All Entries Tagged With: "local food"
The Vine Market returns on November 19
Will you be serving locally grown food this Thanksgiving? 'Early Wonder' beets are just one variety of autumn veggies that you'll find at the Vine Market.
There are many, many reasons to be proud of my Ferguson community, but perhaps nothing gets me more excited than our awesome farmers market. Like a lot of locals, I usually get market withdrawal this time of year, since the outdoor venue wrapped up a few weeks ago. But thanks to the good folks at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, we’ll all be able to enjoy fresh local food even during the winter!
For the second year, St. Stephen’s is hosting The Vine Market, an indoor farmers market where you can find a nice array of locally grown vegetables and locally produced meat, cheese and baked goods. It’s not quite as large as the outdoor market, and it only takes place every third Saturday through April, but hey, who’s complaining?!
The Vine Market kicks off this Saturday, November 19, and Ferguson’s own EarthDance Farms will be there with a fabulous selection of organic autumn veggies. Look for ‘Watermelon’ and ‘White Icicle’ radishes, ‘Bolero’ carrots, ‘Gonzalez’ cabbage, ‘Red Sails’ lettuce, ‘Tyee’ spinach, ‘Purple Top’ turnips, ‘Toscana Lacinato’ kale, and ‘Bright Lights’ swiss chard, as well as garlic, shallots, acorn squash, scallions, arugula, Asian salad greens, baby pak choi, dill & cilantro, and even green tomatoes.
Need some recipe ideas? Check out A Veggie Venture from my fellow St. Louis blogger Alanna Kellogg.
The Vine Market is open Saturday from 9 to 11:30am and takes place inside St. Stephen’s beautiful gathering hall at 33 N. Clay, 63135. You can enter through the center door by the parking lot.
Florissant celebrates 225th anniversary as a city
All are welcome at St. Ferdinand Shrine this Friday, where the city of Florissant is hosting a 225th anniversary celebration.
Sometimes it’s hard to believe, but the city of Florissant was actually founded in 1786, just ten years after the birth of the United States. Originally named “St. Ferdinand” in honor of Spain’s King Ferdinand III, the town was dubbed “Fleurissant” (or “blooming”) by its early French settlers and remained a largely French-speaking area throughout the 19th century.
Today, of course, Florissant is one of the largest municipalities in St. Louis and continues to be a strong anchor for the North County community. That’s why it’s such great news that the city is celebrating its 225th anniversary!
This Friday, November 18, the St. Ferdinand Shrine is hosting a public birthday party for Florissant, and all are invited. It also happens to be the feast day of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (the French nun who founded Florissant’s first school), so the event will have a decidedly Catholic feel, but people of all faiths are welcome to attend.
Here’s the schedule of activities:
4-10pm Fish fry with clam chowder, beer & soda, courtesy of the Duchesne Knights of Columbus
5-10pm French wine tastings from Hendel’s and the Shrine Foundation
5-10pm Birthday cake with coffee and cocoa in the school house
4-7pm and 8-10pm Live music from Dan the Piano Man, also violin and cello in the museum
6pm Walk of Fame plaque dedication for Father Pierre Jean DeSmet & St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
7pm Mass in honor of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne
Parking will be available on the Knights of Columbus grounds at Washington & St. Charles. The St. Ferdinand Shrine is located at #1 rue St. Francois, 63031. Admission to the anniversary celebration is free.
FloTown gets a fabulous new cheesecake bakery
An artisinal cheesecake bakery, run by a hip young couple, right here in NoCo?? You bet your sweet tooth!
For most restaurants, selling out of every single item on the menu would be a catastrophe. But for Jeff and Kris Mullersman, who recently opened Delish Cheesecake Bakery & Cafe in Old Town Florissant, that is precisely the goal.
Early each morning, this innovative husband-and-wife team starts baking fresh cheesecakes, cupcakes, cookies and quiches – all from scratch. And if everything is gone by closing time, they consider it mission accomplished.
“We don’t want to make cheesecakes two weeks in advance and then have them just sitting there,” Kris says. “Our menu changes every day, and is always made fresh, so the early bird definitely gets the best selection.”
And what a selection it is! Delish offers three different sizes of cheesecakes (9-inch round, “baby” or by the slice) and you can choose from 30 mouth-watering flavors, including Creamy Lemon, Chocolate Explosion, Red Velvet Swirl and this autumn delight, Pumpkin Hazelnut…
Though neither of the Mullersmans have any formal culinary training, Kris, 39, is a gifted baker whose sweet creations have always been in demand. “I’m just a homemaker who loves to bake,” she says modestly. “But when I lived in Omaha, where I grew up, I used to make cheesecakes for local restaurants, and it seemed like I was always baking for somebody.”
North County native Jeff, 38, whose surname actually means “baker” in German, is the official quiche chef at Delish. He also whips up gourmet salads and 14-inch Bavarian pretzels every Friday, in between completing renovations on the cafe’s historic building.
Delish is located inside Florissant’s former Narrow Gauge Railroad Station, a quaint wooden structure from 1878 that used to serve as a destination for electric trolleys. The trolley line, which followed rue St. Ferdinand/Graham Road, stopped running in the 1930s, and in 1969, with demolition imminent, the station was moved to its current site in Tower Park. (As in water tower. Next to Fritz’s.)
In recent years, it was home to a candy shop and an Irish gift store, both of which went of out business, but that doesn’t concern the Mullersmans one bit. “We actually had a customer tell us this is a terrible location, since both of the previous businesses failed,” Jeff says. “But we think it was the nature of the businesses, not the location.”
“And we’re here to turn it around,” Kris adds matter-of-factly.
Indeed, the couple has already invested quite a bit in the building, sealing it from the weather, installing a commercial kitchen and adding hot water service. In the spring, they plan to add an outdoor seating area with 12 additional tables.
“We’re both in love with the history of the building, and we want to do everything we can to preserve it,” Jeff says. “And by opening our business here in Florissant, we’re able to invest our money back into the community we care about.”
He and Kris live just up the street from the cafe, not far from Sacred Heart, where their daughter goes to school. And the name of their business….well, that hits close to home too.
While Kris was growing up, her father would end every meal by graciously telling his wife, “That was delish, my love!” So when it came time to choose the cafe’s name, Kris knew instantly. “It was something I heard every day, and it just makes me happy when I think about it,” she says. (Those are her parents in the pic above.)
As for the menu at Delish, that also evolved pretty organically, with a strong emphasis on quality and simplicity. “We make everything from scratch and use nothing that’s frozen,” Jeff says. “So if we keep the menu fairly simple and use local and seasonal ingredients whenever possible, we know that we can maintain the level of quality that we want.”
At some point, soups and sandwiches may be added. But for now the focus is primarily on baked goods, with a few savory items (including vegetarian options) thrown in for lunch and dinner. The Mullersmans do wholesale their cheesecake to local restaurants, like Hendel’s. They also take special orders, which can usually be filled within 24 hours.
Their Delish Signature Cupcake, shown here with a Sweet & Salty Cookie, basically looks and tastes just like a Hostess Ding-Dong, except bigger and so much better! I should also mention that the cafe hosts live local music on Friday nights, offers free wi-fi, and serves St. Louis’ own Thomas Coffee, which is roasted here in town.
And not only are Jeff and Kris great cooks, they’re also good people. As a way to “pay it forward,” they give out “smile cards” to folks who’ve done something nice, which can be redeemed for a free slice of cheesecake! So when you visit Delish – and you most definitely should – don’t forget to be on your best behavior!
Delish Cheesecake Bakery & Cafe is located at 1060 rue St. Catherine, 63031, in Old Town Florissant. Hours are Tues & Wed 7-7, Thu & Fri 7-9, Sat 8-9 and Sun 8-4. To place a special order, call (314) 831-7400. Whole cheesecakes are $32.
Free food preservation class coming to Florissant
FROM THE NEWS WIRE:
Savor the tastes of summer all year long by learning from University of Missouri Extension how to freeze fresh, local, seasonal produce. In a one-session “Freezing Your Garden Produce” class, participants will learn about blanching, packaging containers, freezer burn, and food safety. The class instructor is Damaris Karanja, MA, MU Extension nutrition and health education specialist.
The class will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, September 26 at the St. Louis County Library, Florissant Valley Branch, 195 S. New Florissant Rd., in Florissant. There is no charge to participants, thanks to the collaboration with St. Louis County Library. However, registration is required. The registration deadline is September 21.
To register, call the St. Louis County Library, 314-994-3300, or register online at http://www.slcl.org. (Click on “Events.”) For more information, contact Damaris Karanja, 314-615-7618, KaranjaD@missouri.edu, or visit http://extension.missouri.edu/stlouis.
University of Missouri Extension improves people’s lives through relevant, responsive and reliable research-based education from University of Missouri. MU Extension programs are open to all.
