McEwen & Sons Grits

The WestSide Grocery at the Windmill sells wonderful stone ground grits from McEwen and Sons right outside of Birmingham. We love their high quality product and thought this video was a fun glimpse into their world and their products! Enjoy.

McEwen & Sons True Grits from Jennifer Davick on Vimeo.

Third Plate- NPR Story About a New Look at Sustainable Farming and Local Eating

We found this recent NPR story fascinating and had to share! Click here to listen to the story on NPR.org.

'Third Plate' Reimagines Farm-To-Table Eating To Nourish The Land

by NPR STAFF  May 20, 2014

Perched on a farm along the Hudson River is Dan Barber's award-winning restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The food that's harvested on the farm year-round is what is served to diners daily.

But this champion of the farm-to-table movement noticed that farming and consuming foods locally still wasn't all that sustainable.

"Tomatoes are the all star of the farm-to-table world. But in fact, they're like the Hummers of the vegetable world," he tells NPR Morning Edition host Renee Montagne. That's because they require more water and nutrients from the soil than a lot of other vegetables.

"At the end of the day what we need to support is all of the farming decisions that lead to that one great tomato," he says.

Fresh Hops + Local Crops

The Windmill Market, Sweet Olive and the Fairhope Brewery hosted a great event a few weeks back bringing together good food, great beer, local and seasonal stuff with fun folks in a new event called Fresh Hops and Local Crops. We hope this will be the first of many!

Sweet Olive Chef Brenden Lynch crafted a sensational seasonal menu that paired with several of the Brewery's beers that were brewed especially for that night. Some beers were poured right out of the tank, never to touch a keg. Others were poured with only natural carbonation, nothing added. The event got down to the pure essence of the brewing process and the food just complemented everything perfectly. Some of the pork was even braised in beer! My kind of meal.

Below is the menu that you missed (shame on you!) and the beers that were poured. Stay tuned for the next Fresh Hops Local Crops TBA!

PAIRING 1

Little House Farms pork sausage patty (house seasoned) over a cornbread crostini topped with savory apple gravy

Paired with the I Drink Therefore I Amber from the brite tank (this is the last tank the beer goes into before being kegged)

PAIRING 2

Salad- Fresh Baby green Salad with Candied Local Pecans and a Satsuma Vinaigrette served in a warm pastry crust

Paired with Firkin of Fairhope 51 with local satsumas and Mosaic hops 

PAIRING 3

Painted Black-braised chicken slider topped with caramelized onions and pickles on a sweet Challah roll

Paired with the Painted Black IPA with added whole leaf hops – the whole leaf hops are in their most natural form, as opposed to the pelletized hops we more commonly use

PAIRING 4

Chocolate citrus cream tartlets- gingersnap crust topped with chocolate ganache infused with local grapefruit and topped with a white chocolate cream cheese

Paired with the Section Street Wheat infused with local ruby red grapefruit – we will utilize our Randall device to infuse our wheat beer with local grapefruit

A little info about a Firkin...

“It is the fact that the firkin is typically dedicated to housing Real Ale (i.e., cask-conditioned ale), or beer that has not been cold-filtered, pasteurized and carbonated by outside equipment. The ale beer that is housed inside the firkin is naturally carbonated by its resident yeast and its ingredients have not been processed in any way outside of simple fermentation by the yeast. In essence, firkin-contained Real Ale is comparable to the ale beers that were produced hundreds of years ago, before industrialization subjected them to processes that removed and/or killed the yeast, stripping the beer of many of its inherent vitamins (especially the B vitamins), minerals, and perhaps most importantly, taste.”

"Loxley woman starts greenhouse business in her 50s"- Fairhope Courier

Posted: Friday, July 19, 2013 1:03 pm | Updated: 1:38 pm, Fri Jul 19, 2013.

By Jill Clair Gentry / Food editor

Anita Craine has always been passionate about providing safe, nutritious food for her family. Long before the local and natural food movement, she spent her time searching for local farmers who would give her food she believed was more healthful for her family. She grew the foods she couldn't buy herself.

Anita grew up in a farming family, and her grandfather developed the first farmers markets in Alabama.

“I cut my teeth on dinnertime conversation about a living wage for farmers,” she says.

However, Anita spent most of her adult life as a teacher, wife and mother — she grew her own food at home, but never dreamed she'd one day be a farmer who supplied other families with food. But at 56, she's doing just that. In January, Anita and her son Micah opened Craine Creek Farms, a hydroponic greenhouse business. They provide lettuces and herbs to local restaurants, markets and grocery stores, and in the future, Anita says she will sell directly to customers at the farm.

“We want to grow safe food, and we want to grow delicious food,” she says. “So it really has to be all about the product, all about the lettuce.”

Anita spent three years reading, studying and making contacts with businesses who were interested in buying locally-grown lettuce. She and Micah, who recently graduated from the University of Alabama with a business and economics degree, traveled to South Carolina to train on a hydroponic farm before they even started building. This preparation has led to a successful first six months.

“The learning curve is sharp and long, but we are way ahead of where we thought we would be,” Anita says. “We took the time to go out and meet people and develop relationships. We felt like we knew most of the people we're selling to before we ever built and planted, and that has made a huge difference.”

Literally Local... Online

A customer just introduced us to an online publication called Literally Local and we wanted to share. The e-zine says it mission is "celebrating foods grown and raised within a 200 mile radius of Pensacola and the restaurants, chefs and local businesses who use and sell them." 

This part of Baldwin County falls into that radius, and the publication features some of our favorite purveyors like Sweet Home Farm, Fiddler Farms, and more! The content is fun the images are beautiful. Worth a look...

Quinoa should be taking over the world. This is why it isn’t.

We love to love Quinoa at the Windmill, and it is a daily staple on the Sweet Olive menu. So we thought this article from the Washington Post was interesting and wanted to share...

By Lydia DePillis, The Washington Post, Published: July 11, 2013

In the Andean highlands of Bolivia and Peru, the broom-like, purple-flowered goosefoot plant is spreading over the barren hillsides–further and further every spring. When it’s dried, threshed, and processed through special machines, the plant yields a golden stream of seeds called quinoa, a protein-rich foodstuff that’s been a staple of poor communities here for millennia. Now, quinoa exports have brought cash raining down on the dry land, which farmers have converted into new clothes, richer diets, and shiny vehicles.

But at the moment, the Andeans aren’t supplying enough of the ancient grain. A few thousand miles north, at a downtown Washington D.C. outlet of the fast-casual Freshii chain one recent evening, a sign delivered unpleasant news: “As a result of issues beyond Freshii’s control, Quinoa is not available.” Strong worldwide demand, the sign explained, had led to a shortage. A Freshii spokeswoman said that prices had suddenly spiked, and the company gave franchises the choice to either eat the cost or pull the ingredient while they renegotiated their contract.

Quinoa is a low-calorie, gluten-free, high-protein grain that tastes great. Its popularity has exploded in the last several years, particularly among affluent, health-conscious Americans. But the kinks that kept the grain out of Freshii that day are emblematic of the hurdles it will face to becoming a truly widespread global commodity and a major part of Americans’ diet. It shows the crucial role of global agribusiness, big-ticket infrastructure investment, and trade in bringing us the things we eat, whether we like it or not.

In short, it’s hard to keep something on the menu if you might not be able to afford it the next day. And the American agricultural economy makes it hard for a new product to reach the kind of steady prices and day-in-day-out supply that it takes to make it big.

Southern Lady Visits Downtown Fairhope

In the press AGAIN!

Windmill Market is thrilled to be featured in this Month's Southern Lady Magazine. The editors at SL visited all our favorite spots in Fairhope... Windmill of course, MaryAnn's Deli and Sweet Olive Bakery & Cafe included, but also Panini Pete's, Page & Palette, The Church Mouse and more!

You can see a few of the pages copied below, or click here to download the virtual version to your phone, kindle, nook or ipad.

Flying High in Sky Magazine

Sky Magazine just featured the state of Alabama and all the best things to do while there. A friend of ours happened to read it on the plane on the way back from an overseas trip and jumped out of her seat when she saw the WINDMILL featured at 30,000 ft!

Thought you guys might want to check it out! Click them image below to flip through the virtual pages!

Gulf Coast Newspapers: "Leave the shopping to the market"

Leave the shopping to the market

Windmill Market Produce Club brings together Baldwin County foods and local consumers

Friday, June 14, 2013

By Jill Clair Gentry Food editor people@gulfcoastnewspapers.com

Amy Ramagosa of Fairhope and her son Burke pick up their produce box at Windmill Market. Ramagosa says she loves teaching her son about different kinds of vegetables and how farmers grow food for their family to eat.

WHAT: Windmill Market Produce Club

WHERE: Windmill Market, corner of Equality and Bancroft streets in Fairhope

WHEN: Pickup is Mondays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Fairhope and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Mobile

MORE INFO: Stop by Windmill Market, call 251-990-8883 or email Maggie Lacey at maggie@windmillmarket.org.

Imagine: you don't have to go to the grocery store every week. The fruits and vegetables you feed your family tonight were harvested earlier today. You're trying vegetables you never would have bought at the grocery store and discovering you love them. You save money on food and are eating more healthful meals.

This might sound idyllic, but it's is a picture of a real-life program available here in Baldwin County — Windmill Market's Produce Club.

Every Monday for the past two years, dozens of people have flocked to the market to pick up a box of fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables, dairy, bread, meats and specialty items like granola, soap or coffee.

“It's a ready-made meal plan for the week,” says Maggie Lacey, manager of the Windmill Market. “You've got it all packed up and ready to go, and you've got recipes to get you started.”

And every item is grown or made locally.

“It's as fresh as produce gets,” Lacey says. “We talk to the farmers all week long. Sunday nights, they tell us what they've got, and they harvest Monday morning. There's almost nowhere you can go to get produce that fresh.”

Lacey says about 90 percent of the vegetables come from Baldwin County, but for some items, they work with farmers in south Mississippi, Georgia or Florida.

Bloomin' & Growin'

The Windmill's garden is bursting with buds and tiny fruits everywhere you look!

We try to fill every container, planter and bed with something edible, showing that we can use the ground for both edible and beautiful things at the same time- it doesn't have to be one or the other!

Thanks to Father Nature Landscapes, who makes it all work for us while we stay busy with the restaurant and grocery.

The most interesting things popping up are our tomato plants, which we did not plant on purpose. We recently shifted our compost operation to make room for more back of house space. All the restaurant fruit and vegetables scraps have recently been going to feed Little House Farms heritage breed black pigs instead of making compost anyway, which we think is a fine use for all that. So the remaining compost was added to the beds a few weeks back. The millions of tiny tomato seeds down in the compost that we never once thought about decided to sprout and we now have tomato plants growing from our ears! Out of the base of fruit tree planters, in garden beds, you name it! What a treat to watch these accidental plants grow strong and make food once again!

Pictures of the tomato plants are below, as well as a few other delicious things just starting to pop out. Come by and check it all out for yourself!

Tomato Plants Taking Over!

Tomato Plants Growing Under Our Fruit Trees

Blackberries

Blueberries

Figs

Lettuces Sprouting out of the cracks in the sidewalks and the corner of raised beds!

Tiny Peppers still going and growing strong form last Summer! Mild Winter, I guess...

McDonald's hamburger looks the same after 14 years

A US man has shown off a 14-year-old McDonald's hamburger that looks the same as the day he bought it.

The Telegraph, By James Brooks   1:52PM BST 24 Apr 2013

David Whipple, from Utah, had originally planned to keep the burger for two months in order to show friends how its preservatives would maintain its appearance.

But, after accidentally leaving the product in his pocket for two years, Mr Whipple decided to keep the burger for even longer to see how long it could continue looking normal.

"It wasn't on purpose," Mr Whipple told US television show The Doctors.

"I was showing some people how enzymes work and I thought a hamburger would be a good idea. And I used it for a month and then forgot about it.

"It ended up in a paper sack in the original sack with the receipt in my coat tossed in the back of my truck and it sat there for, I don't know, two or three months."

However, Mr Whipple's experiment was then forgotten after the coat was tossed in a closet.

"My wife didn't discover it until at least a year or two after that. And we pulled it out and said 'oh my gosh, I can't believe it looks the same way."

Doctors on the CBS show noted that aside from the pickle disintegrating, the burger showed no signs of mould, fungus or even a strange odour.

Mr Whipple admitted that at one point he had considered selling the burger via online auction site eBay.

But, despite bids reaching close to $2,000 (£1,300), he and his family decided to keep the product for educational use.

He now admits he uses the burger to convince his grandchildren not to eat junk food from restaurants such as McDonalds.

"It's great for the grandkids to see. To see what happens with fast food," he said.

Alabama Gulf Seafood Summit

Statewide elected officials, fisherman, retailers, wholesalers, and chefs gathered today at the Mobile Convention Center for the first Alabama Gulf Seafood Summit. What I hope will be the first of many organized events to promote the industry and bring all the necessary folks to the same table seemed like a big hit for all involved. I was honored to be there, listen and observe some heavy hitters of the industry, like the Governor, buyers for Whole Foods, the Ag Commissioner, folks from the Dept of Conservation, the Grocers Assoc and more. There were lots of interesting ideas, networking, and plenty mention of the debilitating oil spill and its effects on the industry.

With all that said, I left the event as confused and frustrated as ever before- and not just because a stalled out train was blocking my car under the Convention Center for what seemed like an eternity. I feel like there continues to be a disconnect between the Alabama seafood industry and the consumer… and I don’t know why.

I have been watching the large-scale PR campaign for Alabama Gulf Seafood since the oil spill and am impressed with the imagery of these evocative ads. They motivate me to go right now, “Turn here!” as some billboards say, and buy Alabama seafood. But where???

It is rare to find Alabama seafood in local and chain restaurants. It is rarer still to find it in grocery stores. It is next to impossible to find a seafood market anywhere between Orange Beach and Bayou la Batre. That means thousands of consumers in Mobile and Baldwin counties have inadequate access to local seafood. I know people who drive to Pensacola, Florida (another state entirely) to buy their fresh catch! My own house is within spitting distance of our waters and I do not know where to go to find seafood.

As a consumer I am frustrated enough, but as a buyer for a local grocery and restaurant, I feel the frustration on this end as well. There are very limited options for local catch. For a while I thought perhaps I was new to the industry, just didn’t know the right people or have the right suppliers. But at the Summit I found myself in a conversation with several other market and restaurant owners, chefs and caterers who said the same. Where is the local seafood? Why is so hard for me to buy for my stores and my customers?

Why is there such a disconnect between the seafood producers and the consumers? Is the demand for local products just not there? There must be some obstacles preventing this fresh seafood from reaching Alabamians. Perhaps its government regulation, or conservation limits on fin fish, or irregular supply from fisherman and uncooperative distributors. When it all comes down to it, though, I think the blame needs to be put squarely on the face of the consumers. I really can’t think of anyone else.

I know a few restaurants serve Alabama shrimp, or oysters when in season, but Swai and Tilapia are the norm, don’t kid yourselves. And if consumers are ok with that, or don’t care enough to even ask where its sourced, how will anything ever change?

Farmer Feature: Craine Creek

We work with anywhere from 50-60 farms throughout the year supplying our grocery store, our cafe and our Produce Club. We admire their hard work and enjoy their bounty on a daily basis. We'd like to introduce you to a few of them, starting now!

We visited a new greenhouse last week that will be supplying some wonderful (and slightly unusual) greens to the Windmill in the coming weeks, and hopefully ongoing. Their arugula is to die for, the bok choy and rare varieties of mustard greens or lettuces are so exciting! We began our tour by scrubbing up like we were going into surgery, donning shoe covers and preparing to enter a sealed environment. Every painstaking measure is taken to ensure the quality and life of the plants being grown at Crain Creek.

Anita showed us the crops that our customers will be having for dinner soon. Enjoy the pictures, and come by for some of that good stuff next week!

Butter

We've made butter a number of times at the Windmill and thought we'd share the pics! When locally made butter is in short supply, what is there to do but make your own? And who knew how easy it was! No more churning a big wooden stick for hours until your arms fall off. All you need is an electric stand mixer and some good heavy cream.

We start the mixer on high, whipping our cream for several minutes, and end up with some delicious looking whipped cream...

And we make a huge mess in the process...

A few minutes more on high and it starts to look like butter. Still too chunky and way too much moisture in it, though... keep going.

Now we have buter. Strain out all the liquid.

Flavor it, salt it, do what you like to it and then seal in an airtight container and refrigerate! 

It won't last long... especially when you have some of Sweet Olive's fresh baked bread on hand. I recommend the Cracked Wheat or Multigrain, lightly toasted, and topped with some of the Cinnamon Honey Butter we made this week! Or try your hand at it!

Al.com: King Cakes are a sure (and tasty) sign of Carnival

By David Holloway | dholloway@al.com

on January 28, 2013 at 1:49 PM, updated January 28, 2013 at 2:45 PM

Click here to view the story on al.com.

MOBILE, Alabama -- Mardi Gras is steeped in mystery and intrigue, a celebration marked by odd customs that can seem odd to folks unfamiliar with our brand of revelry.

Standing on a corner, for instance, and having strangers hurl trinkets and foodstuff to you from passing floats is an unusual way to get ready for the solemnity of Lent. As my good friend Wendell Quimby likes to say “It ain’t for everybody” and we know this and we like this.

But one of the more endearing and unusual customs of Mardi Gras involves a delicious cake that is only available during Carnival.

The King Cake goes on sale, according to legend, around New Year’s Day and is offered throughout the Carnival season. But come Ash Wednesday, when the 40 day lead up to Easter begins, the cake pans are packed away until next year.

Though the King Cake dates back to the 1600s, it is a relative newcomer to the Coastal Alabama party. It is widely held by folks who know (me) that the King Cake was first introduced to Alabama’s Mardi Gras celebration about 1959.

The man who is credited with bringing this tasty cake to the party is the late Fred Pollman of the famous bakery that still bears his family name. Mr. Pollman had visited the Crescent City and he discovered the locals there were all about a brioche cake that was decorated with the colors of Mardi Gras – purple, green and gold.

He fiddled with the recipe and, made it a tad lighter and less dense and he rest is history. It is often sold with a variety of fillings, from cream cheese to jellied fruit; among purists, though, the plain version is also very popular.

Yeah, but what’s the deal with the baby?

A tiny, pink, plastic baby is often hidden within the cake and the finder is then bound by custom to bring a King Cake to the next social gathering of the season. Some commercial bakers now opt not to include the tiny baby inside the cake, choosing to include it with the cake so you can put it in if you like.

King Cakes are widely available from a number of outlets, both in person and online. But if for some reason you don’t have access to one you can make it yourself at home. Be advised, it is a detailed and lengthy process but the cake is delicious.

Take heart, gentle readers. The folks over at Windmill Market in Fairhope, Ala., are going to show you how it’s done. They are hosting a series of King Cake-cooking classes, the next of which is Thursday, Jan. 31.

“Our cooking classes are small and intimate groups where everyone gets a chance to get their hands dirty and get in the middle of the cooking,” said Maggie Lacey with Windmill Market. And if you don’t want to get your hands dirty, she said you can just sit back and watch while enjoying a glass of wine.

“We offer private classes at any time for groups of 8 or more at no additional charge,” she said, adding that if the class is a success they will immediately plan more.

For information on the classes you can call the market at 251.990.8883. 

Recipe Files from September Produce Club

Much-belated recipes from September Produce Club are featured below -

Curried Okra with Chickpeas and Tomatoes

Chicken Stew with Okra 

Red Potato Skewers with Garlic and Mustard

Recipe Files From August Produce Club

Much-belated recipes from August Produce Club are featured below -

Goat Cheese Quiche with Hash-Brown Crust

Thai Basil Shrimp ‘n Okra

 Boiled Peanuts

Kale Goes to the Spa for a Massage?

A Produce Club customer shared this "Massaged Kale" recipe with us, and while we can't stop giggling about the name, I think the end result is the real thing. She recommends replacing the mangoes with local satsumas, as tasty this time of year as any citrus anywhere! And with kale just beginning to roll off the local trucks, this salad is right on time.

We have other great kale recipes on this blog as well so be sure to search for those recipes from last season's Produce Club Recipe Files!

Massaged Kale Recipe

Ellen Mitchell: An all Alabama diet, is it even possible?

Mobile Press Register (via al.com)

"In an attempt to explore Alabama produced food and the people that supply it, Mobile-based business reporter Ellen Mitchell will eat only food that is grown, raised or caught in Alabama for five days. 

On the first day of her project, she visits Oak Hill Tree Farm in Grand Bay and talks to owner Brian Keller about his hydroponic lettuce, the trend of eating local and the struggle to find a variety of Alabama produce this time of year.

The haul for the day includes cucumber, zucchini, squash and of course, lettuce."

Click here to see the article online and read the subsequent days challenges. 

Eating Rules

One of our customers and friends (Thanks Paul!) shared a blog with us that we enjoyed so much we had to share. Called "Eating Rules," it is informative, entertaining, and the photography is beautiful to boot! I especially enjoyed their post, "10 reasons to keep backyard chickens"... as if you needed a reason! But take a look anyway and you will be convinced.

Click here to read "10 Reasons to keep backyard Chickens" at Eating Rules.

I was also impressed by their "October Unprocessed Challenge." Blogger Andrew Wilder decided to go an entire month back in 2009 without eating any processed foods, and says of the experience:

It was revelatory. My expectations and sense of taste were re-calibrated. I started to identify individual ingredients in the foods I ate. I didn’t crave those salty snacks. I found myself often in the kitchen, excited to see what I could cook next. Above all, I simply felt better.

Gathering friends and supporters along the way, the Unprocessed October Challenge has grown each year to have participants from all across the country. I only wish we had found out about this sooner! What an exciting and worthy challenge. Perhaps the Windmill needs to sponsor a similar unprocessed challenge???

Click here to read the story and sign up to participate!