Sunday was a good day at the market! Saturday's pouring rain and gray clouds of doom cleared up and provided us with chillier temperatures than we've been used to, but still a bright and sunshiny day!

The HBA booth was visited by Carlos, our face painter, and we had an awesome combination of butterfly princesses and shark attacks going on! We also had paper and crayons and markers out so that anyone who got a face painted creation could color while they waited.

Next week we will be decorating face masks in honor of Mardi Gras on Tuesday, March 8! Bring out your gold, green, and purple, and come to the market for our very own Mardi Gras party! Also, make sure to sign up for our fabulous newsletter- if you sign up to win by next Sunday, March 6, you enter to win 2 tickets to Hillcrest's Mardi Gras party from 6-11p on Tuesday night!

Stay Fresh! And head to hillcrestfarmersmarket.com for all of your market needs!

This past weekend at the market was chilly! We had some sun showers throughout the day, so market attendance was a little spotty. We had the markers and crayons out with some of our leftover Valentine's themed art supplies and the kids created all kinds of drawings.

We've got big plans coming up at the market! Face painting this Sunday, all day! And on March 6th we'll have mask making for Mardi Gras!

Don't forget to swing by the booth to sign up for our fabulous newsletter! Everyone who signs up between now and March 6th enters to win 2 tickets to Hillcrest Mardi Gras on March 8th!

Stay fresh and fabulous! And find us at hillcrestfarmersmarket.com for all of your market needs!

Visiting Chef Series – Chef Rich Sweeney

On Valentine’s Eve the Hillcrest Farmers Market welcomed Chef Rich Sweeney from R-Gang Eatery at the heart of the market for a decadent dinner for two demonstration.

Chef Sweeney’s meal included sweet and savory shrimp on the barbie over a salad of fresh mixed greens, citrus, and tomatoes with an apple vinaigrette.

The shrimp were marinated in a maple gastrique and started earlier that morning- Chef Sweeney suggested that when recreating the dish you start the gastrique earlier in the day for the fullest flavor. A gastrique is typically a sauce that, in its simplest form, is made of citrus and caramelized sugar. Chef Sweeney used maple syrup, brown sugar and lemon juice. Before firing up the barbecue you should also soak your bamboo skewers for at least 20 minutes to prevent them from burning up on the bbq.

A few other pointers from Chef Sweeney on shrimp include erring on the side of caution when seasoning them; they tend to be briney, and you don’t want to over season them. Also, cook them over medium heat for only a couple of minutes on each side. You can always put them back on the bbq if they are undercooked, but overcooked shrimp are not so tasty. Remember, less is more. One of the favorite tidbits of information that was shared on Sunday was in reference to dressing a salad- because the dressing has vinegar in it, it will wilt the lettuce in a hurry if you apply it directly to the top of the salad. Chef Sweeney suggests that you have your salad in a large mixing bowl, and pour the dressing onto the side of the bowl. As it drips down the side, roll the lettuce with your hands throughout the bowl to get maximum dressing coverage, with minimal wiltage.

To reach Chef Sweeney, you can stop by R-Gang Eatery, located on 5^th Ave just south of Pennsylvania in Hillcrest, or you can e-mail him and his crew at www.rgangeatery.com. If you sign up for the R-Gang newsletter, they promised to forward this weekend’s recipe to everyone!

If you missed the Visiting Chef Series this month, check back for updates on up and coming events at www.hillcrestfarmersmarket.com! And swing by the Info Booth from now until March 6^th to enter to win two tickets to Mardi Gras on March 8!

SUPER (Bowl) SUNDAY!

Thank goodness for good weather! This Sunday at the market we embraced the football theme and created the head of a football player with paper plates, markers, crayons and a few stickers. Kids that came by the booth let us know who their favorite teams were, and they personalized their crafts by coming up with improvisations to what we created. Many cut out eyes to create a football mask, some added popsicle sticks, and a few made girl NFL player plates!

This coming week, in honor of LOVE, Chef Rich Sweeney from Hillcrest's very own R-Gang Eatery will be performing a decadent dinner for two Valentine's dinner demonstration! Join us at 1pm at the heart of the market where Chef Sweeney will show everyone how to make their own Valentine's dinner with what is available at the market.

Stay Fresh and Fabulous! www.hillcrestfarmersmarket.com for all Farmers Market info!