Ripe Now! Sweet Corn I Happy Plastic-Free July!

We're excited to have seen the first harvests of corn at the Berkeley Farmers' Markets this past week. Before you know it, we'll be up to our ears in it! Before firing up the grill for this iconic Fourth of July side dish, let's take a moment to acknowledge corn’s rich Indigenous American history, and learn how its seed came to be abused for mass consumption.

Luckily, you’ll find an a-maize-ing, non-industrial selection of sweet corn at all three Berkeley Farmers’ Markets. White, yellow, and bi-colored varieties are available now at Avalos Farm, Full Belly Farm, and Vang Family Farm. Riverdog Farm will also have some soon.

Storage Tip: Sugars start to convert to starch as soon as they’re plucked from the stalk. This is why farmers' market corn is so sweet, but also why you should eat it as soon as possible. Store in the fridge for up to three days and shuck just before use.

Easy Eating: It’s hard to make a bad corn dish. For breakfast, scramble Golden Rule eggs with fresh corn, tomatoes, and maybe some goat cheese. Try Esquites, the popular Mexican street corn, or a Corn and Radish Salad with Spicy Lime Dressing for a refreshing BBQ side. You also can’t talk about corn without mentioning cornbread. Oakland-based chef Bryant Terry knocks it out of the park with these Cornbread Muffins with Whipped Sweet Corn. His latest cookbook, Black Food, is available now at the Ecology Center Store.

Anaheim Chile & Corn Chowder

From the Berkeley Bowl Cookbook, available at the Ecology Center Store

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1 large white onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Anaheim chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 small Yukon gold potatoes, diced
2 ears of corn, kernels sliced from cob
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cups salted vegetable broth
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sautè for 6-7 minutes.
Add the garlic, chiles, celery, potatoes, and corn. Sautè for 3 minutes to soften slightly. Add the coriander, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and vegetable broth, and bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Use a hand blender to partly puree the soup, leaving much of the veggies chunky.
Stir the whole milk and buttermilk in, taste the soup, and adjust the level of the seasonings if desired.

Donate to help keep our farmers' markets going strong!

This Week's Vendors

Saturday Downtown Berkeley

All Things Sharp

Blue Heron

Brokaw Ranch

Avalos Farm

Kaki Farm

Good Faith Farm

Golden Rule Organics

Lifefood Gardens

Flying Disc Ranch

Achadinha Cheese Co.

Little Fish

Kashiwase Farm

Orchard X

Stepladder Creamery

Happy Boy Farms

True Grass Farm

Solano Mushroom

Riverdog Farm

Smit Farms

Gattonelli

(every other week)

Frog Hollow Farm

Higher Land Coffee

Tony's Kettle Corn + Crepes

Andy's Thai

Tamales La Oaxaqueña

Cafe Zambala

Beber Almond Milk

Big Little Bowl

Your Granola Garden

Laguna Garden Bakery

Morell's Bread

Obour Hummus

Phoenix Pastificio

Bolani

Coracao

Primavera Tamales

Bun Bao

Wild West Ferments

Sika Ethiopian Specialties

Peach Jamboree

Tuesday South Berkeley

Kaki Farms

Avalos Farm

Massa Organics

Oya Organics

Blue Heron Farm

Brokaw Ranch

Blossom Bluff Orchard

Lifefood Gardens

Full Belly Farm

Flying Disc Ranch

Good Faith Farm

(every other week)

Lucero Organics

Solano Mushroom

Dirty Girl Produce

Kashiwase Farm

Stepladder Creamery

Riverdog Farm

Smit Farms

Frog Hollow Farm

Little Fish Co.

Queen of Sheeba Honey

Phoenix Pastificio

Bolani

The Fruit Tree

Sika Ethiopian Specialties

(every other week)

Andy's Thai

Donna's Tamales

Peach Jamboree

Thursday North Berkeley

Little Fish

Massa Organics

Golden Rule Organics

E&H Mushroom Farm

Riverdog Farm

Frog Hollow Farm

Happy Boy Farms

Phoenix Pastificio

Big Little Bowl

Donna's Tamales

Morell's Bread

Upland Apiary

Crane Creek Growers

Sika Ethiopian Specialties

Vendors Out

Tuesday

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Thursday

All Things Sharp: Until July 21st

Saturday

All Things Sharp: Until July 16

Learn More About the Berkeley Farmers' Market

Vendor Goodbyes and New Beginnings

We have a bittersweet announcement to make: we're bidding adieu to a few vendors in our market community.

Sika Ethiopian Specialties: Fasika [pictured] and her husband Tharon will be moving to Grass Valley where they plan to continue sharing a taste of Addis Ababa at farmers' markets. Your last chance to enjoy their freshly-roasted coffee and injera is Saturday July 9th.
Orchard X: Joanna [pictured] and Abbie are moving on from their orchard, previously Guru Ram Das, to new adventures sometime in August.
Green Thumb: Rudy [pictured] and Maria are taking a long break from the Thursday market to raise their first child together.

These three vendors have offered up so much of themselves to Berkeley and beyond. Join us in wishing them well at the farmers' market. We can't wait to see what's in store for them next.

Berkeley WIC Check Distribution

South Berkeley Farmers' Market

Tuesday, July 12, 2–4pm

The Berkeley Women Infants and Children (WIC) team will be back in South Berkeley distributing $30 Farmers' Market Nutrition Program checkbooks to cardholders.

Not a current WIC cardholder but interested in becoming one? They can help you apply on the spot!

Learn More About WIC

Celebrate Plastic-Free July with the Ecology Center

Looking for a fun way to do good this summer? Look no further! This month the Ecology Center is hosting a series of events and activities as a part of Plastic Free July, the globally celebrated month of action against the plastic crisis. After years of ramped up plastic production from the pandemic, join us as we explore ways to nix the plastics that pollute our community.