Hamilton, Missoula (Clark Fork River), Stevensville markets

From our home base in Stevensville, first thing in the morning my friend Kimberlee drove us to the Clark Fork River market in Missoula.

There are in fact two thriving markets in Missoula on Saturday morning. This is a unique situation -- no other town in Montana has such abundance -- and it will be interesting to find out why. More later . . .

There was a lot to see at the Clark Fork River market, including an artist painting on the spot, knitted items made from dog's hair, and amazing jewelry. But of course I zeroed in on the baked goods. But first . . . some obligatory vegetables . . .

the vendors make vegetables look very inviting

but try the cinnamon animal crackers, too

left: lemon yogurt, with lemon curd, buttercream frosting,
and edible pearls; right: white corn, with maple cream cheese
frosting and bacon

even some gluten-free treats

Kimberlee had to get ready for a salsa dancing party in the evening (she teaches dancing and was hoping to sweep some fellow dancers off their feet), so I drove on to the Stevensville and Hamilton markets alone.

But not really alone. At every market it is possible to meet all kinds of people and their wares. At the Stevensville market it was the man selling cherries (shown) and the woman selling nut-studded brownies (not shown because I ate mine too quickly).

Stevensville had less than 10 vendors. Hamilton had booths strung along 2 blocks and spilling onto a side street. Plus, this week Tom and the Tomatoes entertained the crowd at the Hamilton market.

Will it surprise you that my favorite find at Hamilton was an icing made from rhubarb?

It was real tasty on homemade yellow cake decorated with sweetpea blossoms.

Flathead cherries also made an appearance.

These grow around Flathead Lake near Glacier Park and -- at least throughout Montana -- are justly considered the best-tasting cherries anywhere. Enough cherries are grown in Montana to feed the entire population of the state (all 914,000 of us), so we are proud indeed.

And last but, er, not least, were the worms sold by an enterprising farmer who was one of the original market vendors. In 1992 the Ravalli County Museum invited 6 or 7 farmers to set up card tables in front of the museum, and the Hamilton farmers market was born.

Clark Fork River Market

Missoula

East side of the Higgins Street Bridge

May 2 - October 17

Saturday, 8 am - 1 pm

Hamilton Farmers Market Co-op

Bedford Street, 2 blocks south of Main Street

May 2 - October 3

Saturday, 9 am - 12:30 pm

Harvest Valley Farmers Market

Stevensville

Third and Main Street

May 9 - October 10

Saturday, 9 am - 1 pm

Rhubarb soda

I love cold fizzy drinks in the summer. I rarely drink soda, but when it gets hot outside, I enjoy pouring club soda into fruit concentrate or mixing it with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

When two rhubarb plants popped up in my yard last spring, I began experimenting with recipes. I didn't think I liked rhubarb, but free food always appeals to me, and I discovered I actually love the tart taste.

I found this recipe on the Internet and slightly adjusted it to make more than the original called for, plus added lemon to brighten the taste. (I like lemonade a lot, too!)

I'll admit this recipe has sugar, but you might cut the amount down to 1 cup. Also consider that a cup of rhubarb has almost as much potassium as a cup of sliced bananas and a whole lot more calcium, so you are getting something good out of this.

So . . . combine rhubarb with fizzy water and -- wow! -- get a summertime refresher!

Rhubarb Soda

2 cups chopped rhubarb

2 cups water

1 1/3 cups sugar

Club soda

Squeeze of lemon (optional)

Cut the rhubarb into 1-inch pieces (approximately) and measure out 2 cups.

Put rhubarb into a small saucepan along with the water and sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer 15 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and cool. Strain and pour liquid into a bottle.

Store this syrup in the refrigerator. I use mine within two weeks or so, but I think this will keep for a long time in the refrigerator.

To make the soda: Put about 1/4 cup syrup into a glass and top off with about a cup of club soda (depending on your taste), then add a squeeze of lemon.

Of course, you can use regular water, or try mixing this with other juices or even iced tea.

And by the way, you can also eat the leftover stewed rhubarb.

Makes about 2 cups syrup.

Stanford and Lewistown markets

When I arrived in Stanford, population about 500, I was overwhelmed by the power of a market to draw together a community. It was party time!

Toe-tapping country music filled the air from across the street at the barber shop. "We plan to have live entertainment," I was told, but this certainly was filling the gap. The small grassy area marked for the market was filled with about 10 vendors doing brisk business. Or if not actually selling anything, the vendors were at least busy having fun with everyone who was not a vendor. Kids played, women chatted, men laughed.

I got a photo of the charming Hutterite women who make the most amazing cinnamon rolls. I don't think I am stretching it too far to say it might be worth a trip to Stanford just to taste those rolls.

According to the day's market manager, Alverta, the two-year-old market has really pepped up the town. "Our town was totally dead until we started this [farmers market]," she said. "[It] has added some spunk and fire to our little town."

Even a stranger can tell there's something special going on.

It was more subdued at Lewistown, but the pride of entrepreneurship was just as evident. The gals pictured here were showing off their embroidered aprons, made by another vendor from Roundup.

These two women also make jams and jellies from handpicked local berries: the usual raspberries, strawberries, and huckleberries, but also wild chokecherries (Lewistown is officially the chokecherry capital of Montana), juneberries (aka serviceberries), and buffaloberries.

At another booth, Hutterites sell pies and turnovers made with these unusual berries. So if you want a taste, this would be the place to come.

Lewistown Farmers Market

Symmes Park

July 11 - September 26

Saturday, 8 am - noon

Stanford Farmers Market

Main Street

June 20 - September 26

every other week: June 20; July 11 & 25; Aug. 15 & 29; Sept. 12 & 26

Saturday, 9 am - 1 pm