New Feature Starting this Week: How We Grow!
Each week we will feature a Sweetwater farmer or vendor who will answer the question: How, and why do you grow veggies, raise animals, and/or produce products the way you do? This week, we feature Earthly Kneads Bakery of Muskegon. In the Last but not least section of newsletter.Earthscape Farm of Hesperia

Quarters of BEEF for sale.  Talk to me  or email for more information!

EGGS! Our chickens are HAPPY! We will have eggs!

VEGGIES this week ~  We hope to dig some fresh carrots and celeriac.  Red cabbage and Green Savoy Cabbage, Kennebec and Fingerling Potatoes will be from storage in the root cellars.
BEEF ~  Try our beef!  Our steers were on lush pastures from May to November.   They are hung to age and processed by Ebel’s Meats in Falmouth, a family-run USDA operation. Soup bones are on sale $1 per lb.  We also have     TOP ROUND STEAK, a lean, moderately tough but very flavorful cut of beef.  Prepare it with slow moist-heat methods including braising, pressure cooking, or slow-cook it in a crockpot.
HIGHER GROUNDS COFFEE in 1# bags ~ Various types, beans or ground, dark or light roast, full caf, half caf or decaf.
Creswick Farms of Ravenna
Pastured Raised, Antibiotic & Hormone Free, Artisanal Meats
No chicken or lamb until May. Seasonality rules!
Beef – Ground Beef.
Pork – Bacon(both Apple & Hickory), Pork Chops, Pork Tenderloin
Eggs will be available next market
Sausage – Apple Chicken, Breakfast links & bulk, Chorizo, Pancetta, Garlic Kielbasa. Hot Italian Links.
Demand for Creswick meats along with rising prices for feed have forced a small price increase in most products. Please check the website for details, also for info about the farms newest products including Honey Cured Bacon!
http://www.creswickfarms.com/
PRE-ORDERS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED! Placing special orders at the market or by email — chrisbedford@charter.net — gives you more options! Check the Creswick Farms website, there are many selections that we don’t carry every week but would be more than happy to bring them to you with our regular order! Order must be received by 8am on the Tuesday before the market. Thanks!
Any special order not picked up at the market Saturday designated by the order will incur a $5.00 additional charge unless Chris is notified by 12noon on the Friday before the market.

Shady Side Farm of Holland
Please note: We will not be at market this week, but you are invited to come see our sheep being sheared! Nick Weaver of Fremont, our expert shearer for five years now, will be doing the shearing from 9:00am to noon.
http://shadysidefarm.etsy.com
http://shadysidefarm.blogspot.com

Grassfields Cheese of Coopersville
Raw milk, organic cheese in the Dutch Tradition
Cheddar, Gouda, Gouda w/Dill, Gouda w/Garlic & Onion, Edam, Leyden (Gouda w/cumin)
Please note: Check our Grassfields website  www.grassfieldscheese.com/ and if there are cheese products you would like that we don’t normally carry you can special order them with the same timeline as for Creswick Farms. Special orders must be sent to me by 8am of the Tuesday before the market. chrisbedford@charter.net. Thanks!

Earthly Kneads Bakery of Muskegon
Many apologies for missing last market! Our market person called in sick and we had no way to get the goodies to you. If you missed out on the double chocolate bread, we still have a few loaves in the freezer at the shop. Give us a call if you think you might like one! 231.728.6383
This week’s offerings:
*CUPCAKES! – “Tropical Vacation” (coconut and tropical fruit topped with vanilla buttercream), Fig and Almond, and Pumpkin Spice
*Pies – We will have a couple varieties of crumb-topped assorted fruit pies
*Scones and Muffins – Baker’s whim. Dark Chocolate Scones for sure!
*Saturday Breads – Honey Whole Wheat (100% whole grain), Cranberry Hazelnut Spelt, Hearty Apple Raisin, Tuscan (loaves and baguettes), Sesame Semolina, English Muffin Bread
*Special Sweets – Pecan Sticky Buns, Pumpkin Spice Mini Loaves
*Special Breads – Organic Cheddar & Chipotle, Organic Havarti, Hummus, and more baker’s whim.
*Cookies – Cashew Puffs, Giant Chocolate Almond Coconut Macaroons (the best macaroons in Michigan!), GF Peanut Butter, GF & Vegan Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, No wheat Oatmeal Cookies (cherry almond and cranberry orange), and more
*Granola – Ginger Fig, Cranberry Pecan, Cherry Almond, Totally Nuts (hazelnut, cashew, and almond), and Apple Pepita (no nuts)
Hope to see you Saturday!

Liberty Family Farm & Bakery of Hart
From the Hoophouse: Greens!  – Arugula, Spinach, Kale (Come early for these)
From the Farm: Fresh Aire Pork – Garlic & Basil Brats & German Brats
From the Bakery:
The Ultimate Breakfast Cookie – Made with Certified Organic Ingredients:  Chocolate Cherry Pecan, Chocolate Walnut, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and our newest creation, Walnut Flax!
A note about our special cookie, Maple Raisin. This cookie was developed for one of our family who is very allergic to nuts and seeds.  Here we have a delicious breakfast cookie with pure maple syrup & organic raisins.
Also: -Peanut Butter Delight Granola; Coconut Cranberry Granola;
Breads & Muffins. NEW! Organic Apple Muffins and Morning Glory Muffins
-Ciabatta Bread – Carmelized Onion & Organic Cheddar Ciabatta
-7 Grain Bread
-Fresh Cinnamon Rolls
Blueberry Turnovers
Chocolate truffle Cheesecake by the slice (Gluten Free)
Spinach Cheddar Quiche (Made with fresh picked spinach)
Sausage Onion Cheddar Quiche
Empanadas
GLUTEN FREE:
Gluten Free Breakfast Cookies
Gluten Free Graham Crackers
Gluten Free Crispy Rice Granola
SAMPLES AVAILABLE!

McLaughlin Grows of Muskegon
Greens are back! Pac Choi, Arugula, Baby Lettuce Mix & Red & Green Salad Mix.

Laughing Tree Brick Oven Bakery of Hart
West Michigan Wheat $5.00 (A light wheat bread with a wonderfully chewy crust)
Oceana Round $5.00 ( Rustic Italian country bread)
Third Coast Three Seed $5.50 (Sunnies, Sesames, and Flax in a light wheat)
The Michigander $5.50 ( Michigan-grown whole grain flours—dark and soulful)
Griff’s 8-Grain $6.50  (Hearty, hearty! Eight organic grains and a bit of Michigan honey)
Finn’s Pecan Raisin Pecan $7.75 (Jam packed with pecans and organic raisins)
Elbridge Parmesan Olive $8.00 (sumptuous parmesan and Kalamata black olives)
Irish Cheddar Peppercorn $8.00  (smooth Tipperary Cheddar and organic black pepper)
We will be sampling and selling our BRAND NEW CRANBERRY ORANGE SCONE as well as our Truly Ginger Scones and our Michigan Cherry Scones.  Look for our Deep Mud Brownies, our fabulous Tree Hugger PB and chocolate chip cookies, and our Expedition cookies (better than a granola bar any day!).
It is our pleasure and honor to bake for you and your family!

Maple Creek Sugars of Fremont
Doug & Tate Luchies have been producing wonderful maple syrup & honey for almost 8 years on their farm.  Sizes will range from quarts to pints.

Hickory Ridge Family Farm
Spring is getting closer and we’re getting ready to put in our first chick order. We’ll be at the market this Saturday to take preorders for this year’s chicken and turkey.

Bee & Botanicals of Spring Lake
Nature inspired…pretty, practical and organic!
Organic Soaps –  A full selection of great organic soaps to start the new year (Peppermint, Oatmeal Spice, Lemongrass Tea, Lavender, and other wonderful scents (made with certified organic oils, and botanicals – no artificial fragrances or colors, only essential oils).  Pretty hand made pager wrapped gift boxes w/gift tag – $1 each ( make great hostess, teacher, birthday and any time gifts).
Lip Balms – Made with Michigan beeswax, organic ingredients and food safe essential oils ( Peppermint).
Sachets A variety of styles and sizes to choose from
Organic Bath Tea, made with certified organic botanicals and bonus bath salts.
Organic Lavender dryer bags, especially nice with bed linens and towels (2 pack or bag of 5 available).
Bees Wax Candles – Fir Trees, Snowmen, Bee skeps, Bears,  3″ and 5 ” pillars, votives,and tea lights.
Clean burning! Long Burn Time! Non-Petroleum!  100% Michigan beeswax :  )
Look forward to seeing you at the market!

Daisy Doodles of Whitehall
“Mom will be at market this week with more of my yummy treats made with a light pawprint. Also, she’s bringing along a sampling of packaging containers she’s looking at, and would love your feedback! Me, I just love being fed- Daisy Doodles, that is!”

Last but not least

How we grow!
In order for you, the customer, to know more about the vendors who stand behind the Sweetwater Pledge to Our Customers, each week we will feature one Sweetwater vendor to whom we have posed the question: How, and why do you grow veggies, raise animals, and/or produce products the way you do?

This week we feature Gail Smythe, founder of Earthly Kneads Bakery. Gail, a former environmental scientist, says that one day, she realized that “..our society spends a lot of time cleaning up mistakes after the fact. Why not just keep them from happening in the first place?” This thought gave birth to her vision at the heart of Earthly Kneads.
From Gail Smythe, owner, Earthly Kneads Bakery of Muskegon: One of the fundamental premises of Earthly Kneads has always been to support farms and producers who are doing what we feel is the right thing for both our planet and its people. It has been a conscious decision and not one made for us by others. In our baked goods, we have always used certified organic dairy from a company that supports small family farms instead of large farming conglomerates. Our flour has always been organic and stone-ground (no bleaching, vitamin-enriching, or brominating allowed!). Not only is organic important, but so is fair-trade. Our sugar is certified fair-trade, certified organic, and cane derived. Our chocolate has always been certified organic and fair-trade. We use 100% organic nut butters that are made here in Michigan, too. We are picky down to every last detail, including our herbs and spices (all 100% certified organic), our pure vanilla (certified organic AND fair trade), our salt (we use Real Salt), and even our leaveners (all aluminum-free). Our eggs come exclusively from Creswick Farms and Larry Hasselman has been providing us with honey for years. Every time we make a purchase, we cast a vote. Each dollar we spend is a vote for the company that we choose to spend it on. At our bakery, we cast our votes for the businesses that we hope can change our world. Many people feel that change can only come from above. We believe that it starts with all of us. Let’s make a difference! Question your food suppliers. If you ever have any questions about any of our ingredients or why we chose them, please don’t hesitate to ask. Happy and healthy eating!

As always, if you would like to become a Friend of the Market for a suggested donation of $10.00, which entitles you to a free cup of coffee at every market you attend for a full year, please see me at the market this Saturday! We will also have  Higher Grounds Coffee by the Cup for a suggested donation of $1.00.

Sweetwater is now on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Muskegon-MI/Sweetwater-Local-Foods-Market/111077177535

Hope to see you at the market!
Diana Jancek
Market Manager

We are an authorized Bridge Card farmers market!