons. To be considered please send info to www.ccmdirector@yahoo.com. We are looking to offer... 30 local vendors the opportunity to participate in this first time event. Again four Saturdays from 8:00 AM til 1:00 PM. booths wil be 30.00 per 10 ft. space. Info with pictures should be submitted by 24th and those accepted will be notified immediately, to be there on Sat. Nov. 28th.

More Greens Recipes

I recently received the following e-mail:

Last week at the market I bought some mustard greens. I am not a southerner by birth, so I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. I cooked up the whole bunch with some bacon, onions, garlic and chicken stock, but had a lot left over. I was looking for recipes and came across this absolutely delicious pasta dish:

Penne with Bacon and Mustard Greens Recipe

Since I was using leftover greens, I went ahead and cooked more bacon and garlic as directed, though I didn't add any more onion. Instead of the frozen greens, drained, I used my leftover, already-cooked fresh ones. Instead of adding more broth, I just used the liquid from the greens.

This was just excellent. Lots of flavor and very inexpensive.

I'm mostly sharing this because I thought it might be a fun addition to your very nice e-mail newsletter to link to a recipe for what's new and seasonal at the market. Those mustard greens won't be here long.

I love the market.

Sincerely,

Ann Porter

Thank you so much for your support, Ann. You have no idea how excited we were to receive your e-mail.

So, here is the Ann's recommended recipe. Let me know what you all think.

Penne with Bacon and Mustard Greens

Ingredients:

•1 lb. penne or penne rigate pasta
•1/2 lb. bacon, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
•10 oz. (1 package) frozen mustard greens, thawed and drained.
•2 tbsp. tomato paste.
•1 onion, chopped fine.
•3 cloves garlic, minced.
•1/4 cup chicken stock
•1 good pinch Italian Seasoning
•1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
•2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
•Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste
•Salt and pepper to taste.
Method:

Cook Penne according to package directions. Drain well but do not rinse.

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium low heat until it is cooked through, but not crispy. Remove from grease and place on paper towels to drain. Reserve 1 tbsp. bacon fat. Discard or store the rest.

Add olive oil to skillet and stir to combine with bacon fat. Add onion and garlic, stirring until onion is translucent and garlic is fragrant. Add tomato paste and stir through. Return bacon to pan and toss well. Add greens and stir until heated through. Add Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, chicken stock, salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning (will be a bit oily, that’s O.K.!)

Add pasta and toss to coat well. Grate approximately 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over pasta, toss well.

Serve hot with additional Parmesan on top if desired.

Enjoy!

hattip: Cooking by the Seat of My Pants

Halloween at the Market

So, this Saturday is Halloween and it is a farmer's market day. What to do, what to do? Of course, combine them.

Bring the kids, dress up in your favorite Halloween costume and head over to Griffith Park in Slidell for some family Halloween fun! Everyone is getting into the Halloween spirit. We will have face painting, a pumpkin painting contest, a chocolate chip cookie pizza decorating contest and much more!

What a great way to celebrate Halloween all day long. The kids will love it!

Calling all student artists!!!!!

The Camellia City Market is proud to announce that we are holding our 2nd annual poster contest. We had a wonderful time doing this last year and are hoping for increased participation this year.

The Camellia City Market Official Poster Contest is open to 7th through 12th graders. All posters must be turned in by Saturday, November 7th at the Camellia City Market. We will ask that each entrant fill out an information form for our use. The Winner will be announced December 19th at The Camellia City Market. The winning poster becomes property of the Camellia City Market for reproduction.

In order to be considered for the official poster of the Camellia City Market, it must say:

-Camellia City Farmers Market

-Griffith Park, Olde Towne Slidell

-Every Saturday 8:00-12:00 Noon

-Rain or Shine

and must picture:

-The gazebo

-An Olde Towne historic landmark(s)

-A Variety Fruits & Vegetables on Display

-A Camellia Flower or Camellia Bush

-An American Flag

Last year some very nice posters were disqualified for not meeting all of the requirements. While the listed images and text must be included, please don't feel limited by the requirements. You can always add more. Use your imagination. If you have any questions, please call Danny Blackburn at 985-285-3599 or email him at ccmdirector@yahoo.com.

Congratulations to Board Member, Mary DuBuisson, winner of the 2009 Athena Award!

We are so excited to spread the news that our very own Mary DuBuisson was awarded the 2009 Athena Award. It was announced at yesterday's East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce 2nd Wednesday Luncheon.

Sponsored by Charter Business and Relay for Life East St. Tammany, the award honors those individuals who strive towards the highest levels of accomplishment in his or her business, who has served the community in a meaningful way, and has assisted women in reaching their full potential.

Presented annually in countries all over the world, the award is named for a Greek goddess of known for her strength, courage, wisdom and enlightenment. A Michigan businesswoman started the program in 1982, to recognize the accomplishments of women in the community, and to create a balance in leadership roles.

It has gone on to be celebrated in more than 500 communities around the world. The first award in Slidell was given in 1989, and since then the recipients have represented a broad spectrum of the community.

We are so proud of Mary and cannot think of anyone who deserves this honor more.

How to care for your knives

Once you have your knives sharpened by the Help My Knife professional knife sharpener at the Camellia City Market, you may be wondering how to keep them nice and sharp. Here is the advice provided by WikiHow.

A properly cared for kitchen knife will last for years and provide a prefect cut every time. It is wise to have them sharpened a few times a year.

STEPS
1. Find a good place to keep your knives. Suitable places would be in a knife block or in a drawer (but only if they are in a sheath, as the knives could be damaged otherwise).

2. Clean your knives after each use. For knives that are supposed to be hand washed, take a soapy cloth and gently scrub the knife, then wash it off with warm water. Afterwards, use a paper towel to dry it off.

3. Keep your knives dry. For example, if you have a carbon steel kitchen knife, it can be rusting even if it does not appear to be doing so.

4. Steel your knives regularly. A knife's edge has a tendency to roll towards either side of the edge, and decrease cutting power. To steel a blade, hold the knife flat against a surface and slide it along, gradually raising the back of the blade until it JUST begins to cut into the surface. From there, take your steel in one hand, and hold the back corner of the knife's edge to the end of the steel closest to you. "Sweep" the blade towards the tip of the steel, making sure that all of the length of the blade comes in contact with the steel. Do this ten times for each side of the blade.

5. The most common cause of wear of the cutting edge of a knife is due to contact with the cutting board surface. Boards made of glass, ceramic, marble etc are completely useless, they damage the cutting edge in the first cut. Wooden and plastic boards are better and have a much lower dulling effect. For the best result use very soft disposable paper or card cutting board.( based on research by CATRA, the Worlds Cutting Technology Organization)

TIPS
•If you wash your knives in the dishwasher, carefully place them in a way that they can not bang around during the cycle. Otherwise, the blades could be damaged.

•Note: Avoid putting higher end knives in the dishwasher, some detergents will have a detrimental effect on tempered or damascus steel blades.In fact it is not the detergents that damage the knives, but the corrosive attack of salt from food, the water and the hot atmosphere, in general detergents are corrosion inhibiting.

•If you have to store your knives in a drawer, make paper sheathes for them by taking a piece of heavy paper or cardboard, folding it over the knife, and taping it.

•Use the right knife for the right purpose. A fillet knife might be damaged if you try to cut bones with it, and filleting a fish with a butter knife would take forever.

hattip: WikiHow

Mustard greens are at the Market

I love greens and I was so happy to see mustard greens at the Farmer's market last weekend. And they were beautiful, too. But, I have always wondered - what is the difference between collard greens, turnip greens and mustard greens? Of course, I guess that I could just get a bunch of each, cook them and then eat for a "side-by-side" comparison, but, honestly, I don't want to do all the cooking and, inevitably, the cleaning that would involve. So, I decided to do the next best thing - go to the Internet.

First came the technical info: Collard greens are members of the cabbage family, turnip greens are the tops of the turnip plant and mustard greens, surprise, are the leaves of the mustard plant.

OK, but that didn't help me figure out the difference in flavor. So, back to the search button. Then I stumbled upon this:

Collard greens: It's a little bitter. Eat the light green leaves for the best flavor
Mustard greens: Usually peppery. Look for newer leaves.
Turnip greens: A little sweeter.

I also found this great information which supports supporting your local farmer's market:

A note about nutrient density - food grown on today's commodity farms are not as nutritious as they were 25 years ago. The soil has been drained by years of use and the addition of petroleum based fertilizers. If you can buy locally you have a better chance at improving nutritional quality for a couple of reasons. Nutrition declines from the moment a plant food is harvested. It continues to decline until eaten. Also, small farms are learning about remineralizing their fields along with adding typical amendments. Food should do more than fill our stomachs and satisfy our taste buds - it should be giving us the nutrition we need to stay healthy.

And then there was this great recipe that made me hungry just reading it:

Mustard Greens Recipe
Ingredients
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound mustard greens, washed and torn into large pieces
2 to 3 Tbsp chicken broth or vegetable broth (vegetarian option)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
Method
1 In a large sauté pan, sauté onions in olive oil over medium heat until the onions begin to brown and caramelize, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more, until fragrant.

2 Add the mustard greens and broth and cook until the mustard greens are just barely wilted. Toss with sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

So with all of this information, I can't wait to go to the market tomorrow and get me some delicious, fresh, beautiful mustard greens.

hattip: Simply Recipes and City-Data

Welcome the Camellia City Market blog!

We have added a new feature to our website - the Camellia City Market blog! Check back daily to find out about what is going on at the market and around town.