Bean Bonanza

Erin Molnar and Elizabeth Macek nurtured a dream and developed a business plan while hoeing rows of vegetables as apprentices at Crown Point Ecology Center in Bath. They agreed to start farming together under a hot summer sun and this year they actually did it, leasing just under an acre of land in Macedonia. They call the venture Ledgewood Larder and are focusing on filling a niche for eating local year-round by raising and drying beans and lentils.

  In spring, they planted 15 varieties of legumes, some common and others lesser known but particularly delicious (among them pinto, red kidney, cowpeas, cannelini, Turkey Craw and borlotti, French blue and Petite Crimson lentils. Harvested beans are dried whole on screens, agitated to break the pods. Molnar told me they do it the old-fashioned way, putting them in a pillowcase and beating it with a stick, and finally sifting and sorting by hand. Both still work full time at other jobs so they've scaled aspirations to hours available with the intention of expanding as demand increases.

   "We've gone from dreaming to doing," says Molnar, "and it's exciting. We're offering something new and different to people that want products grown close to home. These are so different in texture and taste from what you find at the grocery story. They're so good, and good for you."

  The women's first crop is ready for sale and these next weeks are a good time to stock your pantry with their product. Find them at the Countryside Farmers' Markets in Peninsula and Akron's Highland Square. "After all our hoping and planning," Molnar crows,  "this is really happening."  And I see some wonderful, local bean-based soups, chilis and cassoulet in my fall and winter future.

Seasonal Pleasure

Nothing about this winter or spring has been weather-as-usual. The unexpected untimely periods of warmth left us people confused about what to wear and threw Mother Nature into a tizzy about when to sprout and bud. We’ve actually been picking kale, arugula, and chives from our backyard garden for a month-unheard of in all the years I’ve lived in northeast Ohio.

Happily there was one thing very much in season and on schedule- the annual spring opening last Saturday of the North Union Farmers Market at Shaker Square. As always, the sheep were on hand and the guy shearing them drew a crowd of fascinated onlookers. There were lots of familiar faces behind the tables and in the crowd and it felt a bit like a reunion. The energy as always was positive. Although so many more things will be available in a couple of months, vendors had plenty to offer including radishes, various salad greens, spinach carrots, and herbs plus eggs, meats, cheese, baked goods, cut flowers and bedding plants.

The husband and I scored everything we needed for an outstanding dinner. We bought a bunch of ramps, those garlicky wild members of the onion family and a true Ohio spring delicacy; a basket of very hard to find sunchokes- tubers that taste like artichoke hearts; half a pound of blue and brown oyster mushrooms from Killbuck Valley; and three handfuls of Ohio City Pasta’s roasted red pepper fettuccini. We also got a couple of big blueberry muffins from Zoss the Swiss Baker for Sunday morning breakfast.

Market photos courtesy of Susie Sharp

This is my regular go to market because it’s the closest to where I live. But here’s a short list of some others that I can highly recommend from firsthand experience. The temperatures may be unpredictable and the sunshine erratic, but shopping at our local farmers’ markets and putting a meal on the table sourced from what our own regional community can provide is a dependable pleasure.

North Union Farmers Market, six locations, each with own days and opening dates

Countryside Farmer’s Market, south of Cleveland in the Peninsula/Akron area, multiple locations with different days of opening and operation for each

Tremont Farmer’s Market, open April 17, then weekly in May

Kamm’s Corners Farmers Market, weekly starting in June

Coit Road Farmers Market, year round Saturdays, plus Wednesdays starting in April

Downtown Farmer's Market at Public Square, weekly starting June 1

Growohio has a handy easy to read chart on their website about what's available from local farms, month by month.

Tomato Time

Most grocery stores sell just three or four kinds of tomatoes. Few people have any idea that that there are thousands of varieties grown around the world. Joe Clutz, a part-time farmer in Newberry, grows 97 distinctive types of tomatoes, and a few years back I had the chance to spend an afternoon sampling some of them with him. The husband documented the event, and then ate the subjects along with me. There were rounds, ovals and heart shapes; one that looked like a red chile pepper; and another that showed a starburst center when halved. The names were as colorful as the fruits. We had Snow Whites, Sun Golds, Rainbows, Ukranian Pears, Banana Legs, scallop-edged Ponderosa Reds, grassy flavored Black Plums, tart Cherokee Purples sugary Ground Cherries, herbally Green Zebras, striped Hillbillies, and Yellow Stuffers that looked exactly like bell peppers. We were both wowed by the differences in appearance, texture and taste.

photo by Barney Taxel, Taxel Image Group

You have two opportunities for the same kind of experience. Countryside Farmers' Market at Howe Meadow holds an annual tomato tasting. This year it's happening Aug. 27 from from 9 a.m. until closing at noon. Market manager Beth Stropki Knorr tells me that more than 130 varieties are represented at the market throughout the season, and she expects more than 30 will be available that day. Drop by anytime to pop pieces in your mouth. Individual growers will also be offering bites of their best and will have plenty on hand to sell by the pound. At 9 a.m., food writer Marilou Suszko is your guide through a flight of tomato juices at the cooking demo tent; 30 minutes later staff from The Greenhouse Tavern start slicing and dicing for a “friendly” recipe competition called The Salsa Smackdown. Audience members sample the results, choose the winner and then get to enjoy what’s left of the main ingredient.

September is typically a good month for tomatoes in Northeast Ohio, and Na Olson is hoping the weather gods don’t let her down this year. If there’s enough rain, but not too much and not all at once, and temperatures hold steady, she and husband Cory will have plenty of ripe and ready fruit for their 2011 Tomato Tasting on Sept. 10. It’s held from 3-6 p.m. at The Little Red Truck Farm, in Norwalk, where they grow more than 100 heirloom varieties from seed. “We usually have quite a spread,” she says, and most are types people have never even heard of let alone tried.” She ticks off a list of intriguing names: Mortgage Lifter, Kellogg Breakfast, Golden Monarch, Aunt Ruby’s Germen Green, Zogola, Japanese Black Trifele and Cosmonaut Volkov.

photo by Na Olson

Visitors can taste whatever was picked that morning, but the Olsons do want something in return: your opinion. They ask everyone to complete a rating sheet for each tomato, ranking varieties for sweetness, texture, acidity and overall “tomatoeness.” This helps them decide what to grow, and what not to, in the future. If they have enough of a harvest, tomatoes will be for sale along with other things raised on the property, which you’re invited to explore. The event is open to public and free but donations are appreciated. This year the money raised will go to Heifer International, a nonprofit that provides animals for food and breeding to needy communities around the world as a way to combat hunger. Na’s instructions are to park in the field, walk through the garden (ignore the weeds, or if you’re so inclined, pull a few). I’d add: Bring all your tomato questions. She’s a veritable walking Wikipedia of information and has great stories about some of those names.

Pedal in the Park

Get acquainted with the scenery and the growers in Cuyahoga Valley National Park while getting your daily dose of exercise on Sunday, August 29. It’s the 1st Annual Farm ‘N Barn Bike Tour. There are three-levels of people-powered trips; a 12 mile route that starts at 10 AM; an extended 32 mile version that rolls out at 8 AM; and for the fittest and most ambitious, also leaving at 8 AM, a 52 miler. Expect a mix of flat paved trail and somewhat challenging hills.

All trips, which begin and end at Sarah’s Vineyard on Steels Corner Road in Cuyahoga Falls, make stops at rehabilitated working farmsteads scattered around the Park. They are part of The Countryside Initiative a project that aims to bring back the small scale agriculture that was once part of life in the Valley. You can find out more about this pioneering program in an article I wrote for Cleveland Magazine .

There will be refreshments and mini-tours at every farm and a lunch cookout at the end of the ride. As an added perk massage therapists will be on hand to help pedalers who need some hands on help after the work-out.

Register online. Once you pay your fee ($30-$40) you’ll receive a detailed map. Visit four farms and earn $5 back in the form of tokens for use at the Countryside Farmers Market. This time of year vendors offer an astonishing array of good fresh things to eat . Which reminds me: the day before the ride, Saturday August 28 from 9 AM-Noon is the annual tomato tasting at the Farmers Market. Sample around 30 varieties- I promise you’ll be amazed.