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Purchase a gift membership for friends or family this holiday season!

We will be selling gift-membership packages at the Holiday Gift Market.

Friends of Salem Saturday Market will host a booth next weekend at the Holiday Gift Market, Dec. 12 & 13.

We’ll be promoting gift memberships, explaining our mission, and selling books as a fundraiser. We’ll also provide a free “gift valet” service, where shoppers can drop off their gifts while they continue to browse.

We’re looking for volunteers to help us out at the booth. Do you have a couple of hours to donate to our non-profit group? No experience is necessary, just a friendly demeanor!

The Holiday Market is Saturday Dec 12th from 10 am – 6 pm and Sunday December 13th from 10 am – 4 pm.

If you’re interested, please email info@friendsofsalemsaturdaymarket.org.  Thanks so much & we appreciate your help!

(To learn more about our group, visit www.FriendsOfSalemSaturdayMarket.org.)

In case you are still searching for holiday menu ideas, or simple inspiration, we asked two local chefs, Nate Rafn, creator of the televesion program Living Culture, and Jessica Ritter, co-owner of The Wild Pear, to share a couple of their favorites. Read on to learn more about Nate’s family recipe for Best Pumpkin Cookies and Jessica’s delicious Roasted Butternut Squasheither one is guaranteed to bring some local flavor to your holiday table!

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“What would the  holiday season be without the mouth-watering tradition of reviving old family recipes?” says Nate. “Family recipes are an important part of the holiday experience. It gives children and adults alike an opportunity to engage and create something memorable. It is this custom that preserves family connections, and keeps us in touch with fond recollections of years past.”

His his family enjoys holiday treats that pay tribute to Danish or American culture – homemade eggnog, Danish julekage, and his Grandma’s unusual, but tasty, pumpkin cookies.

“My grandmother, Louise Rafn, was the first in my family to make pumpkin cookies,” he says. “She originally found the recipe in a Church of Latter Day Saints Relief Society magazine. She liked the recipe so much, that she submitted it to the Salem 4th Ward Relief Society cookbook in 1979. It has been a popular treat in my household, and others in the Salem area Mormon community, ever since.”

BEST PUMPKIN COOKIES - makes 25 cookies
This recipe produces a cookie that is subtly sweet, soft, and somewhat bread-like. Most of the moisture comes from the pumpkin puree. So be careful not to over-mix the dough. These cookies also freeze very well.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or prepared fresh)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Stir the butter to soften. Gradually add sugar and cream together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin. Beat after each addition until smooth. Fold in raisins and nuts (optional), and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons on two greased cookie sheets. Bake each batch at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy these cookies with a mug of eggnog!

Nate Rafn produces a television series about local foods entitled Living Culture, on KWVT Willamette Valley DTV channel 17.1, Comcast channels 22 in Salem and 29 in Portland. Visit www.livingcultureonline.com.

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ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH
This recipe, from The Wild Pear’s Jessica Ritter, uses blue cheese and pecans to take roasted butternut squash from ho-hum to heavenly – showing that simplicity is sensational. The amount of blue cheese, pecans and sugar that you use will be dictated by how much squash you have. You can easily modify this recipe to make a smaller or larger amount – just keep the proportions roughly the same.

1 medium-sized butternut squash
1-2 T of canola oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 – 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese
1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 cup of pecans, roughly chopped

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Seed, peel and dice the butternut squash into chunks. Toss squash with oil to coat and season with salt and pepper. Place in baking dish and cook uncovered until soft and nicely browned. Remove dish from oven. Toss together blue cheese, pecans and brown sugar. Sprinkle this mixture over the squash. Bring oven to broil. Place dish under broiler for a few minutes. Serve.

Jessica Ritter is co-owner , along with her sister Cecilia James, of Salem’s Wild Pear Restaurant, located at 372 State Street. Visit www.wildpearcatering.com.

Many thanks to Jessica and Nate for sharing their culinary talents on the FSSM blog!


Looking for for a way to “give green” this holiday season?  Don’t miss the 2nd Annual Sustainable Holiday Market, sponsored by Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center. It’s being held this Sunday, November 22 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Willamette University’s Cone Field House at Sparks Field.

Local artisans will offer recycled, chemical-free, locally made, fair trade, and energy- and water-saving gifts suitable for everyone on your list.  Also, take home tips to make your holiday celebrations more earth-friendly, while the kids make gifts at an “Earth-Friendly Elves” station. There will be live music and a chance to buy raffle tickets to win sustainable gifts. Entrance is FREE, as is parking in the adjacent Sparks Field Parking Lot.

We’ll be there with two special holiday membership packages – a Friends of Salem Saturday Market 16-month membership and cool water bottle for $15, or a membership along with a spiffy Friends shopping tote and Barbara Kingsolver’s best-selling book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle for $40.

We’ll also have a selection of books focused around cooking, buying and living sustainably. What a great way to wrap up your holiday shopping early and support Friends of Salem Saturday Market!

An article appearing in the Bend Bulletin (which we discovered by way of the Willamette Week) describes how the Oregon Department of Agriculture is taking a closer look at ingredients and farmers’ market vendor practices.

Writer Nick Budnick reports that the ODA asked Redmond-based baker Sarah Yancey to “stop putting love into the bread, cookies, jams and jellies she makes — or at least stop listing “love” as an ingredient, like flour or fruit.” According to Yancey, last August an ODA inspector told her that “love was an impermissible ingredient because it can’t be measured.”

Meanwhile Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, who has heard similar complaints from other vendors regarding ingredient and procedure crackdowns, invited representatives from farmers’ markets and the Agriculture Department to testify at a hearing on Wednesday, November 18 during a meeting of the House Agriculture, Natural Resources & Rural Communities Committee.

Here at the Friends of Salem Saturday Market, we want to get people thinking about local farm and food connections. Yes, we know that butternut squash tastes better and fresher when it comes from the farm down the street. But what are some of the other issues related to getting food from field to table? Test your knowledge of local farms with this fun and informative quiz from American Farmland Trust – and get the real dirt on local foods!

The weather could not have been better for the last Saturday Market of the season. Mild temperatures and an occasional burst of sunlight made for a magnificent day – not to mention the trick-or-treaters and others costumed for Halloween!

We raised just over $200 at our booth yard sale. Our thanks go out to all of the folks who stopped by to say hello and make a purchase, as well as those who donated items to sell.

The money will help to support the educational programming we have in the works. Our hope is to continue programs throughout the winter months, so be sure to check back here for more information as it becomes available.

In the meantime, be sure to put these dates on your calendar. We’ll be at both events!

Sustainable Market

  • Sunday, November 22 – Sustainable Holiday Market sponsored by Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center. It’s at Cone Field House, Willamette Unversity.
  • December 12 & 13 – Salem Saturday Market Holiday Gift Market will be at the Oregon State Fairgrounds, in the AmeriCraft Center (formerly the Jackman Long Building). Friends of Salem Saturday Market will be hosting a “gift valet” service to hang on to your purchases while you continue shopping.

Both events have free admission and free parking. Hope to see you there!

Hi Friends!

Saturday, Oct. 31, is the last day of the Salem Saturday Market for 2009!

Friends of Salem Saturday Market will be there holding a yard sale at our booth ~ our first big fundraiser. Swing by our booth on the northwest side of the Market to see the great stuff we’ve got for sale, at ridiculously affordable prices.

The money we raise Saturday will help get us through the winter months. Although the Market may be finished, our activities and events certainly are not! FSSM is a year-round organization, and we want to keep the momentum going that we’ve gained all summer. So come take a look at our booth, see what we’ve got for sale, or just say hi. We’ll miss seeing all of our great members & supporters every week!

We’re not the only ones with good deals Saturday ~ a lot of the vendors will be selling garage-sale items, too. You’ll find even more great stuff than usual!

Bring the kids, too, for trick-or-treating and a costume contest. There’s even a costume contest for dogs!

We hope to see you you down there – rain or shine! – to bid farwell to a wonderful Market season!

Can you believe Salem Saturday Market is already coming to a close? There are only 2 more Saturdays before it shuts down for the season. This summer flew by!

There are still a lot of dedicated vendors out there each Saturday, selling produce, meats, hot food, flowers, crafts and more. Come buy directly from the producer while you still can, & thank them for braving this October weather!

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The Market may be winding down, but Friends of Salem Saturday Market is a year-round organization, and we’ve got some fun events in the works. Here’s a sampling:

Oct. 31: Our first fundraiser – We’ll be holding a yard sale at our booth! All the proceeds from the sales at the FSSM booth go directly to supporting our mission and events. We’ve got a lot of great, gently used items for sale: MP3 players, purses, a scanner, books, home decor, baby stuff, and a lot more! Rain or shine!

November: Here’s another benefit for FSSM members! We’ve visited several farms, and now we’ve got a chance to see how crops are handled after they’re harvested. FSSM members are invited to take a tour of Ankeny Lakes Wild Rice Company. These local folks gather wild rice from Oregon, Idaho and Canada, and process, mix, season and package it in a facility south of Salem. We will email members soon with a date and invitation to this exclusive event!

Nov. 22: Sustainable Holiday Market - Straub Environmental Learning Center is hosting this second annual event at Willamette University. We’ll be there to educate consumers, explain our mission, and to sell gift memberships to FSSM.  A membership to FSSM makes a thoughtful gift and is a wonderful alternative to combat materialism.

Dec. 13 & 14: Holiday Gift Market - We’ll be at this huge event at the Fairgrounds. As another fundraiser, FSSM will be hosting a “Gift Valet Service.”  Our volunteers will hang onto your purchases while you continue shopping. All donations benefit FSSM’s msision.  And, you’ll again have another chance to buy gift memberships to FSSM!

Our Board of Directors is hard at work planning more events and activites. Thanks for your support!

With the change in seasons, the Friends of Salem Saturday Market decided a more sleek, easy-to-read blog was needed. This change marks the end of our regular attendance at the Saturday Market, although you can find us there on Oct. 10 for the Discover Pink YWCA breast cancer walk and Oct. 31 for the annual market-wide garage sale.

Please remember, even though the Saturday Market ends Oct. 31, the Friends group will continue its work to connect you to local growers and artisans. Farm Tours are in the works, and we will be at the Sustainable Holiday Market on Nov. 22 at Willamette University and the Holiday Market on Dec. 13-14 at the Oregon Fairgrounds. Think about a membership to the Friends of Salem Saturday Market for a holiday gift!

On Saturday, Chris Jenkins and Elizabeth Miller opened their farm, Minto Island Growers, to members of the Friends of Salem Saturday Market. More than 30 people came to hear about the many operations Chris and Elizabeth have going on their farm.

The most surprising (to this blogger, at least!) was that they also do a tremendous amount of work in the field of restoration. They are growing red alders, for example, for use in riparian areas on public land, for example. They are also experimenting with willows — trying to determine if the native willow can outcompete the nasty, invasive reed canary grass that takes over streams around here. Their native plants don’t just end up on other people’s properties – They teamed up with Marion County to plant about 3,000 riparian shrubs and sedges to restore the small creek running across their property.

“This keeps us really busy during the winter,” Chris said.

That’s when most farmers can usually get a break!

They also have many other plans for the future, including making local tea from their 1/2 acre plot of tea plants. Another surprise to me: black, oolong and herbal teas are all from the same plant. The different teas depend on how long you oxidize the leaves.

Chris and Elizabeth are experimenting with ginger as well. Perhaps next year we can all count on local ginger?!?!

Hmmm…. Seems we can learn a lot from our local farmers. Stay tuned for our other members-only farm tours.

Members of the Friends of Salem Saturday Market walk through Chris and Elizabeth’s tea plants.

Members of the Friends of Salem Saturday Market walk through Chris and Elizabeth’s tea plants.

Chris and Elizabeth dry garlic and onions in this greenhouse.

Chris and Elizabeth dry garlic and onions in this greenhouse.

Chris talks about his ginger-growing experiment.

Chris talks about his ginger-growing experiment.

Despite their slug problem, Chris and Elizabeth have beautiful vegetables growing in their fields.

Despite their slug problem, Chris and Elizabeth have beautiful vegetables growing in their fields.

Chris and Elizabeth discuss what they love: their farm, their farming philosophies, and how to make organic farming easier (i.e. get a tractor!)

Chris and Elizabeth discuss what they love: their farm, their farming philosophies, and how to make organic farming easier (i.e. get a tractor!)

Beautiful, huge kale!

Beautiful, huge kale!

Bright color amid fields of green…

Bright color amid fields of green…

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