We were very disappointed to lose the mushroom vendor from our neighborhood (Del Ray) market this past year, especially as I had made such great progress the prior year in convincing my previously mushroom-adverse husband that they really weren’t so bad. So now to get our local ’shroom fix I have to head to one of the FreshFarm markets, which means Dupont Circle in the winter months.

The preferred choice of both the husband and my son are these cute, sweet little honey mushrooms. They require little effort to prepare, and for a really easy meal, I whipped up some instant polenta, with a generous touch of cheese, then topped it with leftover tomato sauce and sauteed mushrooms.

Quick and scrumptious, what could be better for a (meatless) Monday night?

Recipe: Polenta al Funghi (Mushroom Polenta)

Ingredients:

• 1 pint honey mushrooms
• 1 box instant polenta
• 4 cups water
• salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pasta sauce

Instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil.

2. Rinse mushrooms and pat dry. Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring only once or twice, until they begin to darken. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan and remove from heat. Season mushrooms with sea salt and pepper.

3. Prepare polenta as instructed on package. When thickened, stir in 1 tablespoon butter and the cheese. Remove from heat.

4. Warm pasta sauce.

5. Spoon polenta onto plates, shaping a small well in the center. Top with a few spoonfuls of pasta sauce and scatter mushrooms over the top. Enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

All politics is local, they say, and nothing is more political these days than local food. FreshFarm Markets announced last night that they are, in fact, opening their ninth market on Vermont Ave. in DC, just steps away from the White House. The vendors, as identified by Capital Spice, are familiar to anyone who shops DC’s existing markets, ranging from organic and quasi-organic produce to bakeries, dairy and meat producers. The White House involvement was downplayed in the news release, and reportedly seems to be limited to a “hope” that assistant chef and food initiative coordinator Sam Kass will appear for cooking demonstrations. The press release, did, however, invoke the symbolism of the new market’s location saying, “This is the culmination of a long journey for FRESHFARM Markets, which has brought farmers into the center of Washington, DC, where policy is made.” Intrigued by the suggestion that perhaps FreshFarm was opening this market as a volley into political advocacy in support of increasing access to fresh foods*, I obtained this follow-up explanation from founder and co-director Ann Yonkers:

“We think the farmers presence in the center of Washington, DC, is the best answer to many policy questions about how we should eat.  There’s no need to talk, one bite of the delicious local food and the argument for fresh and local is made.”

No need to talk? Maybe members of Congress won’t shuttle across town, bite into an apple from Spring Valley Farm & Orchard, and suddenly be inspired to rush back to the drawing board to come with an extra billion dollars to double the funding for school lunches. But perhaps tourists who drop by the new market will be inspired to go home and write their legislators to urge their support for farm-to-school and healthy lunch programs. If so, then the market will achieve more than just symbolic change. We do need to talk, and loudly, to change our food policy for the better.

I love farmers markets, and I agree they are powerful for creating sustainable local communities. I commend FreshFarm Markets for the work they’ve done to grow the local foods movement in DC. I just continue to hope that the White House will work to extend their reach into the communities in Washington who still don’t have access to fresh produce. Let’s make the White House farmers market more than just a symbol.

*Note: As with several of their existing markets, FreshFarm Markets will double the value of Food Stamps, WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Coupons at the new market and offer a gleaning program to benefit Miriam’s Kitchen.

P.S. Don’t forget it’s Fight Back Friday over at the Food Renegade – go check it out!

Dear First Lady Obama:

I have been truly, deeply inspired by your commitment to bringing fresh, healthy foods to the nation’s children and your clear understanding that true health care reform begins with access to healthy foods. I cheered when you broke ground on the White House kitchen garden, applauded your decision to follow organic methods, and saluted your reaching out to the District’s school children to use the garden as a powerful hands-on teaching tool.

I too am a staunch advocate for farmers markets and local family farms, and a supporter of local child-hunger organizations and the new grassroots effort to bring the Farm-to-School movement to DC. I was intrigued when I heard the President suggest that the White House was interested in hosting a farmers market, but now that the plans are beginning to take shape I am sorry to say I am disappointed.

I’m sure you’ve been fully briefed on the important role FreshFarm Markets have played in bringing locally-grown produce to the Washington community. I am pleased that your office is reportedly working with this experienced organization. But I am disheartened to hear that the prospective new market will be held downtown, in a predominantly office building setting where the majority of customers will be suburban-dwelling commuters, and mere blocks from two existing weekday markets at Foggy Bottom and Penn Quarter. I realize that many support the idea of a White House Farmers Market as sending a powerful symbol about your and the President’s commitment to healthy, local foods. But I fear the wrong message will be sent by supporting yet another market that primarily serves affluent people in one of the city’s most affluent wards. Symbolism is not going to solve our nation’s food crisis. It is time for leadership.

And so I am writing today to urge you to reconsider the location and purpose of a potential White House farmers market. I would be elated to see the White House supporting a market in one of the Districts many under-served neighborhoods, such as Ward 8 which currently has just one fledgling market and few other sources of fresh fruits and vegetables.  By working with an existing market, less effort will be required to start up the project thus speeding up the delivery of farm-fresh produce to the hands of those who most need it. I am sure many of us in the District’s robust local foods movement would be willing to volunteer to help out such a worthwhile endeavor. I’ll be the first to sign up.

Sincerely,

C. Levine & the FoodieTots family

Photo (c) Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton