Bures Berry Patch is a fixture of our local farming community, and farmers Ed and Kathy have been bringing their fresh berries and produce to the Mount Horeb Farmers Market since 2015. This year they’re celebrating a big anniversary – 20 years of farming!
 
I’m very pleased to bring you this special conversation with Kathy Bures as she shares her thoughts on farming through the years – along with a lot of wonderful photos! – and reflects on their journey with joy and gratitude.

What’s happening in the Patch these days?
Usually in May we're picking asparagus and it's our family's favorite vegetable in part because it means once again we're eating fresh from the Patch. Plus, the weather is warming up so we like to get outside and cook. And asparagus does not disappoint on the grill! It's quick, it's easy, and it's delicious! Here’s a recipe we recommend.

More recipes from the Patch to make the most of your picks and purchases can be found Right Here.
 
Customers are starting to ask “when is strawberry season going to begin,” and the answer is probably sometime between June 15th - 20th. Right now, asparagus and rhubarb are both doing really well but they usually slow down by the time strawberry season gets here, so don’t miss out! During strawberry season we let people come out and pick their own berries as well as sugar snap peas! Plus, we start to dig the first of our baby red potatoes!
 
What’s the best way for folks to keep up with what’s happening in the Patch?
Signup for our newsletter through our website – www.buresberrypatch.com – and follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram.

What do you love about what you do?
​We're really grateful to be in the fresh market farming business. We love getting to know our customers and their families, growing food for our friends and neighbors, and we're really fortunate to be in this business and to have such tremendous support from the community.

When you’re not in the Patch, what do you like to do here in the Driftless?
 Our family likes to take hikes at Governor Dodge State Park and climb the towers at sunset at Blue Mounds State Park. We also love checking out the shops on Main St. Mount Horeb and going for walks on the bike trail.
 
Reflecting back over the 20 years you’ve spent farming your land, what springs to mind about that journey that you’d like to share?
I think the most important thing I can say about being in business for 20 years is that it takes the love and support of an entire family to make it all happen. All our family members have come to help during strawberry season. We’ve had nieces and nephews, sisters and brothers, moms and dads and cousins too, all come to give us a helping hand throughout the years.
 
It’s kind of like raising a child, it takes a village. Someone was always there to take care of our kids when we needed to be down in the Patch, someone was making us lunch and dinner so we could grab something quick to eat in the Patch, and someone was answering the phones and checking voicemail when we were out in the Patch. We’ve been truly blessed with the helping hands of family and friends.

Squashington: Lettuce mix, spinach, peashoots, radishes (maybe), turnips (!!!), gem lettuce, cilantro, loveage, scallions, green garlic, storage garlic, and plant starts: Tomatoes, peppers, greens, eggplant, herbs.

Joining us for her first market of the season, April of Dorothy's Range will be bringing her pastured pork to market: Ground pork, ham slices, some roasts, and maybe even a couple pounds of bacon, limited quantity.  

Campo Di Bella is making another appearance with their artisan vinegars!

And Blue Valley Gardens will be bringing turkey chorizo and asparagus.

This is just scratching the surface, so we hope to see you tomorrow, May 26th, for the rest!

“Baking is a part of who I am,” says Anna Holland, Wisconsin native and second-generation baker who now owns and operates Double Dutch Sourdough. Her father ran a donut shop in Oconomowoc and later an artisan bread business in Milwaukee. “Some of my earliest memories involve my dad taking me to work with him in the middle of the night to frost donuts, to play with dough, to fall asleep on a stack of 50-pound flour bags.”
 
Anna raised her first loaves as Double Dutch on the southside of Chicago in January of 2020, before moving back home to Wisconsin where she now operates the cottage bakery from her kitchen in Verona. All of her bread, including the enriched loaves, are all-natural and leavened only with sourdough. From start to finish a loaf takes between 24 and 36 hours to make.

​This is Anna’s first season with the Mount Horeb Farmers Market, and y’all have certainly rolled out the welcome mat for her! Each week, every last loaf has vanished from her booth long before the market’s curtain call:

It’s an exciting reception for a first-time vendor and a good reminder to shop the market early and often! If you miss her there, you can always take a look at her weekly menu online to order directly from her at www.doubledutchsourdough.com
 
“It’s just me,” Anna says about the cottage bakery that she operates out of her home in Verona, “so I can only do so much volume,” especially with her commitment to bringing only the very freshest products to market; nothing is baked ahead or frozen.
 
We talk a lot about the joys and struggles of eating locally in regards to fruits and veggies. A quick google search will net you hundreds of articles about making the most of a weekly CSA box or farmers market haul, and I think there is a parallel to be found between the thoughtfulness involved in seeking out locally-grown produce and locally-baked bread. It’s the same mindset shift we talk about when trying a strange new vegetable, rather than reaching for a California greenhouse tomato, because that’s what’s in season right here right now.

The thing about “really fresh scratch-made bread,” Anna says, “is that it doesn't stay as soft for as long as grocery store bread” because it’s not loaded up with preservatives, sugars, and dough conditioners. So there can be a bit of a learning curve to figuring out how to make the most of your super-fresh bread. (That’s assuming, of course, you don’t eat it all in one sitting!)
 

-preheat oven to 315
-cube remaining bread into desired size, 1 inch or smaller
-toss with 1 tsp of olive oil per 1 cup of cubes
-sprinkle with salt and other desired seasoning (herbs, onion powder, garlic, etc)
-spread cubes in a single layer on a pan lined with parchment paper
-bake until golden and crispy, about 15 to 25 minutes depending on the size of the cubes.
 
Tip: If you think the croutons are done, take one out, leave to cool off for two minutes and then taste. Sometimes right out of the oven they'll still feel soft, but they crisp up more as they cool.
For bread crumbs, follow the procedure above and then blitz the croutons in a food processor. You can store in your freezer for up to 6 months and only take out what you need, when you need it: Croutons will need to thaw a bit before you put them on your salad but bread crumbs can be used in a recipe straight from the freezer.
 
Ask Anna what she loves about what she does and her answer will leave you feeling like you can just about smell that fresh bread in the oven. “I love creating and the outlet that bread gives me. I love the smells, the mystery of why a loaf turns out perfect and why, sometimes, it doesn't – even when the ingredients and process are seemingly the same. And finally, I love bringing people joy with good food.”
 
As for her move back to Wisconsin from Chicago, she says it feels like a homecoming. Between baking days you’re likely to find her driving around to enjoy the scenery, hiking at Blue Mounds State Park with her family, or listening to music and enjoying the sunshine at the Hop Garden in Paoli.
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Follow Double Dutch Sourdough on Facebook and Instagram for more beautiful baking photos, delightful delectables, and recipe ideas!.

Read on for a sneak peek of this week's market, but this is far from a complete list! Hope to see you this Thursday from 3-6:30 PM on Main Street!

The flavor of the week from Whoopies Cookies & Sweets is Snickerdoodle! Yummmmm.
Bures is bringing Asparagus, it's coming in strong now, folks!

Kingfisher is bringing their full lineup of veggie and herb garden starts, as well as salad mix and a few spring specialties like salad turnips and radishes.
Blue Valley Gardens will be joining us for their first market of the season, bringing asparagus and chorizo ground turkey!
Squashington will have lettuce mix, spinach (baby spring and winter-sweetened), green garlic, storage garlic, micro greens and pea shoots, parsnips (last chance for overwintered sweetness), plant starts and more!

Last Saturday my dad and I were driving to the east side of Madison to visit a friend who lives in the neighborhood where I grew up. As we turned down familiar streets, where tulip trees were in full bloom and leaves were bursting out on every branch in that special nature’s-first-green-is-gold, my dad shook his head and said, “Every year there comes a day when spring is just here and every year it takes me by surprise.”
 
Spring, as they say, has sprung, and I think we’re all ready to make the most of it! Maybe that starts right at home in your own garden. Have rhubarb coming up? Think it looks ready to be picked but worry that your wishful thinking is going to net you an underripe rhubarb pie? Me too! Luckily, we have experts at hand. According to Kathy Bures of Bures Berry Patch the size of the stem is far more important than the color. Look for a plump stem at least 10” in length, and either use a sharp knife or gently pull the stalk while twisting to one side until it breaks, and don’t harvest all the stalks off one plant at once!

Looking for a little more info? Kathy recommends this Gardening Know-How article on harvesting rhubarb. 

And if you don’t have a rhubarb patch of your own, don’t fret! Just hurry on down to the market on Thursday and get some from Bures, who expect to bring their first harvest to market this week.
 
These rising temps mean more bounteous offerings from all of our farmers, including our vendor of the week: Kingfisher Farm and Fermentation! Read on…

​Eva Denny and Caleb Coccari-Swift have been bringing their fresh veggies, kimchi, sauerkraut, hot sauce and grass-fed lamb to the Mount Horeb Farmers Market for over five years. Farming and fermenting is their business, but the love they have for the land they inhabit encompasses every aspect of their lives; they are active conservationists, participating in various projects like Water Action Volunteering (citizen stream monitoring on their property), seasonal burns and pollinator habitat improvement.
 
“Kingfisher Farm,” they say, “is dedicated to bringing vital nutrition and bold flavors to our community.”

This week, they’ll be bringing their first salad mix of the season to market, as well as their full line up of plant starts including the habanero pepper that they use in some of their hot sauces, and over TWENTY varieties of tomatoes! On top of that, they’ll be sampling their Smoky Southwest hot sauce at their booth. So please, stop by, say hi, and prepare to say “mmm!”

Located in Argyle, Eva and Denny grow primarily for the Mount Horeb and Madison markets. “We love Mt. Horeb Market's tight-knit community,” Eva says. Getting to enjoy food from the other vendors is a Thursday highlight, “and then going to Brix's open mic night, also conveniently on Thursdays!”
 
Ask Eva what she loves about what she does, and her big smile and ready reply tells you that this is a person who puts her heart into her work. “We love making our own schedules, being home with our kids, having abundant fresh food, enjoying spectacular sunsets, getting enough vitamin D…” 

It’s a great word, “Abundance,” one that especially characterizes this time of year in this corner of the world. Flowers are blooming, pollinators are buzzing, the sun is working its age-old magic, and farmers are coaxing life out of the earth. All of us at the Mount Horeb Farmers Market wish you a joyful spring, and look forward to seeing you in beautiful downtown Mount Horeb on market days: every Thursday from 3-6:30 PM.
 
Never tried Kingfisher Farm’s kimchi, or looking for a new way to enjoy it? Eva says:
 
“We have a go-to recipe for kimchi-fried rice that honestly saves our butt at least one night a week. Chop one onion or one bunch of scallions and sauté them with a cup of kimchi, before adding 2-3 eggs and some already-cooked rice. Season with soy sauce. So easy!”

Just a sampling of what to expect:

Campo di Bella is joining us for their first market day, and bringing their artisan red wine vinegar!
 
Squashington will have lettuce mix, radishes, green garlic, parsnips, microgreens, peashoots, plants for your garden and more!
 
See you rain or shine this Thursday, May 12th from 3-6:30 on Main Street!

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 Busy blog post today! Read on for some notes on the slow start to the growing season; a closer look at Drift Coffee, our featured vendors of the week; and top it off with a sneak preview of who and what you can expect to see at market this Thursday.​ (Pro tip: for early notice of who's bringing what each week, make sure you're signed up for our newsletter!) And then mark your calendar for Thursday, May 5th - Market Day!

What a long, slow spring it’s been! I’m almost stumped for new things to say about this weather, which I probably shouldn’t admit out loud at the risk of losing all my Midwestern cred.
 
But I’m not just making small talk. For folks whose livelihood depends on the weather, the subject is anything but small. This cold, slow start to the growing season, while great for crops like strawberries and apples, means a delay for rhubarb and asparagus and other early-season delights we’ve all been looking forward to, and that’s just facts.
 
"I know a lot of people will be disappointed that there are no flowers for Mother's Day, but that's just how it is this year,” says Betsy Pierce of Running Hills, the fresh-cut flower farm just outside of town. “No two seasons are alike – last year we had already harvested most of our Tulips by the first week of April!”
 
I would have been happy to make the point metaphorically, but since the weather is giving me this assist I guess I’ll take it: supporting our local farmers means learning to live in rhythm with the seasons along with them, learning to cook with veggies we’ve never tried before while waiting for the asparagus and cucumbers to ripen, accepting that lean seasons happen and showing up for farmers markets and CSAs anyway to make the most of what’s available.
 
Pat and Sarah of Squashington Farm put it very well when they’re talking about the importance of the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model: “Community members show their support of local farms by signing up for CSA shares, a.k.a. ‘memberships’, and taking on the inherent risks of farming, and inherent benefits, with the farmers themselves [by paying] for your share of goods in advance, in Spring, when farmers need financial aid the most.”
 
Two of our vendors have CSAs, so if you’re in the market for a share be sure to check them out:

​Dedicated home-roasters for ten years, it’s fair to say that Ben and Christine know how to make a great cup of coffee! All that time spent perfecting their technique put them in the perfect position to scale up in 2019 when their friends Matt and Marie of Brix Cider asked if they’d ever consider roasting commercially. 

​“Drift is 25 years in the making,” says Ben, “and it ties in to the things that brought Christine and I together. We worked on organic farms in college, and engaging with real food and quality food has been a part of our lives since before we met.”
 
Coffee is on a very different timetable from the crops around here, and yet in this instance it’s still brought to us by people who live very much in harmony with the natural world. Ben and Christine’s professional backgrounds are in ecological conservation, nature education, wildlife travel and bird watching, and their business practices reflect their environmental beliefs from the beans they source to the packaging they use. (Their coffee bags are 100% home compostable – even the label!)

​“Coffee can be an environmentally destructive crop but it certainly doesn't have to be. Finding producers who grow coffee in harmony with the environment has been a joyful part of the process for us!”
 
“Coffee really brings together economy, ecology, and people,” Christine adds. The route that coffee travels to reach us follows the migratory route of the birds they love to watch, like the Chimney Swift that adorns the Drift Coffee logo. The Swift spends its winters in Brazil before traveling north where it is ubiquitous to Mount Horeb summer evenings. “We love to sit outside at Brix enjoying a cider and open mic while the Swifts swoop around enjoying their insects.” 

Ask Ben and Christine what they love about what they do and the word ‘connection’ pops up all over the place: “We love community and connecting with people and love the fact that sharing coffee with others can be another way of connecting.” Flavor and quality are always the goals, but they are dedicated to getting there by way of sourcing their beans as sustainably as possible and from processors where there’s a restorative aspect to the communities they serve.
 
“Coffee is a ritual,” they explain, “and it’s a meditative experience for us.” Every morning Ben and Christine make each other a cup of coffee, and then they sit and drink it together.

Want to add a little ritual to your own mornings? Learn to brew pour-over coffee like a pro! Here is Drift Coffee’s recipe for the very best way to enjoy their fresh-roasted beans:
 
Equipment: A small digital kitchen scale, a decent burr grinder (grinding your coffee on demand makes a huge difference in the flavor and experience), a Hario V60 dripper and some paper filters.
 
Process: Weigh out 25 grams of coffee in the V60, placed on top of your favorite coffee cup, and add 350 grams of boiling water. Enjoy the best cup of coffee you've ever had!
 
Ben and Christine look forward to seeing you at the Market this season – and then after the market, enjoying cider and live music just down the street at Brix Cider every Thursday afternoon! 

This is by no means a complete list of all the vendors or all the goodies you can expect to see on Thursday the 5th, just think of it as a sneak peek to whet your appetite; you’ll have to show up for the full show!
  
Bures Berry Patch will be at market this week with their beautiful farm fresh eggs and local honey. 

Whoopies Cookies and Sweets will have Mexican Chocolate whoopie pies this Thursday: chocolate, cinnamon, and cayenne, whoopie!

Additional confirmed vendors: Double Dutch Sourdough, Open Kettle Farms, Farmer John's Cheese.

“As stated in our mission, our market is motivated to provide a chance for the people of our town and its environs to come together as a community.  As a way of facilitating this goal, we offer up a Community Table. Each week the market provides an opportunity for a local organization to be present to explain its mission and attract new members, volunteers, or participants.”
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Interested? Click here to read more and to apply!