Super sweet tomato alert…

This week’s Green City Market pick is Kinnikinnick Farm’s cherry tomatoes – specifically, the yellow ones. Just ripe, they burst with juicy, candy-like sweetness. Addictive. Pints are 2 for $6.

They’re fine on their own, just popped in your mouth. Or, make a simple salad out of them with fresh mozzarella and the slightest touch of good, aged Balsamic, but only a touch.

Caprese Salad with Kinnikinnick Yellow Cherry Tomatoes

1 pound yellow Kinnikinnick cherry tomatoes, halved (keep the seeds, juice and all)

5 – 6 ounces fresh Buffalo mozzarella cheese, halved and cut into 1 ½ inch slices

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon aged Balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl combine the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil leaves. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle dressing over the tomato mixture and toss to combine. Enjoy in chilled bowls. Serves 4 people.

Do Farmers Care?

Those were the three most “Googled” words leading to farmer Tim Zweber’s blog, according to his analytics. Tim shared this statistic at the AgChat Foundation’s first-ever social media conference  Advocacy 2.0 held at Dairy Management Inc.’s headquarters in Rosemont, Ill. Yes, farmers tweet. A lot, apparently. More on that later.

No one seemed to budge when he mentioned this Google phenomena, but it shocked me to say the least. Do farmers care? What do you mean? Do people really think they don’t? The way these farmers were talking about their animals it seemed to me there were more furry-friend lovers in the room than a PAWS convention.

But apparently this “farmers don’t care” sentiment is well-known among the roughly 60 family farmers in attendance. In fact, almost every conversation, every presentation, every water-cooler discussion, every tweet seemed to center in some way around one quest – proving to the consumers, ie… non-farmers, the general public, you and I – that yes, in fact, farmers do care. They care about themselves and their families, sure, but they also care about the animals they raise and the food they grow. They care about you, and about the food you eat.

Thanks to Michael Pollan’s preachings, movies like Fast Food Nation and Food, Inc., and other media shedding light on some of the unfavorable farming and agriculture practices in this country, farmers in general have had to fight an uphill PR battle so to speak to get consumers to realize that, yes, they do care, and no, the vast majority of them don’t just want to make a buck.

I got wind of these issues earlier this year when I started working the farmer’s market for Heartland Meats, a small Piedmontese beef producer in Mendota, Ill. Customers seemed unnaturally concerned about the commodity corn the Sondgeroths grow on their century-old, four-generation family farm, even though that particular corn had nothing to do with the beef they raised – it’s simply a way for them to stay in business so they can raise, produce and process this quality, artisan beef in the first place.

That aside (and feel free to contact me for more information about the Sondergoths and Heartland Meats), Tim’s comments reflected the general theme for this year’s conference – every farm has a family and a story – and they want to share those stories with you.

The AgChat Foundation grew out of a single twitter post by Michele Payn-Knoper, a farmer in Indiana who initiated a “tweetup” for other farmers to talk openly about agriculture issues, share their best practices, and answer each others’ questions.

The tweetup was an instant hit, and now, @AgChat has hundreds of followers and the live Twitter feeds have attracted thousands. The all-volunteer, donation-only funded Foundation has continued the tweetup tradition, hosting one each Tuesday night from 7-9 p.m. central time. A different moderator leads the discussion each week to control “noise” as well as keep the comments friendly, on task, and purposeful – at the end of the discussion, there’s a call to action for farmers to decide how they’re going to put their lessons learned into practice.

Essentially, the olden days of having to go down the road and ask another farmer advice, or sharing thoughts and ideas at Church or other community gatherings have grown old. These days, farmers are going digital. They don’t have to simply stick to their own community – they can connect with farmers around the country, even around the world.

“I like to call it bringing the coffee shop to the laptop,” says Trisha Braid Terry, an AgChat Foundation board member, active “tweeter,” and owner of family farm in Bloomington, Ill.

The digital gatherings, AgChat followers say, have helped empower farmers to better serve consumers in growing and producing for the four needs of this country – food, fuel, feed and fiber – the same four “Fs” these farmers point to as their strongest passions. Not only are they better at their craft as a result of the shared best practices. In addition, their armor of information helps them defend against commodity boards trying to take advantage and other economic challenges, not to mention bad, untruthful press.

More importantly, Braid Terry says, aside from brining farmers together, #AgChat is also a way, and a place, to connect with consumers.“I think when people are able to connect with farmers, to talk with them and ask questions, they worry less about things,” she says. “There’s more trust there, and myths are dispelled a little.”

Another theme during the AgChat conference centered on transparency. “The most important thing is to be 100 percent yourself,” Payn-Knoper said during closing remarks.

Transparency, that’s what’s so important, according to Payn-Knoper, Zweber, Baird Terry and other farmers who spoke up during the conference. These farmers have nothing to hide, as the media may think, or assume. In fact, they pride themselves on their work, their families, their products, and the legacies they continue to build, and they want to share that with us.

Payn-Knoper shared her farm story – a young child growing up on a farm in Michigan, only later learning that the farm went bankrupt in 2002, the same week the calf she raised for 14 years died of a heart attack. “It wasn’t a good week for me,” she said, but the experience was a turning point – she went on to build another family farm of her own. Her motivation? A candid photo she took of her young daughter walking a dairy cow to the barn, the sun hitting her blonde locks. “She really showed that heifer,” Payn-Knoper said with a slight chuckle amidst building tears.

Have a question for a farmer? Just ask. Tune in to next week’s AgChat tweetup at 7 p.m. Central, Tuesday, Sept. 7.

Chef Frank Brunacci of Sixteen dropped off a basket of farmer’s market goodies this week to promote his “Feasting at Sixteeen” series of events featuring the best of local and seasonal produce, which includes Farmer’s Market in the Sky this week on the Trump’s Terrace bar. So much to play with – Nordic Grumpy Goat cheese, peach lavender Rare Bird preserves, a giant, homemade Oreo cookie by Ivy Tack of Uppercrust Bakery that was gone in 60 seconds (I couldn’t resist), among other treats. But, I was excited to cook with the sausage from Mint Creek Farm in Stelle, Ill.

I will admit, I work at the Green City Market for Heartland Meats every Saturday and the Mint Creek booth is just two doors down, but I’ve never cooked with their meats before. It’s not that I had anything against them, or that I didn’t want to buy from a “competing” farm – not that at all, I’ve just been stocked full of meat for a while and didn’t think I needed any more.

Boy was I really missing out. The grass-fed lamb sausage, their specialty, has a deep, meaty flavor speckled with fennel and other spices, and a good amount of fat, too, which helps the links form a nice crust when seared, and a lot of buttery juice at first slice. In this twist on the classic, Italian sausage and peppers meal, I found deglazing the pan with a little aged Balsamic and throwing in those pickled mushrooms from River Valley Ranch in Wisconsin created a slightly-sweet, slightly-thickened “au jus” that helped cut the fat in the sausage and bring all the flavors together. Also, in my experiment, I used farmer’s market bell peppers that I had already roasted. It’s not essential to use pre-roasted peppers, but I think it adds a nice smokiness, and it cuts down on cooking time.

Lamb Sausage and Peppers

4 Mint Creek lamb sausage links

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium (or 2 small) red onion, cut into 1-inch slices

1 tablespoon good-quality and/or aged Balsamic vinegar

3 red and/or yellow bell peppers, roasted, skin removed, cut into 1-inch slices

½ of a small jar of River Valley Ranch pickled mushrooms, drained, sliced

Kosher salt (optional) and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup free-range chicken broth (I like the Pacific Natural Foods low-sodium kind)

1 sprig basil, sliced using the chiffonade method (roll leaves into a cigar shape and slice crosswise).

In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage links, about 2 minutes per side. Remove links from pan and reserve. Add olive oil, garlic and onions; cook until onions are lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes. Pour in vinegar and deglaze the pan, scraping up browned bits. Add peppers and mushrooms and continue to cook, about 2 minutes, sprinkling the pan with pepper and a touch of salt, if needed (broth and pickled mushrooms already add salt). Add links and both; cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until sausages are firm to the touch. Remove lid and continue to cook until broth has evaporated to about a teaspoon. Divide sausages and peppers evenly among plates; garnish with basil.  Serves 2 hungry people, or 3-4 light eaters.

Who: Sixteen at the Trump and Chef Frank Brunacci

When: Sept. 2 – 6

What: Feasting at Sixteen with Frank Brunacci

Chef Brunacci hosts a series of events geared toward the best of local and seasonal produce. Following up beef in May and lobster in June, September features prairie produce, and pork will be showcased in November.

Thursday, Sept. 2

Farmer’s Market on the Terrace, 7 – 11 a.m.

Chef’s favorite, local purveyors and famers will feature their bounty for the public.

Sunday, Sept. 5

Harvest Brunch at Sixteen, 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Multi-course, a la carte brunch features best of the season’s local produce.

Monday, Sept. 6

16 menu (a la carte and chef’s tastings) will feature locally produced ingredients throughout the week, with optional biodynamic/organic wine pairings.