IMPORTANT NOTE:  THERE IS NO LIVE SHOW AT HY-VEE THIS WEEK. 

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE:  NEXT WEEK GREAT TASTE IS LIVE AT HY-VEE ON THURSDAY AT 7:00 PM.

Join us this Wednesday at 7:00 pm on KRUU for our annual Farmer's Market show.  There is a bounty of information about the upcoming market season, and some insights into what delicious varieties of veggies we can expect.  Our participants included Barb Grijalva, Back to the Basics, Claude Nicholson, Sharon's Produce, Kim Keller, Blooming Acres, Dixie and Bob Mettitt, Tenco Tomatoes, Ana Victoria Braun, local market promoter, Steve McLaskey, MUM Organic Farm, and Jan Swinton, Hometown Harvest.

Also, our health coach, Emily Rose Shaw continued her introduction to the GBombs with an introduction to how beans can play a critical role in improving our health.  We had some fun with that topic.

Crazy fun Wednesday coming up on GREAT TASTE LIVE.  Two shows are on tap at Hy-Vee.  First, at 7:00 pm it's our annual Farmer's Market preview.  The market moves outside in two weeks, and we have some of the key players lined up to tell you what to expect.  At 8:10, the Indian Hills Culinary Crew takes over to cook up some of the dishes they've been working on in class.  It's twice the action this Wednesday because on April 24 the stage will stay dark.  I'll be in sunny California, but back on Thursday, May 2 (this keeps getting more confusing) with our next live show from the Hy-Vee Club Room, featuring Chef Sam Auen of Des Moine's Tacopacalypse cooking up his amazing and uncommon versions of the Mexican staple.

On KRUU at 7pm this Wednesday and replayed at 7am on Friday is our show featuring Chef Matt Steigerwald with the Iowa Source's Claudia Mueller and Nina Benjamin.  Matt came down last Wednesday from Mount Vernon where he runs the Lincoln Cafe and Lincoln Wine Bar, two of the most outstanding restaurants in the entire state.  Though the room was packed, it was an intimate experience as Matt shared his vision of what food means to him.  I learned a lot as it was obvious everything he was saying came straight from the heart.  There's plenty of information to digest for every home cook and/or aspiring professional.  Also, he cooked two tasty dishes using Middle Eastern spices-harissa cauliflower, and falafel with a yoghurt, goat cheese and lemon sauce.  Matt's promised to get me the recipes, and provide a list of some of his favorite cookbooks very soon.

Wednesdays and Saturdays are my two favorite parts of the week May-October because the outdoor Fairfield Farmer's Market is a fixture at Howard Park.  Going to the market is a multi-dimensional experience.  First, if you don't have a garden of your own, it gives you an intimate opportunity to harmonize with the changing products of the growing season.  Each table is laden with what nature is providing a particular grower at that specific moment.  Then, there is the chance to forge a link between what you eventually will serve to family and friends with the person responsible for growing it.  That human bond adds another dimension to the overall food experience.  Your food becomes traceable-how it is grown, where, by whom, all within the reach of a conversation.