Market Umbrella is an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3), based in New Orleans, whose mission is to cultivate the power of farmers markets to drive economic and community health in the region. Market Umbrella has operated the Crescent City Farmers Markets (CCFM) since 1995.
Recipe Archive
What’s your favorite dish to make after visiting the Crescent City Farmers Market? Share your recipes with us on Instagram or Facebook and it might be featured in our weekly newsletter!
Auntie C’s Shrimp Pasta
This recipe comes from staffer Ardice Cotter’s family recipes and has been enjoyed by her family for many years. She hopes your family will enjoy it too!
Cooking Pears
Cooking pears have once again made an appearance at market. These hard-variety pears can seem daunting to tackle in the kitchen, but the fruit can star in numerous dishes and desserts. For a no-bake option, simply slice and pair (no pun intended) with cheeses and cured meats, or dice up and add to a salad for a sweet crunch. You can always bake them into puff pastry and brush them with egg and sugar for an easy breakfast tart. Sierra, our market manager, likes to add the remaining juice from cooked down or macerated pears to her cocktails. This article details a few fun ways to incorporate pears into this week’s cooking, along with a few helpful tips on extending shelf life and how to pick the perfect fruit.
Market Guide for New Parents
For all our new breastfeeding parents, here is a mini market guide to the highly nutritious foods currently available at market. Breastmilk contains everything your baby needs for the first six months of life, excluding vitamin D, so it is important to try and maintain a diet that supplies your body with essential healthy fats, nutrients, proteins, and fibers.
Summer Squash Rice
This recipe calls for “any summer squash”, so you’ve got choices at market! Squash is currently lining the tables of all of our produce vendors and is available at each market. Even other gourds like zucchini will fit in well with this recipe, which is finished off with garlic butter and parmesan cheese. The addition of tomatoes makes the whole dish reminiscent of pizza, but with different carbs and a lot more veggies! It’s sure to be a hit with young ones, especially considering the recipe includes a tip to modify it into a gratin. Sub out long-grain white rice for brown for a more fibrous, filling dish.
Chocolate Buttermilk Icebox Pie
This recipe is too easy and too decadent to pass up! Seven ingredients are all you need to take your post-dinner treat or mid-afternoon tea to the next level. The best part is you’ll be able to beat the heat as this is a chilly dessert pie, keeping well in the fridge. Ms. Mary over at T&R Dairy carries buttermilk, making this recipe an easy addition to your week’s groceries.
Simple Sautéed Chanterelle Mushrooms
This beautiful bright orange/yellow fresh chanterelles (mushrooms) recipe is nutty, earthy, chewy and very easy to cook.
Watermelon and Tomato Salad with Feta Cheese
As Creole Tomato season comes to an end and watermelons roll in on the back of our farmers’ trucks, we wanted to share a recipe that highlighted this special time in our season, where both fruits are ripe and abundant! With the summer heat rolling in, you won’t be finding much lettuce for your salads at the market. Using watermelons and tomatoes can be a fresh and tasty way to make sure you are getting your salad fix during this time of year while also supporting our local farmers and producers in the summer months. Add cucumbers for an extra crunch, spice up your salad with some local, fresh cayenne peppers from Poché Family Farm, and try goat feta cheese from Huckleberry Fred Creamery or fresh cheese from T&R Diary.
Duck Breasts with Peaches and Tarragon
Simple, elegant, and tasty, this meal is a great snapshot of current market items. Coming together in one pot, it makes a good meal for a weeknight dinner or for when you want to impress the neighbors. Grab your peaches from Cherry Creek Orchards or Poché Family Farms, honey from Powers Beekeepers, and of course delicious duck breast from our new friends at Backwater Foie Gras.
Mama’s Tomato Casserole
Tomatoes are abundant at market, full of antioxidants and essential vitamins and minerals. It only makes sense to introduce them to suppertime classics, like this creative NOLA recipe for a beef and tomato casserole. Almost all the ingredients are available at market--bell peppers have been lining the table at producers like Faust Farms and the Monicas, while Amorphous Gardens has had big cloves of elephant garlic ready to sell for quite a few weeks! Ms. Mary over at T&R Dairy packs her ground beef by the pound. This recipe is a perfect starter dish to try out if you haven’t taken the leap into Creole tomatoes yet. Scroll to the bottom of the article for the casserole recipe, but if you’d rather try your hand at something else, there is a sausage and tomato pasta recipe as well as one for garlic and tomato soup.
Green Tomato Salsa
Adapted from a NYT recipe with a few quick fixes to ensure the best flavor, this vegan recipe is a great way to use up the green tomatoes that have been sitting proudly at market stands the past few weeks. If you do not have a food processor, chop as fine as you can get it works perfectly. Salsas do not have to be pretty--once you get your veggies nice and homogenous, it’s sure to be a party! Pick up green tomatoes at produce stands such as Faust Farms, the Monica’s, and get them along with homemade tortilla chips at Isabel’s Tamales and More!
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About Us
The Crescent City Farmers Market operates weekly year-round throughout New Orleans. The CCFM hosts 70+ local small farmers, fishers, and food producers, and more than 150,000 shoppers annually.